Essien should be there, maybe Makelele too.
The Telegraph's Top 25 players to ever grace the Premier League
- Thread starter BlueCelery
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
Henry should be first for me. Then Ronaldo. I don't see why Giggs' longevity should earn him a place above the Frenchman or many of the others in the list for that matter. And where is Agüero?
It is very impressive but he never reached Henry's and Ronaldo's sensational level. Shearer is a hard one for me. Clearly his stats shows that he perhaps should be top but Ronaldo and Henry (and Suárez for a short while) were far more exciting to watch overall.
Bit of a shit list really. If we are going on people who contributed to the premier league, then I'd have:
1. Giggs
2. Scholes
3. Ronaldo
4. Keane
5. Neville
6. Rooney
7. Cantona
8. Henry
9. Schmichael
10. Ferdinand
To have so few United players high up is silly. We've been by far the best team. to exclude Evra, Vidic, De Gea, Irwin and Carrick off there is madness.
1. Giggs
2. Scholes
3. Ronaldo
4. Keane
5. Neville
6. Rooney
7. Cantona
8. Henry
9. Schmichael
10. Ferdinand
To have so few United players high up is silly. We've been by far the best team. to exclude Evra, Vidic, De Gea, Irwin and Carrick off there is madness.
Still think Denis Irwin is the best full-back of the PL era so far, so he should be on the list.
Would swap Giggs with Henry, and put Aguero somewhere there.
I think that longevity matters and Ronaldo shouldn't be in top 5 considering that he gave just 3 great seasons in England.
Kompany above Vidic is absurd. Both Evra and Irwin should be ahead of Neville IMO.
I think that longevity matters and Ronaldo shouldn't be in top 5 considering that he gave just 3 great seasons in England.
Kompany above Vidic is absurd. Both Evra and Irwin should be ahead of Neville IMO.
Crap list and very strange. Giggs for me was never a GOAT EPL player even at our own club (i.e. our best player in the EPL era), let alone for everyone else. He is there for longevity reasons only, Ronaldo and Henry should be in the top 2.
Evra 100% deserves to be there ahead of Kompany too.
You would really have Gary Neville above Henry?
IMO the list is quite fair. Tough call whether Henry or Giggs should be top, could go either way. As many have mentioned Aguero should probably be there. Vidic maybe, but hard to look past Adams. Would have to be at the expense of Kompany. Other than that, I think Beckham should have been somewhat higher - perhaps where Toure is.
Why should Suarez be higher? Only had one great season really and won feck all.
2 great seasons. On 12-13 he was great, IMO the best player in the league despite that Bale won the award (Bale was the best in the second half of the season, but during the entire course of the season, I think that both him and RVP were better).
Him winning feck all makes his position justified there IMO.
I actually think that the list is alright. Would have Aguero, Vidic, RvN and Evra (or Irwin) above Kompany, Yaya, Cole and Neville but otherwise it is fine IMO.
Typical revisionism. Ronaldo is a level above Giggs. And what were these consistent 30+/ assists and goals seasons?
I would go with:
1. Messi
2. Ronaldo
3. Xavi
4. Ronaldinho
5. Iniesta
6. Raul
7. Zidane
8. Casillas
9. Puyol
10. Figo
Kompany 
Actually, he is a few levels above Giggs, but in EPL he had 3 great seasons (1 out of this world), a good one and two frustrating one. Giggs had 20 good seasons, which put him higher in an EPL list IMO.
I think that Henry should be in the first place cause he had 7 great seasons (arguably each of them being better than any season of Giggs).
great thing about football is it brings out everyones personal opinions, its a hard thing to judge something like this as you really need some sort of criteria to work from, could be which 25 players have won the most league titles, who has scored the most goals, who was the most entertaining, could be from players who won the player of the year award and plenty other options for criteria, the list aint to bad, would have around 18 out of the 25 i think, would be adding in the likes of Irwin, Vidic, VDS, RVN, Aguero, Essien, Makelele, could even argue a case for Mahrez from last season's stunning season. without a certain criteria seems its just one guys personal opinion.
Kompany sticks out like a sore thumb there. Perhaps Suarez and Toure too but I guess it's down to their scoring records in their respective positions.
The subjectivity with these lists always evolves around how much weight you give longevity vs. peak performance.
If it was simply a question of who played at the highest level in any sort reasonable time period (a few months - a season) then the answer for me would be Suarez of 13-14. I don't think anyone reached that level in the PL before, either statistically or aesthetically.
If you want the blend with longevity, which is another question, then it's Henry all day for me.
If it was simply a question of who played at the highest level in any sort reasonable time period (a few months - a season) then the answer for me would be Suarez of 13-14. I don't think anyone reached that level in the PL before, either statistically or aesthetically.
If you want the blend with longevity, which is another question, then it's Henry all day for me.
Ronaldo of 06-08 was definitely better, and Henry as well but I'd struggle to pinpoint specific years for him.
Longevity vs Peak level is always tough to manage in these things.
Bale, Ronaldo and Henry definitely reached those levels.
As long as Zola isn't in there I'm fine.
Irwin - better than Cole and GNev
Vidic - should be in*
Drogba - tad generous imo, big game player yes but. ....
*Not at the expense of Tony Adams though, Adams was a better player for far longer than Vida
Irwin - better than Cole and GNev
Vidic - should be in*
Drogba - tad generous imo, big game player yes but. ....
*Not at the expense of Tony Adams though, Adams was a better player for far longer than Vida
Irwin should be ahead of Neville, Aguero instead of Cole. Rooney is to low down the list, I'd have him ahead of Bergkamp and Scholes is number one.
I actually agree with this 100%. But I held back and only said one level so as not to sound like I'm bashing Giggs' contributions. And yes, in terms of overall contribution to the league Giggs is probably #1 but my question was simply if Giggs was ever anywhere near Ronaldo 07/08, in fact I don't believe Giggs ever reached the level of Ronaldo of 06/07 but that's a closer call.
I'm having a hard time understanding what this list is based on. If it's on how good the player is, Ronaldo and Henry should be 1 & 2. If it's based on contribution to the league, Kompany shouldn't be anywhere on it.
Last edited:
Irwin is one of the most underrated footballers ever.
Everything in this post is wrong. All of it.
Because he was bloody awesome, and still is bloody awesome, so he's a good player that didn't do a one-season wonder. I am thinking on the basis of quality though.
Accomplishments in other leagues doesn't matter otherwise Ronaldo would've been a clear winner.
I wouldn't call that a 'best ever' list. More so a 'best ever - but longevity is more important".
I don't think so. Suarez got 31 goals and 12 assists in 33 PL games while his general play was also dazzling, bringing the best out of many players around him. He dragged an average team to within an inch of the PL title. None of Ronaldo or Henry's peak seasons in the PL match it IMO.
Nah, just not true at all.
Why is Vidic not on this list?
I do agree that Suarez was arguably the best individual season from any EPL player, arguably surpassing Ronaldo 07/08 and Henry 03/04. Especially when you consider the 'quality' he was working with in contrast.
I'm actually underselling Suarez a bit.
He scored 31 non penalty goals in 33 appearances for an average side. In Ronaldo and Henry's best goal scoring seasons (which still don't better Suarez's ratio), they had their goal stats padded by a handful of penalties.
I know it's hard to admit to yourself, but Suarez really was that good that season.
I have to hand it to you, you truly have a special (and deluded) bias towards Man Utd unlike almost anything I've ever seen.
Cantona should be no.1, he absolutely won all Premier League titles he took part in (full season)
So you want to take penalties out of the equation but you're happy to include 5 goals against Norwich and a lack of goals against top level opposition?
Your attempt to indicate bias in that last sentence is laughable, I'm not saying Suarez wasn't good I'm simply pointing out that Ronaldo and Henry both had much better seasons.
'Much better seasons' is really stretching it. I can see why people would rate the Ronaldo and Henry seasons higher but 'much better'? No way.
Look at the teams they played in in comparison to Suarez!
Look at the teams they played in in comparison to Suarez!
Vidic is the obvious glaring omission. Jaap Stam is the only defender in the Premier League era who is arguably at the same level. During and post the Ronaldo era that United team was built around the Vidic led defence. He could play next to Jonny Evans and in front of Thomas Kuszczak and still make the defence look strong.
I agree re Irwin. He's a top class player but as a full back wasn't anywhere near as influential as Vidic.
I agree re Irwin. He's a top class player but as a full back wasn't anywhere near as influential as Vidic.
Zola = Nice guy but had a season not even as good as Payet just had. But because he's a nice guy....... After that first 2/3 full season's he was a bit part player. Facht
Adams = Better than Vida, dont see whats "wrong" about that.
Irwin = Dont know how old you are but the reality is Irwin could play either side/score goals/never injured. Cole was a better defender (just) but when you factor all other issues in.
Wiki checked my facts and it appears he was a starter for longer than i thought, my point still stands though.
Last edited: