Now in its fourth year, the Hall of Fame has grown in stature and is now firmly established as a premier occasion in the English Football calendar.

A further 10 names were inducted into the Hall of Fame at a star studded ceremony at Manchester's Lowry Hotel on the 20th October.

The 2005 Hall of Fame inductees were announced as: Howard Kendall, Walter Winterbottom, Colin Bell, Ian Wright, Ryan Giggs, John Barnes, Jack Charlton, Bert Trautmann, Alex James and Debbie Bampton.

Richard Cuthbert, Museum Spokesman said: "The Museum's annual Hall of Fame event is eagerly anticipated as a wonderful opportunity to honour those players and managers whose careers have brought so much joy to so many."

The event was hosted by BBC television's Ray Stubbs and Celina Hinchcliffe and was attended by several of the new intake of inductees and Hall of Famers from previous years. Also in attendance at the ceremony were a number of families of inductees sadly no longer with us. Their support of the Hall of Fame, as a forum for remembering the great names of yesteryear, ensured an emotive evening was enjoyed by all.

Guests on the night included: Ian Wright, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Charlton, Viv Anderson, Colin Bell, Bert Trautmann, Jack Charlton, Howard Kendall, Alan Ball, Peter Lorimer, Kevin Ratcliffe, Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan, Debbie Bampton, Sue Lopez and Bryan Robson.

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) who are the headline sponsor of the Hall of Fame event, said: “The NWDA is pleased to support the prestigious Hall of Fame awards, which celebrate England 's rich sporting heritage. England 's Northwest is the birthplace of professional football making it the perfect location for the National Football Museum and it's Hall of Fame. I am particularly excited about this year's inductees, all of whom have made an outstanding contribution to English Football.”

The Museum once again assembled a superlative selection panel to deliberate over who should be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005. The inimitable group comprised amongst others: Sir Trevor Brooking, Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Tom Finney and Sir Bobby Robson.

Cuthbert continued: "I am sure in making the decisions many wonderful memories were rekindled for the selection panel of some of the game's greatest characters, players, managers and moments. It is exactly these memories that the Hall of Fame seeks to preserve for future generations to learn about the history of football."

“These awards are now English football's Oscars.” Cuthbert added, but he realises that not everyone will agree with the Selection Panel's choices “It's a very emotive subject and we will be taking calls for the next few months from people demanding to know why their favourite player was not included. But this kind of open debate keeps football's past in the public eye and for that we should be grateful.”

German Soccer Legend Bert Trautmann & Knight Of Football Sir Tom Finney Unveil Trautmanns 1956 Neck Brace At The National Football Museum. More...

Inaugural inductee Paul Gascoigne presented with his Hall of Fame trophy. More...