5 football icons with no top division league titles

#1 Sir Stanley Matthews

Sir Stanley Matthews

Sir Stanley Matthews is celebrated as one of the greatest British footballers in history. A career spanning three decades and two years with two spells at Stoke City and a few years at Blackpool, Matthews managed 697 league appearances scoring 71 times.

With 54 England caps, Matthews was one of England's most recognisable footballers for the vast majority of his career. Playing on the right side of pitch, Matthews was a skillful player who drew large crowds wherever he played, often just there to see him play.

He won one FA Cup in 1953 with Blackpool in a match labelled as the Stanley Matthews Final. Such was his influence on the press!

Despite his magnificent profile, Matthews played for Stoke in the Second Division after he left Blackpool. Since his retirement, he left for South Africa where he began coaching a side of black boys and organised tournaments and tours for his side.

Matthews was called 'a black man with a white face' by his team 'Stans Men captain Gilbert Moiloa. Matthews left an imprint beyond football in the Apartheid strangled South Africa.

He was a true man, who stood in the face of oppression and helped in his own way. His down to earth nature was very popular among people and he was voted Blackpool's greatest hero.

He remains the only player to have been knighted as an active footballer, getting the honour in 1965.