Eastenders
History:
This London based team are the real draw; the Barcelona of this line-up, and although they are not as amusing to watch as that club they are sexier than their rival over in Manchester, they are a far more glamorous and much more entertaining team. It’s no exaggeration to say that theirs is a formidable backstory and they have the trophy cabinet to prove it, with a record number of awards and gongs, and a collection of reputable names going back 31 years.
Likely Line-Up:
This is another ever-evolving first team squad, but one that is notable for being racially, culturally and ethnically diverse. It does, however, have four stalwarts, two hailing from the same family, the Beale’s, of whom Ian is the best known if not the best liked. His record number of appearances is shared with other current first team regular Dot Cotton.
Sevco Connection:
A couple of very slim ones.
First, their fans can feel some minor kinship with Ian Beale as he’s a former bankrupt who’s had some run-ins with HMRC and he’s also been used and abused by a variety of dodgy characters over time. Dot Cotton has also spent periods of time without being in the squad, like Niko Kranjcar at his former clubs, and she’s also known to be a grass. Like Lee Wallace. In fact, she would be perfect foil for their first team, with her advancing years, bad eyes and dodgy knees.
She recently signed a three year deal though, which means a transfer fee would probably be involved.
In addition to this, Eastenders’ current first team regular Danny Dyer has visited Ibrox when Rangers played there and interviewed some of their fans for a documentary, but that was partly about us so it might not actually count.
Injuries or otherwise missing:
Ooooft a lot. Like with the Coronation Street team, you could go on all day long. First team stalwart Peggy Mitchell has departed the scene recently, feet first, and a number of other regulars pop in and out like kids who stay next door to a sweetie shop.
Celtic Connection:
As with Coronation Street this one could go on and on and on. From former first team stars with Celtic in their hearts (most notably Martine McCutcheon, who you would never tire of watching parade around in the famous green and white) to the spell, a couple of years back now, when a backroom team member was slipping Celtic memorabilia into scenes, such as when Ian Beale’s café temporarily boasted a picture of the King of Kings in his Celtic top.