SPL Trivia: The top ten English players by SPL appearances

Alan Thompson is one of the most frequently appearing Englishmen.SNS Group

We've fairly extensively focused on the Scottish players who have moved down south on this here SPL trivia, but what about those who have hopped the border northwards?

More "foreign" players have come to the SPL from the other home nations than any other part of the world, so this week we're looking at the Englishmen who have plied their trade in Scotland.

As ever, there have to be rules to these things. We've ruled out any players who were born in England but went on to play for other countries. That excludes the likes of Billy Mehmet and Simon Ford, who in the eyes of the footballing world are Irish and Jamaican.

So, who are the top ten...

John Sutton - 189 appearances for Dundee, St Mirren, Motherwell and Hearts

While Sutton Jnr could well hit the 200 appearances by the end of the season, he's already well past his elder brother when it comes to SPL showings.

Steve Lovell - 186 appearances for Dundee, Aberdeen and Falkirk

Striker Lovell spent the most prolific years of his career in the SPL, regularly hitting the net for Dundee before moving to Aberdeen, where he helped them progress to the last 16 in the Europa League. A final SPL fling at Falkirk further added to his total.

Michael Higdon - 166 appearances for Falkirk, St Mirren and Motherwell

The Motherwell striker is another who is likely to add to his total, and could well force himself into second place on this list before the end of the season.

Chris Hogg - 162 for Hibernian and Inverness CT

The English defender racked up most of his SPL appearances while at Hibernian, briefly captaining the side. He also made appearances for England at under 19 level.

Lee Makel - 161 for Hearts, Livingston and Dunfermline

Just one place behind is midfielder Makel, who was at Blackburn during their Premiership title win in 1994/95. Most of his SPL appearances came whilst at Livingston.

Alan Thompson - 158 for Celtic

The highest ranking Englishman with just one club, Thompson was capped for England while at Celtic and is fondly remembered for his goals from midfield.

Chris Sutton - 130 for Celtic

Sutton Snr may not have managed quite as many appearances in the SPL, but he did make all of his showings for the same club.

Danny Grainger - 125 for Gretna, Dundee United, St Johnstone and Hearts

Another who will add to his tally is full-back Grainger, currently of Hearts. The defender made the bulk of his SPL appearances while at Dundee United.

Tom Hateley - 121 for Motherwell

Yes, he was born in Monaco, but until they create their own national football side he counts as English by virtue of his parents. A virtually unbroken run of matches has seen Hateley rise to the top ten rapidly. If he keeps it up at this rate he'll make the upper echelons sooner rather than later.

David Murphy - 107 for Hibernian

The Hartlepool-born full back started his career at Middlesbrough before moving to Hibernian in 2004. He managed 107 appearances for the Easter Road side and now holds down the same role at Birmingham City.

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