Viewing Thread:
"The greatest player ever to grace The Premiership is...?"

Think of the great players we've seen in The Premiership since it began.

The flair. The skill. The quality.

I say "Premiership's greatest player", and you think of... who?

Thierry Henry with his pace? Dennis Bergkamp with his vision and skill? Kanu with his elastic legs?

Ruud van Nistelrooy with his poached goals? Ryan Giggs with his flying wing play? David Beckham with his free kicks? Eric Cantona with his... erm... poetry?

Little Michael Owen (before his knee injury, when he was good)?

The 'much-loved' Gianfranco Zola?

The fiery Di Canio?

The list goes on.



Well whoever you thought of, you are invariably wrong. (Unless you saw the same programme...)



According to Sky One's "The Premiership's Greatest..." last night, apparently "you, the fans" voted for...



Alan Shearer!



Now I know that at some point ALASTAIR is (possibly) going to post in this thread, quite probably with one of his infamous Tourette's style, expletive-riddled rants aimed squarely at me... and that's a risk I'm willing to take.


But... COME ON!!!

Where did they hold this 'vote'? A pub in Newcastle?


I don't know about the rest of you, but when I think of "great" players, I think in terms of Pele, Cruyff, Platini, van Basten... players who are, or will be, remembered the world over long after they've given up The Beautiful Game.

But outside of Newcastle and (maybe) the North of England, who is going to be looking back in 30 years time and thinking to themselves, "What about that Alan Shearer? He really set the football world alight."

This isn't a "biased Gooner" post. The team I support is irrelevant. It's just my considered opinion that there have been any number of players in the Premiership who have been, are and will be more deserving of the title.

True, it is only a Sky TV programme, and the result is about as relevant in the real world as the current Manchester United defence... but it was worth a comment, all the same.

So come on, rant away!

Absolu† Neó wrote:

Ian Wright
----------------

Yep :)

AfroJoe wrote:
> What about that thread a week or so ago containing Ruud Gullit's
> comments towards Shearer, which I think you yourself posted, Wookiee?

I did indeed. But that has nothing to do with this thread, and is no more than a coincidence.


> And comparing him to Pele, Cruyff, Van Basten and Platini is hardly
> exactly the fairest way of looking at Shearer.

I'm not comparing him directly, just saying that when I think of "great" players, those are the type of players I think about.

I know that scoring goals is what football is about, but scoring goals does not automatically qualify you as a "great" player. There are plenty of great players who never/hardly ever scored goals - goalkeepers, defenders, even midfielders. Players who offered far more than 'just' scoring goals.

I just wondered - quite simply and honestly - how many people would genuinely have Shearer spring to mind as "the greatest" player to grace the Premiership.

cough sheringham cough

Who better than Shearer, I ask you? He has been playing for the entirety of the Premiership, and has been a consistent goalscorer the entire time. The Premiership's all-time record goalscorer deserves a little more credit than you seem willing to give him.

I wouldn't vote him my best personally, but he would easilly make a top 5.

probably theirry henry.

top 10:

1. henry
2. cantona
3. zola
4. shearer
5. wright
6. beckham
7. bergkamp
8. owen
9. klinsmann
10.juninho

Shearer would indeed be in the top 5 all time premiership player awards let alone in the striker award.

He's maybe not blessed with silky skills of Henry but strengh, detrmination and goal scoring he certainly has.

He has been the national teams best striker since, well, I can't remember ... and he still would be if he reconsidered coming back. At his current age he still up there in the goal scoring charts with the premeirships finest.

Shearer wouldn't even have come to my mind when thinking about this. My top 3 would be

1. Cantona
2. Zola
3. Henry

He might be lurking around the bottom half of my top 10 but i certainly wouldn't say he's the greatest to grace the premiership.

lalakersrule wrote:
> He might be lurking around the bottom half of my top 10 but i
> certainly wouldn't say he's the greatest to grace the premiership.


See folks?

That's all I'm saying.

As a role model for young strikers, you can't argue that Shearer is top draw. He works hard, his loyalty and demeanor are good and he keeps out of trouble. He also scores a heck of a lot of goals.

The thing is, Shearer doesn't stand out as an obvious choice for being the greatest player in the Premiership ever. He keeps quiet and does his job.

I like Shearer. When you consider that he has been there for every season that the Premiership has been running, he's a worthy contender.

My thoughts on who the greatest player is are not important because I don't like trying to pick between every player that has appeared in the Premiership. I prefer to pick players from the positions they play.

Littlest Brother wrote:
> cough sheringham cough

No alec, ex-spurs players don't belong in this thread thank you.