Premier League all-time XI: From Gary Neville to Lee Dixon: who is the best right-back of the last 25 years
To celebrate the 25th season of the Prem era, SunSport is asking you to vote for the best team ever... Next up, right-back
FOR many, the formation of the Premier League will feel like just a few years ago, for the younger generations, it’s all they’ve ever known.
Whichever bracket you fall under, the Prem is celebrating its 25th birthday in the 2016-17 season.
From Blackburn Rovers as champions to, well, Leicester City as champions with the ‘Big Four’ era of domination in the middle, it’s been action-packed from 1992 to present day.
To celebrate the milestone, SunSport is combining an all-time, Premier League best XI – asking you to cast the final vote.
Every day, we will be bringing you a new position and asking you to pick your favourite of our final ten in a series of polls.
At the end of it all, we’ll bring you the results; the definitive SunSport Premier League XI from 1992 to 2016.
Today, we’ll bring you our list of right-backs… Let’s check out the contenders.
LEE DIXON
Team(s): Arsenal
Appearances: 305
Premier League titles: 2
ARSENAL legend Dixon gets the ball rolling for us here, after ten impressive seasons at Highbury.
The Gunners right-back was part of a formidable defence alongside Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Steve Bould and Martin Keown and made 305 appearances for the side.
Dixon also got his hands on two Premier League trophies during his days in north London, making him a shoo-in for the list.
GARY NEVILLE
Team(s): Manchester United
Appearances: 400
Premier League titles: 8
LIKE Dixon, Neville is another one-club man, representing only Manchester United during an incredible 19 seasons at Old Trafford.
The ex-England man racked up 400 appearances and an amazing eight Premier League trophies, his first in 1995-96 and last in 2008-09.
Nev made his debut in the first Prem season in 1992-93 and was still going in 2010-11. A truly remarkable effort.
GARY KELLY
Team(s): Leeds
Appearances: 325
Premier League titles: 0
YET another one-club legend, Kelly was at Leeds United from 1993 to 2004 in the Premier League.
The Irishman racked up 325 appearances in his 11 seasons in the top flight during arguably the club’s most successful ever period – including reaching the Champions League semi-final in 2001.
Trophy-wise Kelly‘s career was rather bare, but he was a regular in a hugely successful team during the late 90s, early 00s…
STEPHEN CARR
Team(s): Tottenham, Newcastle, Birmingham
Appearances: 377
Premier League titles: 0
AFTER joining the Premier League with Tottenham in 1993, Carr was still playing in the Premier League with Birmingham in 2011.
Carr spent a good decade at White Hart Lane en route to racking up 377 top flight appearances.
He spent four terms at St James’ Park with Newcastle, before his spell with Birmingham between 2009 and 2011.
DAN PETRESCU
Team(s): Sheffield Wednesday, Chelsea, Bradford, Southampton
Appearances: 215
Premier League titles: 0
ROMANIAN ace Petrescu is one for lovers of mid-90s Premier League football, after his time – most famously with Chelsea.
Renowned for that blonde hairdo, he spent two seasons at Sheffield Wednesday before his five terms at the Blues – where he became something of a cult hero.
One forgotten season at Bradford during their Premier League stint preceded a further two years on the south coast with Southampton before Petrescu returned to his native Romania.
215 appearances, including 152 for Chelsea, is not to be sniffed at…
LAUREN
Team(s): Arsenal, Portsmouth
Appearances: 184
Premier League titles: 2
LAUREN spent six full seasons at Arsenal after joining in 2000, winning two Premier League titles in the process.
Not only that, the Cameroonian was part of the Gunners’ 2003-04 ‘Invincibles’ – amid his 184 appearances in the Premier League.
Lauren then spent three seasons on the south coast with Pompey.
STEVE FINNAN
Team(s): Fulham, Liverpool, Portsmouth
Appearances: 236
Premier League titles: 0
IRISH defender Finnan spent nine seasons in the Premier League, racking up an impressive 236 appearances in the process.
After two solid years at west London side Fulham, Finnan enjoyed the bulk of his career at Liverpool, spending six terms at Anfield, as a regular in the right-back spot.
After Alvaro Arbeloa’s emergence Finnan moved on to Portsmouth for one more year in the top flight.
PABLO ZABALETA
Team(s): Manchester City
Appearances: 215
Premier League titles: 2
INTO his ninth season in the Premier League with Manchester City, Zabaleta is an obvious choice on the list.
He’s struggled to break into the first team in the past 12 months or so thanks to Bacary Sagna, but from 2008 to 2015, the Argentine was arguably the best right back on the planet.
215 appearances and two Prem titles during Zabaleta‘s career thus far is more than enough to make the all-time top ten.
BACARY SAGNA
Team(s): Arsenal, Manchester City
Appearances: 254
Premier League titles: 0
SPEAK of the devil, the man who usurped Zabaleta’s first team spot last season, the former Arsenal man has bizarrely managed to miss out on bagging a Premier League trophy.
After joining the Gunners just beyond their period of dominance – in 2007 – Sagna then joined City the season after their last league title win.
Poor fortune indeed, but 254 appearances for two of the elite clubs in the top flight is nothing to be ashamed of.
BRANISLAV IVANOVIC
Team(s): Chelsea
Appearances: 254
Premier League titles: 2
ONCE one of the best defenders in the Premier League, Ivanovic has become something of a scapegoat for Chelsea’s struggles in the past 12 months or so.
The Serbian is into his tenth season at Stamford Bridge, accumulating 254 games, including 86 clean sheets and two Prem titles to boot.
While many believe Ivanovic to be a centre-back, he has excelled as a right-back for years at the Blues and goes down as one of the greats of the recent era.
…HONOURABLE MENTION
IT’S always hard to narrow the selection down to just ten players from 25 seasons, with some big names missing out.
Spare a thought for Paulo Ferreira, Glen Johnson, Danny Mills and John O’Shea, who have performed admirably through their careers, but didn’t quite make the cut.
Vote for your favourite all-time, Premier League right-back below…