Premier League Draft: Picking our all-time XIs

Summary

The Athletic FC Podcast: Premier League Draft – Picking Our All-Time XIs

Release Date: April 27, 2025
Host: Duncan Alexander
Guests: Jacob Whitehead, Jack Lang, Oliver Kay, David Harbour

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Introduction to the Premier League Draft

At [02:47], Duncan Alexander introduces an exciting twist to the upcoming NFL draft by conducting a Premier League-themed draft to assemble all-time greatest XI’s from England's top-flight football history. This segment aims to navigate through the vast pool of over 4,000 Premier League players to curate the most formidable teams.

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Draft Rules and Structure

Duncan outlines the snake draft format, ensuring each participant has an equitable chance to pick players in a back-and-forth sequence ([03:26]). Key rules include:

• Player Exclusivity: No duplicate selections across teams.
• Era Division:
  • Classic Era (1992-2010): Minimum of five players.
  • Modern Era (2011-Present): Minimum of five players.
  • Wildcard Picks: One player of any preference.
• Formation Flexibility: Participants can choose any reasonable formation but are encouraged to maintain balance.

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Player Selections and Strategic Picks

First Round:

• Jacob Whitehead kicks off the draft by selecting [05:02] Mohamed Salah for his exceptional right-wing prowess.
• Jack Lang counters with [05:21] Thierry Henry, valuing his legendary status and scoring ability.
• David Harbour opts for [05:50] Cristiano Ronaldo, acknowledging his contributions despite not being exclusively a Premier League standout.
• Duncan Alexander surprises everyone by choosing [06:03] Roy Keane as a central midfielder, aiming to anchor his team.

Subsequent Rounds:

• Jacob continues building with [07:08] Frank Lampard and [07:29] Virgil van Dijk, strengthening his midfield and defense.
• Jack enhances his squad with [07:05] Kevin De Bruyne and later adds [08:30] Alan Shearer, focusing on a balanced and high-scoring front line.
• David secures key defensive positions with [11:14] Paul Scholes and [11:25] Steven Gerrard, integrating midfield dynamism.
• Duncan selects [12:00] Andy Robertson and [12:41] Luis Suarez, aiming for a robust defense and a lethal attacking duo.

Notable Picks:

• Duncan Alexander’s selection of [12:19] Paul Ferreira and [14:15] Nemanja Vidic, highlighting his emphasis on defensive solidity.
• Jack Lang’s strategic move to pick [13:02] Eden Hazard and [16:13] Leighton Baines, ensuring creative and defensive strength.

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Team Compositions

Jacob Whitehead's Team ([25:00]):

• Goalkeeper: Petr Cech
• Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta, Virgil van Dijk, Vincent Kompany, Leighton Baines
• Midfielders: Rodri, Frank Lampard, David Silva
• Forwards: Mohamed Salah, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney

Jack Lang's Team ([29:07]):

• Goalkeeper: Alisson
• Defenders: Kyle Walker, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Dennis Irwin
• Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Eden Hazard
• Forwards: Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry

David Harbour's Team ([31:15]):

• Goalkeeper: Peter Schmeichel
• Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ricardo Cavalho, John Terry, Ashley Cole
• Midfielders: Vieira, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes
• Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Harry Kane

Duncan Alexander's Team ([35:08]):

• Goalkeeper: Edison
• Defenders: Paul Ferreira, Andy Robertson, Tony Adams, Nemanja Vidic
• Midfielders: Yaya Touré, Roy Keane, David Beckham
• Forwards: Dennis Bergkamp, Sergio Aguero, Luis Suarez

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Team Critiques and Analysis

Jacob Whitehead:
At [25:32], Jacob presents his defensively robust team, emphasizing Cech and van Dijk as key pillars. His midfield, anchored by Rodri and Lampard, offers both defensive stability and goal-scoring prowess. Ryan Giggs provides longevity and experience on the wings.

Jack Lang:
Jack's team shines with a 4-4-2 formation, featuring legendary forward pairing Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry ([29:07]). His midfield, bolstered by De Bruyne and Fabregas, promises creative and dynamic play. Defensively, Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell offer elite protection.

David Harbour:
David crafts a balanced team with Schmeichel guarding the net and a strong defensive line featuring John Terry and Ricardo Cavalho ([31:15]). His midfield trio of Vieira, Gerrard, and Scholes integrates strength and playmaking. The attacking line of Ronaldo, Bale, and Kane ensures a lethal goal threat.

Duncan Alexander:
Duncan’s selection incorporates both offensive flair and defensive might, featuring Edison in goal and Vidic alongside Adams in defense ([35:08]). His midfield of Touré, Keane, and Beckham combines defensive tenacity with creative distribution. The forward line of Bergkamp, Aguero, and Suarez promises relentless attacking pressure.

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Key Insights and Conclusions

1. Era Representation:
   The draft successfully balanced players from the Classic (1992-2010) and Modern (2011-Present) eras, ensuring a blend of experience and contemporary talent.

2. Defensive Strength:
   Teams like Jacob’s and Duncan’s highlight the importance of a strong defensive base with players like Cech, van Dijk, and Vidic, crucial for maintaining league dominance.

3. Midfield Dynamics:
   Midfielders such as Rodri, Lampard, De Bruyne, and Gerrard play pivotal roles in linking defense and attack, offering both creative and defensive capabilities.

4. Attacking Prowess:
   Forward lines featuring Salah, Henry, Ronaldo, Bale, and Kane underscore the significance of versatile and high-scoring forwards in securing victories.

5. Managerial Choices:
   The selection of managers like Jose Mourinho for Jack ([22:00]) and Pep Guardiola for David ([22:10]) adds strategic depth, potentially influencing team tactics and performance.

6. Team Synergy and Balance:
   Discussions reveal the intricate balance required between individual brilliance and team cohesion. For instance, Jack Lang’s combination of Shearer and Henry creates a formidable strike partnership ([29:16]).

7. Ego Management:
   The conversation acknowledges potential challenges in managing star-studded teams, particularly concerning player egos and managerial strategies ([33:23]).

8. Cultural and Strategic Differences:
   The draft reflects varying philosophies, from defensive solidity to attacking flair, illustrating the diverse approaches to building a championship-winning team.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Duncan Alexander:
  "I'm gonna pick Roy Keane in central midfield and I get the next pick, in fact, which is exciting." ([06:03])

• Jack Lang:
  "That's like all of the Premier League goals." ([29:07])

• Jacob Whitehead:
  "It's just, we also got Leighton Baines there attacking more than Azpilicueta." ([27:32])

• David Harbour:
  "This exercise makes it crystal clear how reductive the kind of instant would this guy make your Premier League all-time 11 chat is because there is, you know, it's really the competition here is fierce." ([40:56])

• Jack Lang:
  "That's a great team. I think it's a great, great team." ([27:26])

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Final Thoughts

The Premier League Draft episode of The Athletic FC Podcast delves deep into the complexities of selecting an all-time XI, balancing statistical prowess with player chemistry and historical impact. The diverse strategies employed by Duncan, Jacob, Jack, and David highlight the multifaceted nature of football team-building, celebrating the rich legacy of the Premier League.

Listeners gain invaluable insights into the meticulous selection process, team dynamics, and the enduring legacy of Premier League legends. This episode serves as a testament to the enduring passion and analytical prowess that define The Athletic's approach to football journalism.

Transcript

[Duncan Alexander]

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[David Harbour]

Hey there, I'm David Harbour from Marvel Studios Thunderbolts.

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[Duncan Alexander]

Well, actually maybe I do just a.

[David Harbour]

Little bit, but I have a good reason.

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Okay, now back to the show or onto the next ad. The Athletic FC Podcast Network.

[Duncan Alexander]

Hello and welcome to the Athletic FC Podcast. I'm Duncan Alexander and with the NFL draft looming large this weekend, we've decided to do our own Premier League version looking at the all time history of England's current top flight.

[Unknown Ad Voice]

Henry, what a goal down at header.

[Jack Lang]

Shearer, what do they say? Come up the hour, cometh the man.

[Duncan Alexander]

Joining me are three brilliant minds with knowledge of many eras of the Premier League. We've got Jacob Whitehead. Hello.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Hello.

[Duncan Alexander]

We've got Jack Lang.

[Jack Lang]

Hi.

[Duncan Alexander]

And we've got Oliver Kay.

[David Harbour]

Hello.

[Duncan Alexander]

All right, first up, let's outline the rules. We should obviously point out that in the actual NFL draft there are many teams going for a fairly small pool of players, whereas we've got the history of of the Premier League. So that's technically more than 4,000 footballers and four of us. So we've got a lot of space to choose players, but we're still going to put some rules in place. We're going to do what's called a snake draft. I didn't know what that was until about 10 minutes ago, but apparently that's where we start. At one end of this line of people go up one end. I think Jacob's going to start through to Jack, through to Oli, then to me, and then it goes back the other way. So everyone gets a chance to make their picks. Obviously, as with a real draft, we cannot have two people picking the same player. So if any one of us has highlighted someone that we've got a heart set on and then someone else gets there first, that rules them out. We're also going to have at least five players in each team from the 1992-2010 classic era, and then five from 2011 to the present day, the modern contemporary era, and then the 11th, well, that's anyone you fancy. Premier League form. Only you could, you know, you could offer, try and pick George Ware, but did most of his best work outside of The Premier League. So probably not that wise a decision. Any formation within reason, Jack. I don't want any sort of mad South American formations, just, you know, your classics and yeah, I think that's probably about it. So without any further ado, let's get going. Okay, let's get underway. Jacob, you've got the honour of the first pick.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I feel at disadvantage here, sort of not knowing lots of the players. Like that George Weah joke just went totally over my head. I've had to ask all sorts of questions this morning. My tactic, first up, I think there's actually relative scarcity on the right wing. I think there's top shelf. And after that it slightly drops off a bit. So I am going to go with the first pick. Mohamed Salah.

[Jack Lang]

Didn't think I'd have this opportunity to pick Thierry Henry, but I do and I will. So Thierry Henry is my first pick.

[David Harbour]

That's very interesting. I was expecting Henri to go first. I wasn't expecting Salah to go first. But I recognize Jack's point about the scarcity value on the right wing and it's thrown me. And I might therefore go for Cristiano Ronaldo, who I would say didn't necessarily do his very best work in the Premier League. But was pretty good, wasn't he?

[Duncan Alexander]

Well, it was pretty good. I think that's fair enough. Interesting. We've all gone for sort of players that can play out wide, often on the right, obviously, Umri on the left more. I'm gonna buck the trend and actually go for Roy Keane in central midfield and I get the next pick, in fact, which is exciting. And I am gonna go for Dennis Burkamp.

[Jack Lang]

Wow.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Not on my list.

[David Harbour]

Wow.

[Jack Lang]

Quite a way down my list.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Keane was 11th for my centre mid depth chart.

[Jack Lang]

What?

[David Harbour]

What?

[Jacob Whitehead]

But you're never seen it. Never seen him play.

[David Harbour]

You're so young, you might be playing mind games with us. This is difficult. There's players on. There's so many players I wasn't expecting still to be on the. On the table. I am going to go for Steven Gerrard.

[Duncan Alexander]

Jack.

[Jack Lang]

Yeah. Okay. So three of my initial top five players are still available. So now the question is, is Thierry Henry a lone striker for me? And I don't think he is.

[Duncan Alexander]

Not his best role.

[Jack Lang]

Not his best role. But then again, I get to pick again quite soon, so I might leave that question open and start filling my midfield. And I will do so by picking Kevin De Bruyne, a decision some people.

[Duncan Alexander]

May get in real life this summer. Jacob.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I've still got one of my top five players available. I'm also going to stick with my relative scarcity and I'm gonna pick as sort of playing attacking midfield role. I'm going to go for Frank Lampard.

[Duncan Alexander]

He was there, everyone was thinking about him.

[Jacob Whitehead]

And then. I'm not used to this two in a row.

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[Jacob Whitehead]

I'm gonna take the first defender of the draft and sort of try and anchor my defence. I'm sort of stuck between three names here, but I'm going to go with Virgil van Dijk.

[Jack Lang]

I. I see center backs as. I think there are quite a few good options at center back actually and I in fact most of the defensive positions. So I'm going to leave that for a minute. My choice is already now one of system because I'm not sure Kevin de Bruyne works in the midfield too.

[Duncan Alexander]

We should point out, as Jack muses live here, that I think we want to get to point where at the end of this process our teams are judged as teams as well, not just a collection of players. So some sort functionality together is attractive.

[Jack Lang]

I note the winger chat and I note that maybe. Oh, because Henry can play on the left as well. I tell you what. No, I'm going to go for Alan Shearer.

[Duncan Alexander]

I've heard of him.

[Jack Lang]

Didn't expect to have the Henri Shearer attack, but there we are. Yes, done.

[David Harbour]

Has Patrick Fiera gone? Yeah.

[Jack Lang]

No, no.

[David Harbour]

Well than he has now. It's. Yeah. There'll be Arsenal fans outraged that he's so far down the list, but there you go.

[Duncan Alexander]

It is quite a mad experiment being able to pick anyone in the history of the Premier League because you do realise there have been quite a lot of good players and on that basis I'm going to go for Yaya Toure in midfield. Famously in 2013, 14 took seven direct free kicks, scored four of them, which is a better conversion rate with direct free kicks than Juan Pablo angel had from the penalty spot in his Premier League career. So ye player that sometimes gets forgotten, I think a little bit, but exceptional performer and from the same era. Up front, I'm going to go for Luis Suarez, who still has scored 2% of the goals Norwich have ever conceded in the Premier League.

[Jack Lang]

If my first pick hadn't been Henry Suarez, he was the third player on my list.

[Duncan Alexander]

Really?

[Jack Lang]

Yeah.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Wow.

[Jack Lang]

But I don't. Henry and Suarez, they're going to be moving into the same areas, aren't they? So I let that one go.

[David Harbour]

You're thinking far too much about the precise technicalities of it given that to my knowledge these teams are never going to take the pitch. But God, there are still.

[Jacob Whitehead]

No. With a new baller league.

[David Harbour]

There are still so many. Yeah, there's still so many good ones. I might take Ashley Cole off the table. Yes, I'll do that.

[Jack Lang]

I think that's a good move. He was quite far ahead in the left back stakes. Couple of players on Melissa Strikers don't need any more of them for a bit. Wingers could go either way. I'm gonna go for. I need a midfielder who isn't super attacking. Given that. Well, Vieira and Keane most notably are both gone. I'm gonna go for N'Golo Kante, a.

[Duncan Alexander]

Man who famously once watched match the day with some fans after missing his Eurostar back to France.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I think it's interesting but lots of you already have already gone for your striker. Which means I might have choices later on in the. In the game. So I'm going to try and build strength on strength. I'm going to go for a second centre back. I've got a choice for me between John Terry and Vincent Kompany and I'm more of a company man so I'm going to go for him.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, but who are you picking?

[Jacob Whitehead]

And I'm going to get my midfield started. I'm going to give the highest remaining player on my. On my list, a modern player and take Rodri Ballon d'or.

[Duncan Alexander]

Not bad.

[Jack Lang]

Okay. I'm gonna probably think I need a defender at this stage and I'm gonna go for Rio Ferdinand.

[David Harbour]

I. Looking down my list, there are. Yeah. Of. Of my A lists. I think we're running out of the A list. But one that is on there is Paul Skulls. So I'll go for pulse goals.

[Duncan Alexander]

Where are you gonna play them though? You gonna put a span?

[David Harbour]

Don't know. Yeah, I mean it could. He could end up wide left, couldn't he?

[Duncan Alexander]

He likes it.

[David Harbour]

Do you know what Vieira Scholes midfield would be. Would be quite nice.

[Duncan Alexander]

And Steven Gerrard be good for the yellow card industry.

[David Harbour]

It would be. It would be. Yeah.

[Duncan Alexander]

Okay. It's back round to me. I think I'm gonna. I'm gonna tick off my fullbacks here. Right back. Don't know. Fullback. It feels like there's not as many. Jack said earlier about centre halves. I think there's. There's fewer fullbacks. I'm gonna pick at right back. Paolo Ferreira. Who. If you said who's he?

[David Harbour]

That's the question.

[Duncan Alexander]

He played for Chelsea in the Peak Mourinho era And in the 2000s he had the second best win percentage of any player, 75%. He played basically 103 games in the 2000s and won 80 of them or 78 of them. So he was a very good player, very good defender.

[Jacob Whitehead]

That's two full seasons now.

[Duncan Alexander]

Well, he's a very good player and he's in my team. And joining him on the other flank, I'm gonna get Andy Robertson, who I think is always overlooked as a fullback. He's got 59 assists, which is pretty impressive. People talk about Trent Alexander, Arnold's assist rate, but you know, 59 from left back is tremendous. So yeah, Ferreira and Robertson.

[Jack Lang]

For me, Ferreira's the first player I didn't need to tick off my own list.

[David Harbour]

Duncan's picks just now have really thrown me. I mean the Pearl of Ferreira thing is such a curveball. I'm wondering whether you're just playing with my head. Mourinho.

[Jack Lang]

That's madness.

[David Harbour]

I'm going to go a bit more mainstream. And Harry Kane, decent goal scorer. Yeah, he's no Peloferro, but he's not.

[Duncan Alexander]

Got as good a wimp percentage as Palo Pera, that is for sure.

[Jack Lang]

No, I'm gonna go for the highest remaining player on my list that I don't have covered position wise and that is Eden Hazard.

[Duncan Alexander]

He was on my list, should be.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I think Hazard was going to be my next pick. Jack has snuck in on anyone still yet to pick a striker or could I leave that until later in the draft? I'm gonna take it now and go for Wayne Rooney. I'm tempted to finish off my forward line here. It's a bit of a weird choice, but I will go for longevity and pick my first surreal older player and pick Ryan Giggs.

[David Harbour]

I thought you could go for Shane Longford. Longevity.

[Jack Lang]

I'm just doing some. My first glance at the ERAS rule.

[Duncan Alexander]

It's creeping up on us.

[Jack Lang]

Yeah, okay. I think I'm okay for now. I am going to complete my center back pairing. John Terry's name has been mentioned and can be mentioned again because I am going for Sol Campbell to partner Rio Ferdinand.

[David Harbour]

The centre backs thing is fascinating because normally you would build a team around them and I think the point that Jacob made right at the start about Gusti Value is an important one. There are so many very, very, very good central defenders so I've avoided them till now. But I'm going to go for John Terry.

[Duncan Alexander]

I think I'll join in the central defensive chat. I'm Going to start with Nemanja Vidic again. Another man with a monstrous win percentage. But, you know, key to a lot of that late Ferguson era success at Manchester United. I'm going to partner him up with a man who maybe not very popular with David Ellery, but with a lot of Arsenal fans. Tony Adams.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Well, I would him as center backs in one fell swoop. Efficient.

[David Harbour]

So maybe I'll do the same now and go with Ricardo Cavalo.

[Jack Lang]

I'm good for attackers. I do need another midfielder. Can be a right midfielder or a central midfielder depending where I play De Bruyne. But I think I'm going to go there are at least two or three really good goalkeepers and I'm going to trust that it's going to come back to that in a minute and give me another chance. So I'm going to pick a right back player whose stock has fallen.

[Duncan Alexander]

Fair errors gone by the way.

[Jack Lang]

Stock has fallen a little bit recently but has had a really, really, really good Premier League career and that's Kyle Walker.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I say stand out, stand out right back for me. I'm going. I didn't think that the player I'm going to choose now was still going to be available actually. So I'm actually going to drop Lampard back into A two alongside Rodri because Rodri, as we all know, can do anything. And I'm going to pick David Silva.

[Duncan Alexander]

Who'S on my list.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Is your list quite sort of an intimate list? It feels like every just 20 players and his mates.

[Duncan Alexander]

Basically, yes.

[Jacob Whitehead]

And I'm going to nip in ahead of Jack because I think for me that Petr Cek is the goalkeeper I really want. So I want to take him here. First goalkeeper off the board.

[Duncan Alexander]

We should reiterate that in 200405 Petr Cek played 35 Premier League games for Chelsea and let in 13 goals, which doesn't seem feasible.

[Jack Lang]

He wouldn't have been either of my first two goalkeepers actually and I'm tempted to let that go again and hope it comes back round. Would I be okay with my third choice keeper? Probably do need a left back. Okay, we're going to go a bit old school here and pick a left back. Jacob, you can google this guy later. He was called Dennis Win.

[Jacob Whitehead]

He's on my list.

[David Harbour]

He was very good and he has the advantage of right back or left back.

[Jack Lang]

That's right.

[David Harbour]

Premier League here. Didn't. Didn't play so much at right back. But anyway, talk of right backs, I still feel like I've Got the pick of them really. I mean it's, it's a question whether you go with the longevity in the medals of, of Gary Neville or the, the technical brilliance of Trent Alexander Arnold. And although he doesn't seem like he's going to have the, the longevity in the Premier League with La Liga calling. I'm gonna go for Trent Alexander Arnold.

[Duncan Alexander]

Okay. So yeah, I kind of need to fill another wide position here. I think think I'm gonna go for David Beckham.

[David Harbour]

I was just jumped out at me he hadn't been picked and I, I wasn't gonna take him. But yeah, I mean if you think sort of Premier League era, all time loads, he would have been a shoe in for the right hand side until.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, at least perhaps, I don't know, very much so. And then I think I'm gonna pick my goalkeeper next and I'm gonna go for a current player. I'm going to go for Mr. Assists himself, Edison, just because I think he encapsulates what goalkeeping is now. You know, I could have picked Peter Schmeichel perhaps, but in some ways there are similarities between them. But in many other ways they're very different players.

[David Harbour]

I, oh God, do you know I've confused myself because I thought all along I'd taken Thierry Henry out of the equation and I haven't, have I? Because I didn't get him. I need someone who can play wide. I'm gonna go for Gareth Bale, one.

[Duncan Alexander]

Of the all time great seasons.

[David Harbour]

Maybe two of the all time seasons. He was very, very, very good player.

[Jack Lang]

Okay. This is simplified things for me. I don't. There are two of us still need to pick a goalkeeper and there are to my mind two outstanding candidates. So I don't really need to rush that now. I'm gonna fix the final spot in my team. Therefore the next midfielder on my list is actually Fernandinho. But I've already got N'golo Kante and I don't think I need two players of that type. So therefore the decision is whether I pick another slightly more attack minded central midfielder and play De Bruyne on the right or a winger and have De Bruyne in a two. And looking at the players I've got available, none of them really play on the right. Beckham I would have had. So I'll go central again and I'll go Fabregas.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I just have a pair of fullbacks to go and right back my top two are off the board.

[Duncan Alexander]

Paolo.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Yeah, so I think he's actually, he's off the board as well. Yeah. I am going to pick longevity span some eras. Cesar Azpilicueta and at left back could go for Treece Evra. Not going to never really seen Stuart Pierce play. So I'll go for the 9th, a pick my 9 year old self would want me to make. And I'm picking Leighton Baines.

[Jack Lang]

Nice solid choice. Finish my team with the goalkeeper who would have been my first choice anyway handily which is Alisson.

[David Harbour]

Yeah, well goalkeeper like Jack I've. I've left to the end. I'm left with Van der Zaar and Schmeichel both still available.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Yeah.

[David Harbour]

I'm guessing nobody else is going to pick a second goalkeeper. God, I'm almost tempted to say Van der Sar but for. But for pure on the page Premier league all time 11 look I think I'll go for Schmeichel Van der Sasse Vern though I would say, you know, if it was judging on a global level, I might say, I might say Van de Sarsa, you know what I mean?

[Duncan Alexander]

Funny one because like was it 14 clean sheets in a row.

[David Harbour]

Brilliant goal, brilliant.

[Duncan Alexander]

A mad season but it kind of goes under the radar. People still think of Ronaldo, he came.

[Jack Lang]

So late in his career to England that kind of sways it.

[Duncan Alexander]

He still went to Fulham on the.

[David Harbour]

Way he was at Fulham and he wasn't massively talked about but. And I'm probably doing a massive disservice now by picking Schmeichel ahead of him but yeah, I think I would have. Yes, Schmeichel, Schmeichel. Purely for how it looks on paper.

[Duncan Alexander]

Okay, so it's my final pick. I could pick a wide midfielder and go 4, 4, 2. I could pick another forward and do a sort of 4, 3, 3. Which is more tempting. I think I probably need to go looking at my list of players modern as well. Although Vidic does kind of span both quite nicely in terms of taking that off I think and team building experts may not like this but I think just because he's a there and I absolutely loved him as a player and why not? I think he'd work quite well with Luis Suarez as well as Sergio Aguero.

[Jack Lang]

I was just about to bring him up as surely the best player who didn't get picked but last pick is still quite surprising.

[Duncan Alexander]

Everyone's got their 11 now it's time to pick a manager to take charge of these fantasy draft 11 so we'll go in the same order that we began with. So Jacob, if you. You can go first.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I think I have to go with.

[Jack Lang]

Alex Ferguson, which is obviously what I would have done. I will go for Jose Mourinho.

[David Harbour]

I'll go for Pep Guardiola.

[Duncan Alexander]

Then had a few choices here. Gus Hidink in The spring of 2000.

[David Harbour]

If we took win percentages Steve Wigley.

[Duncan Alexander]

Not make it the energy and the handshake between Conte and Tucula and Stamford Bridge. I think I'm going to go Arsene Wenger then he'll get the best out of the Bergkamp Suarez Aguero Trimva Klopp.

[Jack Lang]

Snubbed, didn't wear much Assistant manager Jason Tindall for me.

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[Duncan Alexander]

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[Jack Lang]

All rights reserved.

[Duncan Alexander]

Okay, well, that concludes the initial process of choosing the players and manager. Now it's the fun bit where we get to critique each other's team. So we're going to start with you Jacob. You read out your team and its form and then we will decide what we think of it.

[Jacob Whitehead]

In a 43 one my team is in goal. Petr Cech, right back Cesar Azpilicueta, centre backs Virgil van Dijk and Vincent Kompany and Leighton Baines at left back, Rodri at number 6. Lampard number 8, David Silva number 10, Salah on the right wing, Ryan Giggs on the left wing and Wayne Rooney up front. I'd say I've got my top two centre backs. Not much is getting past those two mobile come play through the lines. Lampardi got top scoring midfielder in Premier League history. Rodri is most all round midfield.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, I'd say you've got what I'd call like a surprise goal scoring team in the fact that you know rooney got over 200 goals but in some respects isn't seen as a sort of classic goal scorer. Salah again incredible goal rate. But isn't a center forward Lampard pretty decent? Yeah, Chelsea's record top score from central midfield. So in some ways you could look at your team and say oh maybe there isn't an out and out goal scorer but there's goals in it.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I'd say there's lots of good crosses of the ball. My centre backs both dangerous from set pieces and that's probably going to be our main tactic really.

[Duncan Alexander]

Back to basics.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Yeah.

[Jack Lang]

Dead ball team. Okay, that's interesting.

[David Harbour]

Do you think In a modern 433 sort of Giggs would be comfortable on the left hand side in a modern 433 or do you reckon if he was reincarnated today do you reckon he'd be a sort of cutting inside from the right like Salah? Obviously completely hypothetical rather than I quite.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Like when you have one winger who cuts inside I think another one who stretches the defence bin if we find this is younger gigs who had real pace to him I don't mind that as sort of stretching the play because my other ones aren't necessarily like huge runners in behind but then maybe if I'm having older Gigs, he can sort of slot back inside a little bit as Lampard pushes onwards.

[Duncan Alexander]

I mean, I think that's quite an interesting point, particularly when it comes to players like Giggs. You know, players who play in the Premier League that long do change over time. And people who probably maybe only saw Giggs towards the end of his Manchester United career don't realise just how electric he was when he broke through at United. I mean, he was virtually unplayable in terms of pace and attacking ability.

[Jack Lang]

Tell you what, I like Jake, about your team. This may or may not have been intentional. I like the two partnerships on the flanks. So like Azpilicueta, a less gung ho attacking player because you've got Salah on that who's gonna be doing a lot of your goal scoring. But on the other flank, Gigs may drift in field a bit. And you've got Baines there attacking more than Azpilicueta. I think it's a great team. I think it's a great, great team.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Yeah. I picked my fullback to last, so this is more luck than judgment I feel on the combinations, so I'll take the compliment.

[Jack Lang]

I'm a bit of, not a skeptic, but I'm not David Silva's biggest fan, but I think in this, with these combinations he's got there with other people to score the goals and you know, Lampard bombing past him, I think that's, yeah, a nice midfield.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I think we've all got like our emotional picks though, don't we, to an extent in these. So, like one of mine's definitely Leighton Baines, but David Silva coming to the Premier League when I was 11 years old or so. And I just remember watching him and just thinking, here's a guy who's playing in a style I hadn't particularly seen before. And it's that element of romance definitely for me on that pick where sort of halfway through, you see he's available and it's like, well, is my team, but I'm having him. And logic flies out the window and extents. But I think everyone's probably got a romantic pick somewhere.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, definitely. Jack your team.

[Jack Lang]

Okay. I'm not a big four, four two advocate. I don't mind it, but it is what happened. Just based on the fact that I got Henri Shearer and De Bruyne in my first three picks. I don't want to play Henry wide and I didn't want to play De Bruyne in a midfield two because I just not really sure that's his bag. So I have got a 4, 4, 2. Fairly classic Mike Bass, England manager style in goal, Allison back four from right to left of Kyle Walker, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand and Dennis Irwin. Midfield right to left, Kevin De Bruyne, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Conte and Eden Hazard and Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry up front.

[Duncan Alexander]

That's a good team.

[Jack Lang]

I mean that's the best front two you could possibly. It's unbelievable that one person was allowed to pick both of those players. That's like all of the Premier League goals.

[David Harbour]

But also Shearer wasn't until the third round of picks. It's amazing.

[Jack Lang]

Crazy.

[Duncan Alexander]

I think again it's that downside to the longevity thing of like his last few seasons were, you know, if you remember him, in sort of 93, 94, mid-90s, basically he was again pretty unplayable. But then I think you do also have to factor the defenders into that a little bit. You know a lot of Shearer's early goals were just balls knocked over the top that he developed muscle central defenders.

[Jack Lang]

So written down on the page there's not much kind of. It seems quite old school. There's not a lot of between the lines like the midfielders. Yeah, I guess De Bruyne will drift inside, Henri drift to the left. Pretty happy with it like Dennis Irwin as well. I think some maybe of our younger readers will look at that and think no, I'm not having that. But what a player, what a player, what this team is. It's almost certainly the most right footed team among all four because I haven't got a single left footed player in there. Strong commitment to the orthodoxy for me.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Yeah, it feels like Fabregas is going to be an important player for you in linking I guess sort of Kante's industry with sort of. Yeah, just, just being that tissue in the team certainly.

[Jack Lang]

And I think it's quite a, it's quite a gung ho team.

[Duncan Alexander]

It feels like a team that rack up a lot of points in a league campaign. But I feel it's also the sort of thing that might go missing slightly in a cup final. There's a few players in that team that have got records where they don't, haven't scored where they maybe should have done in cup final. So I, I do worry about if. And if you've promised the board a double or a treble, I do worry about the business end of the season.

[Jacob Whitehead]

With that team and tracking back on the flanks was going to be my main question. And I mean I don't Want to speak ill of Jack's talents as a man, motivator or. Oh, sorry, your manager is Jose Mourinho.

[Jack Lang]

Jose Mourinho, yeah.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I take it all back.

[Jack Lang]

So he's going to.

[David Harbour]

I mean him and Kevin aren't going to get on, are they?

[Jack Lang]

I don't think he's going to get on with half of this team really, but I think for one season this could be spectacular. I'm not backing it for the long haul.

[Duncan Alexander]

Ole your team.

[David Harbour]

Peter Schmeichelin. Goal back four of Trent, Alexander, Arnold. The Chelsea combination of Riccardo Cavalho and John Terry and Ashley Cole, Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder. I mean, I'm sport for choice really. Whether I go 4231 or 43 3. I'll go 43 3. With Vieira, Gerrard and Scholes in midfield. I think that's pretty perfect, really. And a front three which is lethal and brilliant. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Harry Kane. I think it's pretty strong. I know I haven't got Paulo Ferreira in there, but.

[Duncan Alexander]

Well, I was going to say it's tough to come out of this process with a team that makes people's eyebrows raised. Possibly we'll come on to that in a little bit, but yeah, I mean that team looks exquisite, I would say.

[Jack Lang]

I think that is the best balanced of our four teams. I know we're coming to Duncan's in a minute. Jacobs is balanced as well in that everyone is in their right positions. But this, it's just, it's just inch perfect. You like the fact that you've got three quarters of the best Premier League defense ever. I don't know how the rest of us have allowed that to happen. Really.

[Duncan Alexander]

Well, someone's got the other quarter.

[David Harbour]

Were quite late on. I think they were seventh and eighth picks, Terry and Cavalier. So. Yeah, I hadn't even considered that as a, as a tactic until Jacob mentioned it right at the start. And I revised everything.

[Jack Lang]

Even the synergy of Harry Kane potentially dropping in and both Ronaldo and Bale getting past him. Gerard as well.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yes.

[David Harbour]

I mean the one thing you'd say, Kane, Bale, Scholes, Gerard, Ronaldo, Alexander, a lot of long range shots. I think Pep might struggle with that.

[Duncan Alexander]

I think they might need to be sat down pre season with an explanation of XG and how it works because.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Yeah, I mean also I know that as happens with team Drew playing, picking the best players from Premier League history is always likely to happen, but there are a lot of egos in this team. Which will be difficult. I mean, obviously you've got Harry Kane, who's actually very remarkably egoless for a player, but the rest of the team is a challenge.

[Jack Lang]

Also, your midfield is the most second booking waiting to happen. Midfield I think I've ever seen.

[David Harbour]

Well, I was banking on them being able to work alongside sort of 19, 1990s referees and the sort of Scalzi Stevie can't tackle kind of thing. You know, they'd be allowed to get away with a, you know.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, Mike Riley's drafted a good reducer.

[David Harbour]

In the first 10 minutes or so.

[Jacob Whitehead]

How are you setting up your midfield three? You just let him get on with it or.

[David Harbour]

Well, I'd put Vieira as the deepest of the three and it's a slight misconception that, because we always remember him as being that, but he was very often the more advanced, whether he was with Gilberto Silva or with Edu or with Emmanuel Petit. But for these purposes, for on paper purposes, I think you could, you could put the three of them, Skulls, Vieira, Gerrard in. Gerrard, Gerrard in. Yeah, in a three. They would, they would make it work. I'm pretty happy with that. Midfield.

[Duncan Alexander]

All right, we'll move on to my team, which is going to be set up in a four, three. One, two. Edison in goal. Defensive Pali Ferreira as mooted at right back, Andy Robertson at left back. A muscular central defensive partnership of Tony Adams and Nemanja Vidic. A midfield three of Yoai Toure, Roy Keane and David Beckham. And then a front three, I think, with Bergkamp operating in the hole slightly behind. The South American mayhem of Sergio Aguero and Luis Suarez up front. It may not be the most balanced team, but I would posit it's the most exciting team.

[Jack Lang]

It's definitely the funniest team. It's definitely the funniest team. Aguero and Suarez is amazing. Like, it's just.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, if you're a lower, a lower mid to mid table Premier League team coming up against that strike partnership, you are terrified.

[Jack Lang]

You're done.

[Duncan Alexander]

You're absolutely ruined.

[Jack Lang]

Do they need Bergkamp? Do they fit with, like, these are two players that like, kind of explosive, conjure something out of nothing. Like, I think Bergkamp may be slightly lost on them.

[Duncan Alexander]

He can just do his own thing, like just behind them. I think, you know, Beckham pinging 50.

[David Harbour]

Odd passes over the top.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, I think Bergkamp's there to sort of put Aguero through one on one, whereas Beckham's there to sort of, yeah, as you say crossfield, pass it to Suarez and you're almost operating two separate attacking modus operandises in the same team. And Keane and Yaya Toure, I mean, you know, both a lot decent goal returns for players who can play quite defensively as well. I think that's, that's solid.

[Jacob Whitehead]

It feels like you have. Yeah, like two teams in general between an attack I describe as mercurial and then you sort of your big lads at the back with Keane and Yartore sticking a boot in.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, it's like a little square. Four men who will definitely kick you.

[Jack Lang]

So Beckham's playing in the kind of right sided central midfield, late career Paris Saint Germain role, similar to how he.

[Duncan Alexander]

Did Maybe in the 99 Champions League final where he was sort of central ish, drifted outright.

[Jack Lang]

Asking a lot of. Asking a lot. Paolo Ferreira then as an attacking force.

[Duncan Alexander]

Well, as I said before, one of the most impressive statistical defenders of the 2000s in that Mourinho team.

[Jack Lang]

Not in an attacking sense though.

[Duncan Alexander]

No.

[Jacob Whitehead]

But was he the fourth member of that quartet as well? Is that cheapening his value?

[David Harbour]

Interesting. He was the Ringo star of the Chelsea back forward.

[Duncan Alexander]

He was the best player, as in Pete Best. But yeah, yeah, I think you know Andy Robertson again. Yeah, you're right. It is asking a lot of the fullbacks in this team. I think they will need to pop up. But I think as discussed with Jacob's team a little bit, I think Robertson can shoulder that load.

[David Harbour]

And yeah, there's another major concern with your team.

[Duncan Alexander]

What's that?

[David Harbour]

Roy Keenan, Andy Robertson, Bibby. Yeah, no, they don't.

[Duncan Alexander]

Hopefully we don't get that they don't.

[David Harbour]

Like each other as well.

[Duncan Alexander]

But look, I think all these teams, there's going to be ego issues. I don't think anyone's team comes out of this process. Everyone all hugging. Maybe Jacob's a bit more.

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[Duncan Alexander]

Okay, so that was our four teams. I'm sure you will all have opinions on those. What about all the players we didn't pick? I mean as we said at the start, there's so many great players in the history of the Premier League and only four of us. So there was bound to be many, many players that slipped through the net. Oli's going to read out a team that we've just quickly constructed of non chosen players and it's really good.

[David Harbour]

It's probably it would stand comparison with the teams we have picked. I'm slightly in two minds about who the second central defender should be, so maybe I'll come back to that. But Edwin Van der Saar, who I agonized about. Gary Neville, who's sort of commonly probably the most popular choice when people say who was the best right back in the Premier League era. So Gary Neville didn't make it. Jap Stam didn't make it. Stuart Pearce didn't make it. Fernandinho. Brilliant. Luka Modric in midfield. Freddie Lundberg, Robert Pires, Eric Cantona, who is again certainly one of the best, most influential players in the Premier League era. Didier Drogba. So I don't know who we, who we say is that second central defender. Do we say someone like could be.

[Jack Lang]

A Ruben Diaz, could be Ruben Diaz.

[David Harbour]

Could be someone like Martin Keown or Gary Pallister or Jimmy Carragher or whoever.

[Duncan Alexander]

David May.

[David Harbour]

David May. Helenberg. It's.

[Jacob Whitehead]

It's Br.

[David Harbour]

Steve Bruce. No, I mean it. I think central defense and central midfield are so rich with quality players that very near the end when I Was sort of making my last picks and Gareth Bale was still on the list. I thought, sorry, Sadio Mane, who hasn't been mentioned in this conversation? Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, people like that. In a brilliant Premier League.

[Duncan Alexander]

Les Ferdinand as well, highest scoring player not to score a penalty.

[David Harbour]

So yeah, I think if we, if we had five people around the table, we'd also have had a fifth extremely good team.

[Jack Lang]

What this activity does do, I think is makes it crystal clear how reductive the kind of instant would this guy make your Premier League all time 11 chat is because there is, you know, it's really the competition here is fierce. Every one of these four teams you could produce as an all time Premier League 11, you know, without having divided the players by four and all of these teams would be non ludicrous apart from Duncan's and like, you know, when, when de Bruyne reveals that he's leaving Man City and the vox pops up, he'd be straight in your Premier League all time Premier League 11, wouldn't he? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Actually doing it and assuming that oh yeah, he'll be in the top 11. When you look at all these players written out, we've got like 30 to 40 players who you could conceivably get. Yeah, all time 11 definitely. It's actually competition is stiffer than people remember.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I think particularly one thing it sort of showed about English football is how built these teams are through the spines. Like I started off talking about relative scarcity, but center back, center mid strikers, there's so many like, I think that was never an issue. It was far more who's going to be able to get wingers first. Obviously fallback, slightly lower on value. But I just wonder if that would be the case in other leagues if you were to produce this like, I don't know, in La Liga potentially. I think you may have far more. Exactly.

[Jack Lang]

Or like dinky little attacking midfielders.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, I think that's a fair point. I think you can, to Jack's point, you can almost put a lot of scenarios, you know, if you, you could build a team that you'd fancy to, to always get something away at Stoke on a Tuesday night or a team that you know, would definitely get fans of their seats with ridiculous long range shooting, which is possibly Ollie's team already. But yeah, I mean we're now what, 30, nearly heading towards 40 years of the Premier League and there's just so many layers of quality. It's interesting I guess for you, Jacob, being younger that you Know, is it hard? Where do players sort of, the older players kind of drift into your consciousness? Is it a sort of, you know, do you know that sort of Bergkamp, what sort of player he was? Or is it just, you know, from watching highlights?

[Jack Lang]

Just to put this into context and sorry for speaking out of class here. Jacob earlier did like, was asking a few funny questions like tongue in cheek. And our tendency, I think is to kind of be a bit like, oh, he's so young, he doesn't get it. But like we are talking about, you know, I don't know anything at all about 80s football. Like, I. I've got nothing like where.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Does Eric Cantona play? Was a serious question about if he was a striker or number 10. And I've still not really got a proper answer. I think what this really underpins is lots of players who I probably only remember the tail end of their careers to an extent. So Bergkamp I think would be a good example. I think I remember maybe his last two seasons at Arsenal. The first year I remember was he.

[David Harbour]

Wouldn'T be playing much anyway, would he?

[Jacob Whitehead]

Yeah, it was Mourinho's first title of Chelsea. And same goes with guys too, like Alan Shearer, for example, being picked so early. Like, I know his record's incredible, but it's difficult for me to pick those sorts of figures over ones over say Wayne Rooney, who was, you know, I sort of almost remember around the time he was making his debut for Everton and then going on. I think it's amazing how many players straddle that era though. How many players were played across that 2010 moments. I know we talk about from league. Being strong now is about almost a golden age.

[David Harbour]

I would, I would say 2010, I would say that was almost like a between era. I'd say the sort of point that we mentioned where that 2010, 2011. I remember that being a terrible season because it was. I mean it was. It was when Blackpool, without wishing to annoy intensely, our colleague Craig Chisnell, Blackpool were in the Premier League and got sort of nearly 40 odd points. And I think that was the year where Scott Parker won Player of the Year. And people will say it was outrageous that Scott Parker won Player of the Year. But were they relegated, West Ham? I think they were relegated. It was a season. It was post World Cup. English football was on a real low after the 2010 World Cup. You had all this golden generation of players who were coming towards the end. Man United won the league by about 10 points without, you know, it was post Ronaldo Man United. And so I. It was. I remember that as being a really kind of slow, dull, low quality season.

[Duncan Alexander]

Which is interesting in to Jacob's point, I guess that how much it's been kind of eulogized at the moment. Like people, you know, maybe not that season specifically, no, but that kind of era of like remembering sort of obscure Wigan players and.

[David Harbour]

Yeah. Barclayspan thing.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah. And I think, I think what people forget is that every era has great players, medium players and poor players. And it's kind of like depending on what age you are and what frame of mind you're in, you can pretty much pick a great team from any era, as we've hopefully proved.

[David Harbour]

I think there's always been this feeling that perhaps the players from that era and I insisted on picking a load of them in my team. Gerard scholes, vieira, terry, etc. Michael cole. We have got it in our heads that they are the. The best there's been in the Premier League. And. And maybe they are, but I think maybe the conversation is a bit more fluid that was than that where you look at someone like Rodri, you look at someone like De Bruyne, van Dijk Alisson, Salah. They are, you know, modern greats and will go down as Premier League greats whether people recognize it now or not.

[Jacob Whitehead]

I was sort of wondering how many more seasons players who are at the top now would need to get into this team. So, for example, if Harlan carries on at current scoring rates, how long would it be before he enters that conversation? How many players are there, just in general who are on the threshold of entering the conversation? We haven't mentioned and I think there's actually quite a few in there.

[Duncan Alexander]

It's a great question. I mean, Erling Haaland's already got a number of Premier League records to his name and wasn't even mentioned once until now. So again, I think to Ollie's point, it kind of is that sort of impact you make, not just statistically, but like in the kind of. In the Premier League ether, isn't it? Like kind of, you know, you think of Vieira and Keane and Gerrard and you just kind of, you know, you can feel the sweat of a Super Sunday and men clashing into each other and maybe that's. Maybe that just comes with time. Maybe. But you know, people now will think back to the man city Arsenal games of recent seasons or man City Liverpool games with the same reverence in 10, 15 years.

[Jack Lang]

I think that there's. Sorry to labor the point but there's also like a slightly tonal difference. I think like in the players of that generation were ever so slightly unknowable to us just because I think there was less direct contact between players and fans. It was more mediated. Not as many games are on tv frankly. Like not my anecdotal view would be that more people have Sky Sports now more like more people kind of have access or ways to watch these things in that maybe when some of us were growing up, you didn't watch these.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Players week in, week out.

[Jack Lang]

You catch like glimpses of them and in a way that kind of buffeted their legends in a way that, you know, not a bigger or smaller way than modern players who are constantly, you know, on every screen that we look at ever, but certainly in a different way.

[David Harbour]

But you also have players who. Steven Gerrard at Liverpool was head and shoulders above three quarters of the team. Most, most of the team most of the time he's playing, he was head and shoulders above nearly all the players he was playing against. So a brilliant player and also had this sort of main character energy as did a lot of these players that we're talking about. Whereas it feels now that they're a bit more sort of low key, a bit more sort of system players. There's the cultivated individual in terms of branding and commercial and so on, but in terms of the way people play, people play on the, on the pitch, it's often a bit more, a bit less expressive in some ways. I'm not, I'm not going down the all modern players of robots route at all. I disagree with that. But it's, I think people were, I think individuals maybe stood out because they were so much bigger and better than a lot of their teammates and opponents.

[Jacob Whitehead]

Maybe this shouldn't be be a surprise but I was just going through teams now and out of the 44 players we chose, only two of them were not predominantly playing for a big six club as Leighton Baines and Alan Shearer. And of course it's going to be big six dominated. But I think I'm surprised quite to that extent that there aren't so many potentially like I guess cult hero style figures who make this. And I guess it kind of speaks to the amount that talent really does coagulate around the top of the league. I don't know, are you guys surprised it's that amount at the top or does it make sense?

[David Harbour]

We did an exercise, was it in lockdown? We did that Premier League 60 which was writing about the sort of. It wasn't just a list there for clickbait. We did big profiles on each of the players in question. It was really good fun, brilliant profiles written. And that again was very, very sort of big, big club heavy. You know, you had a lot of Man United players, a lot of Arsenal players, a lot of Chelsea, Liverpool and I think, you know, people know, you know, why isn't Matt Leticia in a. Why isn't. I can't remember whether J.J. okoch was in there or not. But you know, you're ideally, if you, if you ideally you would make it a bit more of a make there be more of a spread make across clubs. But I think realistically when you know you could, you could look at that as a Man United fan and think, well, how come we've won this many league titles and we've. We've only got 10 of the six, you know, you could make case for two goalkeepers and for Manchester United, five midfielders, whatever. So it's, it's, I think in terms of the consciousness, so the players who really performed an absolutely elite level for more than three, four, five, six seasons. I think you are generally looking at the big clubs. Maybe we should have had some kind of limit. But I did manage to include two spurs players. I feel like I've done a bit for the non big five.

[Duncan Alexander]

Yeah, no, I mean just on Leticia. I mean if you look at the 1990s on its own, I mean he's the sixth top scorer in 98 goals there and the most assists was 62 ahead of McManaman and Cantona. So. But yeah, it was very much a sort of one club man, wasn't he? And they were. We've all seen the highlights reels, but did he kind of really affect league titles? Not really. And I think that's what kind of gives you that sort of longevity and that legend.

[David Harbour]

And we've not even got Eric Cantona in our Drogba and Andy Cole, you know, Robert Pires. These players would be higher than Matt Letissier in my estimation. Fernandinho, etc, Japs down. You know, we've got. There are so many brilliant players, but I think almost inevitably the best ones end up at the same handful of clubs.

[Duncan Alexander]

Okay, well thanks very much to Jack, to Oli, to Jacob and do leave a comment to let us know which team you like the most and why it's mine or not. That's all for now. We'll catch you next time.

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