We look at the best players who have worked their way up the football pyramid…
After former Ilkeston man Che Adams’ brace for Sheffield United in Wednesday night’s Capital One Cup semi-final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur we got thinking, who are the best players to work their way up to the Premier League from the bottom of the football pyramid?
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Here’s our top five…
5) Charlie Austin
Former bricklayer and Poole Town man, goal machine Charlie Austin earned himself a scoring reputation at Swindon Town and Burnley – and he now can’t stop scoring for QPR having netted 13 times this season already.
4) Stuart Pearce
Stuart ‘Psycho’ Pearce started out at Wealdstone, but made the huge step up to the Premier League as he was poached by Coventry City. He went on to have a distinguished career for club and country and in 1985 got the chance to play under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest where he became a club legend.
3) Chris Waddle
Later in his career he was a mainstay of the England side, but Chris Waddle started out at Tow Law Town where he also worked in a sausage-seasoning factory. The mulleted midfielder eventually got a move to second division Newcastle United and later Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday – where he won football of the year in 1993.
2) Les Ferdinand
‘Sir Les’ played for Southall and Hayes before being spotted by QPR in 1987 and bought for a fee of £15,000. Ferdinand fired the Hoops to the top division and after moving to Newcastle very nearly won the Premier League title whilst also scoring on his England debut.
1) Ian Wright
The Arsenal legend played for non-league teams including Greenwich Borough and Dulwich Hamlet until he was nearly 22 years old. He was bought by Crystal Palace in 1985 for the price of a set of weights and scored 117 goals over six years. Wright then moved to the Gunners, where he is second on their all-time top goalscorer charts, and won 33 England caps.