With 2021 now at its very end, it is time to unveil the 2021 English Football XI of the Year.
2021 has seen plenty of memorable moments from England Men’s run to the Euro 2020 Final to Leicester’s maiden FA Cup title to Chelsea Women’s domestic treble and much more.
Now looking back on the year and individual performances, it has been an incredibly difficult year across so many sections of the pitch with various stars within English Football.
Now without further ado, here is our 2021 English Football XI with full explanations following below alongside the identity of the Manager of the Year.
Goalkeeper
There has been plenty of outstanding goalkeeping displays throughout 2021 across both sides of English Football, including Emiliano Martinez, Kasper Schmeichel and Ann-Katrin Berger, yet Aaron Ramsdale has been excellent in goal this year at Sheffield United then Arsenal.
Having started the year as a member of Sheffield Utd’s relegated team, Ramsdale didn’t let the team’s performance slump affect his goalkeeping because he was constantly a nuisance in goal for oppositional players despite conceding 36 goals in the first half of 2021.
A big-money switch to Arsenal occurred in the summer following a positive summer as a replacement member of England’s Euro 2020 squad, from which Ramsdale has simply raised his game quietly under the radar with nine clean sheets and all-round improvement in his play.
Ramsdale therefore is my goalkeeping pick of 2021 purely on progress across the year because others have simply dipped in recent months, although Arsenal Women’s Manuela Zinsberger has also made massive strides in the last 12 months.
Defence
Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias instantly stand out as first picks in defence because both Portuguese defenders have enjoyed an outstanding year for Manchester City, where they have been defensive rocks with exceptionally consistent all-round performances.
Cancelo in particular has been an outstanding nuisance with his overlapping runs and ability to play his part in creating attacking opportunities, whilst maintaining the defensive quality needed of a fullback when required.
Dias meanwhile has been in similar form in central defence with huge contributions in terms of passes on top of winning as many aerial battles as he has lost, whilst also contributing towards City’s wins with two assists this season which marks further progress for the defender.
Tottenham Women’s Ashleigh Neville for the second consecutive year also makes our list because she has again shown excellent consistency, especially in her tackling but her dribbling ability has also considerably improved to make her a difficult defender for teams to beat.
The final fullback position meanwhile has been difficult to fulfil but I am plumping for Trent Alexander-Arnold because at just 23 years-old, he has further grown his game as an attack-minded right-back with four goals and 18 assists in 2021.
Alexander-Arnold’s stats also are amongst the strongest in English football this year, only bettered by Cancelo but the Englishman’s crosses tally is unrivalled with Cancelo more of a passive player than in the crossing department.
I also would like to give shout outs to Alex Greenwood, Leah Williamson Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw who have also been defensive highlights of 2021 but miss out through a mixture of injury or shaky club form respectively.
Midfield
I personally feel that there hasn’t exactly been many standout midfield performances across 2021 in English Football although consistency has been high, so this has been a difficult section to single out three players who deserve a nod on this XI.
Youri Tielemans though is the first name that springs to my mind because despite scoring 11 goals this year, Tielemans has been a quiet star in midfield for Leicester with his energy on the ball and varied passing play whilst also causing trouble with long-range kicks into oppositional boxes.
Tielemans’ highlight of 2021 however definitely has to be his FA Cup Final performance because he was just a midfield nightmare with pace, positioning and attacking energy, whilst showing no nerves as he smashed in the winning goal with immense confidence.
Arsenal Women’s Beth Mead also deserves a place in this XI because although she endured a quiet first half of 2021, she has been a monstrous winger for club and country since returning from the summer break with 14 of her 18 overall goals coming in the second half of the year alone.
Another aspect of Mead’s style that has particularly impressed me is her pacey runs coupled with her attacking press, which has certainly been evident with 18 assists in total across the year in all competitions underlining her threat as both a play maker and goalscorer.
Rounding out my midfield selection is Manchester City Women’s Lauren Hemp because she has enjoyed her best year yet in the game with 17 assists and 14 goals for club and country (including two assists for Team GB at Olympics),
Like Mead, Hemp’s most important on-pitch asset has been her pacey runs and unlike other midfielders, she hasn’t been wasteful of chances with 14 of 26 shots fired onto target which makes it difficult to ignore her in this XI given her overall form.
I though can’t finish this section without acknowledging the following midfielders who have enjoyed a strong year yet just lacked that spark in my opinion to sneak onto this year’s list; Declan Rice, Bruno Fernandes, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.
Forward
This year’s forward selection was fairly easy because it is impossible to not name Chelsea Women’s Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr on the list, following their goalscoring exploits in 2021 for club and countries with a domestic treble to boot for Chelsea.
Fran Kirby certainly found her groove in 2021 with 24 goals and 12 assists for Chelsea and England in the first half of the year, yet she has still been a fiercely consistent player throughout the second half of 2021 with 32 goals in total despite her stats suggesting otherwise.
Australia’s Sam Kerr meanwhile has netted 42 goals for Chelsea and Australia in a stunning year for the Australian forward, which has seen her consistently prove a menace for numerous defenders which Team GB found out in a dramatic Olympics Quarter-Final thriller in Japan.
Completing the forward line-up is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah who has netted 39 goals across all men’s competitions for the Reds plus twice for Egypt in 2021, whilst also serving up 11 assists as he continued to light up the men’s game with his trickery on the flanks.
It was consequently tough to leave Ellen White and Raheem Sterling out because they have been absolutely terrific for England Lionesses and Lions respectively, yet have just lacked that quality for Man City overall this year to pip Salah to that final spot.
White in particular became England’s all-time highest female goalscorer this year and could make history in 2022 if she scores six international goals, which would see her become the outright record-breaking international goalscorer for England across both men and women’s game.
Manager
2021 has seen plenty of managerial achievements across English Football from Brendan Rogers guiding Leicester to FA Cup glory to Gareth Southgate taking England to a first final in 55 years.
Emma Hayes though has been on another level compared to all other managers after guiding Chelsea Women to a domestic treble, on top of a maiden Women’s Champions League Final where they were simply outclassed by Barcelona.
Hayes’ calendar year record is also impressive with just six defeats in 43 games and her team failed to find the net in just three matches throughout 2021, which is simply outstanding and further evidence of Hayes’ managerial quality in terms of tactical awareness.
Even after Chelsea unluckily crashed out of this season’s Women’s Champions League on head-to-head goal difference earlier this month, Hayes chose to be honest and explained that Coronavirus was behind their exit due to “worry and anxiety” following positive cases in the squad.
Compare that attitude with Jurgen Klopp or any other hysterical manager and Hayes certainly showed a temperament and calmness needed to handle this current fiasco, which is something that a lot of managers lack at times.
“Our heads were all over the place, we are human beings,” was another line said by Hayes after their European exit, which further highlights how grounded she is as a manager, even if she can be outspoken on issues at times which is part of her personality and in a relatable manner too.
It is therefore no surprises that Hayes has even caught the eye of Leicester City Men’s manager, Brendan Rodgers with high praise from the Northern Irishman, who didn’t disguise that he was watching the women’s game “from the outside…” rather than try play the nerd on women’s football.
Hayes has therefore had an edge in 2021 on-and-off the pitch which makes it impossible to not highlight her as the top manager of 2021 in English Football.
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