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The latest My Favourite XI is from Mark, the man behind We Only Need Nine Men, a fine blog about the League One side Dagenham & Redbridge. Mark’s included a few Daggers, naturally, but there are a few surprises too. And yes, there are 11 of them - enjoy.

Previous Favourite XI: Ben Greenwood
Next Favourite XI: Ben Shave

Goalkeeper: Tony Roberts (Dagenham & Redbridge)

Robbo is a legend at Dagenham and with very good reason. Signed in 2000 after injury ended his professional career, he’s now closing in on 500 games for the club aged 41 having previously racked up well over 100 for QPR. In the non-league game he stood head and shoulders above his peers, and it was a massive relief all round when we reached a settlement for him to play in the Football League again upon our 2007 promotion. Regularly exchanges banter with opposition fans and often shows his dancing skills when we collect 3 points, but the main thing is that he’s simply been a brilliant player for us.

Right back: Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan)

He’s been at the top of the game for almost 16 years and is still going strong. The best right-back of his generation with impressive stamina and tenacity, Channel 4′s Football Italia first beamed his talents into my living room in the 90s. His boundless energy up and down the flank coupled with his ability to keep even the trickiest wingers quiet made him a firm favourite of mine and that has remained undimmed despite his goal against England at France ’98.

Left back: Scott Griffiths (ex-Dagenham & Redbridge)

This was a close call between three of my favourite left-backs of all time - the other two being Stuart Pearce and another former Dagger, Craig Davidson. Scotty came to us from Aveley as an 18-year-old and soon broke into the first team, pretty much immovable until his transfer to Peterborough in 2010. Probably the best young player we’ve ever had, he worked hard to become a complete defender to go with his natural ability on the ball. I expected him to eventually progress to the Premiership but his career has unfortunately stalled since his move.

Centre back: Tim Cole (ex-Dagenham & Redbridge)

What Tim lacked in pace he more than made up for in other areas. He signed for us as a podgy 19-year-old and went on to become a club legend in a ten-year spell. Injury was probably the only thing that stopped him making it out of non-league which was certainly our gain. Great in the air and on the deck, his trademarks were brilliantly timed tackles and a penchant for backheaders to his own goalkeeper. Always had plenty of time for the fans too.

Centre back: Jonathan Woodgate (ex-Leeds United)

I was a big fan of Woody from pretty much the moment he came on the scene at Leeds in the late 90s. A supremely talented defender, he didn’t really have any weaknesses to his game until injury struck in 2004. He’s never really been the same again which is a massive shame for England as he would’ve surely gone on to become a stalwart of the team.

Central midfield: Cobi Jones (ex-LA Galaxy)

His pace and dribbling abilities allied to his distinctive dreadlocks make Cobi a bit of a cult figure in my eyes. Unfortunately he didn’t have the best of times at Coventry after coming onto the scene at the 1994 World Cup, but he found home at the Galaxy where he played for 12 seasons. I soon became a closet Galaxy fan, watching their matches on Channel 5′s late night coverage during my student days, and have followed their progress ever since.

Central midfield: Stuart Thurgood (ex-Dagenham & Redbridge)

A player that got right on my nerves when playing for Grays, he soon became a crowd favourite after his transfer to the Daggers. He only lasted half a season before a knee injury ended his career, but the impact he made in that short time was enormous. His boundless energy saw him first on the scene to dish out thunderous but fair tackles on anybody who tried to get near our defence. He was hard as nails, once tackling somebody with his head after having fallen to the ground. Had he lasted the whole season, I think we’d have been promoted to League One without the need for the play-offs.

Central midfield: Danny Hill (ex-Dagenham & Redbridge)

The former Tottenham player and England under-21 international was used sporadically during his time with us but was one of my favourite players. He first came to my attention playing for Spurs against us in a friendly which he bossed, and when he turned up for a pre-season trial with us a few years later I couldn’t believe our luck. His modest physical abilities meant others were often preferred in the rough-and-tumble of the Conference, but he truly caressed the ball and had superb vision. Had a vital role to play dragging us into the Conference play-offs in 2002 and scored one of the best goals I’ve ever seen, a 30-yard half-volley against Stalybridge which arrowed into the top corner.

Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

There probably isn’t much I can say about the little maestro which hasn’t been said before, so often is he eulogised. Suffice to say, to watch him play is often breathtaking.

Forward: Dennis Bergkamp (ex-Arsenal)

One of the best foreign players ever to play in England. Bergkamp was a wonderful, majestic player with sublime touch on the ball. He played a big part in Arsenal’s trophy-laden spell from 1997 to 2005 and won countless individual accolades. Often the scorer of spectacular goals, my favourites include his bamboozling of Dabizas against Newcastle in 2002, ‘that’ goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup quarter-final, and a masterful piece of skill against Leicester in 1997.

Striker: Junior McDougald (ex-Dagenham & Redbridge)

A cult figure mainly for his penchant for FA Cup goals, Junior was a mainstay of our team throughout the rise from the Ryman League to within touching distance of the Football League. He was quick, and possessed plenty of skill to go with it. His most memorable moments include the goal which secured the Ryman League title at Hampton in 2000, a game we won with 9 men to give my website its name. He scored as we held Premiership Charlton to an FA Cup draw in 2001, again the following year against Exeter and Ipswich, and yet again as we knocked Plymouth out in 2003. A back injury towards the end of that season sent his career on a downward spiral which was a real shame.

Substitutes:

David Seaman (ex-Arsenal)

Growing up, Seaman was one of my idols. He was rarely spectacular, mainly because his decision making and positioning were immaculate. It was sad to see his great career tail off in later years, but at his best he was different class.

Ian Wright (ex-Arsenal)

I was always a big fan of Wrighty due to his charisma as much as his goalscoring. A non-leaguer who made it into the pro game at 24, he is a role model for many aspiring semi-professional players. Despite his 185 goals in 288 games for Arsenal, he never got much of a crack at international level in his prime. It was pleasing to see him given a run under Hoddle in World Cup ’98 qualification, even if injury stopped him making the squad for the tournament proper. A superb goalscorer who enjoyed every goal like it was his last.

Gianfranco Zola (ex-Chelsea)

Zola narrowly lost out to Bergkamp for a place in my team. Often mentioned in the same breath, Zola had a similarly wonderful touch and also scored spectacular goals whilst providing others for team-mates. One of football’s nice guys, I think most people were rooting for him to succeed as manager of West Ham and I was sorry to see him sacked. The final forward in my squad, Zola just about beat Gabriel Batistuta, George Weah and Roberto Baggio for this spot.

Lee Matthews (ex-Dagenham & Redbridge)

On the odd occasion that both were fit at the same time, Lee was part of the best centre-back pairing in non-league alongside the previously mentioned Cole. Even though he never made it out of non-league, probably due to serious knee injuries which blighted his career, I still believe he is one of the best players to ever pull on a Daggers shirt. Strong, quick, and classy on the ball, our plentiful cup runs in the early 00s showed that he could cut it with those from a much higher standard. Edges out Lilian Thuram in my squad.

Anthony Annan (Ghana)

After the 2010 World Cup, I simply had to include one of the Black Stars. Ghana lit up the tournament with their football before being cruelly denied in the quarter-finals. Whilst others such as Kevin-Prince Boateng and Asamoah Gyan took the plaudits, Annan was the heartbeat of the side with his incredible midfield industry and hard tackling. Relatively unknown, he was suddenly linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs before Schalke secured a real bargain in a reported €2m deal. His defensive tendencies balance my bench out, meaning other favourites such as Paul Gascoigne, Mark Brennan and Jay-Jay Okocha miss out.

Tags: Antony Annan, Cobi Jones, Danny Hill, David Seaman, Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola, Ian Wright, Javier Zanetti, Jonathan Woodgate, Junior McDougald, Lee Matthews, Lionel Messi, Scott Griffiths, Stuart Thurgood, Tim Cole, Tony Roberts