The Premier League has launched a ‘Hall of Fame’ to recognise the achievements of those who have played in the division, and three Liverpool legends have made the inaugural shortlist.
Recognising players since the competition launched in 1992, the Premier League‘s rather American concept of the Hall of Fame was announced on Monday with Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer as the inaugural inductees.
The two enjoyed prolific and successful careers and they are soon to be joined by six others.
A 23-man shortlist has been comprised and will be dwindled down to six with votes from the public and the Premier League panel, where each player has to have retired by August 2020.
Three former Reds are in the running for the first class of inductees, with Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler all nominated.
Each of their feats speak for itself, with the three former academy graduates having amassed a combined 1209 appearances in the top-flight for seven different clubs.
Gerrard, the one-club man, sits 11th in the all-time appearance list with 504 games, while Fowler’s tally of 163 goals sees him sit in eighth on the goalscorers list and Owen is in 10th with 150.
The three will earn the support of Liverpool fans, even Owen, but the online vote requires six players on the 23-man shortlist to be selected – leaving three vacant spots for non-Reds that you have to select.
Unsurprisingly, the list is dominated by Man United and Arsenal thanks to their vast success in the early years of the Premier League.
Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, Andy Cole, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic all offer a flashback to the Alex Ferguson days.
And Tony Adams, Ian Wright, Sol Campbell, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Ashley Cole and Robin van Persie headline Arsenal‘s former contingent.
These two clubs alone make up for 16 of the 28 league winners to date, of which Scholes has 11 to his name. Chelsea take that tally up to 21, with Didier Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard at the heart of their success to earn their nominations.
Rounding off the list are Les Ferdinand and Matt Le Tissier, both of whom forged long and successful careers both prior to and after the formation of the Premier League.
It’s not exactly an easy process to dwindle down the list, as with rivalries pushed aside you could make a case for the majority to be in the first class of inductees.
Let us know which 3 other players alongside the former Reds that have your vote for the Hall of Fame before casting it here.
Fan Comments