2023 English Football XI

As 2023 draws to a close, it is time to reflect on the stand-out stars of a thrilling year in English Football in the yearly XI.

Across the last 12 months, Manchester City and Chelsea dominated the men and women’s game respectively amidst fierce opposition from Arsenal and Manchester United respectively, whilst various clubs like Newcastle and Aston Villa sprung surprises.

England Women meanwhile won Arnold Clark Cup and Women’s Finalissima titles, and became the first England team to reach a senior World Cup Final since the men in 1966, in what has been a memorable year for the national teams as the men’s team qualified for UEFA Euro 2024.

Now, here is a look at who has made the 2023 English Football XI with some positions proving tougher than others in a competitive year.

 

Goalkeeper – Mary Earps (Manchester United)

2023 has simply been Earps’ year as far as the goalkeeping department goes because she achieved a rare double Golden Glove brace – having kept the most clean sheets in WSL last season and three clean sheets at Women’s World Cup.

Earps also helped England win Arnold Clark Cup and Women’s Finalissima titles, during which she crucially saved two of Brazil’s penalties in the latter event before she kept England in the Women’s World Cup Final with a penalty save despite their eventual defeat.

16 clean sheets and 73 saves in total for Man Utd and England further underlines how strong a year Earps has had, with her best performance coming in England’s tense Round of 16 win over Nigeria which saw her save the Lionesses’ blushes in a nervy contest.

It is therefore little wonder that Earps has won major awards including BBC Sports Personality of the Year for her performances in a fantastic year for her, because she has simply been outstanding on and off the pitch in 2023.

 

Defence – Pedro Porro (Tottenham), Ashleigh Neville (Tottenham), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)

Having began his year initially as part of Sporting Lisbon before a deadline day move to Tottenham, Pedro Porro has quietly enjoyed a strong year at right-back with a series of energetic yet creative performances – which saw him score three goals and create nine assists to earn a spot in this XI.

Tottenham Women’s Ashleigh Neville again has been super consistent throughout the year despite being overlooked for the national team, with the defender topping the WSL stats for tackles made and successful tackles in another impressive but underrated 12 months.

Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock meanwhile has spent the year quietly underrated because despite finding himself in Ben Mee’s shadow in the first half of the year, he has raised his game in the latter half topping the clearances stats in the Premier League and consistent high in defensive stats.

Left-back has been a tricky position this year with players like Rico Henry, Dan Burn and Andrew Robertson, yet Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier showed his versatility to fill at left-back on occasions whilst contributing to the Magpies’ attack with 12 assists in another strong year for him.

 

Midfield – Declan Rice (West Ham/Arsenal), Lewis Miley (Newcastle United) 

2023 has certainly been an unbelievable year for Declan Rice as he helped West Ham to the UEFA Europa Conference League title, before he became the most expensive English transfer in his move to Arsenal this summer amidst consistent performances at the heart of midfield.

Rice’s defensive ability as a midfielder in particular marked him out as one of the best midfielders in 2023 because when West Ham and Arsenal weren’t on the attack, he dug in to help his defence out with interceptions, blocks and tackles with incredible consistency largely unmatched.

Lewis Miley might seem a bizarre pick given that he is only 17 years-old but this young player deserves to be singled out, because he has slotted excellently into Newcastle’s midfield despite his inexperience due to an injury crisis yet delivered quality performances against top teams like PSG.

Miley also has managed to produce one senior goal and two assists in his 12 appearances this season  amidst incredible maturity and level-headed calmness at his young age, surrounded by top players like Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton and constant flurry of games.

 

Forward – Harry Kane (Tottenham/Bayern Munich), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Rachel Daly (Aston Villa)

In a year when he became England’s top goalscorer, it is hard to overlook Harry Kane because he has been at his imperious best with 27 goals in total this year within English Football, having scored nine goals for England and 18 for Tottenham prior to his move to Bayern Munich.

Not even his move to Bayern could stop him smashing in the goals with 25 further goals to his name in 2023 across club and country combined, underlining why he is one of English football’s best in-form strikers even when he plays aboard.

Up there with Kane is Manchester City’s treble winner, Erling Haaland who has managed 44 goals and 11 assists across 2023 in another memorable year for the Norwegian, who continued to be a utter nightmare for oppositional defences in both scoring goals and his playmaking assists.

In fact it is hard to imagine City achieving the trebele plus FIFA Club World Cup success if not for Haaland’s contribution with his raw speed and intelligent play to involve his teammates, whereas most other forwards would go for goal constantly.

Chelsea Women’s Sam Kerr has enjoyed another impressive year because when she hasn’t been sidelined with injury, she has been once again a fearsome striker with 29 goals in total plus a WSL and Women’s FA Cup double.

Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly has again been sensational with 35 goals in total for Aston Villa and England – of which 32 goals were scored for Villa, which made it impossible to leave her out of the XI such has been her consistency and ability to cause issues across the pitch with her versatility.

Kerr also had a habit of delivering crucial match winners including twice against Man Utd to ultimately deny the Red Devils their first WSL and Women’s FA Cup titles, as well as a crucial winner in their Women’s FA Cup semi-final at Aston Villa in a scrappy contest.

 

Manager – Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)

Whilst managers like Eddie Howe, Roberto De Zerbi and Carla Ward have punched above their weights in 2023, Pep Guardiola has been unrivalled after he guided Manchester City to a historic haul of five trophies in a single calendar year.

Sat seven points adrift of Premier League leaders, Arsenal at the chimes of 2023, Guardiola managed to guide City to a third straight league title with a run of one defeat in 17 games from mid-January, which saw them eventually retain their crown with a five-point gap to the Gunners.

Although the League Cup got away from them in the Quarter-Finals at Southampton, City went on to cruise to the FA Cup title largely unchallenged aside from a scrappy Fourth Round win over Arsenal, prior to a clinical Ilkay Gundogan brace in the final against Man Utd.

A domestic double would of been a strong achievement but Guardiola’s City finally ended their Champions League hoodoo with dominant Quarter and Semi-Finals wins over Bayern and Real Madrid, before they edged past AC Milan in a nervy final.

UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup success eventually capped an unbelievable year for City and Guardiola, whose tactical versatility and risk-taking has been key to success with gambles like set-piece variety and double-pivot tactics paying off.

Whilst a case could be made for Emma Hayes or Marc Skinner after their exploits with Chelsea and Man Utd in the women’s game, or Rob Edwards for guiding Luton to promotion to the Premier League, Guardiola simply shone above every manager this year in managerial achievements.