Premier League Hall of Fame Bet Specials

In preparation for the news that there will be a Premier League Hall of Fame, Sky Bet have released some specials for who those two players will be.

With goals in mind, we have the likes Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry. Then we have the likes of Gareth Barry and Ryan Giggs who boast unprecedented appearance records.

It is important to remember that for now, Premier League players only will be included and not managers and that every Premier League player must be retired to qualify for induction into the Hall of Fame.

Here, we’ve had a look at the players in the running and who could be the first two players to make their way into the Premier League Hall of Fame. Please note odds are subject to change.

According to Sky Bet, the favourite to be included in the Hall of Fame is Alan Shearer at 1/12, to be perfectly honest, we agree. The former Newcastle and Blackburn man holds the record of the most Premier League goals scored by a single player, having scored 260 goals in 441 games, as well as being the first player to score 100 Premier League goals.

The bulk of Shearer’s goals came for his boyhood club of Newcastle United where he spent 10 seasons, scoring 206 goals in 405 appearances, including 148 Premier League goals in 303 appearances. However, despite playing most of his Premier League football at St James’ Park, Shearer experiences Premier League success during his time at Blackburn where he won the 94/95 Premier League under the management of Kenny Dalglish.

The favourite to join Shearer at the Hall of Fame is Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs at 1/6. 632 of the Welshman’s 927 appearances for United came in the Premier League, with only Gareth Barry making more.

Despite proving himself to be a capable goalscorer, Giggs’ assist record is nothing short of exceptional, as he provided 247 assists for Man United, including a record 162 assists in the Premier League which is 51 more than Cesc Fabregas in second place.

In regards to honours, you can’t get much better than the Man United man who won 34 trophies during his time at Old Trafford, including 13 Premier League titles. Naturally, there will be arguments to whether Giggs should be included in the Hall of Fame considering his personal life, but we’re looking at his footballing life, which in our eyes is more than worth to be one of the first to be introduced into the Hall of Fame.

If you don’t believe that either/neither Shearer or Giggs will be among the first inclusions in the Hall of Fame, Sky bet are offering a 4/1 price on Thierry Henry being one of the first names to be announced. The former Arsenal man lit up the Premier League during his time in North London, showing natural and deadly talent in front of goal, which is backed up with his record of 176 goals and 77 assists in 258 Premier League games.

During his time in England, Henry enjoyed plenty of success as he won six trophies with the Gunnars, including the 03/04 Premier League where he became an Invincible in an Arsenal team that remained undefeated with 26 wins and 12 draws.

Henry spent eight seasons at Arsenal before he moved to Barcelona in 2007, that wouldn’t prove to be the last time we’d see him in Arsenal colours though, as he returned to North London during the 11/12 seasons, where he made four more appearances for the club.

The second Manchester United representative on the list is another one of Fergie’s Fledglings, Paul Scholes at 16/1. During his 20 at Old Trafford, Scholes developed a reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world and in history, with Xavi stating that he was “the best central midfielder”, and Pepe mentioning “If he was playing with me, I would have scored so many more.”

Scholes made 709 appearances for United, with 499 of them coming in the Premier League, picking up more than his fair share of silverware on the way, including 11 Premier League titles.

As well as scoring 152 goals for United, Scholes is responsible for some of the most iconic goals in Premier League history thanks to his incredible long-range technique. As well as scoring goals, Scholes was a flexible player who was capable of playing in attacking, central and defensive midfield, displaying good long and short game talent.

• David Seaman - 50/1
• Peter Schmeichel - 50/1
• Petr Cech - 50/1
• Edwin Van de Sar - 66/1

• John Terry - 25/1
• Rio Ferdinand - 50/1
• Sol Campbell - 50/1
• Tony Adams - 66/1
• Gary Neville - 100/1

• Roy Keane - 16/1
• Patrick Viera - 18/1
• Dennis Bergkamp - 20/1
• Frank Lampard - 20/1
• David Beckham - 25/1
• Steven Gerrard - 40/1

• Gianfranco Zola - 33/1
• Ian Wright - 33/1
• Eric Cantona - 40/1
• Michael Owen - 50/1
• Robin van Persie - 50/1
• Didier Drogba - 66/1

For this market, it would be an understatement to say Sky Bet may have included too many options. But hey, if you believe that Jimmy Bullard or Dean Windass are worthy of the recognition of being the first two players to be included in the Premier League Hall of Fame, you can go right ahead and back it.

• Emile Heskey - 500/1
• Kolo Toure - 500/1
• Jimmy Bullard - 1000/1
• Robbie Savage - 1000/1
• Dean Windass - 2000/1