25 YEARS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE
To celebrate 25 years of the Premier League, we asked Sportsmail’s experts to pick their best player and best goal of the era.
BEST PLAYER
JAMIE REDKNAPP
THIERRY HENRY: It was like he was playing a different game at times. He used to glide, he was so smooth. The way he used to run down the left, cut inside and bend one into the corner was amazing. If you closed your eyes you could picture him doing it time after time. He was an incredible footballer, scored unbelievable goals and if you had him in your team you would have won league after league. He had a sensational appetite to win. There have been some brilliant Premier League players — Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Alan Shearer, Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira — but Henry was the one. IAN LADYMAN
ROY KEANE: Would have got in any Premier League team of the last 25 years. A leader and warrior and a much better technical footballer than many people appreciate. CHRIS SUTTON
THIERRY HENRY: I am a huge fan of Roy Keane — he was very influential in that unbelievable Manchester United era — and Alan Shearer’s goals put him up there, but the best has to be Henry. Not only was he the best player in the Premier League, he was the best player in world football for a period. You could not say that about many others. In the invincible team he was unplayable. The goals he scored and the threat he was in that Arsenal team were absolutely sensational. LAURA WILLIAMSON
PAUL SCHOLES: I loved how this serial winner was so brilliantly effective and reliable without being the slightest bit flash. We’ll overlook his tackling. DOMINIC KING
RYAN GIGGS: The boy wonder who accumulated a treasure chest of trophies. A fixture in Manchester United’s team, capable of regularly providing moments of jaw-dropping brilliance. MARTIN KEOWN
THIERRY HENRY: An Olympic sprinter with football boots instead of spikes. At his peak, his pace, power and swagger made him almost unplayable. SAMI MOKBEL DENNIS BERGKAMP: A true magician. Scorer of great goals, and creator of them. MATT LAWTON THIERRY HENRY:
more flair, grace, skillA playerand athleti-with cism than anyone else we have seen in modern English football. LEE CLAYTON THIERRY HENRY: Pace, class, swagger, goals. MIKE KEEGAN
ALAN SHEARER: Guaranteed goals wherever he played. At Blackburn 113 in 133 games was incredible. Honourable mentions: Thierry Henry, Paul Scholes. LAURIE WHITWELL PAUL SCHOLES: In terms of pure talent, it has to be Cristiano Ronaldo. But for a personal favourite: Scholes. He was a joy to watch, so utterly at ease on the ball and with a mind like no other. His passing was perfect and his shooting
dynamite. He was tough and nofrills too, which appealed more as the game moved on. RIATH AL-SAMARRAI THIERRY HENRY: Close between Henry and Eric Cantona, who you suspect was never quite as good as he wanted to be. Henry is an example of sustained, bankable brilliance. ADAM SHERGOLD RYAN GIGGS: Was a player unsurpassed in terms of longevity and consistency of success. TOM FARMERY
THIERRY HENRY: Football should be fun. Thierry Henry on a football pitch made the game fun. One touch and go. Defenders feared his turn of pace and goalkeepers rarely worked out which part of their goal he would target. At his prime one of the best to play the game. KIERAN GILL ALAN SHEARER: The greatest goalscorer in the Premier League. Englishman who scored the simple and the spectacular. SIMON JONES RYAN GIGGS: Great to watch. Longevity of his career underlined dedication to his craft AMITAI WINEHOUSE DAVID SILVA: Underappreciated because of his lack of goals
but he is magical on the ball and with his vision. SAM MORSHEAD RYAN GIGGS: a dribble wizard turned master craftsman, who won it all. PETE JENSON MATT LE TISSIER: one-man goalof-the- season contest. and everything the Premier league was not supposed to be — understated, unfashionable, slightly out of condition and not interested in chasing the money. JACK GAUGHAN THIERRY HENRY: he was breathtaking to watch, scorer of stunners and owning the classiest sidefoot in world football.
BEST GOAL
JAMIE REDKNAPP SERGIO AGUERO (Manchester City v QPR, 2012) the most incredible goal I have seen live. there have been great volleys from alan shearer, henry’s dribbling, great team goals, but the most dramatic I have seen was aguero snatching the title for City — and denying united — in the dying seconds of the season. the moment — added to Martin tyler’s commentary and Gary Neville’s face — that makes it for me! IAN LADYMAN DENNIS BERGKAMP (Newcastle v Arsenal, 2002) so exquisitely unique that even now — after endless viewings — I still can’t work out exactly what he did, never mind how he did it. CHRIS SUTTON MATT LE TISSIER (Southampton v Blackburn, 1994) aN incredible goal. there are a lot of good strikes and people who lash the ball in but this was le tissier at his best. he turned a couple of players inside out and then placed it from about 35 yards into tim Flowers’ top corner. Flowers tried to save it but eventually took his hands away because he was nowhere near it. It was the fact that he didn’t go for sheer power that did it for me. he knew what he was doing, he placed it with goal. amazing accuracy. a stunning LAURA WILLIAMSON GARETH(West Ham BALEv Tottenham, 2013) spursthe wayin the he dying salvaged secondsa win with for this everything wonderful about strikea world summedstar whoup was made in the Premier league. DOMINIC KING STAN (Liverpool COLLYMOREv Newcastle, 1996) Not the most spectacular, not the most obvious but the dramatic strike that defined the greatest Premier league match played in the last 25 years. MARTIN KEOWN KANU (Chelsea v Arsenal, 1999) aFteR selling onrushing goalkeeper ed de Goey with a dummy on the byline, Kanu floated in a shot from the tightest of angles that left two World Cup-winning defenders in Marcel Desailly and Frank leboeuf floundering. this late strike completed a hat-trick that saw us win from 2-0 down! SAMI MOKBEL MATT (SouthamptonLE TISSIERv Wimbledon, 1994) PeRhaPs the most inventive free-kick in the Premier league era. Flick up, volley, goal. truly audacious, utterly brilliant. MATT LAWTON THIERRY(Arsenal v HENRYMan Utd, 2000) extRaoRDINaRy — back to goal, flick of the foot and a stunning volley on the turn. LEE CLAYTON DENNIS (Newcastle BERGKAMPv Arsenal, 2002) MeNtIoNs for tony yeboah (leeds v liverpool), alan shearer (Newcastle v everton), andy Carroll (West ham v Crystal Palace). MIKE KEEGAN DALIAN( Wimbledon ATKINSONv Aston Villa, 1992) stuNNING display of skill, balance, pace and precision from the sadly departed Villa man. Brilliant goal, brilliant celebration. LAURIE WHITWELL (Man ERIC Utd CANTONAv Sunderland, 1996) PossIBly because it came during the early days of my matchgoing experience but this chip has a magnetism about it like no other goal in my memory. Cantona strutted across the pitch and delivered a finish that hung in the air before hitting its target with millimetre precision. then that celebration. RIATH AL-SAMARRAI DENNIS BERGKAMP (Newcastle v Arsenal, 2002) oNly his brain and feet could have come up with that. ADAM SHERGOLD DENNIS BERGKAMP (Newcastle v Arsenal, 2002) BalletIC spin and sublime finish. TOM FARMERY STAN COLLYMORE (Liverpool v Newcastle, 1996) ‘BaRNes, Rush, Barnes, still John Barnes... Collymore closing in!’ late, late goals are great. this one had an impact, a 4-3 scoreline ending Newcastle’s title hopes. Pure drama and a deafening Kop roar. KIERAN GILL THIERRY HENRY (Arsenal v Man Utd, 2000) the flick, the turn, the finish. a thing of beauty. SIMON JONES SERGIO AGUERO (Manchester City v QPR, 2012) PeteR CRouCh for stoke against Manchester City in 2012 deserves a mention but, for importance, aguero’s title clincher. AMITAI WINEHOUSE TONY YEBOAH (Leeds v Liverpool, 1995) ‘yeBoah with a chance,’ said the commentator, arguably the biggest overstatement in football history. Better because he hit the bar. SAM MORSHEAD THIERRY HENRY (Arsenal v Man Utd, 2000) aRRoGaNCe, skill and style — everything that defined henry — in an extraordinary bundle. PETE JENSON DALIAN ATKINSON (Wimbledon v Aston Villa, 1992) I CaN still hear the commentary: ‘It’s a great run, now what about the finish? oh! that’s not bad either!’ JACK GAUGHAN THIERRY HENRY (Arsenal v Man Utd, 2000) BaCK to goal, flick up under pressure from Denis Irwin and a volley all in one movement to leave Fabian Barthez helpless.
BEST MANAGER
We also asked our experts to pick the best manager and, bar one dissenting voice, they all plumped for sir alex Ferguson. AMITAI WINEHOUSE ARSENE WENGER IF It were not for Wenger, the Premier league would not be in the shape it is today. Revolutionised the game.