Now that I have christened a top ten players in Louisville City history, the logical next step is to announce the best XI in team history. You would think this is just as simple as taking the top ten and adding an extra player, and for the most part you would be correct….But it also was not that easy. This franchise’s history is so rich that you have all-league players sitting on the bench. Hell, this bench would register as the best players in team history for several other franchises. So here we go….
Ranjitsingh
Oscar Totsch Craig JoGo
Paolo Niall
GD4 Magnus Ownby
Cam
Bench: Ben Lundt, Josh Wynder, Speedy Williams, Wes Charpie, Wilson Harris, Kyle Smith, Kadeem Dacres
The hardest decisions here were who to pair with Sean Totsch at Centerback and who rounds out the attacking trio with Magnus and Ownby. Yes, I did rank Josh ahead of Paco Craig in my top ten list, but that was in part to the symbolism Josh provided as an Academy player making his way to Europe. Paco outranks Josh in appearances, 85-38, scored 5 more goals, and earned 3 All-league accolades while also winning two championships. As hypocritical as it may sound, for a best XI, Paco makes the cut, crap he just got a yellow.
The other difficult decision was who to play in the attacking half opposite Magnus and Ownby. The wing opposite Brian Ownby has been a sore spot for the team for many moons. The best pure talent at that position outside of Brian Ownby might be year 1 fan favorite Kadeem Dacres, but he struggled with consistency, fitness, and overall motivation. I took a long hard look at Ray Serrano for the position, but he has struggled to find consistency with just 11 goals in 84 appearances. I settled on George Davis IV for a number of reasons, but consistency is the main one. George netted 23 goals in 123 appearances, won two championships, and continues to assist the community to this day.
It was also an internal discussion about who to pair with Paolo in the midfield. You would think club legend Niall McCabe is an open and shut case, but not with Speedy Williams in the wings. Niall is the symbol of the franchise and the sole day 1 player remaining, but Speedy brings the same number of titles and an all-league first-team selection in 2020. Initially there was never a second thought to including Niall, but Speedy’s resume made it a bit more of a debate than I intended.
The bench was difficult as well. The decision for backup keeper was arduous. On one side you have hometown keeper Chris Hubbard, who has a title to his name and 45 appearances. The other side is Ben Lundt, a loanee with 27 appearances and no title, but does have an all-league first-team appearance and 2020 Goalkeeper of the Year award. The decision to go with Lundt was due to his resume but also for his 6’6 frame and overall ridiculous shot stopping ability. Hubbard had a real shout for me simply because it never felt like Lundt was truly a LouCity player as a loanee.
Charpie and Josh make it easily as backup central defenders as does Kyle Smith, the longtime Right back who registered over 80 appearances and 8 goals.
Wilson Harris was another easy inclusion over Matt Fondy with his 53 goals and with the best shot to potentially unseat Cam Lancaster as franchise leading goal scorer.
Corner Kicks with Cecil 
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