Thierry Henry Photo: VCG

 

Football, as they say, is a game of opinions. With the announcement of Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry as the first inductees into the English Premier League Hall of Fame, the question is who's next?

That was what Thierry Henry and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher had on their mind when they met on Sky Sports show Monday Night Football to discuss their opinions on who should be next in to the HOF.

It's not an easy decision, of course, but the pair argued eloquently - in fact they even agreed on some players.

Dennis Bergkamp (Carragher and Henry)

"Bergkamp always wanted to do more, first in training, last in training, doing what the game was asking him to do. The passion he had for Arsenal and for the Premier League," Henry said on Sky Sports.

"He made the team better, the guys around him better. At one point he came back and did all of pre-season without a contract, working hard, playing all the friendlies.

"He showed us what it meant to be a professional. And we must mention the goals and impact on the club. It's a no-brainer for me."

Carragher agreed.

Eric Cantona (Carragher and Henry)

"He is one of the biggest figures in Premier League history. Look at how Manchester ­United's fortunes turned on that signing. The decision to leave Leeds, he came in and there was just something special about him," Carragher said.  "He took over the Premier League for three or four years. The collar up, that swagger, the goals, chipping goalkeepers. He's a huge figure in terms of ability and a player who changed the Premier League."

Cantona's countryman agreed. "He was very French!" Henry said. "His goals, his attitude - he would score and be like, 'So what? Let's go to kickoff and play again.'

"For us, it was the beginning of everything. The Premier League wasn't well televised but when he went there we realized what a league - fans, atmosphere.

"Cantona, a French guy for Manchester United and his nickname is the King - wow."

One of Cantona's teammates made the cut, too.

Roy Keane (Carragher and Henry)

"I get annoyed when people talk about Roy ­Keane and his tackles and being hard - yes he was. But what a player he was, he could pass, score," said Henry.

"I was in the stand when he scored the header in Turin - wow, the way he brought his team back into the game, battled in midfield, galvanized everyone to play better just by who he was.

"I understood why they listened! He could play."

Carragher held no truck with the decision.

Steven Gerrard (Carragher only)

"We've had the Scholes-Gerrard-Lampard debate and people will say all the others on the list have won the Premier League. Stevie didn't," Carragher said of his teammate.

"My two arguments are: There is no player in the history of the Premier League in the PFA Team of the Year more than Gerrard. That shows what players playing against him thought of him.

"Eight times, no one has ever got to that many - it just shows how dominant he was in the Premier League.

"I've always said Henry is the best player to play in the Premier League, but what I would say is Steven Gerrard is possibly the best all-round player.

"Stevie I think if he'd have played right-back, he'd have played for England at right-back. He did play holding midfield and attacking midfield."

While Carragher went with one of England's greatest midfielders, Henry went a different way.

Paul Scholes (Henry only)

"I'm a Stevie G lover but Paul Scholes. When we played Manchester United, we had to stop him. He made the team tick," the Arsenal star said. "We were scared of him, first and foremost. If we stopped him, we stopped a lot of Manchester United."

John Terry (Carragher only)

"For me the best center-back to play in the Premier League era, I do believe that. You said about Keane, it's similar with John Terry. We think of him as the warrior, the leader," Carragher said of his former England central defensive partner.

"His passing ability was as good as any center-back I've seen in the Premier League. I've never seen anyone switch play with their weak foot - he played 60-yard passes with his left."

Loyalty may have been key to Henry's next pick.

Patrick Vieira (Henry only)

"He is the only guy who could play alone in midfield, play 4-1-5 if you want. I knew when Patrick was scanning and I was already coming off my defender because he was getting the ball," Henry said of his World Cup-winning teammate.

"The quality. Sometimes he left the ball on purpose, flicked the ball, he was unplayable. I don't know many who could do everything in midfield.

"We played Chelsea on Sunday and again Tuesday. Everybody couldn't play and he got man of the match in both games - I asked him what he eats in the morning. He couldn't walk sometimes and then the first whistle went and he was unstoppable."

Carragher also offered former Man United keeper Peter Schmeichel but did not elaborate while Henry pushed for Chelsea midfielder Frank Lamprad.

Frank Lampard (Henry only)

"The amount of goals and assists, defending, going forward. People will call him Mr Chelsea with John Terry.He could dominate a game on its own. He won the Champions League and the Europa League, he won the whole lot with Chelsea," Henry said.

"I remember playing against him with West Ham, the whole stadium was upset with him, and what he became. When you work hard, you get your reward. He is a great example."