Premier League 20th Anniversary Awards

adox

My team, which seems quite predictable, but still:

Schmeichel
Neville
Adams
Cambell
Irwin
Ronaldo
Keane
Vierra
Giggs
Shearer
Henry

bullvine

Yes I am a United Fan and no I'm not bitter over Paris but Giggs is without a doubt the best player to play in the premier league.

Samich

Morzadec wrote: »

Cantona over Henry?!?!

People can make up their own mind, what's with everybody telling everyone else why they're wrong?

SlickRic

bullvine wrote: »

Yes I am a United Fan and no I'm not bitter over Paris but Giggs is without a doubt the best player to play in the premier league.

it is not without doubt.

at least 3 players are vying for the award, depending on the criteria, and how much weight you place on each bit.

Giggs, Henry and Keane IMO at least.

Giggs has the longevity, and he re-invented himself in the Premier League for the last 5/6 years, after being one of the most frightening wingers in the Premier League.

Henry is the most lethal forward player to play in the league. period.

Keane was the most influential player on the field, and was captain throughout the years where Utd cemented their legacy.

i'd have no problem with any of those 3 winning it, but it certainly shouldn't be a foregone conclusion.

the only foregone conclusion is the manager award.

IvySlayer

As much as I love Giggs, Pires was as good as if not better than Giggs at his peak imo.

eagle eye

SlickRic wrote: »

Henry is the most lethal forward player to play in the league. period.

Alan Shearer is the most lethal forward ainec.

J. Marston

Andy Carroll wrote: »

How the hell was that left off the list? What a goal.

bullvine

J. Marston wrote: »

How the hell was that left off the list? What a goal.

it was in the cup!

SlickRic

eagle eye wrote: »

Alan Shearer is the most lethal forward ainec.

i should've maybe picked my words better.

Shearer is the best all-round finisher.

in terms of all facets of forward play, as in dribbling, pace, creativity, as well as finishing, Henry is the best all-round IMO.

cgpg5

eagle eye wrote: »

Alan Shearer is the most lethal forward ainec.

Shearer was some goal scorer but Henry was more gifted and had more natural ability. Some of his goals were just out of this world. We won't see as good a player in the prem for a long long time imo.

Agree about Pires too he was an absolutely gifted footballer, made it look effortless at times. Giggs wins that battle on longevity for me but Pires at his peak was more gifted imo

bullvine

SlickRic wrote: »

i should've maybe picked my words better.

Shearer is the best all-round finisher.

in terms of all facets of forward play, as in dribbling, pace, creativity, as well as finishing, Henry is the best all-round IMO.

What about Ronaldo, for all round forward play?

SlickRic

bullvine wrote: »

What about Ronaldo, for all round forward play?

up there, obviously.

i wouldn't make him "greatest player of the Premier League era" though, purely on the fact that he just wasn't around long enough.

but after Henry, Keane and Giggs, he'd be in my next tier very very slightly below along with the likes of Shearer.

cgpg5

bullvine wrote: »

What about Ronaldo, for all round forward play?

What about him, comparing him, solely based on his time spent in the prem, to Henry is laughable. I'm beginning to wonder did you actually ever watch Henry at his peak?

Blatter

cgpg5 wrote: »

What about him, comparing him, solely based on his time spent in the prem, to Henry is laughable. I'm beginning to wonder did you actually ever watch Henry at his peak?

Tbf, Ronaldo between 2006-2009 was very, very close to Henry at his peak in terms of ability and impact.

I think Ronaldo is the only Premiership player to ever win World Player of the Year, the season he scored 42 goals from the right wing.

eagle eye

SlickRic wrote: »

up there, obviously.

i wouldn't make him "greatest player of the Premier League era" though, purely on the fact that he just wasn't around long enough.

but after Henry, Keane and Giggs, he'd be in my next tier very very slightly below along with the likes of Shearer.

Shearer is in the top group with Keane and Henry, those three for me were ahead of everybody else. Giggs has been a great player for a long time too but I don't think a team was as badly affected by not having him for a couple of games as they were by losing the other three. Viera is another who belongs in that top group and I think now Wayne Rooney belongs in it as well.

Personally I'd have Shearer and Rooney ahead of Henry. Shearer for me is the complete center forward and he beats out Henry because of his prowess in the air. Rooney beats out Henry because he works so much harder for the team.

PhlegmyMoses

Blatter wrote: »

Tbf, Ronaldo between 2006-2009 was very, very close to Henry at his peak in terms of ability and impact.

I think Ronaldo is the only Premiership player to ever win World Player of the Year, the season he scored 42 goals from the right wing.

He was better than Henry.

cgpg5

eagle eye wrote: »

Shearer is in the top group with Keane and Henry, those three for me were ahead of everybody else. Giggs has been a great player for a long time too but I don't think a team was as badly affected by not having him for a couple of games as they were by losing the other three. Viera is another who belongs in that top group and I think now Wayne Rooney belongs in it as well.

Personally I'd have Shearer and Rooney ahead of Henry. Shearer for me is the complete center forward and he beats our Henry because of his prowess in the air. Rooney beats out Henry because he works so much harder for the team.

Eh?

Watch the champions league final 06 and come back to me.

Henry does in fact have a good workrate although with Bergkamp playing off him and such a good midfield behind him he didn't have to do as much work as Rooney does. Comparing Shearer to Henry is grand, but Rooney being better than Henry is just wrong. Henry actually performed in every game consistently let me inform you.

Shearer better than Henry in the air? Yeah he was but so were many strikers. Henry was a more complete player than Shearer and I'm a Newcastle fan.

cgpg5

Blatter wrote: »

Tbf, Ronaldo between 2006-2009 was very, very close to Henry at his peak in terms of ability and impact.

I think Ronaldo is the only Premiership player to ever win World Player of the Year, the season he scored 42 goals from the right wing.

Yeah laughable is an overstatement alright, but Henry was a much better player who didn't go missing in big games, like Ronnie did quite a bit at Utd. He has since improved in this aspect

J. Marston

bullvine wrote: »

it was in the cup!

Oh, fair enough. Still though, class goal.

kev250

Way to many united fanboys here.

The most ridiculous of the lot is thinking the likes of van Nistelrooy and Cantona are better than Henry.

cgpg5

kev250 wrote: »

Way to many united fanboys here.

The most ridiculous of the lot is thinking the likes of van Nistelrooy and Cantona are better than Henry.

And Rooney!

KeithAFC

kev250 wrote: »

Way to many united fanboys here.

The most ridiculous of the lot is thinking the likes of van Nistelrooy and Cantona are better than Henry.

Henry is the greatest ever PL player by some distance.

eagle eye

cgpg5 wrote: »

Yeah laughable is an overstatement alright, but Henry was a much better player who didn't go missing in big games, like Ronnie did quite a bit at Utd. He has since improved in this aspect

Not true.

bullvine

cgpg5 wrote: »

Yeah laughable is an overstatement alright, but Henry was a much better player who didn't go missing in big games, like Ronnie did quite a bit at Utd. He has since improved in this aspect

Henry was a wonderful player, most definitely, one of the best I have ever seen but Ronaldo is a better player than him and arguably was during his premier league era, you need to remember he was only 18 when he came to england.

Ronaldo won the PFA and FWA twice and world player of the year and all by the time he was 23, a year older than when Henry came to the league.

Also, Henry in the Big Games, really?? no where to be seen, he had that wonderful record of never scoring in a final, remember that one, unless someone can proove otherwise. Did he continue that with Barca?

Theres a ABU mentallity goin on here if you ask me!

bullvine

kev250 wrote: »

Way to many united fanboys here.

The most ridiculous of the lot is thinking the likes of van Nistelrooy and Cantona are better than Henry.

totally agree with the second part!

dfx-

kev250 wrote: »

Way to many united fanboys here.

The most ridiculous of the lot is thinking the likes of van Nistelrooy and Cantona are better than Henry.

I'm not a United fanboy, indeed I have no allegiance in the EPL and I'd choose van Nistelrooy. Gem of a striker.

Jam-Fly

eagle eye wrote: »

Shearer is in the top group with Keane and Henry, those three for me were ahead of everybody else. Giggs has been a great player for a long time too but I don't think a team was as badly affected by not having him for a couple of games as they were by losing the other three. Viera is another who belongs in that top group and I think now Wayne Rooney belongs in it as well.

Personally I'd have Shearer and Rooney ahead of Henry. Shearer for me is the complete center forward and he beats out Henry because of his prowess in the air. Rooney beats out Henry because he works so much harder for the team.

Again it depends on ur definition of greatness. If 'what teams would be like if they lost their best player' constitutes greatness, surely RVP and Gerrard should be near the top of the list?

I agree that a player like Vieira was vital to a great Arsenal team, but that alone is not enough to constitute greatest EPL ever.



I rule our Shearer immediately, simply for the fact that Henry is a better forward than Shearer. Comparing players like Schmeichel, Keane and Henry is difficult, because obviously they are all so different. Shearer is not the best player in his position so cannot be regarded as the best play EPL player ever (same goes for Vieira).

I'd think Henry, Ronaldo and Keane are candidates for greatest player of the EPL. That said, I think Schmeichel and Giggs are unquestionably the best players in their position, so maybe they could be considered also.

Personally, I think the fantasy draft method is the best for choosing 'greatest player'. If I had first choice in a fantasy draft, I'd choose Henry.



And saying Rooney works harder for the team than Henry? Henry was one of the hardest workers in the game. He contributed soooo much to Arsenal.

I agree that Henry wasn't the best in the air, but I think he offered more overall than Shearer.

bullvine

Shearer was incredible though, goal scoring machine of the highest order, scored 100 goals for two different teams, if he had played for better sides, who knows what he might have achieved.

cgpg5

bullvine wrote: »

Henry was a wonderful player, most definitely, one of the best I have ever seen but Ronaldo is a better player than him and arguably was during his premier league era, you need to remember he was only 18 when he came to england.

Ronaldo won the PFA and FWA twice and world player of the year and all by the time he was 23, a year older than when Henry came to the league.

Also, Henry in the Big Games, really?? no where to be seen, he had that wonderful record of never scoring in a final, remember that one, unless someone can proove otherwise. Did he continue that with Barca?

Theres a ABU mentallity goin on here if you ask me!

This is about the greatest PL player ever. International level does not count and saying that what has Ronaldo done at international level?

Nowhere to be seen in big games? I'm going to leave it at this and you are entitled to your opinion but in my view this is absolute rubbish. The guy took the game to Barca on his own in the 06 final. He scored some incredible goals against Man United in his time and none of the top teams liked playing against him. In fact many of the games Arsenal won against the big opposition sides in the league were down to his brilliance. Very often if Arsenal were in trouble in a game it was a flash of brilliance by him that rescued it. Sign of a great player. His Barca form is irrelevant in this discussion as is his French form.

The player of the year argument is a poor one because Henry was up against guys like Zidane, Ronaldinho and Figo at their peak for this.

The reason I feel sorry for him there will be begrudgers out there who are childish and can't get over the 09 handball incident (not saying you are one of them, in fact I'm sure you aren't). He is the greatest player to play in the PL end of.

cgpg5

bullvine wrote: »

Shearer was incredible though, goal scoring machine of the highest order, scored 100 goals for two different teams, if he had played for better sides, who knows what he might have achieved.

May not have been suited to their style of football? This is a flawed argument tbh

Although he is well up there he is just not quite at Henry's level. But not far off. But I see what you're saying.

Other posters honestly thinking that Rooney, Van Nistelrooy, and Cantona are better than Henry is quite hilarious tbh. Good players yes but not near his league.

Jam-Fly

In the Ronaldo v Henry argument, I think the edge has to go to Henry. If you look at the stats, Henry has 174 goals in 254 games (along with 77 assists) while Ronaldo has 84 goals in 196 games. I know Ronaldo was playing from the right wing, but I just think Henry, IN HIS TIME IN THE PREMIERSHIP, did more. Henry peaked in the Prem, Ronaldo did not. If you take the best three seasons from both, I'd still take Henry over Ronaldo.

bullvine

cgpg5 wrote: »

This is about the greatest PL player ever. International level does not count and saying that what has Ronaldo done at international level?

Nowhere to be seen in big games? I'm going to leave it at this and you are entitled to your opinion but in my view this is absolute rubbish. The guy took the game to Barca on his own in the 06 final. He scored some incredible goals against Man United in his time and none of the top teams liked playing against him. In fact many of the games Arsenal won against the big opposition sides in the league were down to his brilliance. Very often if Arsenal were in trouble in a game it was a flash of brilliance by him that rescued it. Sign of a great player. His Barca form is irrelevant in this discussion as is his French form.

The player of the year argument is a poor one because Henry was up against guys like Zidane, Ronaldinho and Figo at their peak for this.

The reason I feel sorry for him there will be begrudgers out there who are childish and can't get over the 09 handball incident (not saying you are one of them, in fact I'm sure you aren't). He is the greatest player to play in the PL end of.

First of all, I have no hostility what so ever to him because of the handball, I can only give you my word on that.

When did I mention international level? I don't think I said anything about that, I remember the 06 Champion league final but I don't think I remember his performance that much, I remember Larsons alright and how poor Ronaldinho was in that game.

Regarding the player of the year argument, you could say the same for Ronaldo, if Messi wasnt around he probably would have won more than the one and probably will win it this year if he wins champions league and does well at the euros.

bullvine

cgpg5 wrote: »

May not have been suited to their style of football? This is a flawed argument tbh

Although he is well up there he is just not quite at Henry's level. But not far off. But I see what you're saying.

Other posters honestly thinking that Rooney, Van Nistelrooy, and Cantona are better than Henry is quite hilarious tbh. Good players yes but not near his league.

We will never know but Fergie tried to sign him 3 times.

Henry was better than those 3 united players no doubt about it!

St.Spodo

bullvine wrote: »

I agree with Henry but I think Cantona will get a lot of votes, he was voted the greatest 10 years ago afterall, it will be the case that Shearer, Henry and Cantona for 2 places. I think it will be tight and Shearer will get the English Vote

Ryan Giggs is the greatest player to play in the premier league not Henry BTW!

Don't agree with this at all. There is no way Cantona is the best striker in PL history. He never surpassed the 20-goal mark in any season and he played in the league at a time when the standard was relatively poor. You only need look at his record in Europe and for France at the time to show that he was never a world-beater. Every facet of Henry's game with the exception of heading was superior to Cantona's. And he scored loads more goals at a higher standard.

bullvine

Jam-Fly wrote: »

In the Ronaldo v Henry argument, I think the edge has to go to Henry. If you look at the stats, Henry has 174 goals in 254 games (along with 77 assists) while Ronaldo has 84 goals in 196 games. I know Ronaldo was playing from the right wing, but I just think Henry, IN HIS TIME IN THE PREMIERSHIP, did more. Henry peaked in the Prem, Ronaldo did not. If you take the best three seasons from both, I'd still take Henry over Ronaldo.

You may well be right!

Henry had a better longer career in England than Ronaldo but from 06-09(as mentioned by Blatter) Ronaldo was as good if not better than Henry as a attacking player.

cgpg5

bullvine wrote: »

First of all, I have no hostility what so ever to him because of the handball, I can only give you my word on that.

When did I mention international level? I don't think I said anything about that, I remember the 06 Champion league final but I don't think I remember his performance that much, I remember Larsons alright and how poor Ronaldinho was in that game.

Regarding the player of the year argument, you could say the same for Ronaldo, if Messi wasnt around he probably would have won more than the one and probably will win it this year if he wins champions league and does well at the euros.

If you can't remember his performance in a game of the stature of the CL final, then how will you remember his other performances?

International was in reference to the "never scored in a final statement". I know he played in many for Arsenal too but technically none of them are to do with PL. Also, if you don't score in a final it doesn't mean that he played poorly.

Anyway I've had my say. You are entitled to your opinion of course.

bullvine

St.Spodo wrote: »

Don't agree with this at all. There is no way Cantona is the best striker in PL history. He never surpassed the 20-goal mark in any season and he played in the league at a time when the standard was relatively poor. You only need look at his record in Europe and for France at the time to show that he was never a world-beater. Every facet of Henry's game with the exception of heading was superior to Cantona's. And he scored loads more goals at a higher standard.

I never said Cantona was better than Henry, I'm saying I'd expect a fight between the two of them for the second place as this is a public vote, if you look back at my team you will see I had Henry in it.

bullvine

cgpg5 wrote: »

If you can't remember his performance in a game of the stature of the CL final, then how will you remember his other performances?

International was in reference to the "never scored in a final statement". I know he played in many for Arsenal too but technically none of them are to do with PL. Also, if you don't score in a final it doesn't mean that he played poorly.

Anyway I've had my say. You are entitled to your opinion of course.

I remember plenty of finals, I was talking about the Arsenal ones he played in, I'm pretty sure his performance in 06 wasnt exactly Hamann or Gerrard in Istanbul in fairness.

Jam-Fly

bullvine wrote: »

You may well be right!

Henry had a better longer career in England than Ronaldo but from 06-09(as mentioned by Blatter) Ronaldo was as good if not better than Henry as a attacking player.

It definitely is close and don't think it can be said for definite one way or the other. I personally think it's very close between the two of them at their peak, but my personal preference would just be for Henry, but tbh, I'm a huge fan of Ronaldo too so I can't fault anyone who would take Ronaldo over Henry.

That said, I think Henry is still a better candidate for greatest EPL player since he was a top player for longer.

bullvine

Jam-Fly wrote: »

It definitely is close and don't think it can be said for definite one way or the other. I personally think it's very close between the two of them at their peak, but my personal preference would just be for Henry, but tbh, I'm a huge fan of Ronaldo too so I can't fault anyone who would take Ronaldo over Henry.

That said, I think Henry is still a better candidate for greatest EPL player since he was a top player for longer.

I agree with you 100%

KeithAFC

Dennis Bergkamp is better than Cantona. So Cantona should never be above the great man.

Paully D

I went for:

Game: Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle

Goal: Shearer V Everton

Celebration: Jimmy Bullard

Save: Gordon V Bolton

Team:

Schmeichel

Neville Rio Campbell Cole

Ronaldo Keane Scholes Giggs

Henry Shearer

Owen_S

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seejAiq6V7A

Goal and celebration for me :pac:

Jimmy Iovine

Just after seeing the team that the lads on Soccer Saturday went with.

Le Tiss left Ronaldo out entirely I think. Tony Cottee was "struggling" to find someone to play on the right so he picked Ronaldo.

The best of them all though was Charlie Nicholas picking Gerrard ahead of Ronaldo in right midfield. I really can't explain his thought process on that one.

Eathrin

Andy Carroll wrote: »

Fantastic goal, one of my favourites
Some other notable exclusions but sure they can't include every great goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEBuxDDBRtU

Also I don't know how to embed non-youtube video but Elmander's goal vs Wolves was nothing short of phenomenal
http://www.soccerclips.net/videos/wolves-0-2-bolton-elmander

Jam-Fly

Results:

Fantasy Team - Public

Goalkeeper - Peter Schmeichel
Left-back - Ashley Cole
Centre-back - Tony Adams
Centre-back - Nemanja Vidic
Right-back - Gary Neville
Left midfield - Ryan Giggs
Centre midfield - Paul Scholes
Centre midfield - Steven Gerrard
Right midfield - Cristiano Ronaldo
Forward - Thierry Henry
Forward - Alan Shearer

Fantasy Team - Experts

Goalkeeper - Peter Schmeichel
Left-back - Ashley Cole
Centre-back - Tony Adams
Centre-back - Rio Ferdinand
Right-back - Gary Neville
Left midfield - Ryan Giggs
Centre midfield - Paul Scholes
Centre midfield - Roy Keane
Right midfield - Cristiano Ronaldo
Forward - Thierry Henry
Forward - Alan Shearer


Best team: Arsenal's "Invincibles" (03-04)

bullvine

Dont think you can really argue with the Experts pick

Jam-Fly

bullvine wrote: »

Dont think you can really argue with the Experts pick

I'd say Gerrard can feel a little hard done by, I personally think he's better rounded than Scholes and at their peaks, I'd take Gerrard over Scholes. That said, Scholes probably has better consistency over Gerrard. Scholes is obviously an unbelievable player though, so I guess it's splitting hairs somewhat.