Best Football Players From West London Football Teams

West London is an intriguing hotspot of footballing talent, with a range of great players that have taken to the pitches in the former historic county of Middlesex. Four clubs make up the area’s football presence each with a unique identity. The quadrangle of clubs – Chelsea, Brentford, Queens Park Rangers and Fulham have produced some legendary footballers down the years. Here are just some of the best players to have turned out for each.

Gianfranco Zola – Chelsea

With a smile that lit up Stamford Bridge every time he scored, Gianfranco Zola made over 220 appearances for Chelsea during his seven seasons in West London, scoring 80 goals. The attacking playmaker helped the Blues to two FA Cup triumphs and a notable UEFA double winning the European Cup Winners Cup and the Super Cup in the 1997-98 season. Opposition players simply couldn’t handle the twinkle-toed genius and he became the first Chelsea star to receive the prestigious Football Writers Player of the Year Award in 1997.

Frank Lampard – Chelsea

The phenomenon that was Frank Lampard when he pulled on a blue shirt was quite possibly the greatest goal scoring midfielder during the peak of his 13 years at Chelsea. Scoring over 20 goals in five consecutive seasons between 2005 and 2010, Lampard also represented England in over 100 games. Captaining Chelsea during a Champions League win in 2012 followed by Europa League success a year later, ‘Lamps’ also scored the goal that secured the Premier League crown in 2005. That was the Blues’ first top-flight title in 50 years of which many football bettors experienced huge stakes across the country. With an increased number of people who now bet live on football, the stakes have only gotten higher with top moments in history like these being one to remember.

Sam Saunders – Brentford

Inducted into the Bees Hall of Fame, Sam Saunders is noted as one of the best players to have turned out for Brentford owing to his starring role as the club made its way up the divisions from League One to the cusp of the Premier League. Saunders was known for his wicked freekicks and on and off-pitch class, such that he became a firm terrace favourite at the club’s former Griffin Park home. One of just a handful of former players to be bestowed with the title ‘Mr Brentford’, Saunders made over 200 appearances for the Bees, scoring 30 goals!

Jim Towers – Brentford

Brentford’s all-time top scorer, Jim Towers was voted the club’s greatest player of them all in 2013. Forming a formidable partnership with fellow Bee, George Francis, the pair became known as the ‘Terrible Twins’ and scored 299 goals between them in just eight seasons. As a centre forward, Towers hit 163 of those between 1954 and 1961 in the days when the club hovered around the lower reaches of the old Third Division. With such a remarkable remembrance for Jim Towers, it is thanks to him that many amazing goal scorers today have that passion for football today, continuing his great legacy.

Stan Bowles – Queens Park Rangers

Regularly voted as QPR’s best player of all time, Stan Bowles played over 300 games for the Loftus Road club. During his time wearing the No. 10 shirt for the Hoops, Bowles found the back of the net 70 times and was an integral part of the QPR team that stormed to the Division Two title in 1975 before finishing runners-up in the top flight the following season. Only Liverpool prevented the R’s from claiming the ultimate prize in English football that season but it remains QPR’s best-ever placing. The tales of Bowles’ exploits are as legendary as his skill for scoring goals- many of which have been marked as memorable moments in the history of football.

Les Ferdinand – Queens Park Rangers

‘Sir Les’ as he will forever be affectionately known in West London featured in eight seasons between 1986 and 1995 for QPR during the period in which the club rose from the second tier into the Premier League. This was a boom time for QPR before bust would follow, coinciding with Ferdinand’s departure from Loftus Road in 1995. Strong, quick and with a gravity-defying spring, the 17-cap England striker hit 80 goals in a little over 160 games during his time in the famous hooped shirt.

Johnny Haynes – Fulham

Capped for England on 56 occasions, Johnny Haynes is considered to be one of the finest inside-forwards the country ever produced. During the 1950s and 60s, the Londoner played 657 times for Fulham. Born just a few miles from Craven Cottage, Haynes scored 157 goals and was pivotal in the Fulham teams that gained promotion to the First Division in 1959 and stayed in the top flight for a decade thereafter. Haynes was a firm favourite with Fulham fans and his time in West London is forever remembered with a statue outside Craven Cottage.

Louis Saha – Fulham

Louis Saha earns his place as one of Fulham’s greatest by virtue of being the most talented player to have played for the club in the Premier League era. A French international with 20 caps, Saha played the best football of his career while at Craven Cottage with almost a goal every other game in 117 appearances. It was Saha who thrust Fulham into the Premier League for the first time, finding the net 32 times in his maiden season for the club in 2001- which was certainly a huge moment in history for the football team!