Yesterday, I selected my worst ever Premier League XI, but today I thought I would try to do the very opposite and look at who would make the starting line-up for the best possible team.
I will play four-four-two and I challenge any side to try to live with this one!
There have been some truly great keepers over the Premiership years. Currently, Petr Cech, Shay Given, Brad Friedel, David James, Pepe Reine and Edwin van der Sar certainly all deserve a mention.
David Seaman was one of the best and there are others who rarely put a foot wrong.
However, the best of the best and probably the best keeper I have ever seen was the ‘Great Dane’ Peter Schmeichel.
In the current Premiership we have the likes of Sagna, Terry, Ferdinand, Vidic, Carvalho, Cole, Evra, Clichy and Carragher, who would all feel they were worthy of a place in the team.
In the past, Gary Neville, Jaap Stam, Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister and many, many others would all be there or thereabouts.
For me, the star back four would have to include that absolute model of consistency, who seems to be hated by all but Manchester United fans despite being an absolute rock for England, Gary Neville.
In the middle, at his very best I would include the man who overcame the duel problems of alcohol and the nickname of ‘Donkey’, Tony Adams. Alongside him I would play Jaap Stam, who for one season was undoubtedly the best in the world.
Left back is not an easy selection but the Ashley Cole of a couple of seasons ago, was probably as good as there has been.
What a fantastic choice of players we are faced with here! I don’t think any two people would choose the same four names as there are any number of candidates who could happily be included.
Let’s look at the candidates just from ‘the big four’. Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack, Claude Makelele, Arjen Robben, Steve Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Patrick Vierra, Emmanuel Petit, Cesc Fabrigas, Marc Overmars and many others. Add to them the likes of Jay Jay Okacha, David Ginola, Mikel Arteta and Elano.
There are literally hundreds of possibilities and I haven’t even mentioned Robbie Savage!
Nobody has reached the heights that Cristiano Ronaldo reached last season so he is a given. Nobody has reached the consistent heights of Ryan Giggs so he is another given. The central two are more difficult. The two I have chosen have been picked on the basis of just how crucial they have been to the success of their team’s. Arsenal without Patrick Vierra were a shadow of the side and Liverpool without Steven Gerrard still are.
We have to include the all time record scorer Alan Shearer. Actually, I can’t really think of any reasons not to include him. He was pretty close to being the perfect centre-forward.
Having said that, the selection of Alan Shearer gives us a problem. That leaves only one striking position vacant. Who should have it? Thierry Henry, Ruud Van Nistelroy, Gianfranco Zola, Ian Wright, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Eric Cantona, Denis Bergkamp, Paulo Di Canio, Andy Cole or one of the current crop of Drogba, Anelka, Van Persie, Adabayor, Torres, Robinho, Rooney or Berbatov?
Despite the very strong claims of everyone I have listed, together with the many I have no doubt failed to mention, I cannot select anyone other than the Thierry Henry of three seasons ago.
Whilst Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, George Graham and others would think they might be worth consideration, like him or loathe him, it cannot be anyone other than Sir Alex Ferguson.
What a line-up that is!
Schmeichel
Neville, Adams, Stam, Cole
Ronaldo, Vierra, Gerrard, Giggs
Shearer, Henry
Manager – Sir Alex Ferguson
Your suggestions for other potential candidates would be welcomed.
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best premiership team is
seamen
george cohen ferdinand gallas ray wilson
ronaldo sir bobby charlton veron giggs
cantona henry
i think some people forgot the people who really brought football to england
I think the “best ever” excludes “importance to their team”, in some ways. Vieira as the best holding CM in the history of the EPL?!?! I’m gonna call BS on that one. Roy Keane proved he owned Vieira on multipy occasions so I’d have Keano sitting in front of my back four if it were my team…and he’d be captain (I hate to admit that, I’m a Spurs fan). I don’t know who I’d have play in front of him, but Stevie G is the easy choice, someone with balls, like me, would go with MATTHEW LE TISSIER. I can live with Giggsy and Ronaldo on the flanks and Shearer and Henry up top. I think Neville, Jaap and T Adams are pretty safe bets in the back, but Ashley Cole? Really? Forget his performane in yesterday’s FA Cup Final, but there’s gotta be better left backs….how about Denis Irwin? Surely there’s gotta be someone better than Mrs. Cole!
for the best goalkeeper a keeper that rarely gets mentioned which is a shame because if u looka t any game he plays there is at least 3 saves in 1 game where u think wow that was sensational and that is jaaskeleinen im a chelsea fan but ive always rated jaaskeleinen as the best keeper in the epl at this time
defence sagna vidic terry ashley cole
midfield essien
lampard gerrard
ronaldo joe cole
torres
i have been biased but they are quality.
“sytoe” – you speak the biggest pile of shite i think i’ve ever heard
WHY HAS NO ONE BEEN MENTIONING CANTONA?! (not even in their substitutes) ?
my best eleven would be :
GK Schmeichel
DF Neville Ferdinand Stam Irwin
MF Ronaldo Gerrard Keane Giggs
FWD Cantona Henry
manager could be no one else but Sir Alex Ferguson, obviously with Wenger & Mourinho coming in second & third
substitute eleven would be :
GK Seaman
DF Petrescu Desailly Adams Cole
MF Beckham Vieira Scholes Pires
FWD Bergkamp Shearer
obviously extremly hard to leave out such great players as Le Tissier, Lampard, Terry, Ginola, Zola, Van Nistelrooy, Overmars, Di Canio etc… etc…
such players as Vidic, Essien, Rooney, Torres, Fabregas, Evra etc… could make a greatest ever XI, but in my opinion it’s too early to call
out of today’s players i believe this to be the greatest XI :
GK Reina
DF Bosingwa Ferdinand Terry Cole
MF Essien Fabregas Lampard Gerrard (midfield diamond)
FWD Rooney Torres
manager would still be Sir Alex !
gk reina
rb glen johnson
cb vidic
cb terry
lb clichy
cm gerrard
cm alonso
cm mascherano
st torres
st robinho
st tevez
that is the best team now
In my opinion the best all time Premier League team is as follows:
Schmeichel
G.Neville Adams Stam Irwin
Beckham Keane Gerrard Giggs
Shearer Henry
and the best at current time is:
Van Der Sar
G.Johnson Terry Vidic Evra
Gerrard Fabregas Lampard Arshavin
Rooney Drogba
3-4-3 formation
Schmeichel
rio ferdinand —- terry —— vidic
ronaldo —–keane—————–scholes——–giggs
cantona
shearer rooney
the best current team (2009) is
van d star
glen johnson—vidic—-terry—-evra
lennon—-gerrard—–essien—-joe cole
rooney——–drogba
best team is
Friedel
G neville – bruce – adams – Irwin
Ronaldo – Keane – Viera – Giggs
Bergkamp – Van nistlerooy
Subs
Schmeichal
Adams
Pallister
Cole
Gerrard
Lampard
Pires
henry
rooney
cantona
Drogba
i needed ur assistance in order to join machester united fans
Definetly barcelona,they have hot linoel andre messi
cech
a.cole terry ferdinand ivanovic
essien
gerrard j.cole
lampard
drogba rooney
if you call me biased you are right
Best XI of EPL current times:
GK:Joe Hart
LB:Ashley Cole
CB:Ledley King
CB:John Terry
RB:Micah Richards
LM:Gareth Bale
CM:Rafael Van Der Vaart
CM:Steven Gerrard
RM:Aaron Lennon
ST:Jermaine Defoe
ST:Didier Drogba
Subs:
GK:Petr Cech
LB:Clichy
CB:Michael Dawson
CB:Tomas Vermaelen
RB:Backary Sagna
LM:Andrei Arshavin
CM:Luka Modric
CM:Mikel Arteta
RM:Theo Walcott
ST:Chamakh
ST:Dimitar Berbatov
Best ever EPL XI(including english division 1):
GK:Peter Shilton
LB:Ashley Cole
CB:Nemanja Vidic
CB:Mike England
RB:Chris Lawler
LM:Dave Mackay
CM:John White
CM:Paul Gascoigne
RM:Cliffie Jones
ST:Nat Lofthouse
ST:Jimmy Greaves
Best Premier League XI at the moment:
GK: Cech
RB: Johnson
CB: Terry
CB: Vidic
LB: A.Cole
LM: Bale
CM: Lampard
CM: Gerrard
RM: Lennon (depends)
ST: Drogba (on his day, unstoppable, and has been brilliant)
ST: Rooney (if he recaptures form of old, similar to Torres)
Schmeichel
Neville, Adams, Stam, Cole
Ronaldo, Vierra, Gerrard, Giggs
Shearer, Henry
Manager – Sir Alex Ferguson I agree…maybe Vidic should be there instead of Stam and Cantona over Shearer..other is OK…For me Henry is best player in history of Premier League
Schmeichel
Neville, Adams, Terry, Cole
Beckham, Keane, Gazza, Giggs
Ronaldo, Henry
Would beat any other team…
Incredible how neither Denis Bergkamp or Matthew Le Tissier were even mentioned in this article. These are two of the most gifted footballers ever to kick a ball. Especially if you are talking importance to their team, Le Tissier single handedly kept Southampton in the Premier League by scoring 30 goals a season from midfield _I,m not sure if Lampard could do that if he tried…
I think hart of mancity is the best goal keeper for now and it is certain…
Vandersar
John Terry,Rio Ferdinand,Patrice Evra,abidal
Paul Scholes,Ryan Giggs,yaya Toure,Iniester
Wayne Rooney,Samuel Eto…with the information of 4-4-2 will win any other team in the world!!!
Pretty good selection overall, not sure about Ashley Cole though!