Who is the best Premier League player of all time?

[Ming]

The Premier League is the most popular league in the world and has been for recent years. It's hosted great talents; Christiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Gianfranco Zola and Eric Cantona are few of many. There has also been legends of longetivity like Ryan Giggs, Frank Lampard, Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes who spent the all of their careers in the Premier League.

There are a lot of Premier League greats not mentioned. Who in your opinion is the best Premier League player of all time and why do you think so?

 

[Loveless]

Anyone who plays for Man U is disqualified by virtue of being a c**t.

My vote goes for Alan Shearer. Still holds the goal scoring record I believe, England and Newcastle captain, worlds most expensive player at one point.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I'd call it a tie between Giggs and Shearer, or SHEAR-AAAAAAHHHH!!!! as Martin Tyler called him frequently. Both men kept up a high standard of consistency throughout their time in the PL, with Giggs adapting to his loss of pace by re-establishing himself in a more central role in the past 2 seasons or so.

Shearer was an absolute beast in front of goal and epitomised the idea of what an English number 9 should be; tough, strong, held the ball up, good header, 2 good feet and an eye for goal.

Giggs made his debut a year or 2 the PL began but has been an important part of each of the reassembled teams that Fergie has created over the years. While the team has never been built around Giggs, his presence has been a reassuring one.

 

[Alastor]

Giggs would be my choice. He has been part of virtually every version of Ferguson's winning squads, spanning almost 2 decades. The way he adapted from being a tricky pacy winger to a style relying less on pace to finally a central midfield role shows his understanding of the game.

Shearer is a close second, having to change his game too due to serious injuries. From the out and out goal machine to one that rely more on physical strength. It is to his credit that he managed to reinvent his game to remain effective after recovering from injuries.

But to be honest here, in terms of pure effectiveness and talents C.Ronaldo would beat both of them as he was a class of his own during his time in the Premier League and still is a goal machine now in Spain. But his reliance on pace and his freaky freekick that seem to hurt any normal players make me wonder how effective he would be when he slows down so I reserve my judgement.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I've always held an affection towards Paul Gascoigne, you know, before he started attempting to calm down serial killers and drinking himself into the gutter. Hundreds of former players have said that Gaza is one of the greatest they've played alongside, although he played in the Premier League itself for only a few years, most being when he was coming towards the end of his career, he still contributed massively and could do things others couldn't.

There are tons of players that deserve honorable mentions. Dwight Yorke, Steve McManaman pre-Real Madrid, Robbie Fowler, Theirry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Jurgen Klinsman, Roy Keane. I wouldn't say there is one, as nearly all brought something different.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I've always held an affection towards Paul Gascoigne, you know, before he started attempting to calm down serial killers and drinking himself into the gutter. Hundreds of former players have said that Gaza is one of the greatest they've played alongside, although he played in the Premier League itself for only a few years, most being when he was coming towards the end of his career, he still contributed massively and could do things others couldn't.

There are tons of players that deserve honorable mentions. Dwight Yorke, Steve McManaman pre-Real Madrid, Robbie Fowler, Theirry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Jurgen Klinsman, Roy Keane. I wouldn't say there is one, as nearly all brought something different.

While I don't know if it's possible to make a strong enough argument for him to be the best PL player of all time, you could probably make a fairly decent attempt to argue that he was one of the best SPL players for sure.

His stint with Rangers was when he was at the peak of his powers and made sure that they were able to sustain their run of 9 consecutive titles. Him, Goram and McCoist were the spine of the team for a few years when they were nigh on unstoppable, and Gazza took that form with him into Euro 96.
As a Scot it somewhat pains me to say it, but his goal against us with accompanying Dentist Chair celebration encapsulated his personality just about perfectly; capable of the sublime and eccentricity in quick succession.

 

[Loveless]

While I don't know if it's possible to make a strong enough argument for him to be the best PL player of all time, you could probably make a fairly decent attempt to argue that he was one of the best SPL players for sure.

His stint with Rangers was when he was at the peak of his powers and made sure that they were able to sustain their run of 9 consecutive titles. Him, Goram and McCoist were the spine of the team for a few years when they were nigh on unstoppable, and Gazza took that form with him into Euro 96.
As a Scot it somewhat pains me to say it, but his goal against us with accompanying Dentist Chair celebration encapsulated his personality just about perfectly; capable of the sublime and eccentricity in quick succession.

Nope sorry. He was never the same player after the FA Cup final injury in 91 against Forest. Before that he was absolutely fucking glorious to watch and probably the best creative midfielder I've seen in an England shirt. There's definitely no argument for him being a Premier League player, he never played in the Premier league, being sold to Lazio in 92 when it was still Division 1.
As for Giggs, an argument could have been made for him but as I said and as has been proven recently, he plays for Man U and has shown himself to be a c**t.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Nope sorry. He was never the same player after the FA Cup final injury in 91 against Forest. Before that he was absolutely fucking glorious to watch and probably the best creative midfielder I've seen in an England shirt. There's definitely no argument for him being a Premier League player, he never played in the Premier league, being sold to Lazio in 92 when it was still Division 1.
As for Giggs, an argument could have been made for him but as I said and as has been proven recently, he plays for Man U and has shown himself to be a c**t.

I was making more of a case for his stint with Rangers that could make him be considered one of the Scottish Premier League's greatest players, not the English Premier League's. (He did however play in the EPL with Everton and Middlesbrough, though he was well past his prime at that stage.)

What Giggs did off the field was indeed *******, but playing wise he's been a remarkably consistent player over a 20 year period. Many players considered among the best in football have had issues off the pitch; Best and Maradona for example but are still held in high regard for what they did on the pitch.

 

[Miko]

I guess I am riding off a massive high on the man, considering he's just retired, he's a fellow ginge and you dont hear much bad press about him, but Paul Scholes is right up there, with Shearer as a second, the guy was a passing machine, had that injury and came back an even better player than before, if he could tackle then he'd be the complete package. Absolutely immense player, only the English would shove someone like that on the left wing.

When Zinedine Zidane says "he's the best I've ever played against" and Xavi and Iniesta say the same, well, thats all you need to hear isnt it? Plus his goal against Barcelona in 2008, proving that into his 30's he's still got it.

While I am not surprised to see the lack of Scholes as he generally flies under the radar, the lack of mentions for Henry or even Drogba are surprising.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I'm going to plump for Matt Le Tissier. Giggs, Shearer and most names mentioned will all have strong cases for being the best but they were surrounded by world class players. Le Tissier built his legacy by playing his whole career with a team who were consistently regarded as relegation candidates, a fact accentuated when they were relegated two seasons after his resignation.

Wiki:
In 2010, Spanish superstar Xavi revealed that Le Tissier had been one of his childhood inspirations, claiming that: "His talent was simply out of the norm. He could simply dribble past seven or eight players but without speed - he just walked past them. For me he was sensational".

Quite simply 'Le God'

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[OwenHart100%legend]

Can't believe he has not been mentioned yet but surely Roy Keane has got to be up there with the best and I can't stand him but as a player in the late 90s the guy was the most influential midfielder in the world, the first name on any teamsheet, a born winner! Another shout would be Paulo Di Canio one of the few players you would pay to watch! Id also have to give a mention to Steven Gerrard who is twice the player Lampard is and had he not bottled it and actually moved to Chelsea he would be sitting with several Premier League medals in his trophy room and Roman would probably have his treasured Champions League title.

 

[harrythem]

I'm really torn between Cantona, Henry and Bergkamp...As a Gooner I want to discount Eric because he was a cunt but, he was damn good.

Sod it, I pick Henry. Record scorer, amazing goals, amazing talent...just top draw.

Also love (d) - Viera, Keane, Scholes, Shearer, Ronaldo, Lampard, Adams, Giggs, Ian Wright, Rio Ferdinand, Van Persie, Rooney, Drogba and many more.

Not much love for Titus Bramble though is there?