It’s the Merseyside Derby this weekend but there’s an argument that the rivalry between the two sides isn’t quite as fierce as it once was.Many years ago, both Liverpool and Everton would be full of local lads that just loved to hate the other side of the city.This weekend, there will be very few scousers on the pitch with international stars bringing a certain glitz and glamour to the clash.But what would it look like if they could only play local players? And by local players, we mean players who were born closer to their stadium than any other stadium.How on earth do you work that out?Well, one Twitter account has done just that - Out of Context Football Manager.For all 92 clubs in the English league, they found every professional player born locally and put them into their squad. They even placed a local manager in charge. We can’t imagine how long that took.They then simulated an entire 92 team league so that everyone played each other once.
How did the final table look?
We’ll allow you to read the entire thread yourself but here’s the top 20:
20 | Sheffield United
Key players: Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Gary Cahill
19 | Harrogate Town
Key players: Ben Godfrey, Lewis Cook
18 | Coventry
Key players: James Maddison, Callum Wilson, Ben Foster
17 | Everton
Key players: Ross Barkley, Jack O’Connell, Wayne Rooney, Tom Davies, Leighton Baines
16 | Leeds
Key players: Erling Haaland, James Milner, Kalvin Phillips, Aaron Lennon
15 | Charlton
Key players: Chris Smalling, Bradley Dack, Jermain Defoe
14 | Birmingham
Key players: Jack Grealish, Nathan Redmond, Demarai Gray, Troy Deeney, Daniel Sturridge
13 | AFC Wimbledon
Key players: Will Hughes, Luke Shaw, Declan Rice
12 | Watford
Key players: Harry Winks, Adam Lallana, Theo Walcott
11 | Liverpool
Key players: Trent Alexander-Arnold
10 | Manchester United
Key players: Marcus Rashford, Danny Drinkwater
9 | Chelsea
Key players: Ademola Lookman, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Michail Antonio, Nathaniel Clyne
8 | Manchester City
Key players: Phil Foden, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, Danny Welbeck
7 | Arsenal
Key players: Steven Alzate
6 | Tottenham
Key players: Kyle Walker-Peters, Marcus Edwards, Reece Oxford, Angel Gomes
5 | Leyton Orient
Key players: Harry Kane, Reece James, Joe Willock, Rhian Brewster
4 | Crystal Palace
Key players: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jack Cork, Emile Smith Rowe
3 | West Ham
Key players: Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Jonjo Shelvey, Andros Townsend, Mark Noble
2 | Newcastle
Key players: Sean Longstaff, Paul Dummett, Andy Carroll, Adam Armstrong
1 | Millwall
Key players: Joe Gomez, Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham, Ryan Loftus-Cheek, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Ryan Bertrand, Joe Aribo
So, Millwall are the best team in England if you can only field local players - and it’s not surprising when you look at their entire squad.
They picked up 217 points from their 91 matches, beating Newcastle to the title by eight points.
Check out the full table below:
Incredible work from Out of Context Football Manager.