What is your PL all-time xi?

Van der Sar

Neville Vidic Rio Cole

De Bruyne Kante Keane

Salah Henry Ronaldo​
 
Based on the highest level hit by players:

———— Schmeichel————
Walker Vidic Ferdinand Cole
—De Bruyne Scholes Keane-
—Ronaldo Suarez Henry—
 
Two styles and two managers put their stamp on the league so IMO its only fair to honour both eras and build a team for both styles.

Fergie team:
Schmeichel
Neville Vidic Terry Cole
Beckham Kante Keane Ronaldo
Rooney Henry

Pep team:
van der Sar
Walker Rio Dijk Irwin
Rodri
Kdb Scholes
Salah Cantona D.Silva

harsh on many other legends and you can almost build at least one or two teams with similar or equal level of quality.
 
Šjor Bepo said:
Two styles and two managers put their stamp on the league so IMO its only fair to honour both eras and build a team for both styles.

Fergie team:
Schmeichel
Neville Vidic Terry Cole
Beckham Kante Keane Ronaldo
Rooney Henry

Pep team:
van der Sar
Walker Rio Dijk Irwin
Rodri
Kdb Scholes
Salah Cantona D.Silva

harsh on many other legends and you can almost build at least one or two teams with similar or equal level of quality.
Click to expand...

No chance Fergie picks Cole over Irwin.
 
tomaldinho1 said:
Firstly, I have no issue if you want to put him in your team - if you put Adams, Carvalho, Sol Campbell in wouldn't be that crazy, I'd just think you are wrong. In the same way I think there are 3 CBs 100% above him (Rio, Vidic, Terry) and I think Kompany often gets overlooked, though that can go either way. It would be like me saying Beckham is the best ever RW, he's obviously not been as good as Salah but he is amongst the best RW's of the PL, it's not like I am saying VVD is Lindelof. I think his peak was truly elite but it was too short and, if we just go off peak, I think Stam then climbs ahead of him as well. (also Stam and him and compatriots and mates so there's no stock in someone saying x or y is currently the best, ask an ex Portuguese player and they'll say Dias, ask an Argentine and they'll say Romero etc.)

Secondly, unfortunately for you, my memory is pretty good. I remembered your username and we had a debate specifically about VVD last season. My point was essentially he was the CB United needed to sign when he left Soton, he is a great player but post injury his level has dropped off. That does not make him rubbish, it just means his level now is not where it used to be and I would take a number of CBs above him. I then gave you a number of specific examples where he had individually made errors, some are subjective, some are clear cut and you can freely go and watch the replays of without a paywall on youtube. You then did not respond...

So I ask you now, many months later. What is your take on these situations from last season (this was up to Jan, so it is only from half of the season FYI to help with which games):
  • Chelsea goal he pushes out and leaves a huge gap for their equalizer, it's bad luck but it's a bit naïve given there's an overload.
  • He gets done by Bowen for the West Ham goal, let's him come across him and win a diving header of all things
  • Done by Son for Spurs equalizer
  • Poor for Haaland's goal, just watches him peel off Matip then isn't fast enough to close him down.
  • Fulham 3rd goal a bit harsh to blame him but he can challenge for the back post header, he's close enough. Maybe this one is a bit unfair.
  • Isak goal versus Newcastle just gets done for pace
Click to expand...
I think I said at the time that if you did that forensic sort of analysis on any defender over a long stretch of games then they're not going to come out well. He got in PFA Team of the Year last season and was one of Liverpool's better players. There were plenty of great games and moments he had as well. For a man supposedly in decline, he is looking like the best CB in the league this season again. Like a lot of players in that turning 30 bracket, there are some growing pains when dealing with their new pace/physique and he's come back in a big way the past 18 months. This is his 8th season at Liverpool now. He's going to go down as a PL great
 
2 man midfield said:
——————Schmeichel——————
Irwin——-Ferdinand-Adams—-Cole
——-Keane—Scholes—De Bruyne—
———-Rooney—Shearer—Henry—

I don’t see how any other city players get in, tbh. Rodri hasn’t been doing it for long enough - if Stam and Ronaldo don’t get in then neither does he. Could argue Walker over Irwin. Aguero loses out to Shearer. De Bruyne vs Vieira was a tough one.

Edit: damn, Salah has to be in there doesn’t he. I guess Rooney or Henry would make way but it’s a coin toss.
Click to expand...
I was going to exclude Rodri because of that reason, but then I looked and he's had 5 seasons at City and won 4 Premier Leagues as a main defensive midfielder, which is two more seasons than Stam, enough to judge him I think.

Scandi Red said:
I genuinely think at most one Liverpool player (Salah) should make the starting XI.

- 3 or 4 United players
- 2 or 3 City players
- 1 or 2 Chelsea players
- 0 or 1 Liverpool player
- Henry (must 100% get in)
- And then possibly Shearer
- .... and possibly Vieira

That's fair and balanced based on the success of the respective clubs. Example:

Schmeichel
Walker - Rio - Terry - Cole
Keane - Scholes
Salah - De Bruyne - Henry
Shearer/Aguero

-----

Number of PL titles (let this be a guiding principle):

13 - United
8 - City
5 - Chelsea
3 - Arsenal
1 - Blackburn, Leicester, Liverpool
Click to expand...
In that case though, if you're going to go down the achievements route, then you leave out a key player for 13 league titles in Giggs
 
Last edited:
Scandi Red said:
I genuinely think at most one Liverpool player (Salah) should make the starting XI.

- 3 or 4 United players
- 2 or 3 City players
- 1 or 2 Chelsea players
- 0 or 1 Liverpool player
- Henry (must 100% get in)
- And then possibly Shearer
- .... and possibly Vieira

That's fair and balanced based on the success of the respective clubs. Example:

Schmeichel
Walker - Rio - Terry - Cole
Keane - Scholes
Salah - De Bruyne - Henry
Shearer/Aguero

-----

Number of PL titles (let this be a guiding principle):

13 - United
8 - City
5 - Chelsea
3 - Arsenal
1 - Blackburn, Leicester, Liverpool
Click to expand...

It's nonsense though. Again, ends up with propositions such as "VVD may well be the best centerback of the PL era, but since Salah is the best right-sided forward of the PL era and they both played for Liverpool, I am leaving one of them out."

It's not a club campaign, it's about the players.
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
In that case though, if you're going to go down the achievements route, then you leave out a key player for 13 league titles in Giggs
Click to expand...

It's a matter of balance. Obviously we can't only focus on PL titles. I just find it crazy how some people almost completely ignore them. I know that Fergie is the greatest manager of all time, but it's not like he didn't have great players too. If your XI has fewer than 3 United players then you are either purposely dodging United players or you don't remember much from football pre 2010.

And for the record: Giggs has a strong argument too! If you play Henry up front then Giggs immediately takes the LW without question.
 
———— Petr Cech————
Walker van Dijk Ferdinand Cole
—De Bruyne Scholes Rodri---
—David Silva Suarez Henry—
 
padr81 said:
He played 2 games at RB to every one he played at LB roughly, so he was a LB for sure.
But the PL has a lack of real world class RB's in its history imo. Walker at his peak, very, very good. Same for Neville but as a whole the league has had some crazy good LB's in comparison.
I also think Irwin would be the perfect Pep RB which is why I included him. Could play up and down the flank but had the ability to step into midfield and play there too.

In my team at least Cole, VVD and Rio could make a back 3 in possession with Irwin stepping in with Rodri to make the midfield two. Scholes and KDB then create the box. Genuinely think Irwin would be perfect for the role.
Click to expand...
Yeah he was just so composed on the ball, always knowing what a good balance was between joining play or not. Irwin was way ahead of his time really. Underrated player.
 
Scandi Red said:
It's a matter of balance. Obviously we can't only focus on PL titles. I just find it crazy how some people almost completely ignore them. I know that Fergie is the greatest manager of all time, but it's not like he didn't have great players too. If your XI has fewer than 3 United players then you are either purposely dodging United players or you don't remember much from football pre 2010.

And for the record: Giggs has a strong argument too! If you play Henry up front then Giggs immediately takes the LW without question.
Click to expand...
Yeah I agree, I think there should be three or four United players in most people's teams given the 13 titles, although ultimately you're going to judge based on a player's ability rather than their team. Hypothetically, you could have Messi at say Spurs for 8 years and he might only win one league title because of his team-mates/being Spurs, and it wouldn't make someone who won 5 leagues a better player than Messi, for example.

I think Giggs has become pretty underrated, if it's for 'moral' reasons then I understand not wanting to put him in (not you specifically but the fact he is in so few teams here). People say things like how you have to fit Shearer in because he's the all-time top scorer but not Giggs who was the all-time top assister in the Premier League and Champions League, won the most Premier Leagues with 13, which is 5 more than anyone but Scholes. I think because of his off-the-field stuff people have minimised his importance to United over the years. But ultimately it's a very hard decision to pick a PL XI, it was easier when this debate started in the mid-2000s, but now 1992 is 32 years ago so that's a very long time in football with very different styles and eras involved.
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
I think I said at the time that if you did that forensic sort of analysis on any defender over a long stretch of games then they're not going to come out well. He got in PFA Team of the Year last season and was one of Liverpool's better players. There were plenty of great games and moments he had as well. For a man supposedly in decline, he is looking like the best CB in the league this season again. Like a lot of players in that turning 30 bracket, there are some growing pains when dealing with their new pace/physique and he's come back in a big way the past 18 months. This is his 8th season at Liverpool now. He's going to go down as a PL great
Click to expand...
The comparison, which was Saliba, made fewer errors. As said, definitely a great but not in the best CB pairing of the PL era for me.

PFA team of the season is one of the worst yardsticks you can use, it's mates voting for mates and appeasing bigger clubs. Case in point, last season Arsenal's defence was immense (conceded 29 goals all season) so Gabriel/Saliba was the logical combo, but for some reason they decided VVD (who had an average season overall and whose team conceded way more goals than the two teams above them and won nada) had to be in it as well and just binned off all LBs...it's just not objective. If it were objective and absolutely had to put CB in there, it should have been a City player.
 
I'm surprised to see so much Rio Ferdinand here - I never, ever trusted him. Brain farts weren't uncommon, and I hated when he tried to play the ball around. Vidic was far more solid at that time.

Schmeichel
Walker, Vidic, VVD, Cole
Beckham, Vieira, Gerrard, Giggs
Rooney, Bergkamp
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
I was going to exclude Rodri because of that reason, but then I looked and he's had 5 seasons at City and won 4 Premier Leagues as a main defensive midfielder, which is two more seasons than Stam, enough to judge him I think.


In that case though, if you're going to go down the achievements route, then you leave out a key player for 13 league titles in Giggs
Click to expand...
Didn't release he’d had 5 full seasons tbh. No balon D’or winners in my side either, even if Henry should’ve won it in 2004. Go on then I’ll have him in over De Bruyne :lol:
 
The first name on the sheet has to be Vidic, undoubtedly the greatest defender of the PL era and, as far as I know, the only defender to be named POY twice. And I have to go with Becker over Schmeichel, who was a great keeper but made far more mistakes than Becker has.

The final XI would vary a bit depending on 442, 4231 or 433 but let's go with a 442

Becker
Walker Vidic Virgil Irwin
Ronaldo Keane De Bruyne Giggs
Shearer Henry

I hate to drop Scholes for De Bryune, but it is the honest thing to do. The other hard one is Shearer v Kane but in the end Shearer, at least peak Shearer, was simply better than Kane. And I hate to drop Cantona for Henry, but as great as Cantona was, Henry was simply better. And I hate to drop Beckham, but as great as Beckham was, Ronaldo was the most dominant player in the PL to date. I also struggled with LB. A shame Shaw has been ravaged by injuries for long in his career. Peak Shaw sits down Cole, Evra and even Irwin.
 
Schmeichel
Neville-Rio-Vidic-Cole
Keane-Scholes-KDB
CR-Rooney-Henry

Players that just missed out:
VDS, Irwin, Walker, Terry, Gerrard, Lampard, Giggs and Shearer.
 
JBG said:
Schmeichel
Neville-Rio-Vidic-Cole
Keane-Scholes-KDB
CR-Rooney-Henry

Players that just missed out:
VDS, Irwin, Walker, Terry, Gerrard, Lampard, Giggs and Shearer.
Click to expand...

Very good
 
For a matchday squad of 20:

Schmeichel

GNev Rio Terry Cole

Keane Vieira Scholes

KDB

Shearer Henry

Subs: Cech, Vidic, Kompany, walker, Gerrard , Lampard, Cantona, Ronaldo ,Rooney
 
This thread reminds me of how glorious Man United once was. How the mighty have fallen :(
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cech - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Neville - - - - - Terry - - - - - - - -Rio - - - -Irwin
- - - - - - - - - - - Keane - - - - - - Scholes
Beckham - - - - - - - De Bruyne - - - - - -Giggs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Aguero
 
------------------Van Der Sar-------------------
Walker---------Rio---------Vidic-------Cole
-----------Keane--------Scholes---------------
Beckham-----------------------------------Bale
-------------Henry------------Rooney------------


?
 
Šjor Bepo said:
Two styles and two managers put their stamp on the league so IMO its only fair to honour both eras and build a team for both styles.

Fergie team:
Schmeichel
Neville Vidic Terry Cole
Beckham Kante Keane Ronaldo
Rooney Henry

Pep team:
van der Sar
Walker Rio Dijk Irwin
Rodri
Kdb Scholes
Salah Cantona D.Silva

harsh on many other legends and you can almost build at least one or two teams with similar or equal level of quality.
Click to expand...

Was thinking of this but going to add Klopp's Heavy Metal 4-3-3, Wenger's Invincibles, Mourinho's 4-4-5-1 and then Ferguson's 2nd great team, which I guess is a mix between Klopp and Pep's 4-3-3 teams.

Mourinho:

--------------Shearer------------
Cristiano------------------Bale
------------Lampard------------
--------------------Kante---------
-------------Makelele-----------
Cole----Terry----Vidic----????
-------------Schmeichel-------

-Shearer seems an easy call as the best option as a lone 9, scored a lot more than Drogba. At his best in a partnership, but I don't think that's an issue really, he'd adjust.
-Best athletes to eat up space carrying the ball out wide, both more comfortable starting attacks deeper than Salah
-Lampard vs Gerrard vs Scholes debate for the #10, but Lampard got to 2nd in Ballon D'or under Mourinho, doesn't seem worth changing
-At first I was debating between Keane and Vieira, but Kante made a ton of sense too
-Makelele vs Rodri, fine with either choice
-Cole picks himself, went with Vidic and Terry for aerial dominance but there's a case for many CBs here and if I was older, maybe I'd take Tony Adams?
-RB I genuinely couldn't decide. I wanted to do a Gallas and put the fastest right-footed great CB out there instead of keeping Ivanovic or going with Neville (Walker's positional issues I think keep him out), but who is that? A young Rio Ferdinand?
 
...............Schmeichel...........
Gerrard Ferdinand Vidic Bale
.............Keane Scholes.........
.................De Bruyne.............
..Salah.........Henry.......Ronaldo

Meh feck full backs tbh. I want these players in so Neville and co can do one if they have a problem with my team.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.