THIS Premier League Hall of Fame is a bit of a mess, isn’t it?
On this occasion, just two players are being inducted from 15 nominations to join the current group of 22 who are already in there.
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My biggest gripe is that it is down to a public vote. I just don’t understand that. This Hall of Fame should be how it is in the NFL. They do it brilliantly.
They have a committee of 50 members, including media representatives and experts, who are responsible for the selection process. Why couldn’t we do the same?
You can have former legendary managers and players like Sir Alex Ferguson, Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry giving their opinion.
And not just picking their mates but choosing from a verified and legitimate criteria and asking themselves: ‘Have they done enough to sit alongside us?’
It should be a fraternity of legends making these decisions, an elite group of players who not only know how to win but know how hard it is to make it into this Hall of Fame.
As it stands, it feels like any bloke can be nominated because the people who are voting are just picking their favourites or the ones who played for the clubs they support.
You’re always going to have Manchester United players thrown in by any voting system because of their huge global and vocal fanbase.
The same goes for Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City. It will always be those four or five clubs pushing ahead of others who are perhaps more deserving. As a result, it loses its validity.
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This should be a chance to show how good our league is, not just pander to the top clubs and allow biased fans to pick their favourites.
Some of the nominations and absentees are baffling too. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with the inclusion of the likes of Shearer, Henry, David Beckham and Wayne Rooney to name a few.
But Ryan Giggs still hasn’t got a shout — I would imagine because of off-the-field controversies.
Two years ago he was cleared of allegations that he assaulted his ex-girlfriend and her sister after charges were withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service.
And yet Eric Cantona was one of the early ones nominated to be inducted? Do me a favour.
He only made 156 Premier League appearances and went some way to tainting his legacy in England by kicking a fan in the face during a game. Cantona was given a two-week prison sentence, overturned on appeal – and he eventually served 120 hours community service.
He was also banned for eight months and fined £20,000 by the FA. But yet he gets in because he fits the criteria of winning more than three Premier League titles?
Ryan Giggs career stats
Man Utd, 1990-2014: 963 games, 168 goals
Wales, 1991-2007: 64 games, 12 goals
Trophies
Man Utd: Premier League x13, FA Cup x4, League Cup x4, Community Shield x9, Champions League x2, Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, Club World Cup
John Terry wasn’t short of a few issues in his career, yet he has made it too. He was banned for four matches and fined £220,000 by the FA for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand — even though he was found not guilty in the court case.
Giggs made 632 appearances at United with 109 goals, 162 assists and an incredible record of 13 Premier League titles, making him one of the competition’s most decorated players.
In this current crop of nominees, you have the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Vidic and Eden Hazard. How are they in the same class as Gary Neville, who has also been nominated?
Why Neville isn’t already in there blows my mind — one of the most decorated right-backs of all time. This Hall of Fame is in danger of succumbing to recency bias too.
Who’s in the Hall of Fame?
Guys like Teddy Sheringham are remembered for the 1999 Treble at United and that’s it. Another nominee Les Ferdinand will not even stand a chance to get voted in.
He could easily come 15th out of 15 because he played for clubs like West Ham and Tottenham rather than being judged on what he actually achieved and the legacy he left. It’s just daft.
Sergio Aguero was great for Manchester City but does he get in before some others who have won more and played for longer in the Premier League?
He’s a friend of mine but you get people like Jermain Defoe who hasn’t been voted in yet and probably won’t for a few years. He also played for Spurs and the Hammers and won’t get enough folks online to vote. That’s f***ing mental.
Gianfranco Zola — who is a cult classic and a top man and was a brilliant player — will probably get in before him because he played for Chelsea and they have a bigger reach.
Why haven’t they inducted some of the earlier ones? I’m showing my age a bit but guys like David Ginola. A proper Premier League legend for Tottenham, Everton and Newcastle.
And Brian Deane. The man who scored the first ever goal in the Prem in 1992. It’s about time players who helped make this league what it is today get recognition.
FOR the last 15 years, clubs have been trying to find their very own Didier Drogba.
In terms of being the full package and being able to do everything brilliantly, there is no one that comes close to what Drogba did at Chelsea.
When he first arrived in England, while everyone else was playing with two up top, he showed them all up by dominating and leading the line on his own.
He was elegant and technically superb. He was quick, he could score headers, tap-ins, screamers and free-kicks — all while being an absolute 6ft 2in monster of a human being.
How much would he be worth now in his prime? Probably close to £200million.
Football goes in cycles, as we know, and we are back to clubs going down the Drogba-route — trying to find a big target man who can do the lot — and spending a lot of money trying.
Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade is 6ft 6in. Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres is 6ft 2in.
Liverpool’s Alexander Isak is 6ft 4in. Manchester United’s Benjamin Sesko and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland are 6ft 5in.
Isak is probably the closest thing to Drogba I have seen.
But the Prem is slowly turning into a copycat league, trying to recreate the success of others and following a blueprint — and it doesn’t always work out.
And why aren’t we creating these sorts of elite battering rams ourselves?
Because kids are getting picked up by academies at the age of six or seven and they’re only being taught to play one way — a nice way.
I grew up playing Sunday league where I would learn on the job, get the s**t kicked out of me and I had to adapt against every opponent, and that made me better.
The likes of Gyokeres, Sesko are decent goalscorers but are they top, top level who have the lot? You’d have to say no.
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Wayne Rooney in his prime could have played at left-back and still been the best player on the pitch, because he was adaptable and an all-round brilliant player.
Until we change the way we develop these sorts of players, you won’t see another Drogba for a long time.
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