As those familiar with Plusnet will know, we aim to do our customers proud but we thought it might be interesting to turn our attention to the 11 men we hope will do England proud tonight as the national football team take on Poland at Wembley. Over the last week, we’ve undertaken some research to see which England 11 the nation is most proud of and despite having played their last games for England some 40 years-ago, World Cup heroes Gordon Banks and Bobby Moore are still the players England fans would be most proud of seeing lining up in goal and defense for England. The survey shows England fans still revere the former Leicester and Stoke City keeper, with 39% of fans saying they would be proud to see Banks play for England, while current England goalie Joe Hart received just 13% of the vote. Fans of all ages also have enormous respect and admiration for World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore (57%), with three times more fans saying the are proud of the former West Ham player than the next England defender in the poll, Gary Neville who received 19% of votes. Despite having a huge respect for Banks and Moore, it appears the feat of England’s 1966 World Cup winning heroes is lost on the modern generation with nearly 10% more 25-34 year-olds being proud of England’s 5-1 victory over Germany in a World Cup qualifier in 2001. A waning in pride for England’s current crop of stars is echoed at the top of the pitch with just 19% of fans being proud to see Wayne Rooney play for England, while Gary Lineker tops the poll with 46% of the vote. The survey revealed who the players across the entire team are that fans would be most proud to see line up wearing the three lions:
- Goalkeeper: Gordon Banks (39%)
- Defenders: Bobby Moore (57%), Gary Neville (19%), Rio Ferdinand (16%) and Ashley Cole (13%)
- Midfielders: David Beckham (49%), Bobby Charlton (45%), Steven Gerrard (28%) and Frank Lampard (23%)
- Strikers: Gary Lineker (46%) and Alan Shearer (39%)
Speaking about this team, former England international Steve McManaman said:
“What Bobby and Gordon achieved on the pitch was unbelievable and clearly their legend still lives on. You can't argue with the dream team, they were all great footballers and have done England proud.”
Commenting on the results, Nick Rawlings, Commercial & Marketing Director of Plusnet said:
“At Plusnet we strive to create a service which our customers can be proud of, so it is fascinating to see what makes fans proud when it comes to our national game. It is clear from the study that football fans have a real appreciation for the heritage of the game in England, particularly players from the 1966 team and we wish the current team the best of luck tomorrow so we can hopefully go on and try to emulate them in Brazil next year.”
How do you feel about tonight’s big match? Do you think we’ll be celebrating our journey to next year’s World Cup Finals as the final whistle blows? Let us know by leaving a comment in the section below…