What is your PL all-time xi?

Fortitude

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The last round of Salah appraisal has brought this conversation back to the fore. If you believe he's top 3 to have ever played in the Prem, then by default, he is taking that RWF position for himself, ousting whoever's down as your previous incumbent.

De Bruyne also seems to be rated as comfortably locked in as a starter for many, usurping whoever to take his spot.

The league, in its PL guise now easily has teams of the 90’s, 00’s, 10's and even 2020's, so distilling to the best of the best from essentially 4 teams (when there's no crossovers who feature across decades) is becoming more challenging and more interesting, actually.

The PL XI was pretty much set in stone a few years back, but I don't believe that is at all the case now with perhaps 5, maybe even only 4 locks that if they don't feature, then your selection is wrong. Henry, as the best, is indelible, for example.

But anyway, what does your PL All-time XI look like, and how much does this iteration deviate from the last time you made one?
 
Trying to hide united bias I'd go:

Peter s
? Rio vidic Cole
De b Keane Scholes
Salah Rooney henry

I'm not sure who to play at rb, not sure how it isn't neville
 
Cech
Neville Terry VVD Cole
Gerrard Viera KDB
Salah Shearer Henry
 
Cech
Ferdinand - Vidic - Terry
Keane
Scholes - Lampard
De Bruyne
Ronaldo - Rooney - Henry​
 
I don't like these threads... They force me to fawn over rival players or pick 11 United players like some reprehensible loon.

Easy choice then!

VDS
Neville - Rio - Vidic - Irwin
Scholes - Keane
Beckham - Cantona - Giggs
Ruud
 
Schmeichel

Irwin Stam Terry Cole
Ronaldo Yaya Toure Rodri Giggs

Shearer Henry van Persie
 
Cech
Walker,Terry, Van Dijk, Cole
Kante, Vieira
De Bruyne, Hazard
Henry, Suárez​
 
Is it fair to say right back is probably the weakest area of the team, when your basically choosing between Neville and Walker?
 
Henry - Rooney - Salah
Keane - Scholes - De Bruyne
Cole - Terry - Rio - Walker
Schmeichel​

Probably something like this. It may not be the right thing to do but in some ways I went with a better tactical fit rather than, perhaps, an individually better player (like Shearer who would’ve looked out of place in that front three even if you can argue that he’s the benchmark for a PL center forward).

Rooney/Shearer, Terry/Vidić/van Dijk, Walker/Neville are more or less interchangeable.

I also gave a nod to those who had the longevity over those whose peak was shorter (and, sometimes, even more impressive — like Cristiano, who was probably the best player we’ve seen in the league, or the rest of that team, all of whom can claim to have the highest peak of their individual position), so wanted to include some of those in a separate team. Even though none were one-season wonders and most spent many seasons at a top level and have a genuine chance of making the actual all-time XI (especially Cristiano and probably Rodri & van Dijk).

Cristiano - Suárez - Bale
Touré - Rodri - Kanté
Cancelo - van Dijk - Stam - Trent*
De Gea
​
* not the biggest fan of him but his attacking numbers are simply ridiculous and he should be well covered defensively in this set up. Plus, right back is by far the weakest position in PL history, the rest are filled to the brim with genuinely world-class players.
 
I think those going with VVD must be pretty young and can’t have seen much of Ferdinand, Vidic etc

Gerrard over Keane, Scholes is another odd one given he never won a PL.

Rooney should also be in. Record goalscorer for the most successful PL era club to date.
 
GK: Cech/VDS

RB: Neville
CB: Rio
CB: Vidic
LB: Cole

CM: Vieira
CM: Keane
CM: KDB

FW: Salah
FW: Aguero
FW: Ronaldo
 
Henry - Rooney - Salah
Keane - ? - De Bruyne
Cole - Terry - Rio - Walker
Cech

? - Kante/Toure/Rodri. I like them all as my CM pick. I think if Rodri stays it will ultimately be him but if not perhaps Kante.
 
TheReligion said:
You’ve done well to only pick one United player considering they’ve been the best team of the PL era.
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arnie_ni said:
To only have 1 united player is insane.
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Fair point.

I was very close to picking Keane, Rooney and Ronaldo.

Ronaldo wasn't in the league for a long time which is why I picked Salah. Prime Ronaldo was the best player I have seen in the league alongside Henry.

I picked Shearer over Rooney only because I felt that the all time topscorer has to be in the 11. Rooney is the superior player, no doubt about that.
 
SilentWitness said:
Henry - Rooney - Salah
Keane - ? - De Bruyne
Cole - Terry - Rio - Walker
Cech

? - Kante/Toure/Rodri. I like them all as my CM pick. I think if Rodri stays it will ultimately be him but if not perhaps Kante.
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Scholes - even has the longevity and IQ to adapt with age
 
TenonTen said:
Fair point.

I was very close to picking Keane, Rooney and Ronaldo.

Ronaldo wasn't in the league for a long time which is why I picked Salah. Prime Ronaldo was the best player I have seen in the league alongside Henry.

I picked Shearer over Rooney only because I felt that the all time topscorer has to be in the 11. Rooney is the superior player, no doubt about that.
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I mean it’s your team, just surprised out of all the United players of the PL era you’d have only one and that’s Gary Neville.
 
In lieu of just shoehorning players in, I will make what I think would be an actual functional team

Cech
Walker - Rio - Terry - Cole
Keane - Rodri - KDB
Salah - Rooney - Henry

I went with Rodri over another pure CM (My choice would have been Viera in that case) because I feel like this setup would be more solid.

The notable exclusion is Ronaldo, but while he was great throughout his career, what Salah has done in the PL has surpassed what Ronaldo did in the PL.
 
The problem with these discussions is most people end up picking a team of galacticos rather than a team that would actually win titles.
For example, one could reasonably argue the following is the 'strongest 11' of the PL era (could probably the case with 22 different players):

Schmeichal

Walker
Rio
Terry
Cole

Keane
Gerrard
De Bruyne

Ronaldo
Henry
Salah

However, I would be pretty confident that the following, coached by Pep, would beat them more often than not:

Ederson
Walker
Kompany
VVD
Cole

Rodri
KDB
D.Silva

B.Silva
Foden
Aguero

Classic Barca vs Real scenario of around 2010
 
Any XI with fewer than 3 United players is just wrong.

The goalkeeper position is bankers (Cech is class, but still). So that's one spot right there. And at least one out of Rio, Vidic and Stam must make it in. I can understand not picking two, but omitting all 3 of them is pretty mad. And almost equally mad (if you're playing a midfield 3 or a formation with an attacking midfielder), is to omit Keane, Scholes and Cantona. Again: I can understand not picking all of them, but at least one must make it in.

The front 3 is perhaps the toughest from a United point of view. But surely Ballon dOr winner Ronaldo, Giggs, Beckham or Rooney must get a spot next to Henry and Shearer?
 
------------------- Shearer -----------------
Hazard -------- KDB ------------ Salah
------- Scholes --------- Vieira ----------
A. Cole --- Rio ---- Vidic ---- Walker
--------------------- VDS
 
Schmeichel
Walker Rio Vidic Cole
Keane Scholes
Ronaldo De Bruyne Henry
Shearer​
 
Van Dijk being mentioned absolutely baffles me. For me he’s behind Rio, Vidic, Stam and Terry and probably in line with guys like Kompany, Campbell and Adams. Never close to the all time XI.
 
Three of the best I have seen in the Premier League but they played their most successful football elsewhere are;
Ronnie
Bale
Suarez.
So if it is based on high level coupled with longevity they wouldn't make the list but they would make my team.
 
Worst picks in the thread so far (will possibly be updated later): Hazard, Kante, Y.Toure, Van Dijk.

All very good players, but come on...
 
Scandi Red said:
Worst picks in the thread so far (will possibly be updated later): Hazard, Kante, Y.Toure, Van Dijk.

All very good players, but come on...
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Kante won the PL with Leicester and Chelsea and was integral to both of those sides doing it. Y. Toure is the most well rounded CM the league has ever seen - other midfielders were better at individual facets than him but when you put it all together he's the most complete.
 
Kante I can understand, but Toure was never the player in England that people wanted him to be in their heads.
 
GK: Peter Schmeichel
RB: Gary Neville
CB: Rio Ferdinand
CB: Nemanja Vidic
LB: Denis Irwin
RW: David Beckham
CM: Patrick Viera
CM: Roy Keane
LW: Ryan Giggs
ST: Wayne Rooney
ST: Cristiano Ronaldo
 
diarm said:
Van Dijk being mentioned absolutely baffles me. For me he’s behind Rio, Vidic, Stam and Terry and probably in line with guys like Kompany, Campbell and Adams. Never close to the all time XI.
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Why is he behind Stam in your opinion? His peak is absolutely immense, you can certainly argue that at least that one season was as good as anything that PL center backs had managed to achieve (and probably a bit better). I can understand why people prefer Rio/Terry and even Vidić due to longevity (although van Dijk is probably creeping in on the Serbian) but Stam, even though he was absolutely immense, was only here for what, 3 seasons?
 
This is becoming more and more difficult due to The PL almost being spread over almost 3.5 decades worth of seasons. Formations, positions and tactics have changed a lot.

Traditional 4-4-2:

Henry Shearer

Giggs------Vieira-----Keane------Beckham

Cole-----------Terry-------Rio----------Walker

Schmeichel

Modern 4-3-3

Ronaldo--------Kane----------Salah

D.Silva---------------KDB
Rodri

Cole-------van Dijk-----Rio-------Walker

van der Sar

​
 
-------------- Schmeichel
Walker -- Rio -- Terry -- Cole
---------- Keane - De Bruyne
Salah ------ Rooney - Ronaldo
----------------- Henry
 
Schmeichel
Walker Ferdinand VVD Cole
Gerrard Keane KDB
Salah Shearer Henry

TAA, Vieira, Terry and Ronaldo all interchangeable. Bale and Suarez feels like they should be in there perhaps, but like Ronaldo, they can't match how long the selected front three have done it in the league.

Also, goodness there is some saltiness about VVD on here. He is an easy pick.
 
harms said:
Why is he behind Stam in your opinion? His peak is absolutely immense, you can certainly argue that at least that one season was as good as anything that PL center backs had managed to achieve (and probably a bit better). I can understand why people prefer Rio/Terry and even Vidić due to longevity (although van Dijk is probably creeping in on the Serbian) but Stam, even though he was absolutely immense, was only here for what, 3 seasons?
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Because Stam was the heart and soul of a treble winning defence. He spent that season partnering 3 lads who wouldn’t be named in the top 50 PL centre backs and achieved something that only the biggest cheaters in the history of British football have been able to match before or since.

His peak is so far ahead of anything Van Dijk has shown, that longevity becomes irrelevant. It’s like saying Bellamy played longer in the league than Ronaldo so should be ranked above him.

Besides, I don’t see Van Dijks peak as much longer than 3, maybe 4 seasons. He certainly hasn’t done much in the past 2 or 3 years to warrant inclusion in a thread like this.
 
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