The Premier League announced the final two inductees for its Hall of Fame in 2021. Steven Gerrard and David Beckham made the cut, joining Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Dennis Bergkamp and Frank Lampard in the pantheon.
The first eight inductees of the Premier League Hall of Fame have been confirmed. With the announcements that Steven Gerrard and David Beckham would be joining the pantheon of greats, the league closed its voting process for 2021. Any more legends of the game hoping to be included in the list of greats will now have to wait until next year for their possible induction.
The induction of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard ahead of the likes of John Terry, Didier Drogba, or a plethora of Manchester United greats stirred some debate on social media. Gerrard’s critics pointed towards his lack of Premier League medals as a key deterrent, stating that those who won the competition during their playing days should at least get a preference. Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, and Ashley Cole – who have all won at least one league medal – were overlooked for now, although they will certainly have their names added to the list in the future.
Nonetheless, a statement by Kevin Nolan on the Premier League Hall of Fame website provided a key reason for his controversial inclusion.
“Steven Gerrard was Liverpool. He dragged them to places they would never have been if it wasn’t for him,”
it read.
Gerrard did not score as many goals as Frank Lampard – 120 compared to 177 – he didn’t win more trophies than some of his peers, but the Englishman’s influence on his team, and in turn, the entire sport, is unquestionable. As such, he became the seventh legend to be included in the Premier League Hall of Fame, perhaps even rightly so.
There was less contention about the inclusion of Beckham. Since his playing days, the former England captain has achieved celebrity status, but football fans still remember him from his playing days at Manchester United. Beckham was a part of the infamous class of ‘92, which included the Neville brothers, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and himself. Unlike Gary Neville, Giggs, and Scholes, the Englishman did not end his career at his boyhood club. Beckham only made 265 appearances for the Red Devils before moving on to Real Madrid.
In those 265 appearances, Beckham scored 62 goals, provided 80 assists, and won six titles – more than most of the players to play in the league since. He also scored some memorable goals, none more so than his opening day strike against Wimbledon in 1996.
He found the net from the halfway line on that occasion, scoring what is considered to be one of the best league goals in its history. Beckham was also known to be extremely effective from set-pieces, as he was from the wing. He scored 18 free-kicks during his Manchester United tenure, but the most famous one he netted for England.
With his country needing a miracle to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Beckham stepped away in the 93rd minute to score a stunning free-kick against Greece – one of the most memorable moments in the national team’s recent history.
