International stars, Premier League regulars, all-time record breakers and one of the greatest managers in football history.
You might think that we’re writing about the alumni of one of English football’s big teams, but in reality that’s just a selection of the former players that have passed through the doors at Worksop Town.
The Northern Premier League outfit has an incredible history of rubbing shoulders with those from the upper echelons of the beautiful game – with Aaron Ramsdale the latest to add his name to the honours board at the Nottinghamshire club.
International Glory
Worksop have won many regional leagues and cups in the East Midlands and the North of England over the years, but they’ve never been able to lay claim to a major international champion.
But according to those placing their EURO 2024 bets, that was predicted to change this summer, with England and France vying for favouritism at odds of 7/2.
Although neither side was at their best in their opening game of the tournament, the weight of EURO 2024 winner bets suggests they have been viewed as likely champions – meaning that Ramsdale, one of the goalkeepers in the England squad, held the potential to become the first Worksop Town alumnus to win a major international tournament.
Okay, so maybe we’re over-egging the pudding – the 26-year-old made just one appearance for the club on loan back in December 2015. But still, not many non-league sides can say they’ve helped to shape a future European champion.
Ramsdale isn’t the only international ace to have turned out for the Tigers. Paul Green was the first former Worksop Town player to appear at the European Championship, coming off the bench for the Republic of Ireland against Spain at EURO 2012.
The midfielder, who closed out his playing career with the Tigers, won 22 caps for Ireland.
Former Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, and Worksop Town left-back Dean Gordon won 13 caps for England Under-21s, Zayn Hakeem has appeared for Antigua and Barbuda, and Keith Alexander, the legendary lower league player and manager, turned out for Saint Lucia on three occasions.
History Makers
Having played in some 1,286 games, Paul Bastock has achieved a record that may never be broken – 41 of them, incidentally, came while wearing Worksop Town’s goalkeeping jersey.
But arguably the club’s famous son is Herbert Chapman, who played for Worksop at the turn of the 20th century. His playing career may not have been spectacular, but Chapman made up for it as a manager.
Even in the early 1900s, he was considered an innovator – instructing his defensive players at Northampton Town to pass out from the back, rather than simply lump it forward. Chapman, in that sense, was a century ahead of his time.
He also tweaked the traditional formations of the day, asking his midfielders to sit deeper in a bid to orchestrate counterattacks as opponents pushed higher up the pitch.
A switch to Huddersfield Town brought Chapman two First Division titles and an FA Cup before Arsenal came calling – the Gunners would win the top-tier three times during his reign, thanks largely to Chapman’s historic WM formation, his in-depth training schedule and the implementation for the first time of club physiotherapists.
Chapman is arguably the most successful of Worksop Town’s alumni; Ramsdale could match him with victory at the EUROs this summer. And that’s not bad going for a club currently in the seventh tier of English football – how many other stars of the future will the Tigers help to produce?
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