Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry make history with the pair the first to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. Not long after, the 23-man shortlist was released and it’s a strong list of contenders for the last six places left.
Firstly, why has it taken so long to introduce a Premier League Hall of Fame for the players? This should have been kicked off a while back, which would have made it far easier to select candidates over the course of the last few years.
A total of 23 players, legends of the English game if you’d like, have been shortlisted and stand a chance to join Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry in the prestigious ranking.
Premier League Hall of Fame 23-man shortlist candidates:
All English Premier League
As per the PL, from this list of heavy hitters, there will be another six inductees who will follow the two legendary strikers, Shearer and Henry into the Hall.
What makes this extremely interesting is that the public gets to vote and voting remains open until May 9 for the big six’s inclusion.
Think it will come down to who has the biggest fan base and what legendary player you loved growing up will be getting your vote.
When the Premier League Hall of Fame started and what it takes to make the cut
Well firstly, you have to have played in the English Premier League, obviously! But how long? Five years or more is the required time frame.
The Premier League goes on in saying; a player must be retired and had to have hung their boots up by August 2020. Any retirements after that date were not included in the 23-man shortlist for this year’s selection.
The finer details of being eligible for the PL Hall of Fame:
"To be eligible for the 2021 Premier League Hall of Fame, players must have been retired by 1 August 2020 to be considered for induction.Only a player’s Premier League career is considered in their candidacy, not their performances in other competitions during the Premier League era.Players must have made a minimum of 250 Premier League appearances unless they have achieved any of the following milestones:Made a minimum of 200 Premier League appearances for one ClubBeen selected to any of the Premier League Team of the Decade or 20-Year Anniversary teamsWon a Premier League Golden Boot or Golden GloveBeen voted as Premier League Player of the SeasonWon three Premier League titlesScored 100 Premier League goals or recorded 100 Premier League clean sheets (GK only)"
Full ins and outs and what more there is to know about the Premier League Hall of Famers and where to find their content on premierleague.com.
Many have no idea how Ryan Giggs hasn’t made the list, taking into account the selection criteria and how he has ticked almost every achievement. However, whatever legal matters are ongoing in his personal life could have had an effect on his selection. Who knows?
My Personal Choice for the 6 inductees;
- Steven Gerrard
- Peter Schmeichel
- Robbie Fowler
- Patrick Vieira
- Paul Scholes
- Didier Drogba