London XI

The London XI was a football team that represented the city of London in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

London XI
Founded1955
Dissolved1958
GroundVarious
ManagerJoe Mears
LeagueInter-Cities Fairs Cup
1955–58Runners-up

The competition began in 1955, and the first tournament took three years to complete. The entrants were the major football team of each city which held a Trade Fair. Like many cities taking part, London had several strong teams; however, rules stated that there could only be a single team from each city.[1] Therefore, a representative team was created especially for the tournament, using the best players from the 11 Greater London-based Football League clubs. Membership of the team varied considerably between matches, and some 54 players took part in the team's eight-match campaign.

The London XI, managed by Chelsea chairman Joe Mears, reached the final of the cup, after coming top of a group that included special XI teams from Basel and Frankfurt, and then beating Lausanne Sports. London lost 8–2 on aggregate over two legs to FC Barcelona.

The London XI only competed in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Thereafter, London was represented in the competition by individual clubs who qualified.

A unified London side competed in friendly matches even earlier: a "London" team represented the FA in the historic 1866 London v Sheffield match, there were several challenges against the Glasgow FA during the 1880s,[2] and "London" lost 4-2 to Corinthians on 21 November 1903 in front of 1500,[3] described as Corinthians "had an easy task" in a 1904 Times article.[4] Two other matches have been referenced – an "annual match" versus Birmingham on 3 October 1910 and a match versus Paris on 18 December 1910.[5]

Teams and match details
Source: [6]
Clubs represented

Group stage
Basel XI Switzerland0–5England London XI
  • Firmani 35'
  • Holton 37', 43', 74'
  • Hooper 81'[lower-alpha 1]
Team
Ron Reynolds (Tottenham), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Jim Fotheringham (Arsenal), Stan Willemse (Chelsea), Ken Armstrong (Chelsea), Derek Saunders (Chelsea), Harry Hooper (West Ham), Johnny Haynes (Fulham), Cliff Holton (Arsenal), Eddie Firmani (Charlton), Billy Kiernan (Charlton).
Substitute: Brian Nicholas (QPR), on for Saunders 37′.
London XI England3–2West Germany Frankfurt XI
  • Jezzard 46', 76'
  • Robson 60'
  • Pfaff 25'
  • Kaufhold 30'
Team
Ted Ditchburn (Tottenham), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Stan Willemse (Chelsea), Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham), Charlie Hurley (Millwall), Cyril Hammond (Charlton), Vic Groves (Orient), Bobby Robson (Fulham), Bedford Jezzard (Fulham), Roy Bentley (Chelsea), Charlie Mitten (Fulham).
London XI England1–0Switzerland Basel XI
  • Robb 87'
Team
Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), John Hewie (Charlton), Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham), Stan Wicks (Chelsea), Ken Coote (Brentford), Jim Lewis (Chelsea), Derek Tapscott (Arsenal), Cliff Holton (Arsenal), Bobby Cameron (QPR), George Robb (Tottenham).
Frankfurt XI West Germany1–0England London XI
  • Preisendorfer 72'
Team
Ron Reynolds (Tottenham), John Bond (West Ham), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Ken Armstrong (Chelsea), Malcolm Allison (West Ham), Tony Marchi (Tottenham), Terry Medwin (Tottenham), Stuart Leary (Charlton), David Herd (Arsenal), Johnny Haynes (Fulham), Billy Kiernan (Charlton).

Semi-finals
Lausanne XI Switzerland2–1England London XI
  • Vonlanden 6', 74'
  • Haverty 70'
Team
Ted Ditchburn (Tottenham), Stan Charlton (Arsenal), Dennis Evans (Arsenal), Brian Nicholas (Chelsea), Jim Fotheringham (Arsenal), Phil McKnight (Orient), Peter Berry (Crystal Palace), Geoff Truett (Crystal Palace), Les Stubbs (Chelsea), Phil Woosnam (Orient), Joe Haverty (Arsenal).
London XI England2–0Switzerland Lausanne XI
  • Greaves 10'
  • Holton 76'
Team
Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), Stan Charlton (Arsenal), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Ken Coote (Brentford), Bill Dodgin (Arsenal), Derek Saunders (Chelsea), Roy Dwight (Fulham), Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea), Cliff Holton (Arsenal), Johnny Haynes (Fulham), Billy Kiernan (Charlton).

London XI won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final
Main article: 1958 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final

First leg
London XI England2–2Spain Barcelona XI
  • Greaves 10'
  • Langley 88' (p)
  • Martínez 7'
  • Tejada 35'

Team: Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), Peter Sillett (Chelsea), Jim Langley (Fulham), Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham), Maurice Norman (Tottenham), Ken Coote (Brentford), Vic Groves (Arsenal), Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea), Bobby Smith (Tottenham), Johnny Haynes (Fulham), George Robb (Tottenham).

Second leg
Barcelona XI Spain6–0England London XI
  • Suárez 6', 8'
  • Martínez 42'
  • Evaristo 52', 75'
  • Vergés 63'

Team: Jack Kelsey (Arsenal), George Wright (Orient), Noel Cantwell (West Ham), Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham), Ken Brown (West Ham), Dave Bowen (Arsenal), Terry Medwin (Tottenham), Vic Groves (Arsenal), Bobby Smith (Tottenham), Jimmy Bloomfield (Arsenal), Jim Lewis (Chelsea).

Barcelona XI won 8–2 on aggregate.

London v Glasgow
  • 8 matches played;
  • London: 2 wins (15 goals);
  • Glasgow: 5 wins (27 goals);
  • 1 draw.
# Date Venue Att. Score London goalscorers Ref.
1 20 January 1883 Hampden (I) (A) 5,000 0–4 [9][10]
2 15 December 1883 The Oval (H) 3,500 3–2 [9][11]
3 20 December 1884 Hampden (II) (A) 5,000 2–6 [9][12]
4 5 December 1885 The Oval (H) 2,000 2–5 [9]
5 27 November 1886 Hampden (II) (A) 4,000 2–2 [9]
6 3 March 1888 The Oval (H) 3–0 Tinsley Lindley
J. Burns (2)		 [9][13]
7 23 March 1889 Hampden (II) (A) 1–5 scrimmage [9][14]
8 25 January 1890 The Oval (H) 2–3 [9]

See also

Notes
  1. Some sources give the final goal to Eddie Firmani.[7][8]

References
  1. Dart, James (1 June 2005). "Are Liverpool the worst European champions ever?". The Guardian.
  2. Representative Matches, Scottish Football Historical Archive (archive version, 2018)
  3. Cavallini, Rob (2007). Play Up Corinth: A History of The Corinthian Football Club. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-7524-4479-6.
  4. The Times (1904). "Corinthians vs Manchester United". "James Owen of Penrhos and his descendants" ancestry website. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  5. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 96. ISBN 0951526200.
  6. EC 1 & Fairs Cup 1595-1960. International Federation of Football History & Statistics. pp. 158–171.
  7. Zea, Anthony; Haisma, Marcel (2 October 2009). "Fairs' Cup 1955-58". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  8. Almanacco Totale del Calcio Europeo 1958. pp. 31–32. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  9. "Representative Matches". Scottish-Football-Historical-Archive. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  10. "FOOTBALL". Glasgow Herald. 22 January 1883. (via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "FOOTBALL". GlaSgow Herald. 17 December 1883. (via) British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "FOOTBALL". Glasgow Herald. 22 December 1884. (via) British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "LONDON V GLASGOW 3–0 (INTER CITY: MARCH 3, 1888)". PlayupLiverpool.com. 3 March 1888. Retrieved 6 July 2021. (via) British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "GLASGOW V LONDON 5–1 (INTER CITY: MARCH 23, 1889)". PlayupLiverpool.com. 23 March 1889. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
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