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Top 20 England players of all time - #13

Sports Mole's countdown of the top 20 English players of all time continues with number 13 - Billy Wright.

Billy Wright (105 caps, three goals)

Billy Wright will forever hold a unique place in football history as the first player to ever win 100 international caps, and he has a claim to being England's greatest ever captain too.

Bobby Moore is perhaps at the front of that queue, but Wright is the only player to have worn the Three Lions armband as many times as the World Cup winner, leading his country out on no fewer than 90 occasions.

Wright went on to make 105 England appearances at centre-back, 70 of which came in succession after he had unequivocally cemented his place as the leading defender in English - and many would say world - football.

Wright's England career was not without its low points, though, featuring in their humiliating defeats at the hands of Hungary in 1953 and 1954 when Ferenc Puskas and co proved without doubt that the Three Lions were no longer the dominant force in world football.

The defender spent his entire 20-year club career with Wolverhampton Wanderers, making 541 appearances for the club and leading them to three league titles as captain - including back-to-back triumphs in 1958 and 1959.

Wright also helped Wolves to the FA Cup in 1949 and, remarkably, missed just 31 matches throughout the entirety of the 1950s until his retirement in 1959.

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Written by
Barney Corkhill
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City158342721627
6Aston Villa167452425-125
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Fulham166642422224
10Brentford157263128323
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton153661421-715
16Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1512121131-205


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