The best footballer to never play in the top flight is......?

[Mowgli37]

Given all the talk about investment in grassroots football, big clubs nabbing promising youngsters from the lower leagues and smaller teams being unable to hold onto their top talent it set me thinking: Who is the best player to have played in English football (and that can be of any nationality) yet for whatever reason never made it to the 1st division/premier league?

Over to you...

 

[Stockport seagull]

Not saying best ever but at the min i would day Jordan Rhodes is best attacker never to have had a crack at the prem,

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

that geezer Friday,played for Cardiff

 

[jonny.rainbow]

Jake Forster-Caskey.

 

[Baldseagull]

I thought Steve Bull may be have been amongst them, having been capped for England several times whilst a second division player with Wolves but reading his wiki, it says he made one sub appearance for WBA in the first division.

 

[Shatner's Bassoon]

Steve Bull was a good striker who played a fair few times for England. I think he made the 1990 World Cup squad.

 

[Mowgli37]

Steve Bull is a very good shout but his appearances for the Baggies rules him out. You're absolutely right [MENTION=23606]Shatner's Bassoon[/MENTION], he made four appearances at Italia 90.

 

[BensGrandad]

If you class the top flight as playing international matches it has to be Matt Le Tissier.

 

[Mowgli37]

Not saying best ever but at the min i would day Jordan Rhodes is best attacker never to have had a crack at the prem,

His names comes up time and again when the press speculate on who the Premier League sides may snap up but nothing ever seems to come of it. I wonder if his enormous transfer fee (at least for the Championship: £8,000,000) works against him in that Blackburn won't sell for anything other than a profit and no club would be willing to pay that much or more for a player untested at the highest level (bar Leicester of course )

 

[Buzzer]

Colin Hawkins.

 

[Steve in Japan]

Our own Gary Nelson and Kevin Bremner? Scored goals....

 

[Luke93]

Dunk!

 

[jonny.rainbow]

If you class the top flight as playing international matches it has to be Matt Le Tissier.

Except that he did play internationally.

I think the true interpretation of playing in the 'top-flight' should be having played in the Champions League proper.

 

[scooter1]

Not saying best ever but at the min i would day Jordan Rhodes is best attacker never to have had a crack at the prem,

This was the first name that came to my mind.
As for BGs comment about le Tissier, the OP said top flight, this means Div 1 or a Premier Lge, otherwise it would have said International level....

 

[Shatner's Bassoon]

Steve Bull is a very good shout but his appearances for the Baggies rules him out. You're absolutely right [MENTION=23606]Shatner's Bassoon[/MENTION], he made four appearances at Italia 90.

Blimey, didn't know he'd actually played at the World Cup. What about Robin Friday? He might be a popular choice, although as he was before my time I don't know whether his skill levels have been overstated.

 

[Mowgli37]

If you class the top flight as playing international matches it has to be Matt Le Tissier.

Wrong on both counts.

By top flight I mean the 1st division/premier league (and they have to have played a league match for the team, appearances in the cups don't count) and Le Tissier made eight appearances for England.

 

[Buzzer]

Did Marco Gabbiadini ever play top-flight football? If not I nominate him. £3m in transfer fees from the mid-80s to the noughties and scored tons of goals.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

There must be someone who was shit-hot in their early 20s playing in the Championship/Division 2 before suffering a career ending injury. A bit like Adam Hinshelwood for us. He could have gone onto become a top end Championship player if it weren't for injury. (I'm not suggesting him, by the way).

That reminds me of Nicky Forster. Did he ever play in the top-flight? Not exactly inspiring but he was a good player in the Championship and later obviously in League One for us.

 

[Shatner's Bassoon]

There must be someone who was shit-hot in their early 20s playing in the Championship/Division 2 before suffering a career ending injury. A bit like Adam Hinshelwood for us. He could have gone onto become a top end Championship player if it weren't for injury. (I'm not suggesting him, by the way).

Did Brian Clough ever play in the first division?

 

[mac04]

Did Marco Gabbiadini ever play top-flight football? If not I nominate him. £3m in transfer fees from the mid-80s to the noughties and scored tons of goals.

Pretty sure that Marco played for Sunderland and Palace in the top flight.