The Great Debate: Who should join the PL Hall of Fame next? | OneFootball

Premier League Hall of Fame chat is back, with 15 nominees for 2023 revealed on Thursday.

Only three of them will make the final cut, so who should it be?

Alex Mott

There can’t be many Premier League captains better than Tony Adams. The Arsenal centre-back straddled generations at Highbury but reinvented his game to become a lynchpin of the early Arséne Wenger era and more than deserves his place in the Hall of Fame.

In terms of modern greats, Ashley Cole has to be up there. Cole was already world class when he left Arsenal in 2006 but went on to become the best full-back in Europe during his time at Chelsea, winning a Premier League title and four FA Cups.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s last great Manchester United side were arguably the best the Premier League has ever seen, and Nemanja Vidić was at the heart of that.

Bought for just £7m from Spartak Moscow, Vidic played over 200 times domestically for United, winning five titles.

Richard Buxton

Michael Owen is a nailed-on choice. He remains one of only two English players to win the Ballon d’Or and was the most complete finisher around before injuries took a toll.

Manchester City already have two Hall of Famers in Vincent Kompany and Sergio Agüero but Yaya Touré has to join them purely for the midfield diligence which delivered three Premier League titles.

Few players are ever the same after suffering a life-changing injury yet Petr Čech lifted a further two titles and three Golden Glove awards. Only Peter Schmeichel comes close as a better all-time Premier League goalkeeper.

Lewis Ambrose

Ashley Cole, weirdly enough, won more Premier League titles at Arsenal (two) than at Chelsea (one) but don’t let that fool you, the left-back was consistent throughout his time at both clubs.

How many players can really claim to be the best the Premier League has ever seen in their position? Cole can perhaps make a more convincing argument of that than anyone else to have ever played in the league and for that alone he’s in.

John Terry could make the same claim, though he’d have more competition, at centre-back and in terms of on-field ability he’s hard to overlook.

It isn’t sexy to go with three defensive players, and it’s against my every bone in my body as an Arsenal fan to select three who played for Chelsea, but Petr Čech would be my final selection. At his peak, pre-injury, he may well be the greatest shot-stopper the league has ever seen and he gave Chelsea plenty more to celebrate after that injury too.

The goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in Premier League history (202) simply has to be in its Hall of Fame.

Dan Burke

My Manchester City bias means Yaya Touré has to get my vote. The Ivorian behemoth could blow hot and cold but on his day he was unplayable, and the 20 goals he scored from midfield as City won the title in 2013/14 remains one of the best individual seasons the Premier League has ever seen.

I’ll go for another midfielder for my second pick in Michael Carrick, who I always think of as one of the more underrated stars of Sir Alex Ferguson’s glorious era at Old Trafford. The type of consistent, tidy and intelligent player that every successful team needs.

And finally I think Rio Ferdinand deserves a place in the Hall of Fame. Not only did he win six Premier League titles with Manchester United, but in many ways he redefined centre-back role and was one of the first true ball-playing English defenders.