English Premier League Eleven of the Decade

Everyone is talking about this and that of the decade as we approach 2010. Because of my obsession for football, i thought i should also do something of the decade. And what came into my mind was "Premier League 11 of the Decade". Now i was faced with the snag of making my selection without having anyone criticize me for leaving out their own legends.

Luckily for me, i came across a similar effort by Phil Mcnulty of the BBC and i was relieved. So Y'all can pour your anger on him not me. Surprisingly, i think his' is a little bit similar to what i had in Mind.

So Meet Phil.................

Ever had a hospital pass? The one with the red cross marked on it that you know is going to end with a large amount of personal grief - if you are very lucky?

This is mine. Namely the request to name the Premier League team of "The Noughties". The job that will please no-one and will have plenty of you waving your fist in fury at the laptop.

So apologies in advance. My only excuse for leaving out your own personal favourite or club legend is that I can only pick 11 players and there could have been so many more - and this might be the best substitutes' bench in history.

Tin hat at the ready. And try not to be too hard on me. Remember - I could only pick 11.

GOALKEEPER: Shay Given (Newcastle United,Manchester City and the Republic of Ireland) Given was a model of consistency for Newcastle United and has continued this at Eastlands.

He remains as good as ever for club and country, at 33. There has been plenty of debate about signings made by Mark Hughes, but no-one questions Given. Well worth his place in this team, just edging out Brad Friedel and Petr Cech.

RIGHT-BACK: Gary Neville (Manchester United and England) A taste not acquired by many outside Old Trafford, an outspoken champion of Manchster United and a player who has flourished at the highest level for well over a decade. At his peak peerless defensively, and while not a scorer of goals has created his share. Formed one half of a devastating right-flank partnership with David Beckham at Old Trafford.

LEFT-BACK: Ashley Cole (Arsenal, Chelsea and England) Part of Arsenal's "Invincibles" in 2004 and will travel to the World Cup with England as one of Fabio Capello's true world-class stars. Went through a period of public unpopularity after leaving Arsenal, but has been back to his best this season. His performance against Cristiano Ronaldo in the Euro 2004 quarter-final against Portugal at The Stadium Of Light remains one of the finest individual defensive displays I have ever witnessed in the flesh.

CENTRE-BACK: John Terry (Chelsea and England) Terry stood alongside Jose Mourinho as one of the shining symbols of Chelsea's resurgence under "The Special One." Brave, maybe sometimes too brave for his own good, ready to risk injury in both penalty areas and the emdobiment of what you want a defender to be, with his "over my dead body" approach to conceding goals. Not quite the force of old these days, but still formidable and worthy of a place in this team.

CENTRE-BACK: Rio Ferdinand (West Ham United, Leeds United, Manchester United and England) Thought long and hard about this one for some strange reason, with the Liverpool pair of Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia figuring prominently. The Finn might just get the award for the most under-rated defender of "The Noughties".

Ferdinand gets it, though, for his class, elegance and defensive ability that has contributed so much to Manchester United successes. But it's a close run thing with Carragher and I would see no problem exchanging the two - a cop out I know.

RIGHT MIDFIELD: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United and Portugal) Right midfield is such a low-grade description of one of the greatest players to grace the Premier League. United's most devastating weapon in recent seasons and sorely missed after his move to Real Madrid. Few players are irreplaceable, but he is one. No contest for this position.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool and England) Getting interesting now. Gerrard is my choice despite vicious competition for these positions, just getting the nod ahead of Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Manchester United's Paul Scholes.

So easy to make a case for those two, but in recent seasons Gerrard has been magnificent, occasionally carrying Liverpool on his own. Virtually won an FA Cup Final and the Champions League on his own. Dynamic and a leader - so he gets the vote.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Patrick Vieira (Arsenal and France) Gone for a partnership in a traditional 4-4-2 formation, and Vieira and Gerrard would not be too shabby. In at the start of the Arsene Wenger revolution and the significance of his contribution can be outlined by the fact they have never quite been the same since his departure. Ruthless midfield enforcer and consumate creator. Last kick for the club earned them their last trophy, the 2005 FA Cup against Manchester United.

LEFT MIDFIELD: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United and Wales) Deservedly crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2009. Could not be left out with 11 Premier League titles to his name.

Still producing outstanding performances at the age of 36, a model professional since making his debut in March 1991 and regarded as "a god" in the Manchester United dressing-room according to Sir Alex Ferguson.

STRIKER: Alan Shearer (Newcastle and England) Tough competition here, but if you want goals, leadership, bravery and someone to follow into football's trenches, Tyneside legend Shearer is your man.

Even before this decade he won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers, and while not under-estimating the all-round team ethic of Kenny Dalglish's side, there would have been no title without Shearer. Shearer scored 260 goals in 441 games in the Premier League - this statistic alone ends any argument about his inclusion.

STRIKER: Thierry Henry (Arsenal and France) Henry's reputation was blemished by his recent handball for France that sent his country to the World Cup in South Africa at the Republic of Ireland's expense, but no-one can question his Premier League pedigree.

A wonderfully stylish player, he scored 226 goals in 364 games for Arsenal before leaving for Barcelona in 2007- and finally picked up the Champions League medal that eluded him with the Gunners when Barcelona beat Manchester United in the 2009 final.

So with particular apologies to Dennis Bergkamp, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes (and maybe even the likes of Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba and many others) this is my Premier League team of "The Noughties"

I shall now retreat to my bunker and leave you to pick your own....not easy is it?

By Phil McNulty BBC Sports

Liverpool Hit by Injury Worries

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is facing up to the worst injury crisis of his five years at the Reds' helm ahead of Sunday's visit of champions Manchester United.

Benitez will oversee a succession of scans and medical examinations on a host of his top stars following Tuesday night's 2-1 Champions League defeat at home to Lyon.

Liverpool have lost four successive matches for the first time since 1987, and are now in danger of dropping out of the title race and failing to advance from their Champions League group.

Benitez said: "We have just too many problems, I cannot remember an injury situation like this."

Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson both missed Tuesday night's game with groin injuries, while Steven Gerrard limped out of the match in the first half with a recurrence of the problem he picked up while playing for England last week.

Winger Albert Riera is also in need of a scan on his hamstring while teenager Martin Kelly's impressive full debut was ruined by an ankle injury.

And Benitez claimed his troubles do not end there.

He said: "There are other players with other problems, I have no idea what team I can put out against Manchester United until we have had the players tested and seen by the medical team."

Benitez, however, refuted suggestions that playing Gerrard was too much of a gamble and insisted his team can still qualify from Group E and reach the last 16.

Lyon maintained their 100% record at the top of the pool with Tuesday night's win, while Fiorentina's 4-3 victory in Hungary against Debrecen puts them in pole position to grab the second qualification spot.

Liverpool now must raise their game in their final three matches in order to progress further. They are away to Lyon in a fortnight, then travel to Budapest on November 24 before their final home game against Fiorentina on December 9.

The hosts led at half-time on Tuesday night through Yossi Benayoun, before crumbling under pressure to concede goals to substitutes Maxime Gonalons and Cesar Delgado - the latter in stoppage time.

Benitez said: "It was not a gamble to play Gerrard. He wanted to play and had trained normally for two days.

"He was given the all-clear by the doctor and it was just bad luck what happened. He felt something wrong in his groin, and it was wise to come off."

Liverpool have launched amazing recoveries in group stages in previous seasons to advance in Europe's premier club competition, and will need another one now.

Steven Gerrard Admits Throwing The First Punch

We all know him as one helluva midfielder, and we respect his prowess on the field. Some might even confess that Steven Gerrard is their dream player. Yes, the Liverpool midfielder is well-known.

But I can tell you one thing you didn’t know: our Liverpool star is one hell of a boxer. Yes, you probably heard of the case from December last year. Well, since then some more light have been shed on the issue and it seems like our star was in the wrong. When the case was originally opened, Steven Gerrard didn’t admit throwing the first punch, but now he has come out in the open to say yes, I did it first.

Fighting for music! Sounds like the lyric for a weakly constructed song. I never knew some people could let music rule their lives. Talk about that for defending the food for the soul.

Gerrard, like I said earlier, admits throwing the first punch, but he says this in his defence: “I only threw about three punches. Only connected” The Mohammed Ali of Soccer!

If you are lost as to what started the squabble, let me take you down memory lane, to December 29, 2008 when our jolly star was celebrating Liverpool’s victory in the wee hours of the morning in a lounge. He was in company of some friends. He was also celebrating the victory of Liverpool over Newcastle. Now, you know that during celebrations like this, people don’t drink water. They just don’t. Therefore it would be right judgement to assume that our superstar was enthusiastically guzzling quite a considerable helping of alcohol. That was when he decided to change the music that was playing on the stereo. As he claimed, the manager of the bar had given him such privileges. However, as he was about to exercise his privileges, a certain businessman, Marcus McGee, thirty four years of age, confronted him and refused to grant him access to the card controlling the music. That was when Steven bellowed, allegedly, “who the f*** do you think you are?” (This has been censored for the benefit of young soccer lovers)

Because of this hindrance to the music change, it seems Gerrard, who admitted that on a drunkenness scale of one to ten, he was on a seven, pulled the man’s jumper over his head, so he couldn’t see who was hitting him. Gerrard say otherwise, he declared that the man raised his hands as if to attack, and he, who was used to mither (trouble, or bother) swiftly gave the first punch. It was also confirmed that his friend John Doran, 29, of Huyton, Liverpool, also helped in doling out the punches.

It took the barman, one Nathaniel, to separate the two men who seemed bent on converting the bar into a boxing ring.

All these have been revealed from police interviews with Gerrard and McGee. Marcus said it was not his permission to give over control of the card, but his job, so he just had to say no.

Steven Gerrard, however wants the dispute quickly settled so he can attend to other matters as this court case is making him mithered.

What do you think of this? Please comment.