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London XI

Former association football team in England

Summary

Former association football team in England

Field	Value
clubname	London XI
image	Londonxi.JPG
image_size	150px
founded	1955
dissolved	1958
ground	Various
mgrtitle	Manager
manager	Joe Mears
league	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
season	1955–58
position	Runners-up
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leftarm1	FFFFFF	body1=FFFFFF	rightarm1=FFFFFF	shorts1=000000	socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_b2	_vneck
pattern_so2	_hoops_white
leftarm2	FF0000
body2	FF0000
rightarm2	FF0000
socks2	FF0000

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

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. Therefore, a representative team was created especially for the tournament, using the best players from the 11 London-area 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, and "London" lost 4-2 to Corinthians on 21 November 1903 in front of 1500, described as Corinthians "had an easy task" in a 1904 Times article. Two other matches have been referenced – an "annual match" versus Birmingham on 3 October 1910 and a match versus Paris on 18 December 1910.

Teams and match details

;Clubs represented:

Arsenal
Brentford
Charlton Athletic
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Fulham
Leyton Orient
Millwall
Queens Park Rangers
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United

Group stage

Firmani
Holton
Hooper ;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′.
Jezzard
Robson
Pfaff
Kaufhold ;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).
Robb ;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).
Preisendorfer ;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

Vonlanden
Haverty ;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).
Greaves
Holton ;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

Greaves
Langley
Martínez
Tejada 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

Suárez
Martínez
Evaristo
Vergés 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		Hampden (I) (A)	5,000	0–4		url=http://www.scottish-football-historical-archive.co.nf/representative-matches.htm	title=Representative Matches	publisher=Scottish-Football-Historical-Archive	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228054016/http://www.scottish-football-historical-archive.co.nf/representative-matches.htm	access-date=6 July 2021	archive-date=28 December 2018 }}
2		The Oval (H)	3,500	3–2		url= https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000060/18831217/043/0009	title= FOOTBALL	newspaper= GlaSgow Herald	date= 17 December 1883}} (via) British Newspaper Archive.
3		Hampden (II) (A)	5,000	2–6		url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000060/18841222/045/0011	title= FOOTBALL	newspaper= Glasgow Herald	date= 22 December 1884}} (via) British Newspaper Archive.
4		The Oval (H)	2,000	2–5
5		Hampden (II) (A)	4,000	2–2
6		The Oval (H)		3–0	Tinsley Lindley
J. Burns (2)	url=https://playupliverpool.com/1888/03/03/london-v-glasgow-3-0-inter-city-march-3-1888/	title=LONDON V GLASGOW 3–0 (INTER CITY: MARCH 3, 1888)	publisher=PlayupLiverpool.com	date=3 March 1888	access-date=6 July 2021}} (via) British Newspaper Archive.
7		Hampden (II) (A)		1–5	scrimmage	url=https://playupliverpool.com/1889/03/23/glasgow-v-london-5-1-inter-city-march-23-1889/	title=GLASGOW V LONDON 5–1 (INTER CITY: MARCH 23, 1889)	publisher=PlayupLiverpool.com	date=23 March 1889	access-date=6 July 2021}}
8		The Oval (H)		2–3

Notes

References

Dart, James. (1 June 2005). "Are Liverpool the worst European champions ever?". The Guardian.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20181228054016/http://www.scottish-football-historical-archive.co.nf/representative-matches.htm Representative Matches], Scottish Football Historical Archive (archive version, 2018)
Cavallini, Rob. (2007). "Play Up Corinth: A History of The Corinthian Football Club". Stadia.
The Times. (1904). "Corinthians vs Manchester United". "James Owen of Penrhos and his descendants" ancestry website.
(1989). "100 Years Of Brentford". Brentford FC.
"EC 1 & Fairs Cup 1595-1960". International Federation of Football History & Statistics.
(2 October 2009). "Fairs' Cup 1955-58". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
"Almanacco Totale del Calcio Europeo 1958".
"Representative Matches". Scottish-Football-Historical-Archive.
(22 January 1883). "FOOTBALL". [[Glasgow Herald]].
(17 December 1883). "FOOTBALL". GlaSgow Herald.
(22 December 1884). "FOOTBALL". Glasgow Herald.
(3 March 1888). "LONDON V GLASGOW 3–0 (INTER CITY: MARCH 3, 1888)". PlayupLiverpool.com.
(23 March 1889). "GLASGOW V LONDON 5–1 (INTER CITY: MARCH 23, 1889)". PlayupLiverpool.com.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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