Guest Series: Ben Strevens Best XI

To end the month I'm beginning with a new series of articles. Former Barnet, Dagenham, Brentford and Gillingham striker Ben Strevens has picked the best eleven players he played with during a career which spanned just over 600 games.

Here's who the current Eastleigh boss has selected:

GK – Wojciech Szczesny – Came on loan to Brentford from Arsenal, you could tell straight away he was going to play at the top level.

RB – Ian Hendon – Was my captain at Barnet when we won promotion, leader in all aspects. Good 1v1 and excellent going forward.

LB – Ryan Dickson – At Brentford only played one season with him before he moved to Southampton but was athletic and full of energy.

CB – Simon King – Lovely left foot and very good defender. Convinced if he didn’t get injured, he would have played at least in the Championship.

CB – Adam Barrett – Only played a short while with him at Gillingham, but also a proper leader and very good defender.

RW – Sam Saunders – Played with him at Dagenham and Brentford. Very good crosser of a ball and also the delivery from dead ball situations. Went on to play in the Championship.

LW – Darren Currie – Best chop and two footed player I played with. Looked after me when I was a young lad at Barnet.

CM – Matt Ritchie – I’ve put him at centre mid just to get him in my team! Could tell he was special, his left foot could do anything. Currently at Newcastle Utd

CM – Nicky Bailey – Was only a young lad at Barnet. Was so competitive would boil over at times, but could tackle, dribble and score goals.

CF – Paul Benson – Was brilliant to play with, could hold the ball, run the channels and most importantly score all sorts of goals.

CF – Giuliano Grazioli – All round great bloke that helped me loads on and off the pitch. Knew if we got a chance it was a goal. Was incredible for us the season we won the league at Barnet.

My thanks to Ben for his input, there are more to come from a couple of National League managers in the next month.