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Best English centre half in the last decade

Best English centre half in the last decade

  • King

    Votes: 57 76.0%

  • Campbell

    Votes: 3 4.0%

  • Terry

    Votes: 2 2.7%

  • Ferdinand

    Votes: 10 13.3%

  • Woodgate

    Votes: 3 4.0%
  • Total voters
    75
thfcsteff said:
Ledley was considerably better than Ferdinand IMHO.

I really don't get it with Ferdinand. A fine CB but he has ALWAYS had GREAT partners at Man U who have bailed him out IMHO...I actually think Woodgate, when 100%, was always a superior player to Ferdinand, and as such, when King and Woodgate played for us, the best CB pairing in football..

Hate Terry, but he is an undeniable spirit. Together with Ledley at the back for England and we'd have had an amazing defense...
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I attended the majority of England games between 2006-08 and Ferdinand was the stand-out centre-half. When England were under the cosh he was the one who would dominate the box, winning vital headers. He had great strength, top notch positioning and was good on the ball. Terry was nowhere near his class. Ferdinand was right up there....but King still edges it.

Have to say I've been attending matches since 1990 on and off and King is the best centre-half I have ever seen in the flesh. Magnificent player.
 
ArcspacE said:
I know he's not everyone's cup of tea as a person but putting Terry behind Woodgate is ridiculous, imv

I'd have him 2nd in that poll all day long
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I think Terry is excellent, he played so well for England at the Euros and is a great defender, I just rate the others higher. It's great that we've produced so many great central defenders as a country. I just think, taking injuries away, that looking purely at playing attributes, that's where I'd put Terry.

King had it all. Absolutely no weakness. Was the best in the world, and only injuries stopped him from being recognised as such. There should then probably be a bigger gap down to Rio, but I like his ability on the ball, as he is also a 'classy' defender who plays the ball, is quick, strong, good in the air and reads it well. And Woodgate was also a natural. Without injuries he would have been well up there, indeed he was lucky to actually get his move to Madrid.

Then Campbell and Terry...I dunno I just think Sol in his prime would have been better than Terry. They are both the 'opposite' kind of defender compared to a ball player like Rio but Campbell has the added benefit of pace that Terry doesn't have. Not that Terry isn't a great defender. Total scum, but a great defender.

But not a patch on King. No weakness. He had it all. As complete a footballer as you could hope to find. A physical beast. Technically excellent. And he didn't just have the first yard in his head, he had the first ten. There is not a bad thing you could say about King the player.
 
King and Woodgate were so formidable as a partnership, such a shame both of them have had rotten luck when its come to fitness. I remember these 2 having a quite a long run in the team together, we hardly conceded anything!
 
Its very hard to be unbiased here. Best can also mean different things. When assessing best players, achievement and longevity tend to become part of the equation so I can't help think King and Woodgate both are unfulfilled talent at the highest level. Rio and Terry are classic examples of the stroller and stopper kind, but King, Woodgate and Campbell could play both roles to some extent. King could probably be closest to either Rio and Terry in the two categories, but he was just too often hampered by injury and that limited the number of times he put in top quality performances.

Campbell put in top performances for both unsuccessful and successful teams at club and international level for a long time. So I'd reluctantly put him top.
 
Used to like Colin Hendry back in the day.

I think King would've been without the injuries but putting him aside for a sec I've voted camel face.
 
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