And the Premiership’s greatest player is…
On Monday I asked everyone who they thought was the Premiership’s greatest player ever.
There were plenty of varied responses, but the votes centered around a handful of players (I’ve listed them below). Some very interesting observations were made as well - one of the key ones being that any such list is ’striker-heavy’ because we tend to under-rate defensive players.
I’ve discussed the top candidates below, before presenting my pick at the end of the article.
Candidates
- Ryan Giggs: Most popular pick of the lot, with the nominations skewed perhaps by the man-utd heavy readership of SL. The most decorated player in the Premiership and one who had a hand in winning all 9 Premiership titles.
- Thierry Henry: They may not love him as much at the Emirates as they did last summer but Henry’s awesome form in the last 5-6 years in the Premiership has been nothing short of world-class. Directly responsible for two of Arsenal’s 3 titles in the Premiership.
- Peter Schmeichel: The great Dane has been a popular choice in the thread listed above - and is one of two defensive players to be listed here.
- Roy Keane: In terms of psychological impact its hard to look beyond Keano.
- Alan Shearer: In terms of positive impact towards his team’s fortunes Shearer is up there with the best.
- Gianfranco Zola: A Chelsea legend and…well, definitely a great player but how does he rack up against Keano and Giggs?
- Mathew Le Tissier: For his loyalty to Southampton and his spectacular goals.
- Dennis Bergkamp: For his impact on the Arsenal revolution and his sheer class.
- Patrick Vieira: The only genuine rival Roy Keane had in terms of best central midfielder
- Tony Adams: Along with Bruce, Pallister and Campbell, one of the few defenders mentioned.
- Steven Gerrard / Frank Lampard: The duo were inevitably mentioned and they definitely deserve a shout but I think their contributions can be better judged in a couple of years’ of time.
So who’s it going to be?
The criteria I set was this:
The greatest Premiership player ever would be that player who had the most positive impact on his team’s fortunes over an extended period of time, in the Premiership.
It’s almost impossible to choose from the list above - even if you whittled it down based on longevity and consistency, you’d still be left with the likes of Giggs, Keane, Bergkamp, Henry, Le Tissier, Shearer, and Vieira (and even then it feels criminal to ignore Adams and Zola, not to mention Neville, Schmeichel or Scholes).
The Premiership’s greatest player
Roy Keane.
It’s a tough choice - you have so many great players who have played around a decade in the Premiership and are legends in their own rights.
I picked Keane because of two reasons.
One, in hindsight it is difficult to see if Manchester United would have dominated the Premiership the way they did without Roy Keane. Giggsy won all 9, but as a United fan I can’t seem to imagine a 90’s or even a 00’s United team without Keano.
Two, Keano was the name I had in mind when I started the debate on Monday - and in a decision where there’s no right choice, I went with my gut instincts.
It’s impossible to pick the greatest player out of a list that includes Bergkamp, Henry, Shearer, Vieira, Giggs, Scholes, Keane and Schmeichel. All are top players and arguably one of best in their positions.
But if we’re talking about the Premiership, with all its warts and flaws and brilliance, there’s no other player who is more suited to be the face of the Premiership than Roy Keane. Other players might be more skilled, some may have gotten more goals, but Keano ruled the roost from the moment he stepped on the pitch till the second he walked off it.
Few players get the respect Zola, Shearer, Bergkamp and Keano got from their fans.
So let me know what you guys think, but mind you, there’s no right answer here.
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Discussion - 36 Responses
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I cant see how anyone that deliberately sets out to end another players career can be named the best ever in the premiership?
1. Thierry Henry
2. Eric Cantona
3. Denis Bergkamp
4. Alan Shearer
5. Gianfranco Zola
6. Marco Boogers
(Alright the last one was a joke)
palacefan no bias… ian wright……!@!
Henry, in terms of skill and class. Compared to him, Keane has no chance.
Thierry Henry
Eric Cantona
Gianfranco Zola
Dennis Bergkamp
Roy Keane
Alan Sherear
Ryan Giggs
Patrick Viera
Ian Wright
Tony Adams
That is the Top 10 PLayers to have ever had the Premier League crest on the their sleeve.
Bilal….. Spot On.
i think kyle-gunner-socceroo has got the 10 top players there dead on
SCHOLES halcyon power inside him
As a Saints fan I’m going to be a bit biased to the legend that is ‘LeGod’. Ahmed was spot on by mentioning his spectacular goals and total loyalty to the Saints, but although I still don’t rate him as the number one player ever in the Prem, I am wondering if he never gets a vote due to the fact that the Saints never won anything during his time there? Don’t forget that the fact that he (pretty much) single handed kept the Saints in the Prem - that in itself is as hard as winning a trophy!
He was easily the best player and on his way to being the second best manager ever after SAF…dare I say he may become better?
This is a great question and fortunately you can create a good list just from the confines of Old Trafford. Inmy opinion that player would be RYAN GIGGS. Top level WORLD CLASS performance over a prolonged period is my criteria. Playing a key and vital role on 9 Prem winning sides as well as numerous FA Cups speaks for itself. Creative brilliance, pace, agility, lethal left foot, passing ability, longevity and above all, consistency. He should be regarded as the poster boy for the British game. An exceptional talent.
My top ten are as follows;
1. RYAN GIGGS
2. PETER SCHMEICHEL
3. THIERRY HENRY
4. ROY KEANE
5. ALAN SHEARER
6. ERIC CANTONA (NUMBER ONE IF NOT RETIRED SO EARLY)
7. DAVID BECKHAM
8. DENIS BERGKAMP
9. MATTHEW LeTISSIER
10. RUUD van NISTELROOY
becks and shearer
Its got to be Cantona.
Or David James, just kidding.
henry. Skill, pace, strength and world class finshing
Much though i love LeTissier as a saints fan, i think that Giggs and Keane are superior, esp. Giggs who has fantastic loyalty and skill, and crucially a cabinet full of Premiership trophies
Thierry Henry
Eric Cantona
Gianfranco Zola
Dennis Bergkamp
Roy Keane
Alan Sherear
Ryan Giggs
Patrick Viera
Ian Wright
Tony Adams
That is the Top 10 PLayers to have ever had the Premier League crest on the their sleeve.
Without a doubt they are the top 10 to play in the Premier League.
Ahmad what a bout a Premier League XI?
Eric Cantona!
Typical man u crap. Like someone said, someone who deliberately went for rash challenges and was unapologetic about it afterwards is the best player. And they used to complain so much about henry and his diving antics and his ethics. You should add a tagline for this site, something like manchestersyco’fans’ united………
2) As I said in the article, the decision comes down to personal bias because there’s no ‘factual’ way to pick one ‘greatest’ player (using the criteria i specified) out of the list.
No argument from me that Keane has had the greatest impact on the premiership and as a United fan that wont be surprising. Only Viera and Gerard seem to have had that knack of driving the entire team on.
Still, twas interesting to have Keane pilloried for his slight over enthusiasm in the tackle and not a word about Mr Shearers Tysonesque on pitch antics. Ho hum, stand up if you hate……ach, you know the rest.
I’m no Andy Cole fan, but surely someone is willing to plead his case. He has scored a bucketload of goals.
Thierry Henry
Beckham
Giggs
Cantona
Viera
Shearer
Wright
Adams
Zola
Bergkemp
yo u know look how many man u playerz der r
u know man u da best keane is some sickman and so is all da other man u playerz
henry is by far the best. how can keane be seen as the better player when henry won 2 pfa awards, football writers player of the year on a number of occasions, top three of the worlds best three years running, numorous golden boots, and had so many assists(probably could have played in defence as well). The only reason keane is remembered is because he was a loudmouth who was never scared of a tackle, and why should this be seen as making him the best.
1.henry
2.Cantona
3.Shearer
4.Scholes
5.giggs
6.viera
7.Gerrard
8.zola
9.Schmeichel
10.pires
Shearer! all the way, most goals and in a shit team(im an nufc fan too!) no1 could have scored that amount of goals in such a rubbish team including cantona henry andy cole ruud van nistelrooy.
And the loyalty was there far too much, i just wished for his career he had of signed for man utd, cause they would have won more trophies than they did.
But as he said, his dream wasn’t to win trophies but to wear that famous black and white shirt boasting the number 9!!!
shearer and this is why;
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/alan+shearer/video/x20oa5_local-heroalan-shearer_sport
Those mentioning David Beckham better vote on polls on the MLS which is gud enof for him.
Thierry Henry
Gianfranco Zola
Dennis Bergkamp
Eric Cantona
Roy Keane
Top 5 by far!!!!
Wonderful piece to argue about,i must say. I am not a premiership fan though an ardent viewer of of the english game and in my own candid opinion,Thierry Henry deserves to be regarded to as premiership’s greatest ever player. My top 10:
thierry HENRY
ryan GIGGS
alan SHEARER
gianfranco ZOLA
eric CANTONA
tony ADAMS
roy KEANE
patrick VIEIRA
dennis BERGKAMP
andy COLE
I think Henry would win this one. He deserves it too!
People like Giggs, Scholes, Gerrard, Cantona, Keane, Shearer, Zola, Vieria, Bergkamp, Ginola would make the top 10 in my eyes!
1. Ali Dia
2. Benjani
3. Darius Vassell
4. Boumsong
5. Titus Bramble
6. Nigel Quashie
7. Adi Akinbiyi
8. Michael Duburry
9. Massimo Taibi
10.Paolo Wanchope
I’ll base mine not only on skill but on impact on the prem league.
1.Bergkamp
2.Keane
3.Zola
4.Cantona
5.Giggs
6.Schmeicheal
7.Viera
8.Henry
9.Shearer
10.Beckham
I picked bergkamp coz the so-called arsenal style of play is and was originally the style of play that bergkamp had. Wenger created the team around him, he was wenger’s greatest buy, better then henry’s and viera’s. Yes I’m an Arsenal fan so i hope my reason is good enough 4 ppl to agree. I doubt I’ve been too biast
1. Keane
2. Giggs
3. Schmeicheal
4. A. Cole
5. Beckham
6. Rooney
7. Ronaldo
8. Scholes
9. Solskjaer
10. G. Neville
Ok…so my list is all Man Utd. So freaking what.
Roy Keane by a country mile… players like henry decide how championships are won, players like roy kean decide hu wins them…
I think C. Ronaldo has already bought himself into this list and will invevitably end up at the top as early as the end of 2008/09 season:
1. Roy Keane
2. Thierry Henry
3. Ryan Giggs
4. Peter Schmeichel
5. Eric Cantona
6. Alan Shearer
7. Paul Scholes
8. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Gianfranco Zola
10. Steven Gerrard
1.HENRY
2.VIEIRA
3.GIGGS
4.BERGKAMP
5.SHEARER
6.WRIGHT
7.PIRES
8.SCHMEICHEL
9.ADAMS
10.ZOLA