Re-adjusting post 607, for 06/07 to 09/10, accordingly: Top 20 adjusted ratings (including 09/10, but requiring 19 games minimum) for that period...... 1 - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal/Spain) - 2009/10 - 7.20 2 - Frank Lampard (Chelsea/England) - 2009/10 - 7.12 3 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal) - 2006/07 - 7.06 4 - Wayne Rooney (Manchester United/England) - 2009/10 - 7.04 5= Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2008/09 - 6.99 5= Didier Drogba (Chelsea/Ivory Coast) - 2009/10 - 6.99 7 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal) - 2007/08 - 6.90 8= Mikel Arteta (Everton/Spain) - 2006/07 - 6.89 8= Wayne Rooney (Manchester United/England) - 2007/08 - 6.89 10 - Carlos Tevez (Manchester City/Argentina) - 2009/10 - 6.85 11= Joleon Lescott (Everton/England) - 2007/08 - 6.79 11= Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2007/08 - 6.79 13= Steven Pienaar (Everton/South Africa) - 2008/09 - 6.77 13= Ross Turnbull (Middlesbrough/England) - 2008/09 - 6.77 15 - Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2006/07 - 6.75 16 - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal/Spain) - 2006/07 - 6.74 17= Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal/Togo) - 2006/07 - 6.71 17= Mike Arteta (Everton/Spain) - 2008/09 - 6.71 19 - Fernando Torres (Liverpool/Spain) - 2007/08 - 6.70 20 - Andy Johnson (Everton/England) - 2006/07 - 6.69
Quick adjustment of the summary for that period too: DBS Calcio (English) Sources ratings summary for the 4 seasons between 06/07 and 09/10 Top 3 placings: Cristiano Ronaldo (2), Steven Gerrard (2), Mikel Arteta (1), Wayne Rooney (1), Joleon Lescott (1), Andrey Arshavin (1), Steven Pienaar (1), Robin van Persie (1), Cesc Fabregas (1), Frank Lampard (1) Top 7 placings (outside top 3): Fernando Torres (2), Wayne Rooney (2), Cesc Fabregas (1), Emmanuel Adebayor (1), Michael Essien (1), Andy Johnson (1), Steven Gerrard (1), Ashley Young (1), Gareth Barry (1), Mikel Arteta (1), Yossi Benayoun (1), Didier Drogba (1), Carlos Tevez (1), Javier Mascherano (1) Top rated goalkeepers (2pts for 1st, 1pt for 2nd): Petr Cech - 2 Joe Hart - 2 Ross Turnbull - 2 Edwin van der Sar - 2 David James - 1 Brad Friedel - 1 Shay Given - 1 Heurelho Gomes - 1 Top rated defenders (2pts for 1st, 1pt for 2nd): Kolo Toure - 2 Joleon Lescott - 2 Brede Hangeland - 2 Ashley Cole - 2 William Gallas - 1 David Wheater - 1 Martin Laursen - 1 Gael Clichy - 1 Top rated midfielders (2pts for 1st, 1pt for 2nd): Steven Gerrard - 4 Cristiano Ronaldo - 2 Cesc Fabregas - 2 Mikel Arteta - 1 Ashley Young - 1 Steven Pienaar - 1 Frank Lampard - 1 Top rated attackers (2pts for 1st, 1pt for 2nd): Wayne Rooney - 3 Cristiano Ronaldo - 2 Emmanuel Adebayor - 2 Andrey Arshavin - 2 Robin van Persie - 2 Andy Johnson - 1
And this overall one! Top 20 adjusted ratings for Premier League excluding the first two seasons (50% rated games required) 1 - Luis Suarez (Liverpool/Uruguay) - 2013/14 - 7.21 2 - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal/Spain) - 2009/10 - 7.20 3= Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2005/06 - 7.12 3= Frank Lampard (Chelsea/England) - 2009/10 - 7.12 5= Juan Mata (Chelsea/Spain) - 2012/13 - 7.08 5= Jamie Vardy (Leicester/England) - 2015/16 - 7.08 7= Robert Pires (Arsenal/France) - 2001/02 - 7.06 7= Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal) - 2006/07 - 7.06 9= Keith Gillespie (Newcastle/Northern Ireland) - 1997/98 - 7.04 9= Wayne Rooney (Manchester United/England) - 2009/10 - 7.04 12= Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2003/04 - 7.02 12= Yohann Cabaye (Newcastle/France) - 2013/14 - 7.02 13 - Patrick Vieira (Arsenal/France) - 2002/03 - 7.00 14= Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2008/09 - 6.99 14= Didier Drogba (Chelsea/Ivory Coast) - 2009/10 - 6.99 16= Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal/Netherlands) - 1997/98 - 6.97 16= Riyad Mahrez (Leicester/Algeria) - 2015/16 - 6.97 18= Phillipe Albert (Newcastle/Belgium) - 1995/96 - 6.95 18= Thomas Gravesen (Everton/Denmark) - 2004/05 - 6.95 18= Luis Suarez (Liverpool/Uruguay) - 2012/13 - 6.95
This XI too: Adjusted ratings XI for the Premier League Antti Niemi (02/03) 6.79 ; Warren Barton (94/95) 6.73, Sol Campbell (98/99) 6.90, Philippe Albert (95/96) 6.95, Leighton Baines (12/13) 6.74; Steven Gerrard (05/06) 7.12, Frank Lampard (09/10) 7.12; Cristiano Ronaldo (06/07) 7.06, Cesc Fabregas (09/10) 7.20, Robert Pires (01/02) 7.06; Luis Suarez (13/14) 7.21
And finally I think I probably should go back and amend the winner of the DBS Calcio Player of the Year for 95/96 (I'm not realy sure Albert was intentionally excluded on the Media Voto 'results' page either, but over 50% of Newcastle's games did involve him playing and getting rated): 1995/96 1 - Phillipe Albert (Newcastle/Belgium), 2 - Sasa Curcic (Bolton/Yugoslavia), 3 - Alan Shearer (Blackburn/England) Hopefully I didn't make any mistakes (or I corrected/amended them all now). I did spell Turnbull's name wrong a few times, and also write Matthew Clarke (copying DBS Calcio's page) instead of Matt Clarke, but I think those two are the ones I had haziest memories of although I did vaguely recall them! Clearly they were doing well for Middlesbrough and Bradford in keeping out goals (possibly helped by being quite busy for those teams compared to the goalies of top teams,but still!).
A lot of useful data here. It was noted on another thread that British polls in the 1990s broadly agreed on the leading players from the British Isles during the second half of the twentieth century. The ratings here help build a picture for the past twenty years or so. Looking only at the five highest-rated British and Irish players each season from 1994/95 to 2015/16, the following feature most times: 8: Gerrard 7: Rooney 6: Keane 4: Sol Campbell, Lampard 3: Tony Adams, Giggs, Scott Parker The most PFA nominations between 1992/93 (start of EPL era) and 2015/16, measuring esteem held by fellow-professionals, look like this: 7: Gerrard, Shearer 5: Keane 3: Beckham, Giggs, Lampard, Rooney 2: Bale, Kane, Scott Parker, Scholes, Terry The Football Writers Association annual award has been won once by each of the following British and Irish players during the same time: Waddle, Shearer, Keane, Sheringham, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney, Scott Parker, Bale, Vardy. Next, the Ballon d'Or, or equivalent. During the Premier League era, only six players from the British Isles have made the Top 5 in any given year, and only two of them have done so more than once: Owen 1st and 4th, Beckham 2nd and 4th, Lampard 2nd, Gerrard 3rd, Shearer 3rd, Rooney 5th. Finally, most appearances in ESM teams of the month between September 1995 and February 2017: 21: Terry 18: Lampard 15: Rooney 14: Beckham 13: Rio Ferdinand 9: Bale, Owen 7: Gerrard 6: Ashley Cole, Giggs 5: Carragher, Keane 4: Gary Neville 3: Keown, Scholes. From this information it is difficult to say who has been the most highly-regarded footballer from the British Isles since the 1990s. There is little consensus. Combined British sources might go for Gerrard. International sources place him well behind Beckham and Lampard. There are solid numbers overall for Keane, Rooney and Shearer, while Owen is the only British player to win the Ballon d'Or (or equivalent) since the 1970s. Terry seems to be the most highly-rated defender. No goalkeeper features anywhere. Giggs and Scholes might have been expected to do better. Also Bale, though he has time to gain further recognition.
Nice post mate. I would suggest, although it's hard to be certain (I wouldn't have predicted the ratings close to exactly as they were between 1994/95 and 2015/16 for each player or the most notable players), that Giggs might well be included another time or two in the five highest rated British and Irish players in the first two seasons (if ratings were available to look at - I guess DBS Calcio's sources might well have produced them but they weren't affiliated with the website at that stage; but it could be some data was handed over retrospectively and it was lacking for some sources for those two seasons - I don't know). The seasons Scholes comes closest probably aren't surprising - 02/03 and 06/07. Maybe the first of those and either 98/99 or 99/00 are the ones I'd have predicted he'd make the top few if at all - I don't know whether calendar year 1999 would be reflected better than either of those even, if the data was available in that format as with Kicker (I think Pires in 2001 should have a great rating on that basis too for example, but for sure better than his 01/02 season rating I don't know).
Are there maybe also some other remotely relevant international sources? For example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Team_of_the_Year Lampard's best Ballon d'Or finishes are 2nd (2005), 15th (2008), 17th (2004), 17th (2006) and 21th (2009). Gerrard was 3rd (2005), 10th (2008), 10th (2009), 13th (2007) and 25th (2001). He was also nominated in 2006 without receiving votes. Lampard's best finish is better as Gerrard's best finish, but the 2nd to 4th best finishes are in favor of Gerrard. Statistically Lampard is probably the most outstanding of the lot, given playing position. Not only his goalscoring (subtracting penalties, without free kicks) but he's also been 4 times among the top three assisters in the league. OPTA has released those ladders. 6 - Bergkamp (Arsenal) 5 - Fabregas (Arsenal & Chelsea) 4 - Beckham (Manchester United) 4 - Lampard (Chelsea) 3 - Giggs (Manchester United) 3 - Rooney (Manchester United) Beckham was in his more limited time at the league 4 times among the top three assisters too, but he has way more assists from set pieces.
The UEFA Team of the Year is a poll for visitors to the UEFA website. Not sure how much influence it has. But Terry has most appearances again (4), followed by Gerrard (3) then Beckham and Ashley Cole (2). One factor that makes it more difficult to assess players' reputations now is the increased scrutiny. Where someone like Kenny Dalglish could be disappointing in two World Cups with virtually no negative impact on his reputation, all the leading British players of the past twenty years seem to have as many detractors as supporters.
Talking of this current season by Hazard, I notice that currently he has a rating on DBS Calcio of just over 7 too. He might be challenging for a top 20 place by the end of the season on both counts in terms of the DBS Calcio averages (adjusted and straight) and I suppose might even have a chance to nick Pires's place in the XIs too. He might be a borderline case between midfielder and forward this season too, but to fit in with other players in nominally similar positions I'd probably still classify him as midfielder (very much AM though). For my estimated top 40 above, I'd think unless his end to the season really is sensational, I might go with 35th at the highest, and unless he really takes a disastrous dip 40th at the lowest. So somewhere between this: 35 - Eden Hazard - 2016/17 36 - Dwight Yorke - 1998/99 37 - Matt Le Tissier - 1994/95 38 - Steve McManaman - 1995/96 39 - Andrei Kanchelskis - 1993/94 40 - Lars Bohinen - 1994/95 and this: 35 - Dwight Yorke - 1998/99 36 - Matt Le Tissier - 1994/95 37 - Steve McManaman - 1995/96 38 - Andrei Kanchelskis - 1993/94 39 - Lars Bohinen - 1994/95 40 - Eden Hazard - 2016/17 I've bolded Kanchelskis to show I had a bit more of a think and now lean towards 93/94 instead of 95/96 (but still think it'd be a close call - anyway I switched the choices, leaving Bohinen in; I think having some ratings for 93/94 would help aid memories/opinions too of course and I have paid attention to them in some cases for other years for certain players. Possibly I'd round out a top 50 with something like this: 41 - Eden Hazard - 2014/15 42 - Andrei Kanchelskis - 1995/96 43 - Eden Hazard - 2013/14 44 - Yaya Toure - 2011/12 45 - Juan Mata - 2011/12 46 - Matt Le Tissier - 1993/94 47 - Riyad Mahrez - 2015/16 48 - Ruud van Nistelrooy - 2001/02 49 - Robin van Persie - 2011/12 50 - Michael Owen - 1997/98 I think Van Nistelrooy and Owen might do better than squeeze in if it was either calendar year based (certainly for Owen) or included European games (certainly for RvN). As I said I'm sure I'm considering domestic cup games in my thoughts anyway (which is different to DBS Calcio's sources - albeit they may have rated the cup games too in actuality) but although I think another season is best for each of those two in domestic cups (02/03 and 00/01) I felt overall taking their PL breakthrough seasons seemed about right. As discussed a bit before, neither makes it that high on DBS Calcio ratings (RvN didn't actually make a top 20 for a season either). I realise I still only have a single GK and single defender in that list, but I'm sure the second half of a top 100 would have quite a few more. Maybe it's always more likely (but not inevitable) attacking players have the real stand-out seasons, but in terms of average ratings (aside from the real balance of which players were most impressive and whether a decent amount of defenders were among them) as we've seen it looks like methodology plays a big part in how defenders fare compared to attackers - I'm thinking it's not only the way German or Italian sources look at the displays of goalkeepers and defenders that might make a difference, but how generous they might tend to be with really high ratings in general (with English and Spanish sources attacking players might be more likely to pick up several top or near top ratings?) and analysis of attackers and midfielders - less really high ratings being handed out might favour consistency which might favour players at the rear of the team in general?
Hmmm interesting; Dalglish is usually rated below world cup heroes Moore and Charlton, but what helps him is that he played for a dominant and succesful European team. With 24 club trophies (excluding the domestic supercup) he's one of the most decorated club footballers in history of the sport. Of the British footballers only Giggs is close to him; the others are at 15 club trophies or lower if I'm not mistaken. His 118 First Division goals (with not too many penalties IIRC) is also pretty decent, having moved to Liverpool at the age of 26. Maybe he just stood out more against his contemporaries (aided by the team he played for) than a Terry or Rooney could do. Despite having produced some succesful and prominent club footballers, Scotland has generally disappointed at national team level. There are virtually no exceptions (post-war) and Dalglish isn't the only one. The passage of time also helps. As you yourself pointed out, the sustained domestic success of Liverpool was a break with the past. Not everyone liked their free spending around the turn of the 1980s. Readers letters in Shoot! argued about whether Dalglish was a product of Liverpool's greatness or that his predecessor Keegan lacked the same 'natural' talent.
Maybe also interesting to do such thing per year of birth? Since the Premier League started (is Barnes good enough based on post-1992 alone?).
Year of birth and age at the chosen season (start or most of the season perhaps) might be good yeah (but of course that's just my own list even if there would at least be some similarities for most people - I'd be surprised if any of my top 13 choices say weren't in someones top 50 probably). Barnes did play very well in more of a central, probing role for Liverpool I remember in the PL era, but probably his DBS 1994/95 rating seems reasonable (perhaps I'd move some others above or move some below from above or whatever but not surprised he'd make a top 20). I'll have to check but my youngest inclusion near the top might be Giggs 1993/94, and oldest Gullit 1995/96 I guess. It could be interesting to extend the DBS averages with the adjusted method to a top 50 (albeit not including the opening two seasons) and have a look the same way with that too.
Scotland fielded a strong national team for nearly sixty years until the end of the 1920s, but hardly ever again after that. As the horizons of other teams broadened, the Scots remained focused on beating England at the expense of all else. Attitudes towards those playing south of the border remained ambivalent, and managers of English clubs, some of whom were Scottish, did not always release players for international duty. As @frasermc noted, the selectors have also been reluctant to pick Celtic's Catholics with their Irish ancestry, even after Celtic won the European Cup. From the 1960s to the 1980s there was abundant talent to produce a successful national team. But it never happened. The reputations of Scottish players tend to be confined mainly to the UK. Only five Scottish footballers have made the Top 5 of the Ballon d'Or: Law 1st and 4th , Dalglish 2nd, Johnstone 3rd, Strachan 4th and Bremner 5th. The appearances of Dalglish and Strachan were the last, in the same year of 1983 when Dalglish was a distant second to Platini and Strachan only a couple of votes behind his fellow-Scot.
Here are those 50 (with Hazard of this season slotted into 37th for now) with YOB and age for majority of the season noted: 1 - Thierry Henry - 2003/04 (1977, 26) 2 - Dennis Bergkamp - 1997/98 (1969, 28) 3 - Cristiano Ronaldo - 2007/08 (1985, 22) 4 - Eric Cantona - 1993/94 (1966, 27) 5 - Robert Pires - 2001/02 (1973, 28) 6 - Thierry Henry - 2004/05 (1977, 27) 7 - Gianfranco Zola - 1996/97 (1966, 30) 8 - Jurgen Klinsmann - 1994/95 (1964, 30) 9 - Thierry Henry - 2002/03 (1977, 25) 10 - Dennis Bergkamp - 1996/97 (1969, 27) 11 - Cristiano Ronaldo - 2006/07 (1985, 21) 12 - Alan Shearer - 1993/94 (1970, 23) 13 - Ryan Giggs - 1993/94 (1973, 20) 14 - Patrick Vieira - 2002/03 (1976, 26) 15 - Alexis Sanchez - 2014/15 (1988, 26) 16 - Steven Gerrard - 2005/06 (1980, 25) 17 - Thierry Henry - 2005/06 (1977, 28) 18 - Ruud Gullit - 1995/96 (1962, 33) 19 - David Beckham - 1998/99 (1975, 23) 20 - Yaya Toure - 2013/14 (1983, 30) 21 - Luis Suarez - 2013/14 (1987, 26) 22 - Cesc Fabregas - 2009/10 (1987, 22) 23 - Juninho - 1996/97 (1973, 23) 24 - Eric Cantona - 1992/93 (1966, 26) 25 - Gareth Bale - 2012/13 (1969, 23) 26 - Steven Gerrard - 2007/08 (1980, 27) 27 - Juan Mata - 2012/13 (1988, 24) 28 - Alan Shearer - 1994/95 (1970, 24) 29 - Robert Pires - 2003/04 (1973, 30) 30 - Frank Lampard - 2004/05 (1978, 26) 31 - David Ginola - 1995/96 (1967, 28) 32 - Peter Schmeichel - 1992/93 (1963, 29) 33 - Fernando Torres - 2007/08 (1984, 23) 34 - Ricardo Carvalho - 2005/06 (1978, 27) 35 - Dwight Yorke - 1998/99 (1971, 27) 36 - Matt Le Tissier - 1994/95 (1968, 26) 37 - Eden Hazard - 2016/17 (1991, 25) 38 - Steve McManaman - 1995/96 (1972, 23) 39 - Andrei Kanchelskis - 1993/94 (1969, 24) 40 - Lars Bohinen - 1994/95 (1969, 25) 41 - Eden Hazard - 2014/15 (1991, 23) 42 - Andrei Kanchelskis - 1995/96 (1969, 26) 43 - Eden Hazard - 2013/14 (1991, 22) 44 - Yaya Toure - 2011/12 (1983, 28) 45 - Juan Mata - 2011/12 (1988, 23) 46 - Matt Le Tissier - 1993/94 (1968, 25) 47 - Riyad Mahrez - 2015/16 (1991, 24) 48 - Ruud van Nistelrooy - 2001/02 (1976, 25) 49 - Robin van Persie - 2011/12 (1983, 28) 50 - Michael Owen - 1997/98 (1979, 18) Extras mentioned for potential best XI's: Petr Cech - 2004/05 (1982, 22), Sol Campbell - 1998/99 (1974, 24), Paul McGrath - 1992/93 (1959, 33), Kolo Toure - 2003/04 (1981, 22), Marcel Desailly - 1998/99 (1968, 30), Dan Petrescu - 1995/96 (1967, 28), Markus Babbel - 2000/01 (1972, 28), Denis Irwin - 1993/94 (1965, 28), Stuart Pearce - 1994/95 (1962, 32)
Barnes, in 94/95, would be a couple of years younger than the oldest of those names. His ex-Liverpool team-mate Beardsley, a season earlier in 93/94 for example, was a year closer to them. Whether there are older candidates - not sure - for example I feel it's doubtful for older Giggs to be thought of quite that highly (being the youngest and oldest name in such a list potentially would be very notable though and maybe that's why he wins greatest PL player polls at times, although IMHO I don't think he was so very far away from best player in his prime - one Man Utd website did remark that there'd not been such an exciting player as Giggs from 93/94 I noticed today). I doubt there'd be any younger than Owen either anyway (though his inclusion might be debateable and I had him borderline anyway - we'll see how close he is with DBS Calcio for that same 97/98 season, but like I said I suspect for calendar year 1998 his rating might even have been a bit higher, taking the end of 97/98 and start of 98/99).
Yes, maybe Dalglish was undervalued or undervoted at the time. Are you aware of something else outside Ballon d'Or at the time? In terms of reputation outside the UK: IFFHS voted him in the top 50 in 1999; the 2004 Champions Magazine vote (UEFA) among peers had him even 24th. He was the highest placed Scot. Law was 36th, Bremner 42th, Johnstone 57th, Souness 67th. https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/champions-magazine-250-greatest-european-players-2004.2029656/ They could file in five names and of course it would be unusual to fill in five Brits, five Italians etc. This probably costs some players. The 1995 FFT international vote had him 8th as you showed.
Here is the full list of 50 individual seasons based on adjusted DBS Calcio rating, and the players' YOB and age for majority of the season again too: 1 - Luis Suarez - 2013/14 - 7.21 (1987, 26) 2 - Cesc Fabregas- 2009/10 - 7.20 (1987, 22) 3= Steven Gerrard- 2005/06 - 7.12 (1980, 25) 3= Frank Lampard - 2009/10 - 7.12 (1978, 26) 5= Juan Mata - 2012/13 - 7.08 (1988, 24) 5= Jamie Vardy - 2015/16 - 7.08 (1987, 28) 7= Robert Pires - 2001/02 - 7.06 (1973, 28) 7= Cristiano Ronaldo - 2006/07 - 7.06 (1985, 21) 9= Keith Gillespie - 1997/98 - 7.04 (1975, 22) 9= Wayne Rooney - 2009/10 - 7.04 (1985, 24) 12= Steven Gerrard - 2003/04 - 7.02 (1980, 23) 12= Yohann Cabaye - 2013/14 - 7.02 (1986, 27) 13 - Patrick Vieira - 2002/03 - 7.00 (1976, 26) 14= Steven Gerrard - 2008/09 - 6.99 (1980, 28) 14= Didier Drogba - 2009/10 - 6.99 (1978, 31) 16= Dennis Bergkamp - 1997/98 - 6.97 (1969, 28) 16= Riyad Mahrez - 2015/16 - 6.97 (1991, 24) 18= Phillipe Albert - 1995/96 - 6.95 (1967, 28) 18= Thomas Gravesen - 2004/05 - 6.95 (1976, 28) 18= Luis Suarez - 2012/13 - 6.95 (1987, 25) 21= David Silva - 2013/14 - 6.93 (1986, 27) 21= Dimitri Payet - 2015/16 - 6.93 (1987, 28) 23 - Sergio Aguero - 2011/12 - 6.92 (1988, 23) 24= Thierry Henry - 2003/04 - 6.91 (1977, 26) 24= Eden Hazard - 2014/15 - 6.91 (1991, 23) 26= Steve McManaman - 1994/95 - 6.90 (1972, 22) 26= Sol Campbell - 1998/99 - 6.90 (1974, 24) 26= Cristiano Ronaldo - 2007/08 - 6.90 (1985, 22) 29= Thierry Henry - 2002/03 - 6.89 (1977, 25) 29= Mikel Arteta - 2006/07 - 6.89 (1982, 24) 29= Wayne Rooney - 2007/08 - 6.89 (1985, 22) 29= Wayne Rooney - 2013/14 - 6.89 (1985, 28) 33= Sasa Curcic - 1995/96 - 6.88 (1972, 23) 33= Gianfranco Zola - 1996/97 - 6.88 (1966, 30) 33= Kieron Dyer - 2000/01 - 6.88 (1978, 22) 36= Roy Keane - 2001/02 - 6.87 (1971, 30) 36= Wayne Rooney - 2005/06 - 6.87 (1985, 20) 38= Paul Ince - 1994/95 - 6.86 (1967, 27) 38= Tony Adams - 1998/99 - 6.86 (1966, 32) 40= Alan Shearer - 1994/95 - 6.85 (1970, 24) 40= Alan Shearer - 1995/96 - 6.85 (1970, 25) 40= Benito Carbone - 1998/99 - 6.85 (1971, 27) 40= Roy Keane - 1999/00 - 6.85 (1971, 28) 40= Carlos Tevez - 2009/10 - 6.85 (1984, 25) 45= Patrick Vieira - 1997/98 - 6.84 (1976, 21) 45= Adam Lallana - 2013/14 - 6.84 (1988, 25) 47= Ryan Giggs - 2001/02 - 6.83 (1973, 28) 47= Patrick Vieira - 2003/04 - 6.83 (1976, 27) 47= Aaron Ramsey - 2013/14 - 6.83 (1990, 23) 50 - Roy Keane - 2002/03 - 6.82 (1971, 31)
Other top rated goalies and defenders (making sure to include some full-backs): Antti Niemi - 2002/03 - 6.79 (1972, 30) Ross Turnbull - 2008/09 - 6.77 (1985, 23) Sol Campbell - 1997/98 - (1974, 23) Joleon Lescott - 2007/08 - (1982, 25) Warren Barton - 1994/95 (1969, 25) Leighton Baines - 2012/13 (1984, 28) Obviously I couldn't include the opening two seasons as I said, and I didn't put in any 2016/17 players as the season isn't over, although Hazard and probably others will likely be in the top 50 adjusted (and actual) ratings when it is.
The main great options for 'older' players I have thought of are probably Peter Beardsley in 95/96 (in 94/95 he'd not be older than others included in selections I made before), Teddy Sheringham & Gary McAllister (both in 00/01). For another teenager I'd say Ryan Giggs in 92/93, but of course the likes of Rooney and Fabregas also made a big impact before age 20. I also thought about another exercise - picking 25 players (one for each season) to try and form the best possible squad: I came up with this as my attempt, but others might like a go too..... 1 - Peter Schmeichel (92/93) 2 - Markus Babbel (00/01) 3 - Ashley Cole (11/12) 4 - Patrick Vieira (02/03) 5 - Ricardo Carvalho (05/06) 6 - Sol Campbell (98/99) 7 - Cristiano Ronaldo (07/08) 8 - Dennis Bergkamp (97/98) 9 - Steven Gerrard (06/07) 10 - Thierry Henry (03/04) 11 - Robert Pires (01/02) 12 - Cesc Fabregas (09/10) 13 - Petr Cech (04/05) 14 - N'Golo Kante (16/17) 15 - Sami Hyypia (99/00) 16 - Phillipe Albert (95/96) 17 - David Silva (10/11) 18 - Jurgen Klinsmann (94/95) 19 - David Beckham (96/97) 20 - Ryan Giggs (93/94) 21 - Pablo Zabaleta (13/14) 22 - David De Gea (15/16) 23 - Leighton Baines (12/13) 24 - Xabi Alonso (08/09) 25 - Alexis Sanchez (14/15) I did have a finalised squad including Gullit, Zola (with Beckham in 98/99) and Alderweireld, but thought I should switch to Albert, Campbell and Kante to make it a bit more real/balanced even if on that basis Zola would surely be a useful back-up to Bergkamp. I was thinking of attacking 4-2-3-1 type formations. I was also going to allocate some squad numbers more synonymous with some players, but thought showing a probable starting XI in shirts 1-11 was more informative. Back, sort of, on the main thread topic (and overlapping the topics of other threads), it could be cool to do an all-time worldwide version using 25 different calendar years....
I just realised Jaap Stam's ratings didn't appear on the results pages, and he should have been part of the 98/99, 99/00 and 00/01 top 20's (the latter because he played the same number of games as RvP did in 09/10 and would have the 2nd highest rating over all positions; the other two just because I'm not sure why he was missing from the results pages as his average was high enough to make it on). Nothing major would change, but a few of my posts re: adjusted ratings would need re-writing really (for 98/99 Campbell, Adams and Carbone's number would go down by 0.01 but of course that would alter placings in final lists over all or several years...but not in a major way; for 00/01 Dyer's number should go down by 0.02 so he'd slip a little but still be in that top 50 DBS ratings list I made, and in theory and perhaps harshly given he played a lot more games than Stam, Hyypia would not be shown as top rated defender for 00/01 anymore - his rating 0.03 behind Stam's for that season). Those seasons still form a batch on the low side for top average ratings anyway, so recognising Stam should be included is the main thing (when I'd put Hyypia in my one player per season squad for 99/00, I suddenly thought about whether Stam had been omitted by mistake having seen his ratings before). In theory Gerrard might stay in the top 20 for 99/00 in a tied place as with others, but Izzet would drop out for 98/99 and Henry would do also for 00/01.
Re-post of this one to include Stam (hopefully these adjustments really are the last necessary - I did previously look at over 100 players individually so if other main candidates had been missing maybe I'd have spotted it by now, although when Danny Murphy was on the Fantasy Football Club on Sky this weekend I did go and check him just in case especially when he talked about moving clubs during a transfer window! - but he was slightly short of a good enough rating in his best years; the Media Voto results pages are really useful to compile things quickly and easily but I suppose the fail-safe method might be to do as I originally did for 95/96 before posting other ratings which is to check each squad individually - but that would have taken even longer). 1998/99 Sol Campbell (6.81, 6.89) - top rated defender Tony Adams (6.77, 6.85) - 2nd rated defender Benito Carbone (6.76, 6.84) - top rated attacker Lucas Radebe (6.68, 6.76) Emmanuel Petit (6.66, 6.74) - top rated midfielder Roy Keane (6.65, 6.73) - 2nd rated midfielder Steve Stone (6.61, 6.69) Jamie Redknapp (6.57, 6.65) Rio Ferdinand (6.55, 6.63) Patrick Vieira (6.54, 6.62) Martin Keown (6.54, 6.62) Michael Hughes (6.52, 6.60) Marcel Desailly (6.52, 6.60) Shaka Hislop (6.51, 6.59) - top rated GK Ken Monkou (6.49, 6.57) Jaap Stam (6.48, 6.56) Mark Kinsella (6.46, 6.54) Matt Elliott (6.46, 6.54) Franck Leboeuf (6.46, 6.54) Tore Andre Flo (6.44, 6.52) - 2nd rated attacker * 2nd rated GK was David Seaman (6.37, 6.45)
1999/00 Roy Keane (6.74, 6.85) - top rated midfielder Paolo Di Canio (6.70, 6.81) - top rated attacker Tony Adams (6.64, 6.75) - top rated defender Matthew Clarke (6.64, 6.75) - top rated GK Dennis Wise (6.63, 6.74) - 2nd rated midfielder Thierry Henry (6.58, 6.69) - 2nd rated attacker Sol Campbell (6.57, 6.68) - 2nd rated defender Ryan Giggs (6.57, 6.68) Kevin Phillips (6.56, 6.67) Patrick Vieira (6.54, 6.65) Titi Camara (6.51, 6.62) Emile Heskey (6.51, 6.62) Neil Sullivan (6.48, 6.59) - 2nd rated GK David Beckham (6.48, 6.59) Jaap Stam (6.48, 6.59) Harry Kewell (6.46, 6.57) Martin Keown (6.44, 6.55) Paul Merson (6.44, 6.55) Frank Lampard (6.43, 6.54) Richard Gough (6.41, 6.52) Steven Gerrard (6.41, 6.52) (Re-posted too, to include Stam again)
This hardly changes at all of course, but the new version is now contained in the quoted section below, for the sake of completeness (nothing changed in the other summary for seasons 94/95 to 99/00 - top rated players overall by position by number of placings, in post 594):
Slightly more significant change for 00/01 list (but Stam not involved in further lists that require more games played): 2000/01 Kieron Dyer (6.79, 6.86) - top rated midfielder Jaap Stam (6.67, 6.74) - top rated defender Sami Hyypia (6.64, 6.71) - 2nd rated defender Don Hutchison (6.64, 6.71) - 2nd rated midfielder Paul Merson (6.62, 6.69) Patrick Vieira (6.61, 6.68) Ryan Giggs (6.60, 6.67) Joe Cole (6.60, 6.67) Michael Owen (6.59, 6.66) - top rated attacker Sol Campbell (6.59, 6.66) David Beckham (6.58, 6.65) Roy Keane (6.54, 6.61) Gianfranco Zola (6.52, 6.59) - 2nd rated attacker Paolo Di Canio (6.52, 6.59) Dean Richards (6.51, 6.58) Richard Rufus (6.49, 6.56) Michael Gray (6.48, 6.55) Steven Gerrard (6.48, 6.55) Lee Bowyer (6.47, 6.54) Gustavo Poyet (6.46, 6.53) * Top rated GK was Shay Given (6.45, 6.52), 2nd rated GK was Neil Sullivan (6.40, 6.47)