Garry Nelson's Left Foot
Well-known member
brightonfan_86 said:
Kev, the title of this thread is 'Premierships greatest ever foreign player'. That means that all foreign players playing in all positions should be considered. That necessitates comparing players from different positions. So how can you do that? If you rely on who had the best tricks, or the neatest flicks you're excluding 90% of the players. Instead you need some sort of criteria that can be applied fairly to everyone. For example:
1)Impact on the English game.
2)Consistency of performance.
3)Influence on their team.
Now, if you accept that they are fair criteria and you apply them to the likes of Cantona, Schmeichel and Okocha, surely you'll come to the conclusion that Okocha isn't the greatest foreign player ever. A very skillful one maybe but not the greatest. Not by a long shot.
For what it's worth, I think the top five listed are spot on. Maybe not in that order but they're definitely (IMO) the top five. I'd go:
Cantona
Schmeichel
Bergkamp
Zola
Henry