As football around the country becomes increasingly globalised, the identity of many of the bigger teams has been lost. Here is an attempt at taking football back to its roots, with the best football players to come from the Isle of Wight.
Kieron Baker
Born in Ryde, Baker is the only goalkeeper on this list, playing his football primarily at Bournemouth but also spending some time in Canada. The now 73-year-old made his professional debut in the 1969-70 season for the Cherries, who were then known as Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic, a campaign in which they were relegated to the fourth tier of English football. In all, Baker made 217 appearances over 11 years for the Dorset side, the most for one club of anyone on this list.
Baker started his career at Fulham in 1965, a year before his nation England went on to win their one and only World Cup trophy. Gareth Southgate will be hoping his side can repeat this feat in Qatar and the Three Lions are one of the favourites in the World Cup odds at just 8/1 to be victorious. A more likely outcome would be Harry Kane to be top scorer in the competition, with the Spurs forward priced at 7/1 in the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot odds. While Baker’s specialty involved saving rather than scoring, he will undoubtedly be cheering on Kane and co. in Qatar.
Carla Ward
While WSL fans may be familiar with Ward for her managerial career, the former midfielder started her playing days at Torquay United. Ward had a year in Spain with Sporting Plaza de Angel before returning home in 2007 for a brief few months with Leeds United followed by four years at Lincoln.
Ward’s most successful stint as a player came with Sheffield FC, where she surpassed the 100-goal mark in over 200 appearances for the club. Naturally, she then went on to manage Sheffield United, taking them to successive 5th and 2nd place finishes which earnt her a move to Birmingham City. Ward steered City away from relegation from the WSL before announcing her resignation after just one season in charge. She was appointed Aston Villa boss in May 2021.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>"It's testament to the staff and the players."<a href=”https://twitter.com/cwardy7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@cwardy7</a> on receiving the Manager of the Month award for September! 👊 <a href=”https://t.co/h4rPNGNzPY”>pic.twitter.com/h4rPNGNzPY</a></p>— Aston Villa Women (@AVWFCOfficial) <a href=”https://twitter.com/AVWFCOfficial/status/1580612832302927880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Aaron Martin
Undoubtedly the biggest mover on this list, Martin has played for 11 different teams and has moved 14 times over the course of his career, four of them loans. His latest transfer was in July 2022 when he made a sensational return to National League side Eastleigh from Port Vale, returning to the Hampshire side where he started his career, some 13 years after leaving. He was announced as club captain shortly before the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Born in Newport, Martin’s most notable appearances include being part of a Southampton team that won promotion to the Premier League when they finished second in the Championship in 2011-12. Martin made 17 appearances and scored twice in all competitions that season, and formed an impressive partnership with future-Euros winner Jose Fonte of Portugal.
➡️MORE OUTGOINGS➡️#PVFC defender Aaron Martin has joined National League side Eastleigh in a permanent deal.
What do you make of this Vale fans?
(📸@officialPVFC/@TeeGeePix pic.twitter.com/owFt8xZFso
— BBC Radio Stoke Sport (@BBCStokeSport) July 8, 2022
While the Isle of Wight has produced some serious talent in both the men’s and women’s game, the continued efforts of the local footballing community are sure to produce more stars in years to come.
