SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
The Premier League launched its Hall of Fame this week, and the conversation has already started about which players deserve to be in and which don’t.
As you can imagine, there are plenty of representatives from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea on the shortlist, but there was only one ex-Fulham player on there in the shape of Andy Cole.
Some of the Premier League’s all-time greats have passed through Craven Cottage over the years, and we’re going to look at five former Fulham players who deserve a spot in the Premier League Hall of Fame.
Andy Cole
Let’s start with the obvious, shall we?
Andy Cole has made the 23-man shortlist of players who could be first-ballot Hall of Famers, and it’s not hard to understand why.
187 goals, five league titles and a Golden Boot award make him one of the best strikers in the league’s history.
His 12 goals in 31 games for Fulham in the Premier League weren’t all that memorable, but it was a decent return for a striker who was past his best by that point.
Edwin van Der Sar
Another incredibly obvious one, and perhaps the best player to not make the 23-man shortlist.
His 127 league games for Fulham were stupendous, and it’s not too far-fetched to say that he’s the greatest player the Whites have had during the Premier League era.
Of course, where he really made his Premier League legacy was at Manchester United – winning four league titles and a Champions League during his six seasons with the Red Devils.
Dimitar Berbatov
Berbatov may not get into the list quite yet, but as the Hall of Fame becomes more and more established, he’ll get his turn.
The Bulgarian, much like Cole, is a Golden Boot winner and he also won two titles during his time at Manchester United.
Not only that, he scored bags of goals during his time at Tottenham Hotspur, and while he wasn’t at his peak at Fulham, his 15 goals were key for the Cottagers in the 2012/13 season.
Damien Duff
While all Fulham fans will have nothing but good things to say about Damien Duff, it’s really easy to forget just how good the Irishman was in his pomp.
The winger made over 400 appearances in the Premier League, he was a two-time title winner, and he even made UEFA’s Team of the Year once upon a time.
In terms of Irish players, there aren’t many better than Duff.
The winger ticks every box, he was world class in his prime, he had the longevity and he was a serial winner.
Mark Schwarzer
Eighth on the all-time Premier League appearance list, third on the all-time clean sheets list, Mark Schwarzer is a true Premier League legend.
The Australian is arguably the finest player from down under to ever play in England.
His longevity speaks for itself, and the fact that he picked up two Premier League winners medals with Chelsea and Leicester City late in his career certainly doesn’t do his case any harm.
