The Best Player in Every EFL and Premier League Club: From Arsenal to Wrexham

This might be one of the trickiest questions a fan can answer. Who the greatest player is for their team. For some clubs, it’s super obvious who their greatest is aka for Everton. For others, there are tons of candidates. I will be amazed if I don’t have a lot of angry comments telling me how much of an idiot I am.

But I will give reasoning for each player, so you see that it’s not just plucking names out of thin air. The most important question is though… How do you define a club’s greatest player? For my list I will be going with the best player for them who had the most impact, rather than just technically the best player. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo is clearly the best player to play for Manchester United. But he doesn’t top 10 in their history in terms of contributions. With that criteria in mind, let’s get on to the list. 

Premier League

Arsenal – Thierry Henry

Arsenal have had plenty of all-time greats, but Thierry Henry still sits above the rest. He was the club’s record scorer, the most feared forward in England at his peak, and the player who turned Arsène Wenger’s best side from excellent into unforgettable. He was the face of the Invincibles and the clearest expression of Wenger’s golden era.

Aston Villa – Paul McGrath

Aston Villa supporters do not call Paul McGrath “God” by accident. He was a magnificent centre-back, adored for both his quality and the sense that he carried the club through difficult moments. Winning the PFA Player of the Year award as a defender tells you plenty on its own.

AFC Bournemouth – Steve Fletcher

Across two long spells, he became their appearance-record holder and a constant through different eras, different divisions and different expectations. Plenty of players have had better short peaks but Fletcher’s status as best Bournemouth player comes from what he meant over time. He was the face of Bournemouth for the best part of two decades.

Brentford – Kevin O’Connor

Before Brentford became a Premier League success story, Kevin O’Connor was the man who embodied the club. He gave them 15 years, captained them, won promotions and became the kind of figure every club wants but very few ever get. O’Connor became Mr Brentford for good reason.

Brighton & Hove Albion – Peter Ward

Brighton’s history has a lot of newer heroes but Peter Ward remains one of the club’s defining names. His goals were central to the rise that took Albion into the top flight in the late seventies.

Burnley – Jimmy McIlroy

Jimmy McIlroy is still the classiest name in Burnley’s history. He was the creative force in the side that won the league title and played the game with a level of grace that made him stand out even in a strong era for the club. The statue outside Turf Moor tells you all you need to know about how he is remembered.

Chelsea – John Terry

Chelsea’s modern rise had stars everywhere, but John Terry was the one who made it feel like Chelsea. He was captain, organiser, leader and the centre-back who symbolised the club’s most successful period. Others might have had more natural flair but nobody combined longevity, influence and silverware quite like Terry. He was the standard-setter for the most trophy-laden side in the club’s history.

Crystal Palace – Wilfried Zaha

Wilfried Zaha is Crystal Palace’s greatest ever player because he defined the club’s modern era. He came through the academy, became the side’s biggest match-winner and spent years carrying Palace in the Premier League with his pace, flair and ability to decide games on his own. More than the numbers, it was the sense that everything went through him. For a generation of Palace fans, Zaha was the club.

Everton – Dixie Dean

There are club legends, and then there is Dixie Dean. His 60 league goals in a single season remains one of the most extraordinary records in English football, and it is the number that keeps him locked into Everton immortality. However, he was more than one incredible campaign. He became the defining figure of one of the club’s greatest periods and remains the player every Everton striker is measured against… however unfair that might be.

Fulham – Johnny Haynes

Johnny Haynes is still Fulham’s standard. He was known as “The Maestro” for a reason. He played with elegance, intelligence and a level of craft that lifted the club’s image well beyond Craven Cottage. Being the first £100-a-week player gave him a place in football history, but at Fulham his importance runs deeper than that. He made the club feel distinguished.

Leeds United – Billy Bremner

Leeds United’s greatest side was full of forceful personalities, but Billy Bremner was the heartbeat of it. He captained Don Revie’s team, drove standards and played with the sort of edge Leeds supporters have always loved. He was not the tallest or the most glamorous, but he was fiercely competitive, technically sharp and impossible to ignore. If you want one player who captures Leeds at their peak, it is Bremner (he’s also who I’m named after, so I can’t really not pick him)

Liverpool – Kenny Dalglish

Liverpool have a crowded field when it comes to all-time greats, yet Kenny Dalglish still feels like the benchmark. As a player he brought brilliance, intelligence and trophies in absurd quantities. More than that, he helped define what a great Liverpool forward looked like: technically gifted, selfless and decisive. His broader influence on the club only strengthens the case, but even on playing terms alone, Dalglish belongs at the top.

Manchester City – Kevin de Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne has the best claim to being Manchester City’s greatest ever player because he has been the creative engine behind the most successful period in the club’s history. For nearly a decade, he made City better in every possible way: dictating games, creating chances nobody else could see and producing decisive moments in the biggest matches. He is one of the greatest players of all time, let alone just Manchester City’s greatest ever player.

Manchester United – Bobby Charlton

Manchester United have had icons in pretty much every era but Bobby Charlton’s standing is almost impossible to shift. A Busby Babe, a European Cup winner and one of England’s finest ever players, he represents the glory of the club in one career. He has it all: the medal haul, the goal tally and how completely he belongs to United’s identity.

Newcastle United – Alan Shearer

For Newcastle, this one is beyond debate. Alan Shearer was the local hero who came home, became the club’s all-time record scorer and carried the hopes of St James’ Park on his shoulders for years. Other great players have worn the shirt but none matched the mix of production and emotional connection that Shearer had. 

Absolutely. Here’s the cleaned-up version in the same sort of length and style as the Zaha and De Bruyne paragraphs, without that clunky contrast structure and without Oxford commas.

Nottingham Forest – John Robertson

John Robertson is Nottingham Forest’s greatest ever player because he was the quiet genius behind the club’s greatest years. In Brian Clough’s European Cup-winning side, he was the one who kept deciding games with his knack for producing in huge moments.

Sunderland – Raich Carter

Raich Carter remains Sunderland’s greatest ever players because he had a habit of turning up when it mattered most. He won the league with the club and later captained them to FA Cup glory, which gave him a place in more than one great Sunderland side. For many supporters, he still stands as the complete footballer in the club’s history.

Tottenham Hotspur – Jimmy Greaves

Jimmy Greaves was the most natural goalscorer the club has ever had. He scored at an outrageous rate and did it with a kind of ease that made the hardest part of football look simple. Even in a club with plenty of elite forwards, Greaves still feels like the name that sits above the rest.

West Ham United — Bobby Moore

West Ham haven’t had many World Cup winning captains so I think it’s pretty obvious who their best player is. Bobby Moore is West Ham’s greatest ever player because he represented everything the club likes to think it is at its best. He was elegant, calm, technically superb, a centre-back who played with total authority.

Wolverhampton Wanderers – Billy Wright

Billy Wright was the captain and centrepiece of the club’s greatest post-war side. He spent his whole career there and became one of the most respected footballers in the country while leading Wolves through their finest years.

 

Championship

Birmingham City – Trevor Francis
Blackburn Rovers – Alan Shearer
Bristol City – John Atyeo
Charlton Athletic – Sam Bartram
Coventry City – Steve Ogrizovic
Derby County – Steve Bloomer
Hull City – Ken Wagstaff
Ipswich Town – Kevin Beattie
Leicester City – Jamie Vardy
Middlesbrough – Wilf Mannion
Millwall – Neil Harris
Norwich City – Kevin Keelan
Oxford United – Joey Beauchamp
Portsmouth – Jimmy Dickinson
Preston North End – Tom Finney
Queens Park Rangers – Stan Bowles
Sheffield United – Tony Currie
Sheffield Wednesday – John Sheridan
Southampton – Matt Le Tissier
Stoke City – Stanley Matthews
Swansea City – Ivor Allchurch
Watford – Luther Blissett
West Bromwich Albion – Tony Brown
Wrexham – Arfon Griffiths

 

League One

AFC Wimbledon – Barry Fuller
Barnsley – Eric Winstanley
Blackpool – Stanley Matthews
Bolton Wanderers – Nat Lofthouse
Bradford City – Bobby Campbell
Burton Albion – Darren Stride
Cardiff City – John Charles
Doncaster Rovers – James Coppinger
Exeter City – Tony Kellow
Huddersfield Town – Billy Smith
Leyton Orient – Peter Kitchen
Lincoln City – Grant Brown
Luton Town – Mick Harford
Mansfield Town – Ken Wagstaff
Northampton Town – Tommy Fowler
Peterborough United – Tommy Robson
Plymouth Argyle – Paul Mariner
Port Vale – Roy Sproson
Reading – Robin Friday
Rotherham United – Ronnie Moore
Stevenage – Ronnie Henry
Stockport County – Kevin Francis
Wigan Athletic – Harry Lyon
Wycombe Wanderers – Tony Horseman

 

League Two

Accrington Stanley – George Stewart
Barnet – Gary Bull
Barrow – Colin Cowperthwaite
Bristol Rovers – Geoff Bradford
Bromley – Michael Cheek
Cambridge United – Dion Dublin
Cheltenham Town – Michael Duff
Chesterfield – Ernie Moss
Colchester United – Micky Cook
Crawley Town – Matt Tubbs
Crewe Alexandra – David Platt
Fleetwood Town – Nathan Pond
Gillingham – Steve Lovell
Grimsby Town – Pat Glover
Harrogate Town – Jack Muldoon
Milton Keynes Dons – Dean Lewington
Newport County – Tommy Tynan
Notts County – Tommy Lawton
Oldham Athletic – Roger Palmer
Salford City – Matt Smith
Shrewsbury Town – Arthur Rowley
Swindon Town – Harry Morris
Tranmere Rovers – Ian Muir
Walsall – Gilbert Alsop

 

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