Original topic here, please keep discussion in there and have this thread for draft choices only: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...d.php?t=198306

Link to spreadsheet of picks and players taken

Having randomised the player list, this is the first round draft order:

1. 14 mosdef
2. 15 sethypooh21
3. 12 LuckyLloyd
4. 17 sixfour
5. 20 tehvader
6. 19 tsc
7. 3 Botulism
8. 2 AJW
9. 13 medgar
10. 11 Liverpool
11. 1 AC-Cobra
12. 5 Disturbance
13. 6 Edmvan
14. 18 tanky
15. 8 KDawg
16. 10 ledders07
17. 7 Franchise 60
18. 16 silentbob
19. 9 kungfuhustler
20. 4 Bjorn

Recall that we'd more or less decided on:

- players must have played at least 40 Premiership games
- they are judged on their appearances in the Premiership only
- players who have played less than 5 seasons are judged on the entirety of their Premiership career, those who have played longer are judged on their best five seasons
- pick a team of 11 plus a manager, and we'll come to subs once a first XI has been sorted

Please PM whoever has the next pick so we can keep things rolling, we'll try to keep to a pick at least every 12 hours (allowing a bit for people sleeping etc). Also try to make the pick interesting, add a bit of blurb, picture, wiki/youtube links etc.

mosdef, you're on the clock.

Okay, I'm ready to get the ball rolling.

1st Rnd, 1st Pick: Roy Keane



Rationale: There's obviously a ton of great players I can take here. Here are the key pros that sway me this way:

- Superb all around player allows me greater flexibility with future picks. While players with much greater technical skill are available, I would argue that Keane was just as effective overall as anyone.
- It allows me flexibility in setting a line up and formation around him as basically every formation benefits from an awesome two way midfielder.
- I'm generally skeptical of how much "leadership" really adds, but in any case Keane's perceived leadership is some sort of plus

So go ahead and pick your fancy boys. The first one to cross my midfield gets one of these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw7agajLNAA

1st round, 2nd pick: Eric Cantona




Rationale: Most influential player of the first decade of the prem, surely.

- Godly technical skills. Superb dribbler, passer, shooter, header, etc.
- Performed well in big (premiership) matches - witness record against Man City.

Maybe not the fastest, but a fulcrum around which to build a squad, imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hau9q9lWjXM

1st Round, 3rd pick: Thierry Henry



I could obviously have gone in many different directions here, and I eventually had to flip a coin between him and another dominating premiership striker who I am sure will be picked soon. Why Thierry Henry then?

Firstly, I think it is important to forget his troubled and injury riddled final season at Arsenal. During the period 2001 / 2002 to 2005 / 2006 Henry never scored less than 24 league goals a season. But more than just goals, during this period Henry posed a complete and dynamic attacking threat to every premiership defense in every game and contributed many assists.

With blistering pace, exceptional dribbling skills, fantastic technique and a good creative brain which understood when to drop deep and wide and when to lay it off for teammates - Henry was almost unplayable at times.

I believe that if you had him on your side during that period you were never completely out of a game because you always had the opportunity to create something out of little. If you are being penned back he gives you a chance to hit into the channels or over the top; if you are seeing a lot of possession he had the brains to pop up and probe a back line from different angles.

Don't believe me? Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgNpZ4UafAw&NR=1

Round 1 - Pick 4 - Cristiano Ronaldo



I had a list of four players in mind that I was certain that would go by the time that I got my pick. Once mosdef picked Keane, I knew that I'd be able to get one of them. Once medgar decided to play for an awful lot of time, I knew I'd be able to get one that wasn't an awful reach. I'd have been happy to take Cantona at four, but was glad that he got took.

What I get here is a player who's possibly the best player in the world right now and has broken Premiership scoring records at the tender age of 23. Since joining Man United, he has been the lynchpin of their resurgence to the top of English football, with more or less everything I could ever ask of the fourth pick.

Honours:

2 Premier League titles
2 PFA Player's Player of the Year
English Golden Boot 2007/08
Probably first in Sporting Events mancrush league

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=euMu1SKi-ak

Round 1 - Pick 5 - Alan Shearer



As a Newcastle fan this was my obvious first pick. Top Premiership Goal Scorer with 260 goals scored in 441 games really says it all. (including an incredible 112 goals in 138 games for Blackburn)

Also an incredible leader and a perfect captain to build my team around. I'll leave you with a small compilation of goals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZew-cO-9IM

Round 1: Pick #6




I really have no clue who to pick here, but I think I'll take Patrick Viera. Same rationale as with the Keane pick. I think a sick CM is a good place to start.

Round 1: Pick #7



Dennis Bergkamp

I feel like this is a some what difficult spot to pick. I think it would be much easier picking a few spots earlier or a few spots later and just go with who I felt the best player available was. There were actually 4-5 players that I was deciding between here but based on the type of team i plan on building, style of play and my love for Bergkamp he's my pick.

Premier League 1998, 2002, 2004.
FA Cup 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005.
FA Community Shield 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004.
UEFA Champions League runner-up 2006.
UEFA Cup runner-up 2000.
FA Cup runner-up 2001.



http://youtube.com/watch?v=jBu_F30CHQk&feature=related

AJW round 1 pick #8

I pick the happy little Italian

Gianfranco Zola



For anybody that didn’t see him play he was a little dynamo who linking midfield to attack, always played with a smile on his face and had the skills to rival any man. World class technique, great dribbler, two footed, a natural finisher with great vision and awareness. All that would be enough to make him a solid first ten pick on its own but he was also a model pro a tireless worker who never shirked his defensive duties chasing lost causes and putting defenders under pressure. He came to England as a 30 year old but kept him self great shape and was implored to stay buy fans and the new owners when he left at the age of 37.


Achievements
320 games 80 goals
FA cup winner: 1997, 2000
League Cup winner: 1998
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winner: 1998

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yENAX...eature=related

medgar - Round #1 Pick #9

Peter Schmeichel

Every team needs a solid base so it might as well be the guy who was a mainstay in the best Premier League team of all. Pretty much summed up in the treble year, even when in relatively poor form over the turn of the year, came back bigger and better to make some key saves towards the end of a terrific year. One of the best bargain signings of all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmQubVSIzcU

Manchester United

* Football League First Division Runner-Up: 1992
* Premier League
o Champions (5): 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1996–97, and 1998/99
o Runner-Up: 1994/95 and 1997/98
* FA Cup (3): 1994, 1996, and 1999
* FA Charity Shield (4): 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997
* Football League Cup: 1992
* European Super Cup: 1991
* UEFA Champions League: 1998-99

Aston Villa

* Inter-Toto Cup: 2001

Liverpool - Round #1 Pick #10

Petr Cech



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az9lm...eature=related

Every team needs a solid goalkeeper and I have taken the one that is widely known as the best in the world right now. He currently holds three records: a Czech professional league record of not conceding a goal in 855 competitive minutes, an English Premiership record of not conceding a goal in 1,025 minutes, and the most clean sheets accomplished in a single Premier League season (25), set during Chelsea's 2004–05 title-winning campaign.

* FA Premier League: 2005, 2006
* FA Cup: 2007
* Football League Cup: 2005, 2007
* Charity Shield: 2005
* IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper: 2005
* Best European Goalkeeper: 2005, 2007
* UEFA Club Football Awards: Best Goalkeeper: 2005, 2007[35]

Round 1 Pick 11 Ryan Giggs



One of the best left wingers of all time, Ryan Giggs is a true legend. Throughout his whole career he has been a deadly threat with his supreme dribbling, passing and scoring ability. There is definitely not a better winger who has ever played in the Premiership. His longetivity and durability is also astonishing and the speedy Welshman just managed to pick up an unprecedented 10th Premier League title.

Major Honours

League Title - 93, 94, 96, 97, 99, 00, 01, 03, 07, 08
FA Cup - 94, 96, 99, 04
League Cup - 92, 06
Champions League - 99
Member of English Football Hall of Fame, Premiership Team of the Decade, FA Cup team of the Century, PFA team of the Century

Wow some great picks so far but also some surprises at who hasn't been picked yet. I was expecting to have Schmeichel as my pick as I thought the strikers I wanted would have gone now but anyway.

Round - 1 : Pick 12 Robbie Fowler



The former Manchester City striker is the fourth all-time highest scorer in the EPL with 161 league goals and was often described as the most natural finisher of the modern era. He is lesser known for his time at a club called Liverpool where he scored a lot of goals in the mid 90's. Robbie is also famous for his controversial goal celebrations:





Honours


League Cup: 1994–95, 2000–01 (Also winning the Alan Hardaker Trophy for man of the match in 2000-01)
2000–01 FA Cup
2000–01 UEFA Cup
2001 European Super Cup

1993 UEFA Under-18 Championship

PFA Young Player of the Year: 1995, 1996

Obligatory youtube clip

Round 1 Pick 13
Ruud van Nistelrooy


Even though he only played 5 seasons with man u, I believe he is one of the best strikers to play in the Premiership. He struck 100 goals in his first three seasons in Manchester, and overtook Denis Law's title as the club's all-time top scorer in European competition in his fourth term, and by the end of his fifth year at Old Trafford he'd reached 150 goals in fewer than 200 starts. He was named PFA Players' Player of the Year in his first season with Man U after scoring 36 goals.

Round 1 Pick 14

Matthew Le Tissier



What better player to build a team around!

Maybe not an obvious choice for a first pick, but for me one of the greatest players ive ever seen, and been lucky enough to meet. An English player in the European no. 10 role he was never as popular at international level as he was at club level, and in a lot of peoples opinion had too much technique for a hard working England team. Pele once said were Le Tissier brazilian he would have 50 caps, the greatest compliment of all!

An outrageously talented player with an eye for either a goal or an assist with a deft flick, backheel or disguised pass, scored 30 goals in a struggling Southampton team in his best season (93-94) including “Goal of the season” against blackburn and in 443 league games scored 162 goals (101 in the prem), which, considering he never left southampton is a truely remarkable feat.

Despite everything he did, there is always the frustration that he never made more of his career and worked harder on his fitness levels, as he was constantly overweight. Its fair to say that under the right guidance (Wenger, Fergie etc) he would have gone on to be recognised worldwide!

Also the greatest penalty taker ive ever seen, only missing 1 from 49 spot-kicks.

I met the man at Highbury 3 years ago and he was as far removed from the current premiership stars as possible, enjoying a free beer and talking about non league football, something you’d never seen Rooney, Ronaldo et al doing.

Although not as fashionable as Cantona, Bergkamp, Zola....every bit their equal...

I leave you with 2 clips of the genius!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfpP3...eature=related

Goal of the season;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE32cseuTyk