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7th January 2024 at 1:41 pm #211819
I remember having these discussions on the old sites and now we had another decade of PL football, the list of all time greats has changed-
My top 5 greatest PL players –
1. De Bruyne, the greatest midfielder I have seen in the PL and the in my opinion the greatest player I have seen the PL era. He is literally Scholes, Gerrard and Beckham moulded in one. The way he sets the tempo like Scholes use to. Crosses the ball like Beckham did and his box to box abilities like Gerrard. A game changer when his team needs him.
2. Henry, one of the most consistent players in the PL era. Had fans on the edge of their seats. Magician and was instrumental in Arsenal’s success.
3. Ronaldo, only PL player to win the world footballer of the year and Balon d’Or. Was exceptional between 2006-2009. The best player in the world in 2008 and won the PL and CL for United.
4. Salah, has become Liverpool’s greatest ever attacking player in my opinion. His stats speak for themselves. Came in 2017 with very little hype and took the league by the scruff of the neck.
5. Van Dijk, the greatest CB in PL history. How many games did players struggle to run past him. Changed Liverpool fortunes. His 1st 2-3 years at Liverpool were something else. No CB has come close to.
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7th January 2024 at 7:40 pm #211857Difficult one cm
Ill have to think about it mate
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8th January 2024 at 1:23 pm #211861Someone hacked your account CM? Van Dijk the top CB? π . Not a chance for me. He had a good 2 seasons but I don’t think he has anywhere near the longevity as CBs like Terry, Rio, Kompany, Vidic etc. I thought he made a lot of mistakes last season.
Off the top of my head and in no particular order, mine are:
KDB
Salah
Rooney
Henry
Kane/Shearer (tough to choose here)I think all the above have longevity and played their best football in this league
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8th January 2024 at 1:49 pm #211862Aguero often gets overlooked in these debates. He was one of the best strikers in this league, and imo probably gave City the edge over us in our battles with them. Such a clever striker that could finish from any angle and scored some very important goals. Did it year in year out.
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8th January 2024 at 3:15 pm #211864Vvd has had 4 good seasons ed but i agree. Terry or rio best for me.
Id have gerrard over kdb. Scholes and lampard aswell.
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8th January 2024 at 3:32 pm #211865Got to have Scholes in there, and Veira too…
Not sure about Salah, cracking player as he is, he hasn’t been at it as long as quite a few others… same reasoning as with DVD too, cracking player but not for as long as others…
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8th January 2024 at 5:09 pm #211867Wow Beckenbauer the greatest German player is also gone. He was a genius with the ball.
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8th January 2024 at 5:39 pm #211869So many players to pick
Roy keane before kdb aswell
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8th January 2024 at 5:48 pm #211870Yeah what I meant with Van Dijk Sean was that IMO he’s had 2 outstanding seasons. The rest have been good but not at the absolute elite standard he’d set previously. It’s staying at that standard for a long time which imo sets apart the greatest of their generation.
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8th January 2024 at 5:51 pm #211871Keane another good shout Sean. Had absolutely everything. I find he often today gets wrongly labeled as a defensive midfield destroyer type but he really had it all did Keane.
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8th January 2024 at 6:12 pm #211873When I have a bit more time, haha. I’d have to break this down into different eras to try and avoid dismissing players from Previous decades. I’m looking at Inspiration, Winners and Decorated with Success.
Eric Cantona and Ryan Giggs I could name from the 90s. Will come back to this later.
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8th January 2024 at 6:28 pm #211874Top 5 is too difficult for me.
As for Van Dijk, I would have him in there as before he was given that horror tackle, he was the best defender that I’ve ever seen.
He wasn’t top level last season because he took a long time to recover. Look at him now though.In those 2 seasons, Van Dijk went over a year without a single player dribbling past him, in all comps and I think we made the final of the CL during that time.
Before people say that isn’t THAT amazing, remember that Liverpool played with a very high line then.That all said, I totally understand why people don’t want to include him but at his best, he was better than any of the other names mentioned. He’s also gotten back to it now.
I also don’t see a way not to have Gerrard in there. I think people are forgetting how crazy good he was but it’s a 5 man list and there are so many PL greats. It’s quite frustrating actually.
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8th January 2024 at 6:34 pm #211876“Itβs staying at that standard for a long time which imo sets apart the greatest of their generation. ”
Yes but let’s remember that the reason he wasn’t at that standard had nothing to do with his talent or performance levels. He was attacked by the Everton Jester and took an injury that ends careers.
It isn’t like he just started playing poorly. People were saying he was past it. I have gotten a few things wrong (like Nunez) but I called the Van Dijk situation. Ya, I actually got something right! lol
Keane is hard to omit also ya… I would have him ahead of Scholes but I know most won’t agree.
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8th January 2024 at 6:39 pm #211877I personally don’t think VVD was anywhere near the level of Rio, Terry or Kompany Mak in all honesty. I think he’s fortunate to have played in an era where he’s not up against the likes of Henry, Shearer, Ruud, Van Persie, Bergkamp, Rooney, Torres etc every week like those were. Haaland aside, the strikers these days just aren’t as good imo. That’s why these kind of lists are always a nightmare because we all have biases,me included.
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8th January 2024 at 6:40 pm #211878Nearly impossible
Ronaldo
KDB
Salah
Aguero
Henry
Bergkamp
Scholesetc etc It’s impossible
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8th January 2024 at 6:43 pm #211879This was before his injury Mak. The best CB ever in the league?!
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8th January 2024 at 6:44 pm #211880Then there’s
Shearer
Yaya
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8th January 2024 at 7:03 pm #211881Fair enough Ed, you’re talking about some seriously top-tier defenders.
As for that article, how many games was that into the PL start? I#’d say not many. I don’t remember the scenarios that led to these goals, so I can’t comment on them but having watched him in pretty much every match that he’s played for us (take out a handful), I have come to expect a top level performance from him, and I am almost never let down./He’s human, and he does have some poor performances in there. So have all the other greats, but with Van Dijk (last season aside), they are so few and far between.
(if this is slightly wrong, do correct me) Since he’s come here, he’s played I think 90 PL matches at Anfield and lost only 1.
That’s incredible, again, especially for a team that doesn’t just sit back.I am not coming out and saying you’re wrong. We have our own lists (or partial in my case) and I haven’t seen a name yet who isn’t/wasn’t a footballing god.
It really doesn’t feel right to not have Bergkamp in there but I can’t fit him into a 5 man list.
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8th January 2024 at 7:29 pm #211884That’s it Mak. We all have different lists. I’d hazard a guess that you’ll probably never hear the same 5 names if you asked everyone you know that question. Even polls are tricky as they’re often weighted in favour of those teams with the most fans.
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9th January 2024 at 8:26 pm #211900π€£
Noone has hacked my account.
1 of the reasons why I have Van Dijk as 1 of the best CBs ever and in my top 5 greatest PL players is what he brought to Liverpool.
Liverpool were averaging 75 points and he arrived and they were instantly competing against City, who set the benchmark of 95 points+ to win the league. No CB or player has added that to a club. City were blessed with many quality players. So were Liverpool with Mane and Salah, but Van Dijk took them to a different level where he gave them an extra 20+ points. Without him, City would have ran away with league titles every season, that’s how good Van Dijk is and was during those seasons.
Agree about longevity, Van Dijk peaked fairly late in his career, but no CB can close to him during his peak years.
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