The Premier League Hall of Fame is the answer to many football fans' lifelong debates. Who are the top 10 footballers to ever play in the Premier League? Who are the best strikers to play in the league? Do you have to win the league to be considered the best? All of these questions will be answered by the fans themselves.
The votes for the 2022 Hall of Fame are now open. Fans have the choice to decide on who will join Wayne Rooney and Patrick Vieira.
There are several options to choose from. Many names that I grew up watching myself. But there are four in particular that I will give my all to make a case for. Let's begin, and the verdict will be out in on the 3rd of April.
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Personally, I believe all of the hall of Famers have to at least lift a Premier League trophy in their lifetime. Of course, we can make exceptions for those who have come close or deserved it, but they are secondary. Maybe it's the Chelsea bias in me, however. I cannot imagine a world where Steven Gerrard doesn't make the list. He is already an inductee from the 2021 voting, and rightfully so.
My four out of six votes go to the following multiple leagues winning candidates.
Didier Drogba
Drogba is Barclays Premier League heritage. The 2000s and early 2010s were an unforgettable era—football at its prime. Facing up against some of the best, strongest defenders that we have witnessed, Drogba was able to take on anybody. You would not want to be the man tasked with marking the ex-Chelsea forward. Just ask Jamie Carragher.
Carragher has described him as his most difficult player to play against. I'm not surprised. He was a bully on and off the ball. His strength and swift decision making made it easy for him to beat his man. If you were able to break the lines and get through to the Ivorian legend, he was always ready to punish the opposition. Not to mention, he had an entire football club wrapped around his finger.
Any Arsenal fan would tell you of the nightmares that Drogba had caused them. He has registered 13 goals against the North Londoners, eight in the Premier League. Give this man his crown!
John Terry
It's a wonder why this particular player is up for debate—a long-serving Chelsea player, right from the Academy. As captain, he has won every single trophy that Europe has to offer to an English team, including five Premier League trophies. He spent 13 years as captain and became the epitome of success.
There aren't many defenders that have the attributes that Terry has. His positional awareness, strength, clearance, and not to mention his eye for a set-piece goal have always been second to none. His most unique attribute was that he would always put his body on the line for his team. That's what a captain does. You'll find many captains have done so, but having watched him my entire life, you'd have to convince me of anyone who'd done it better than him.
I would genuinely be surprised if he did not find his way into the hall of fame. He is still spoken about as one of the best alongside Rio Ferdinand as a player.
Petr Cech
Goalkeeping in the Premier League is not as easy as it looks. He is going up against deadly strikers such as Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Fernando Torres, Wayne Rooney, and more. There are plenty of incredible saves to choose from in his locker.
As far as great goalkeepers go, Cech goes down in the top 5 in the whole of Europe, never mind the Premier League. His name is up there with the likes of Peter Schmeichel, Oliver Khan, Iker Casillas, and even Lev Yashin himself. He is in good company, and it should not be a question as to whether he gets into this Premier League hall of fame. Out of all the other candidates, this is by far the easiest option for me.
His career speaks for itself, and I am sure several fans would agree.
Ashley Cole
There has never been a Premier League right-back better than Cole. I say that with absolute confidence. He was the blueprint as to what a left-back should look like - well, of course, before the new generation of fullbacks came along with Trent Alexander-Arnold paving the way.
Ashley Cole was admired by many across the world. He had fierce competition in the running to become the best at the time. Dani Alves and Marcelo are amongst those.
He may be heavily overlooked by Arsenal fans. I imagine that the transfer to the then Premier League Champion, Chelsea. That's the only way I see him losing out on getting his name cemented as a Premier League great.
As this is a Chelsea fan brands column, my bias is in play, however, I would like to share that all of these nominees deserve honourable mentions. I consider them all as Premier League royalty.
