Talk:List of footballers in England by number of league appearances

Inclusion of current players
Given that there aren't many current players with 500+ appearances in the Premier League or EFL, and the last discussion of whether current players should be included was over a decade ago on here, I've began adding current players which I will aim to update monthly. I have included a note which mentions players in bold are current/active players, as well as a last updated date. FilthyDon (talk) 09:47, 17 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Hi, there are now 34 currently active players in EPL and EFL on the list. I'm happy to check/update these at the end of every month but feel free to update more often if you are able/willing, thanks! ColchesterSid (talk) 20:23, 6 December 2022 (UTC)

Inconsistent inclusion of Scottish games
On checking all players listed there were 19 who only exceeded 500 appearances only because Scottish (or other non-English) games had been included - this conflicts with the page description Players removed were:


 * John McSeveney
 * also deleted for Scottish games ColchesterSid (talk) 21:01, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

Missing players to be added
I have identified 302 players to be added to the list which will bring the total number of players to 814. I'll work on this via my sandbox and upload once formatted and completed.

At that point I think it's worth opening a discussion about this page as I'm not convinced personally that making 500 appearances is a notable threshold anymore (600 would be my suggestion). Alternatively, a reformatting might help to break up the list. I also think including the season/career spans for each player would be useful (as mentioned above) — Preceding unsigned comment added by ColchesterSid (talk • contribs) 21:32, 22 October 2022 (UTC)


 * A further 25 pre-war players located will bring total numbers up to 839 ColchesterSid (talk) 22:39, 4 November 2022 (UTC)
 * A further 50 active or recently retired players identified to bring the total up to 889 ColchesterSid (talk) 12:46, 8 November 2022 (UTC)
 * I've finished searching for new names to add - 374 confirmed which I will start to upload in next couple of days ColchesterSid (talk) 18:49, 23 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 22 further active players added - I believe this now covers all active players. I'll keep an eye on a further 11 players who could pass 500 this season
 * David Worrall 498
 * Lukas Jutkiewicz 495
 * Richard Stearman 494
 * Shane Long 492
 * Rory McArdle 490
 * Ashley Young 482
 * Elliott Bennett 482
 * Lee Peltier 479
 * James Collins 479
 * David McGoldrick 478
 * Matthew Phillips 475 ColchesterSid (talk) 11:47, 29 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 27 pre-WW2 players added, I believe the list now includes every player from this era with 500+ appearances ColchesterSid (talk) 10:48, 30 November 2022 (UTC)
 * I've added a citation for every player on the list and removed a few duplicates and broken links ColchesterSid (talk) 17:10, 2 December 2022 (UTC)

2023/24 updates
There are three players unattached at the start of the season (Deeney, Sharp & Jagielka) who I have left as active for now, at least until the transfer window closes. 23 players have made appearances and I've updated their career spans but not yet appearances, goals and clubs. 9 players are contracted to clubs but have not yet featured - I'll update spans when they make first appearance of the season. Finally there 19 players who could break the 500 barrier this season - I'll add these as and when they hit 500. I'll update everything after 1st September when the transfer window closes and player statuses should be settled ColchesterSid (talk) 21:48, 14 August 2023 (UTC)


 * All appearances, goals, career spans updated to 24 August 2023. Jagielka is still a free agent so for now I have left him as an active player - similarly 8 players are under contract but not yet played this season so left as active as well - career spans will be corrected once they play first game ColchesterSid (talk) 09:08, 25 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Fully updated - 32 active players with EPL/EFL appearances in 2023/24 - I'll try to update every week. There are two additional players who have not yet appeared in a league game (Joe Murphy and James Henry) but both are under contract and either been on the bench or expected to return from injury. There are 12 players who could break the 500 barrier this season so I'll add them as and when that happens ColchesterSid (talk) 10:31, 5 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Hi Sid, I really appreciate your work on this page. Can I ask who might join the list this year? What's the best way to keep track of this? 82.8.187.31 (talk) 23:17, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks - I work off an excel sheet and update it for those players who could hit 500 through the season. I'm then ready to update WP when that happens. Players I have are:
 * Matthew Phillips 499
 * Luke Ayling 497
 * Glenn Morris 491
 * Aaron Cresswell 487
 * Scott Flinders 484
 * Oliver Norwood 484
 * Garath McCleary 484
 * Conor Hourihane 477
 * Joe Garner 476
 * Barry Bannan 476
 * Matt Ritchie 474
 * Jake Bidwell 473
 * Some of these with lower numbers can probably be scrubbed out pretty soon ColchesterSid (talk) 08:02, 29 November 2023 (UTC)