Since there still seems to be a little bit of confusion among some, just to be clear, the *greatest* and the *best* defensive midfielders, and indeed players in any position, are not the same thing. Owen Hargreaves was a better defensive midfielder than Gareth Barry, for example, but he only played 28 Premier League games whilst Barry played 653. Therefore, Barry is a greater Premier League player than Hargreaves, even though Hargreaves was more gifted and had a better peak. Hopefully that clears a few things up, and I hope you all have a magnificent day!
It's the same as in boxing. One boxer may have a perfect record of 20-0, but without fighting many of the best fighters and retiring early. Another boxer may have a record of 40-10, but having fought everyone of the best in his category several times. In this situation it is believed that the second one is a greater boxer. Only those, who haven't played enough times have not lost. It's the same here. The players with fewer matches have not proven themselves enough to earn such recognition as a PL great.
The sheer quality and consistency of Gilberto Silva's 170 games, including his key contribution in the invincibles season, would have put him in my list.
Claude Makelele. One of the only players who have ever had a role named after him. I understand about the longevity and am not arguing that. But can we just appreciate a player who Zidane talked about when Makelele was sold, and Beckham was bought at Madrid. “Why do you need to add a gold layer on the Bentley when you have already lost the engine?”
I think it’s simply because of time in the league. As Alfie stated with the Ince commentary, he would’ve been further up in the list had he not spent some of his prime playing in Serie A. Claude was the rock which many teams were built around. As you said with the Zidane quote, that Madrid side fell apart when he left for Chelsea. Having said all this, while Makelele is a greater defensive midfielder than anybody in this list, some of absolute best years were with Madrid.
@@PatrickvanStokken and Carrick was way overvalued because of the amount of games he played, even when many of those were in an undervalued Man U aftet Ferguson...at least he ackowledged Alonso, Silva and Makelele were better footballers
I was also expecting to see Makelele in this list... I would put him over Fernandinho, I'm sure he played the same amount of games or even more... But then again, I understand that he isn't here for the fact that this video is not exclusive to pure defensive midfielders
I think he put a bit much emphasis on the number of games...sometimes a player can leave a huge impact in 100 games...rather than a more bland legacy like Carrick at Utd (at least he aknowledges Alonso, Silva and Makelele were better players than Carrick, Mascherano too I would say). First time I feel at odds with his choices
Best defensive midfielder, a position called the makelele role and he doesn’t even make the list. Even though others played longer in the league. It’s just wrong.
Yeh as Makalele to me made me finally understand EXACTLY what a defensive midfielder REALLY, he was just pure his role, he defined it better than any of the others mentioned. I don't think we'd call Roy Keane 'Defensive midfielder' unless Makalele had re-established and made the position a conversation again.
couldn't agree more.....makelele was as much a tank defensively as he was a playmaker offensively...... him lamps and essien are one of the best midfield trios ever.....imo better than gattuso pirlo and seedorf as well (just my opinion though)
The makelele role is a actual name given to a defensive midfielder. Understood worldwide to describe where a midfielder is playing. He basically re invented and popularised the "anchor man" and influenced allot of players and coaches to train to be him. Deffo should be podium on this top 7
It might be a bit daunting to do a series like this covering every position, so how about an All-time 11 of the old 1st Division days? (Before the formation of the Prem for you youngsters out there 😉)
Mine would be: GK - Gordon Banks LB - Eddie Hapgood CB - Billy Wright CB - Bobby Moore RB - Phil Neal DM - Graeme Souness AM - Bobby Charlton LW - George Best RW - Stanley Matthews ST - John Charles ST - Jimmy Greaves (Very honourable mentions to Kenny Dalglish, Dixie Dean, Neil Franklin, Tom Finney, Duncan Edwards, Johnny Carey, Bryan Robson and Denis Law) What are your thoughts on that?
really appreciate all the time and research that goes into these videos. i do think a 433 formation with a cdm, cm and cam in it would make it more defined since players in the video spent most of their playing time as box to box midfilders. the longevity of them being in the premier league is very subjective to gauge greatness. like who would be considered the better premier league striker between jurgen klinsmann and victor anichebe. both have a similar amount of goals. one was in the league for a single season and the other over a decade.
I may be a rare Chelsea fan who understands why Makelele didn't make the list. I agree with Alfie's view on longevity being a big factor and this puts Makelele behind these seven so I honestly thought it was a brilliant list.
Longevity should not matter Makelele was the best in the world in that position for 8+ years 5 of whitch were in the Prem. Being a staple of the league for being in it for so long does not in any way compare to being the best on the planet at any point in time. The same argument can be made for George Best, Ronaldinho, Kaka
There are still too many people in the comments that dont understand the term „greatness“ even though Alfie explains it. It‘s not only about how good they were but also for how long they played in the Prem.
@Sylvester Banini I disagree, I always imagine it like an integral: high peaks are good but if it‘s only for a short period it‘s less than middling height over a longer period. And it‘s not like Henderson is a bad player, he‘s Liverpool skipper for a reason. Of course KDB is a better player overall but he‘s no necessarily a greater prem player than Henderson atm because he has played like 100 games leas.
I rate Henderson, but I don't allow our recent success to cloud my judgement. Didi Hamann is a much better defensive midfielder than Henderson. Hamann has 268 appearances as a defensive midfielder in PL. Henderson may have more appearances but not at DM. Rating Henderson a better DM is akin to rating Scholes or Lampard better than Gerrard just because they won more trophies, playing on vastly superior teams.
Oh, how I can't wait for the attacking midfielder top 7 and th debates that it will cause. From the Scholes v Gerrard v Lampard debate to the very likely leaving of Yaya Toure and a top spot for De Bruyne (knowing Alfie, he will 99% sure put KBD at top), it will surely be an interesting video to say the least
huge fan of kdb but he doesn't deserve to be in the same sentence as lamps and gerrard....kdb benefits A LOT from Pep's system with all the movements from the wingers full backs and attacking midfielders.... his press resistance and the art of dribbling in tight spaces is not impressive..... not to mention lamps and Stevie g used to bully top teams in Europe single handedly
Ah yes my favourite position to play and to watch...this will be a treat!! (Although I wish you would have made a video about wide playing midfielders rather than just grouping them in offensive and defensive)
Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 275) I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored. If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.
I think the Henderson most passes stat isn’t quite true as they didn’t count passes for over a decade of the Premier League era. He has the most since passes have been recorded.
I feel like carrick is here solely because of how many game he played. Putting him above Kante because he played more game is like putting the A320 above the Concorde in a Greatest airliners list because it flew more.
I think this is a generational thing, but you dont seem to look at players from the early premier league, Claude Makalele, David Batty, Marcele Dessallie and Michael Essien were all top notch defensive midfielders in the premier league.
The role is only named after Makalele in England, where a specialist DM had not been part of the game until Jose Mourinho's Chelsea. Had Essien been his first DM, it would be him the role is named after. I agree with you on this 7 Alfie. Really glad that Paul Ince made it. Carrick is the only one who has a debate, especially considering you were willing to break your rules for the RB video.
I think you are putting too much weight on games played. If a 10/10 player plays 3 seasons he is eclipsed by a 6/10 player who plays 10 seasons according to your logic. That for me doesn't give a good representation. Maybe it would have been better to have done a minimum number of games?
hey alfie, do you think you’d be interested in doing an all-time xi for a bunch of different clubs (barca, real, ajax, MU, santos, milan, inter, bayern, hull city, etc.) - love when you dive into the history of the game and i feel like you’d choose some quality clubs outside of the big names™️ i listed
Well Alonso was like Carrick, but about 10 times better. Also agreed about Essien. He could have been Chelsea's answer to Keane if he hadn't been injured so often.
He was not 10 times better than Carrick 😂 but then again this is coming from you, who’s previously commented that you’d have Ian Harte over Dennis Irwin and John Arne Riise over Patrice Evra in the greatest PL left backs list.....
As a liverpool fan i think Essien should have been included over Henderson. Henderson always felt like he played in a slightly more advanced role for most of his Liverpool career.
Makélélé HAS to make the list. He had the most defining impact on the position of anyone in this list, maybe even in this team, still played over 100 games at an extremely high level and had the ultimate respect from his piers. I'd put him in instead of Fernandinho, as I think the Premier League and the position are so much weaker without Makélélé, and that's what greatness is to me.
Fernandinho is so underrated. Jamie Redknapp did some analysis after the Man City vs Norwich game. He’s got everything you want in a defensive midfielder, and doesn’t really have any weaknesses to his game. Also, he’s more of a true defence midfielder compared with a lot of the other names on this list, some of whom played in a midfield 2, rather than a true holding midfielder like Fernandinho has been at City.
Alfie did a video ages ago on the best DM's in the league at the time (2018 or 19 I think) and said the same thing, about other players like Kante having more energy, Busquets having more intelligence but Fernandinho being the best all round in the world at the time.
I think you’ve weighted number of games too heavily, just my opinion. Carrick shouldn’t be moved so high just because he’s played a tonne of games. He would be on my list, just lower down imo.
Alfie Can you do a documentary on the afc Wimbledon on the nine promotions in eleven years, how they’re a fan own club and how they have a stadium in plough lane now. The story of they lost the club, how the F A allowed that and won’t allow that anymore. How they were very close to moving to ireland How they went up the English football leagues. It would be a good documentary video if you can do this. #thepeopleschannel
Kante ahead of Fernandinho? For most of the last ten years Fernandinho was the player City couldn't function without. That transition has happened now but the fact that it took at least two seasons showed how important he was. If you ask most City fans, they'll tell you that not starting Fernandinho was the biggest mistake we made in last season's Champions League Final. Even as someone long in the tooth, he was crucial in our Champions League campaign last season. When he was finally subbed on, City were the better side.
@@xp3r1 he played far fewer games than anyone in the 7, he would enter based on quality but based on quantity he didn't stay long enough in the premier league.
I'd put Kante higher. Not because I'm a Chelsea fan be because he is on the verge of having won everything with 2 different clubs including the most unlikely PL title win ever and one of the most unlikely UCL win ever whilst being a top 3 player for both bare minimum. The only problem is he hasn't played for a long time but I think he overrules it tbh Also where tf is Claude Makelele and Yaya Toure? One basically invented the position in the PL and the other borderline perfected it. My personal top 5 is 5-Patrick Viera 4-Ngolo Kante 3-Roy Keane 2-Claude Makelele 1-Yaya Toure
I doubt you do it on purpose but pretty much each of these videos has seen a Chelsea player being absolutely shafted. No Makelele and Kante only in 5th? I can't get my head around that. Maybe you should have done 3 videos for midfielders. Defensive, Central and Attacking mids. Would have made a lot more sense and avoided a fair bit of confusion.
Didn't a Chelsea player take first place for the right back position. I do believe makelele maybe should have entered certainly based on quality but on quantity, he played far fewer games than anyone in this 7.
Hi Areeb, are you a Chelsea fan, per chance? Everyone think their team gets shafted in almost every video. Doing three midfield videos was one option but I tried to explain why I didn't do that, because I am building up to a best XI based upon the positional videos.
@@HITCSevens Fair enough but you left Ivanovic out of the RB 7 which was just bizarre. JT over Rio is arguable but most would lean towards the former. Longevity matters and the players you picked may have played more games than Makalele but I would still have him in the 7 regardless. And looking at the comments a lot of people seem to agree with that. Kante should be pushed a spot or two higher as well. Best in the world at what he does and won pretty much everything there is to win. Still, I really enjoy this series. Always up for a good debate. Can't wait for the attacking mids video where you'll tell us that KDB is better than Frank Lampard. I'm joking of course but you're probably gonna put the scouse passion merchant above Lamps so Chelsea fans won't be getting any happier.
After this series ends i think you should make a new series on underrated players in every position of the premier league era as well as overrated players too Thank you
First Cech, Then Ivanovic and Azpillicueta (Very low ranking), Then Terry, Now Makelele. Are we even surprised at this point anymore? Don't give me the Cole argument, it was so obvious that everyone would have revolted.
What would be your suggestions? Alfie seemed to have some good points to put him in, filling Gerrard shoes could not have been harder and still it looks like he has delivered
@@christianopulinaldo8319 it is not like Alfie has already explained why he did not include any of those... they are better players, but their careers in Prem are either too short or not their peak, or both. It is not "The best dms" is the Greatest DM's so things like accolades, consistancy and longetivity count
Cheers Kuma. As I tried to explain, Mascherano played fewer than 100 Premier League games. Henderson has played close to 400. Mascherano was a better player, but he is not a *greater* Premier League player.
@@HITCSevens I don’t care if Henderson has played 10,000 games he’s still Henderson. Top 7 defensive midfielder, really???! You may have lost the plot.
Makelele would be my no. 1 even if he played just 10 PL games. Keane was absolutely brilliant, make no mistake! But he was quite some way off Makelele, thje greatest Defensive Midfielder EVER, and likely we'll ever see. 144 games isn't a small number.. it's still 4 seasons. Putting Henderson in the list, whilst ignoring Makelele and Alonso is rather strange Alfie.
At this point, long intros are just how you do things 🤣 stop apologizing for doing them 🤣.... keep up the good work, you make great content! To binge lol
How long has Henderson been playing CDM? If I recall correctly, Lucas Leiva was CDM during the early stages of Henderson's career at Liverpool. If we disqualify Alonso & Mascherano on the grounds of longevity, Hamann would be the best DM in our PL era. Ince played 4 seasons for Manchester United in PL. He wasn't great for Liverpool, Middlesbrough or Wolves in PL. Xabi Alonso played 5 seasons for Liverpool at a much higher level than Ince. The OP judges the midfielders on the teams' successes or lack of.
Doing top defensive midfielders list and not having Makelele in the list is wrong. The most important player in that 2004-2006 Chelsea team that won PL back 2 back. More important then Lampard, Drogba and anyone else. He only had like 100 games but he was better then what Fernandinho or Hendo was/is. The whole CDM position is nicknamed after Makelele ”The Makelele Role”.
I do believe makelele maybe should have entered certainly based on quality but on quantity, he played far fewer games than anyone in this 7. Also this makelele role thing isn't really an argument as to why he should be there.
@@correlgamers7518 The nickname is not an argument but thats a way to show how big legacy he has to the position and his influence was massive. I dont care that Hendo has played 380+ games and Ferndandinho 250+ games. You can’t tell me they have done more/ better then what Makelele did in that Chelsea team. 144 games and 102 wins only lost 14 games. He should be 4th or 5th easily.
Thing about Roy Keane was that he actually got better when he played against better players. In the game against Juventus he was up against Zidane, David's and Conte in midfield...he took it as a challenge to beat the 3 of them.
Makelele-Alonso woulkd easily bypass Scholes-Keane, or any miefield with Henderson in it. Very good player, Hendo, but nowhere near the top 10 best DMs, Top 5 best CM for sure though!
Am I the only one who thought Didi Hamann should have got an honourable mention? Aside from being an unsung hero for Liverpool for many years, he also helped an average Germany reach the world cup final and he was brought on for 'that' second half final in Istanbul.
Kante at 5th... No essesin, Claude makelele ..... In his previous videos Cech, Terry came 2nd.... Ivanovic didn't even got top 7 in his list....this man seriously hates Chelsea more than anything
N'golo Kante is the only player here to have had a pivotal role (meaning that if he wasn't there, the team wouldn't have won it) in winning the prem twice, the champions league, the fa cup, club world cup, world cup and FA cup. He should at least be 2nd on this list imo. He is the only man to singlehandedly dominate the whole Real Madrid midfield.
Can you make a video on the Jamaica high school football league and how it began in early 1900s to being the popular football competition in the Caribbean?
I'm not a Chelsea fan, but I can only assume here, that Alfie has some kind of dislike or issue with CFC. Claude Makalele, a player who had the defensive holding midfield role named after himself (the Makalele role) as the MOTD hosts would call it. The 04/05 season, Chelsea only conceded a remarkable 17 league goals, which has never been equalled (since 92). Whilst the keeper and defenders should take a large amount of credit for that, anyone who watches full football matches will know that Makalele had a huge impact on those defensive stats that season. Would have won a World Cup too if Zidane hadn't of gotten 'a-head' of himself. But Kante in 5th!!!! 😳 WTF? Let's take personal opinion out of it. He's won PL titles with two different clubs, a World Cup, a Nations League, The Europa League and the Champions League. It doesn't get more 'bonafide world class' than that Alfie. Also, have people forgotten how good Owen Hargreaves was? From 2001 when Bayern won the CL to around 2009 this guy was one of the fittest, quickest and most hard working all action DM's in the world. He's won two Champions Leagues (2001, 2008) whereas Paul Ince has zero. Even if you didn't rate Hargreaves, Xabi Alonso had three times more ability than Ince ffs. Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012. You don't win all that without being world class.
Owen Hargreaves played 28 Premier League games, John. I'm not sure you understand the premise or format of the series if you think he should have featured.
@@HITCSevens Well then you are going down the route of ignoring ability and talent, and going for apperances. In which case, someone like Gareth Barry should have come first on your list.
I feel as though you must have skipped the introduction, John, which is there to try and avoid any confusion. The premise is very simple, it's a combination of a player's quality and quantity of performances in the Premier League. So yes, only having played 28 Premier League games rules you out, but no, simply having played a lot of games doesn't guarantee that you feature.
@@HITCSevens Fair enough with regards to Owen Hargreaves. But please explain Paul Ince over Alonso and Makalele to me then. Or Kante in 5th. What would Kante need to do, in order for you to put him higher than 5th (given that he's won literally everything bar the Euro's).
Ince played over 300 Premier League games, so that's more than Alonso and Makelele combined for a start, and he was among the best midfielders in the league for at least five seasons. On quality and quantity of performances in the Premier League, I think he's superior to those two, same logic for every inclusion & ranking throughout the series.
fernandinho over yaya toure doesn' seem particularly fair. Toure is the absolute bedrock of all the success city manged to achieve. His trophy haul is a glowing testament to that fact.
Since there still seems to be a little bit of confusion among some, just to be clear, the *greatest* and the *best* defensive midfielders, and indeed players in any position, are not the same thing. Owen Hargreaves was a better defensive midfielder than Gareth Barry, for example, but he only played 28 Premier League games whilst Barry played 653. Therefore, Barry is a greater Premier League player than Hargreaves, even though Hargreaves was more gifted and had a better peak. Hopefully that clears a few things up, and I hope you all have a magnificent day!
So it is quantity over quality
@@gavinmceneff5612 maybe, more accurately, consistent and proven performance (i guess... 🤷🏽♂️)
Perhaps you should do an XI based on most appearances in league. Could do a European or International series?
@@gavinmceneff5612 when Michael Carrick comes in third, clearly.
It's the same as in boxing. One boxer may have a perfect record of 20-0, but without fighting many of the best fighters and retiring early. Another boxer may have a record of 40-10, but having fought everyone of the best in his category several times. In this situation it is believed that the second one is a greater boxer. Only those, who haven't played enough times have not lost. It's the same here. The players with fewer matches have not proven themselves enough to earn such recognition as a PL great.
The sheer quality and consistency of Gilberto Silva's 170 games, including his key contribution in the invincibles season, would have put him in my list.
Dembela of spurs most under rated player in prem history for me. And Richard dunne was very under rated also
Exactly
Claude Makelele. One of the only players who have ever had a role named after him.
I understand about the longevity and am not arguing that. But can we just appreciate a player who Zidane talked about when Makelele was sold, and Beckham was bought at Madrid. “Why do you need to add a gold layer on the Bentley when you have already lost the engine?”
I honestly don't understand he didn't make it, this might be the first time I very strongly disagree with Alfie.
I think it’s simply because of time in the league.
As Alfie stated with the Ince commentary, he would’ve been further up in the list had he not spent some of his prime playing in Serie A.
Claude was the rock which many teams were built around. As you said with the Zidane quote, that Madrid side fell apart when he left for Chelsea.
Having said all this, while Makelele is a greater defensive midfielder than anybody in this list, some of absolute best years were with Madrid.
I mean that doesn't mean anything except he was the first player to do the role.. Not the best
@@PatrickvanStokken and Carrick was way overvalued because of the amount of games he played, even when many of those were in an undervalued Man U aftet Ferguson...at least he ackowledged Alonso, Silva and Makelele were better footballers
I was also expecting to see Makelele in this list... I would put him over Fernandinho, I'm sure he played the same amount of games or even more... But then again, I understand that he isn't here for the fact that this video is not exclusive to pure defensive midfielders
Damn Chelsea had Essien, Mikel, matic, mekelele etc....... And when you think it can't be better in comes N'Golo Kante
I am surprised that Essien ain't there tbh
@@ahmadbay389 Essien played more as a box to box, switching with Ballack with Makelele sitting and Lampard on the other side
And hopefully Rice soon 🤞
Chelsea with defensive mids is like Liverpool with attackers
Amazing what Russian criminal money can buy isn't it?
For me, a current best Carribbean 11 would be really interesting 🙂
Should players like Sterling be included? Wait, he might've done one about players that COULD declare for a Carribbean nation.
'What would have been Carribean XI' might be the proper title for that
Good shout
@@wolfmauler For me, it would be more interesting if it was made up of players who have already been capped by Carribbean nations
@@wolfmauler no only players who have been capped for a Caribbean national team.
First three players I thought of were Keane, Vieira and Makelele. Really surprised one of them did not even make the list.
I think he put a bit much emphasis on the number of games...sometimes a player can leave a huge impact in 100 games...rather than a more bland legacy like Carrick at Utd (at least he aknowledges Alonso, Silva and Makelele were better players than Carrick, Mascherano too I would say).
First time I feel at odds with his choices
This has to be a joke of a list
Best defensive midfielder, a position called the makelele role and he doesn’t even make the list. Even though others played longer in the league. It’s just wrong.
Keane was a machine, a ridiculously good footballer,
I actually think his passing ability is underrated. People talk about his stamina and aggression, but his passing game was phenomenal.
Essien without injury I think would be considered one of the greatest of all time in his position.
Yeh as Makalele to me made me finally understand EXACTLY what a defensive midfielder REALLY, he was just pure his role, he defined it better than any of the others mentioned. I don't think we'd call Roy Keane 'Defensive midfielder' unless Makalele had re-established and made the position a conversation again.
couldn't agree more.....makelele was as much a tank defensively as he was a playmaker offensively...... him lamps and essien are one of the best midfield trios ever.....imo better than gattuso pirlo and seedorf as well (just my opinion though)
The makelele role is a actual name given to a defensive midfielder. Understood worldwide to describe where a midfielder is playing. He basically re invented and popularised the "anchor man" and influenced allot of players and coaches to train to be him.
Deffo should be podium on this top 7
@@tedbyrne88 he in no way revolutionised the position, you made that up
John Obi Mikel should deffo be an honourable mention. 😂😂😂 When Jose brought him on you knew the 3 points were in the bag. 😂😂
My list:
7. Gilberto Silva
6. Jordan Henderson
5. Michael Essien
4. C. Makelele
3. N'Golo Kante
2. Roy Keane
1. Patrick Vieira
It might be a bit daunting to do a series like this covering every position, so how about an All-time 11 of the old 1st Division days?
(Before the formation of the Prem for you youngsters out there 😉)
Mine would be:
GK - Gordon Banks
LB - Eddie Hapgood
CB - Billy Wright
CB - Bobby Moore
RB - Phil Neal
DM - Graeme Souness
AM - Bobby Charlton
LW - George Best
RW - Stanley Matthews
ST - John Charles
ST - Jimmy Greaves
(Very honourable mentions to Kenny Dalglish, Dixie Dean, Neil Franklin, Tom Finney, Duncan Edwards, Johnny Carey, Bryan Robson and Denis Law)
What are your thoughts on that?
really appreciate all the time and research that goes into these videos. i do think a 433 formation with a cdm, cm and cam in it would make it more defined since players in the video spent most of their playing time as box to box midfilders. the longevity of them being in the premier league is very subjective to gauge greatness. like who would be considered the better premier league striker between jurgen klinsmann and victor anichebe. both have a similar amount of goals. one was in the league for a single season and the other over a decade.
I may be a rare Chelsea fan who understands why Makelele didn't make the list. I agree with Alfie's view on longevity being a big factor and this puts Makelele behind these seven so I honestly thought it was a brilliant list.
Longevity should not matter Makelele was the best in the world in that position for 8+ years 5 of whitch were in the Prem. Being a staple of the league for being in it for so long does not in any way compare to being the best on the planet at any point in time. The same argument can be made for George Best, Ronaldinho, Kaka
there's an actual term known as "the makelele role" which defines the ideal CDM..... he has to make the list
Longevity has no bearing when the position is named after you.
And yet, Makelele has played more years as an actual CDM in the Prem than Vieira or Carrick did.
There are still too many people in the comments that dont understand the term „greatness“ even though Alfie explains it. It‘s not only about how good they were but also for how long they played in the Prem.
@Sylvester Banini I disagree, I always imagine it like an integral: high peaks are good but if it‘s only for a short period it‘s less than middling height over a longer period. And it‘s not like Henderson is a bad player, he‘s Liverpool skipper for a reason. Of course KDB is a better player overall but he‘s no necessarily a greater prem player than Henderson atm because he has played like 100 games leas.
If you count Mcfred as a single player they surely get in the top 50
Too generous imo
Henderson is still so underrated and underappreciated. He is a vital part of Liverpool's midfield and one of the best leaders we've ever had.
Even many Liverpool fans don't appreciate him. he is one of the first names to get slandered whenever Liverpool play badly .
I rate Henderson, but I don't allow our recent success to cloud my judgement. Didi Hamann is a much better defensive midfielder than Henderson. Hamann has 268 appearances as a defensive midfielder in PL.
Henderson may have more appearances but not at DM. Rating Henderson a better DM is akin to rating Scholes or Lampard better than Gerrard just because they won more trophies, playing on vastly superior teams.
underrated? he won the best player of the year when he isn't even the best henderson in the league
@@ashvalkyriee
It happens, just as there is a certain club claiming to be the best club in the world, when they aren't even the best club wearing red
David Batty was one of the best in the early to mid 90's PL era
Didi Hamman deserves a shout, quality and so underrated
MY FAVORITE POSITION AND I'M HERE EARLY, KEEP UP THE FANTASTIC WORK ALFIE
Probably would’ve been better to do seperate DM, CM and AM lists, instead of trying to fit CMs into one of the the other 2
Oh, how I can't wait for the attacking midfielder top 7 and th debates that it will cause. From the Scholes v Gerrard v Lampard debate to the very likely leaving of Yaya Toure and a top spot for De Bruyne (knowing Alfie, he will 99% sure put KBD at top), it will surely be an interesting video to say the least
Scholes can’t be in that attacking midfielder vid. Thats a horror take. He needs to do Central Midfielder vid where he includes all of those players.
@@YoungMoney_ yeah, my guess is that he’ll do a box-to-box/CM greatest 7 and then a pure attacking midfield/second striker greatest 7
@@YoungMoney_ normally, yes, he should have done three tops, but by the format he chose, Scholes will make that top
Considering he put Kante in 5th, he may well not put De Bruyne top because he hasn’t been here long enough or something
huge fan of kdb but he doesn't deserve to be in the same sentence as lamps and gerrard....kdb benefits A LOT from Pep's system with all the movements from the wingers full backs and attacking midfielders.... his press resistance and the art of dribbling in tight spaces is not impressive..... not to mention lamps and Stevie g used to bully top teams in Europe single handedly
Ah yes my favourite position to play and to watch...this will be a treat!!
(Although I wish you would have made a video about wide playing midfielders rather than just grouping them in offensive and defensive)
Top 2 will always be between Vieira and Keane
This is a great list. All players I love and loved to watch. Chelsea fan here but those Arsenal vs United, Keane vs Viera battles were unforgettable.
Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 275)
I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored.
If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.
great vid bro, i had thought you would've done one for 6's, 8's and 10's separately but this is good anyways
Keane was quite possibly the best all round midfielder in premiership history and scored 93 goals in his career with 61 assists.
You should make a video on Oletul Galati and how they went from playing in the champions league against Manchester United to the Romanian 3rd tier
I think the Henderson most passes stat isn’t quite true as they didn’t count passes for over a decade of the Premier League era. He has the most since passes have been recorded.
Pep described carrick as one of the best holding midfielders he's ever seen, and said he was on the same level as Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquetes
Hey Alfie, I’d still love to get your work put on Spotify as a podcast. I’d love to be able to listen to them while driving!
Concentrate on the road mate! lol
@@wolfmauler your silent road trips sound fun
Just get CZcams premium and you can close your phone and still listen to videos
I feel like carrick is here solely because of how many game he played.
Putting him above Kante because he played more game is like putting the A320 above the Concorde in a Greatest airliners list because it flew more.
I think this is a generational thing, but you dont seem to look at players from the early premier league, Claude Makalele, David Batty, Marcele Dessallie and Michael Essien were all top notch defensive midfielders in the premier league.
How did he not put Makelele in here?
@@areebsiddiqui758 I think he is is too young and only considers players he actually saw. Look how bad Real Madrid got without him.
@@areebsiddiqui758 je explained it in his honourable mentions. I think it's fair to not put him in there. The list is objectively really solide
@@gavinmceneff5612 he has Paul Ince on the list and he played in early 90s
@@dontmindme6995 its not fair. Because of him Chelsea won 2 PL titles basically. He was better then Hendo and Fernandiho.
I was really looking forward to 3 videos covering defensive, central and attacking midfielders/no. 10's
Top drawer as usual; I wonder how many fans, if they could only choose one, would pick Vieira or Keane for their all-Time PL eleven?
I'd pick vieira and I'm a Chelsea fan who hates arsenal
Makalele? The man who literally had an entire position named after him? He's missing over Jordan Henderson? And Kante at 5th? Lol anti Chelsea 🤣
I was shocked at his number of matches: seemed like he was around for a minute 🤔...Come to think of it, that's probably a factor in picking this 7.
As a Liverpool fan I appreciate the long winded take for Henderson. Under appreciated player and captain.
The role is only named after Makalele in England, where a specialist DM had not been part of the game until Jose Mourinho's Chelsea. Had Essien been his first DM, it would be him the role is named after. I agree with you on this 7 Alfie. Really glad that Paul Ince made it. Carrick is the only one who has a debate, especially considering you were willing to break your rules for the RB video.
I would have Michael Essien on this list also. Claude Makelele was the pioneer for this role.
The order is correct I agree with you, Roy Keane of course the best #1
I think you are putting too much weight on games played. If a 10/10 player plays 3 seasons he is eclipsed by a 6/10 player who plays 10 seasons according to your logic. That for me doesn't give a good representation. Maybe it would have been better to have done a minimum number of games?
How is kante 5th? I would rather take a half injured kante than a fully fit Paul Ince and Carrick
Then you have literally zero ball knowledge.....
Lmao Henderson doesn't have the most passes, he has the most passes since they started counting.
hey alfie, do you think you’d be interested in doing an all-time xi for a bunch of different clubs (barca, real, ajax, MU, santos, milan, inter, bayern, hull city, etc.) - love when you dive into the history of the game and i feel like you’d choose some quality clubs outside of the big names™️ i listed
I wanna see it
Well Alonso was like Carrick, but about 10 times better. Also agreed about Essien. He could have been Chelsea's answer to Keane if he hadn't been injured so often.
He was not 10 times better than Carrick 😂 but then again this is coming from you, who’s previously commented that you’d have Ian Harte over Dennis Irwin and John Arne Riise over Patrice Evra in the greatest PL left backs list.....
Vieira is the greatest imo, magnificent captain and won the league invincible, greatest midfielder in the prem
No
Lol Keane was clear easily
Vieira wasn't a defensive midfield. Emanuel petit and gilberto were the defensive midfield
Vieira was great but Keane wins easily...
Like 6 or 7 years ago+ Henderson was basically just Scott McTominay
@Abdul Raheem yes that's why i said like 6 or 7 years ago when he was in his early 20s which is what Scott is now
As a liverpool fan i think Essien should have been included over Henderson. Henderson always felt like he played in a slightly more advanced role for most of his Liverpool career.
Makélélé HAS to make the list. He had the most defining impact on the position of anyone in this list, maybe even in this team, still played over 100 games at an extremely high level and had the ultimate respect from his piers. I'd put him in instead of Fernandinho, as I think the Premier League and the position are so much weaker without Makélélé, and that's what greatness is to me.
Glad you gave Essien some respect at the end there. 👏
I respect this channel and it's opinions so much. But when you start with Henderson... I must disagree and say something.
Fernandinho is so underrated. Jamie Redknapp did some analysis after the Man City vs Norwich game. He’s got everything you want in a defensive midfielder, and doesn’t really have any weaknesses to his game. Also, he’s more of a true defence midfielder compared with a lot of the other names on this list, some of whom played in a midfield 2, rather than a true holding midfielder like Fernandinho has been at City.
Alfie did a video ages ago on the best DM's in the league at the time (2018 or 19 I think) and said the same thing, about other players like Kante having more energy, Busquets having more intelligence but Fernandinho being the best all round in the world at the time.
I think you’ve weighted number of games too heavily, just my opinion. Carrick shouldn’t be moved so high just because he’s played a tonne of games. He would be on my list, just lower down imo.
Let me guess, its becos he played for united? Obsessed
Alfie Can you do a documentary on the afc Wimbledon on the nine promotions in eleven years, how they’re a fan own club and how they have a stadium in plough lane now.
The story of they lost the club, how the F A allowed that and won’t allow that anymore.
How they were very close to moving to ireland
How they went up the English football leagues.
It would be a good documentary video if you can do this. #thepeopleschannel
I feel like he’s already done one on them though, or is it just me?
Kante ahead of Fernandinho? For most of the last ten years Fernandinho was the player City couldn't function without. That transition has happened now but the fact that it took at least two seasons showed how important he was. If you ask most City fans, they'll tell you that not starting Fernandinho was the biggest mistake we made in last season's Champions League Final. Even as someone long in the tooth, he was crucial in our Champions League campaign last season. When he was finally subbed on, City were the better side.
Ah dont be deluded everyone knew kante was better any way more important for chelsea
As a Chelsea fan I'm so happy when I hear Kante name in this list
makalele isnt here lmaoooo
@@xp3r1 he played far fewer games than anyone in the 7, he would enter based on quality but based on quantity he didn't stay long enough in the premier league.
I'd put Kante higher. Not because I'm a Chelsea fan be because he is on the verge of having won everything with 2 different clubs including the most unlikely PL title win ever and one of the most unlikely UCL win ever whilst being a top 3 player for both bare minimum. The only problem is he hasn't played for a long time but I think he overrules it tbh
Also where tf is Claude Makelele and Yaya Toure? One basically invented the position in the PL and the other borderline perfected it. My personal top 5 is
5-Patrick Viera
4-Ngolo Kante
3-Roy Keane
2-Claude Makelele
1-Yaya Toure
Yaya wasn’t ever a DM… he had Fernando followed by Fernandinho by his side who were the primary DMs 🤷🏿♂️
So, Yaya as a CM top 5 but not a top 5 DM
Loved this one now. Great work
I doubt you do it on purpose but pretty much each of these videos has seen a Chelsea player being absolutely shafted. No Makelele and Kante only in 5th? I can't get my head around that. Maybe you should have done 3 videos for midfielders. Defensive, Central and Attacking mids. Would have made a lot more sense and avoided a fair bit of confusion.
You would put Kante ahead of Vieira, Keane and Carrick despite his few number of games compared to them?
Didn't a Chelsea player take first place for the right back position. I do believe makelele maybe should have entered certainly based on quality but on quantity, he played far fewer games than anyone in this 7.
Hi Areeb, are you a Chelsea fan, per chance? Everyone think their team gets shafted in almost every video. Doing three midfield videos was one option but I tried to explain why I didn't do that, because I am building up to a best XI based upon the positional videos.
@@HITCSevens Fair enough but you left Ivanovic out of the RB 7 which was just bizarre. JT over Rio is arguable but most would lean towards the former.
Longevity matters and the players you picked may have played more games than Makalele but I would still have him in the 7 regardless. And looking at the comments a lot of people seem to agree with that.
Kante should be pushed a spot or two higher as well. Best in the world at what he does and won pretty much everything there is to win.
Still, I really enjoy this series. Always up for a good debate. Can't wait for the attacking mids video where you'll tell us that KDB is better than Frank Lampard. I'm joking of course but you're probably gonna put the scouse passion merchant above Lamps so Chelsea fans won't be getting any happier.
@@correlgamers7518 Ivanovic was left out of the RB video altogether which was strange to say the least. Cole was rightfully top spot in the LB video.
After this series ends i think you should make a new series on underrated players in every position of the premier league era as well as overrated players too
Thank you
Video Idea: How would a United Austria-Hungary Team Look Today?
First Cech, Then Ivanovic and Azpillicueta (Very low ranking), Then Terry, Now Makelele. Are we even surprised at this point anymore? Don't give me the Cole argument, it was so obvious that everyone would have revolted.
It's obvious this sevens guy doesn't rate Chelsea
Do a vid on the most amount players have been fined and the background story to why they got fined
Did you really put Henderson in this list?!
What would be your suggestions? Alfie seemed to have some good points to put him in, filling Gerrard shoes could not have been harder and still it looks like he has delivered
@@kumayasei Makalele, Xabi Alonso, Essien, Mascherano..... I can go on bro
He is not even the best dm in his team bro (fabinho is)
@@christianopulinaldo8319 it is not like Alfie has already explained why he did not include any of those... they are better players, but their careers in Prem are either too short or not their peak, or both. It is not "The best dms" is the Greatest DM's so things like accolades, consistancy and longetivity count
Cheers Kuma. As I tried to explain, Mascherano played fewer than 100 Premier League games. Henderson has played close to 400. Mascherano was a better player, but he is not a *greater* Premier League player.
@@HITCSevens I don’t care if Henderson has played 10,000 games he’s still Henderson. Top 7 defensive midfielder, really???! You may have lost the plot.
Captain Hendo Jordan HENDERSON is a incredible Player
Games gone if you think Henderson is an “Incredible” player
@@Bigballslegend the game been gone for a while
HITC sevens Alfie already has a video on how English football is struggling
@@gavinperry8433 Henderson is a good midfielder and a good player
@@balham5606 well fans saying Henderson is some incredible player is first hand proof of that eh lol
@@Bigballslegend he is a good player, played a big role in LFC title winning season and champions league
Makelele would be my no. 1 even if he played just 10 PL games. Keane was absolutely brilliant, make no mistake! But he was quite some way off Makelele, thje greatest Defensive Midfielder EVER, and likely we'll ever see. 144 games isn't a small number.. it's still 4 seasons. Putting Henderson in the list, whilst ignoring Makelele and Alonso is rather strange Alfie.
At this point, long intros are just how you do things 🤣 stop apologizing for doing them 🤣.... keep up the good work, you make great content! To binge lol
Hendo getting the appreciation he deserves. Love to see it.
How long has Henderson been playing CDM? If I recall correctly, Lucas Leiva was CDM during the early stages of Henderson's career at Liverpool.
If we disqualify Alonso & Mascherano on the grounds of longevity, Hamann would be the best DM in our PL era.
Ince played 4 seasons for Manchester United in PL. He wasn't great for Liverpool, Middlesbrough or Wolves in PL. Xabi Alonso played 5 seasons for Liverpool at a much higher level than Ince.
The OP judges the midfielders on the teams' successes or lack of.
Why aren't you using 4231 as your formation as it would have give you 3 midfielders 1 dm 1 CM and 1 am?
Doing top defensive midfielders list and not having Makelele in the list is wrong. The most important player in that 2004-2006 Chelsea team that won PL back 2 back. More important then Lampard, Drogba and anyone else. He only had like 100 games but he was better then what Fernandinho or Hendo was/is. The whole CDM position is nicknamed after Makelele ”The Makelele Role”.
I do believe makelele maybe should have entered certainly based on quality but on quantity, he played far fewer games than anyone in this 7. Also this makelele role thing isn't really an argument as to why he should be there.
@@correlgamers7518 The nickname is not an argument but thats a way to show how big legacy he has to the position and his influence was massive. I dont care that Hendo has played 380+ games and Ferndandinho 250+ games. You can’t tell me they have done more/ better then what Makelele did in that Chelsea team. 144 games and 102 wins only lost 14 games. He should be 4th or 5th easily.
Thing about Roy Keane was that he actually got better when he played against better players. In the game against Juventus he was up against Zidane, David's and Conte in midfield...he took it as a challenge to beat the 3 of them.
Day 362: Ways to fix VAR with your suggestions
kante is the best cdm in pl history. He's achieved so much and I think has the highest peak.
i’m eating this series up
You left out Dietmar Hamann who was very steady
Kante in 5th and Makelele not even in the list. I need not say more.
Cant say about other players, but as a Liverpool fan I would have Xavi Alonso over Henderson
You should do a video an accrington stanley
That bloke who played the Makelele role to perfection,can't remember his name though.
I know it probably wouldn’t do well views wise but I’d love you to do this series for the old first division
This list is shocking.
Makelele-Alonso woulkd easily bypass Scholes-Keane, or any miefield with Henderson in it. Very good player, Hendo, but nowhere near the top 10 best DMs, Top 5 best CM for sure though!
😂😂
Incredible video, thank you for the history lesson
Well done, Alfie!! Good thing that sub-Saharan Africa-based Best XI won't be all-time!
Am I the only one who thought Didi Hamann should have got an honourable mention?
Aside from being an unsung hero for Liverpool for many years, he also helped an average Germany reach the world cup final and he was brought on for 'that' second half final in Istanbul.
My top 10: 1. Keane 2. Vieira 3. Kante 4. Makelele 5. Carrick 6. Essien 7. Fernandinho 8. Ince 9. Henderson 10. Alonso
Any football fan who think Declan Rice is a better DM than Ndidi is absolutely mad
Kante at 5th... No essesin, Claude makelele ..... In his previous videos Cech, Terry came 2nd.... Ivanovic didn't even got top 7 in his list....this man seriously hates Chelsea more than anything
RIght at the end you disarmed my case for Michael Essien. I guess I'm just not a fan of the criteria.
N'golo Kante is the only player here to have had a pivotal role (meaning that if he wasn't there, the team wouldn't have won it) in winning the prem twice, the champions league, the fa cup, club world cup, world cup and FA cup. He should at least be 2nd on this list imo.
He is the only man to singlehandedly dominate the whole Real Madrid midfield.
Can you make a video on the Jamaica high school football league and how it began in early 1900s to being the popular football competition in the Caribbean?
Lol neither of thee players in the thumbnail are DMs
I'm not a Chelsea fan, but I can only assume here, that Alfie has some kind of dislike or issue with CFC.
Claude Makalele, a player who had the defensive holding midfield role named after himself (the Makalele role) as the MOTD hosts would call it. The 04/05 season, Chelsea only conceded a remarkable 17 league goals, which has never been equalled (since 92). Whilst the keeper and defenders should take a large amount of credit for that, anyone who watches full football matches will know that Makalele had a huge impact on those defensive stats that season. Would have won a World Cup too if Zidane hadn't of gotten 'a-head' of himself.
But Kante in 5th!!!! 😳 WTF?
Let's take personal opinion out of it. He's won PL titles with two different clubs, a World Cup, a Nations League, The Europa League and the Champions League. It doesn't get more 'bonafide world class' than that Alfie.
Also, have people forgotten how good Owen Hargreaves was? From 2001 when Bayern won the CL to around 2009 this guy was one of the fittest, quickest and most hard working all action DM's in the world. He's won two Champions Leagues (2001, 2008) whereas Paul Ince has zero. Even if you didn't rate Hargreaves, Xabi Alonso had three times more ability than Ince ffs. Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012. You don't win all that without being world class.
Owen Hargreaves played 28 Premier League games, John. I'm not sure you understand the premise or format of the series if you think he should have featured.
@@HITCSevens Well then you are going down the route of ignoring ability and talent, and going for apperances. In which case, someone like Gareth Barry should have come first on your list.
I feel as though you must have skipped the introduction, John, which is there to try and avoid any confusion. The premise is very simple, it's a combination of a player's quality and quantity of performances in the Premier League. So yes, only having played 28 Premier League games rules you out, but no, simply having played a lot of games doesn't guarantee that you feature.
@@HITCSevens Fair enough with regards to Owen Hargreaves. But please explain Paul Ince over Alonso and Makalele to me then. Or Kante in 5th. What would Kante need to do, in order for you to put him higher than 5th (given that he's won literally everything bar the Euro's).
Ince played over 300 Premier League games, so that's more than Alonso and Makelele combined for a start, and he was among the best midfielders in the league for at least five seasons. On quality and quantity of performances in the Premier League, I think he's superior to those two, same logic for every inclusion & ranking throughout the series.
I quite agree with this, Carrick was always underrated to me
No Makelele? Feels like your just playing up to Man United fans at this point
Makelele over Ince, for me. Kante should be top 3, at Carricks expense. And I'm a utd fan.
fernandinho over yaya toure doesn' seem particularly fair. Toure is the absolute bedrock of all the success city manged to achieve. His trophy haul is a glowing testament to that fact.
Hmm would have gone for 1 defensive 1 central and 1 attacking midfielder and then 1 striker.