Match of the Day celebrates it's 60th anniversary this week and to mark the occasion, I'm doing top 10's of the topics that Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards discuss on their podcast Match of the Day top 10.
Today I'm going to do my top 10 unsung heroes.
CONTENDERS:
Gareth Barry - Aston Villa, Man City, Everton, West Brom
Sylvain Distin - Newcastle, Man City, Portsmouth, Everton, Bournemouth
Richard Dunne - Everton, Man City, Aston Villa, QPR
Denis Irwin - Man United, Wolves
Rob Lee - Newcastle, Derby
James Milner - Leeds, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Man City, Liverpool, Brighton
Kevin Nolan - Bolton, Newcastle, West Ham
Emmanuel Petit - Arsenal, Chelsea
Nolberto Solano - Newcastle, Aston Villa, West Ham
Tugay - Blackburn
LINEKER, SHEARER AND RICHARDS' TOP 10:
Denis Irwin
Gareth Barry
Nolberto Solano
Tugay
Sylvain Distin
Rob Lee
James Milner
Emmanuel Petit
Richard Dunne
Kevin Nolan
MY TOP 10:
James Milner
Gareth Barry
Denis Irwin
Nolberto Solano
Tugay
Rob Lee
Sylvain Distin
Richard Dunne
Kevin Nolan
Emmanuel Petit
I don't remember seeing most of the players on this list as they were around long before I started following football. This certainly made choosing my top 10 very challenging.
James Milner and Gareth Barry take the top two spots because of the longevity they've had in the game after making over 600 Premier League appearances. Milner for me has to be no.1 as he could do a job wherever he was asked play whether that be out on the wing, up top or in either full back position as well as in central midfield. This was definitely the case for him when he was at Liverpool where he played a number of games at full back and did a pretty good job when he was asked to play there. He was great in central midfield because of the energy he had, but his ability to play full back showed how versatile he was.
Barry is currently the record holder for most Premier League appearances, but he didn't always got the credit he deserved. He gave it his all in every game he played for every club he played and for him to play the amount of games he played over a long career is some achievement.
I wasn't even born when Denis Irwin was around but I have heard about how good a player he was. He was a full back who could both defend and attack and do a good job at both. He was a mainstay in the Man United side during Fergie's early years in charge and one of his key players. But he probably didn't get as much credit compared to most of the other players he played with.
I obviously don't remember Nolberto Solano when he was at Newcastle as I was too young to follow football. But I have heard about how good he was and see a few videos of him in action. He was both a goal scorer and a creator but isn't seen among the best players in the Premier League. The same could be said about Rob Lee, who had an eye for goal and loved to break into the box to score goals. But he probably didn't get as much credit compared to other players in his position. Like Solano, I've only see videos of him as he was around before I was even born.
I'm very surprised that Emmanuel Petit is on this list as I thought he was someone who was seen as one of the best in his position. He was a key member of the Arsenal side during the early years of Arsene Wenger and I swear that he has been talked about as one of Arsenal's best midfielders of the Premier League era. I've put him down at 10th because I never saw him as an underrated player.
OTHER POTENTIAL CONTENDERS: Giorginio Wijnaldum, Dirk Kuyt, Cesar Azpilicueta, Nemanja Matic
Gini Wijnaldum scored a lot of crucial goals during his time at Liverpool including the ones he scored against Barcelona in the Champions League semi finals in 2019. But he didn't always get the credit he deserved. His energy in the midfield made him a key player for the reds during their Champions League and Premier League title winning seasons under Jurgen Klopp.
Dirk Kuyt was also someone who scored crucial goals for Liverpool and he bagged many of them, but he never always got the recognition he deserved. He was playing in a Liverpool side that had Steve Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso in it, but he was an important player in that side as well because of the goals he scored and how important they were.
Cesar Azpilicueta was unlucky not to be on this list as he was someone who didn't always get the recognition he deserved. He could play anywhere across the backline during his time at Chelsea and did a job wherever he was asked to play. He showed how versatile he was during the 2016/17 season where he played centre back and was one of Chelsea's most important players as they won the title under Antonio Conte. He won everything on offer during his time at Stamford Bridge all whilst quietly going under the radar.
Nemanja Matic was also a very underrated player at Chelsea as he quietly got on with his job without too many people noticing. He had the ability to dictate play in the midfield and make many crucial interventions when his team needed him to. He was the unsung hero of both Chelsea title winning sides he was part of in 2015 and 2017 and he was a big miss for them after he left for Man United.
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