From left to right: Steven Gerrard of Liverpool, Thierry Henry of Arsenal, Ryan Giggs of Manchester United, Alan Shearer of Newcastle United and Paul Scholes of Man United. /CGTN's Liu Shaozhen
The launching of the Premier League Hall of Fame inaugural class has been postponed from March 19 "until further notice," leaving the identities of the first two inductees hanging in the air. ESPN has come up with a five-player candidate list: A Frenchman, an old-school striker, two Class of '92 members and one captain.
Remember: only retired players will be considered for candidates and they will be judged by their Premier League accomplishments alone.
Thierry Henry of Arsenal celebrates after scoring a goal in the Premier League game against Manchester City at Arsenal Stadium in London, England, February 1, 2004. /VCG
Thierry Henry
When Arsenal paid 16.1 million euros (about 17.5 million U.S. dollars) to introduce Henry from Juventus, they knew they just completed one of the best deals in Premier League history.
Having played 258 games as a Gunner in the league, the French striker scored 175 goals, the most in the club's history, as well as 74 assists. He won the Premier League Golden Boot a record four times and did it three times in a row between 2003 and 2006.
Henry won two Premier League championships, two FA Cup titles and witnessed Arsenal's legendary 49-game unbeaten run as one of "The Invincibles."
Alan Shearer of Newcastle United celebrates after scoring a goal in the game against Portsmouth at St James' Park in Newcastle, England, February 4, 2006. /VCG
Alan Shearer
Who is the No. 1 scorer in Premier League History? Despite the countless great players who have left their footprints or hang up their boots in the English top league, this honor belongs to Shearer.
In the 441 games he has played for Blackburn and Newcastle United, Shearer has dropped a total 260 goals and 64 assists. He had also held the longstanding record of 11 hat tricks which was only broken by Sergio Agüero in January.
Shearer won the 1994-95 Premier League championship with Blackburn. Though he didn't possess the splendid skills of many other strikers, Shearer was the most dangerous weapon when he got the ball in the penalty area.
Paul Scholes of Manchester United holds the Premier League championship trophy during the team's Winners Parade in Manchester, England, May 30, 2011. /VCG
Paul Scholes
The Manchester United Class of '92 hogged the Premier League's spotlight for over a decade but none of it belonged to Scholes. Despite his signature long-shot goals and terrific field vision, the 1.68-meter-tall midfielder always maintained a low profile.
In his 499 games as a Red Devil in the Premier League, Scholes claimed 107 goals and 55 assists. He was not a great penetrator because of his small size and average speed, but Scholes always made the right, lethal decision with the ball without thinking because he already saw it coming.
The 11 Premier League championships, three FA Cup titles, two League Cup championships and two UEFA Champions League titles has has say more about Scholes' career than the man ever did himself.
Ryan Giggs of Manchester United celebrates after scoring a game-winning goal in the FA Cup semifinal game against Arsenal at Villa Park, in Aston, Birmingham, England, April 14, 1999. /VCG
Ryan Giggs
"First time I seen him play, I was like, 'Oh, my god.' We were nowhere near him, do you understand what I mean? We weren't even in the same bracket as him," said Scholes in the documentary "The Class of '92."
He was talking about Ryan Giggs, the guy who scored 109 goals and a Premier League-record 162 assists in 632 games, the second-most by one player. Having contributed all 25 years of his career to Man United, Giggs has 13 Premier League championships (the most in history), four FA Cup titles, three League Cup championships, two UEFA Champions League titles, one Intercontinental Cup championship and one FIFA Club World Cup title under his name.
"Yes, when I arrived, Giggs was playing. Yeah, and now I retired, what, 15 years ago and he still plays," said Eric Cantona.
Steven Gerrard (C) of Liverpool lifts the UEFA Champions League title trophy after the Final game against AC Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, May 25, 2005. /VCG
Steven Gerrard
"He said that he is a Liverpool kid, always been his club, he didn't want to see his club being like this, being humiliated. And he said if we scored in the first 15 minutes we would win the game and he's the guy who scored the first goal," said Djibril Cisse about Steven Gerrard during the halftime break of the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final between Liverpool an AC Milan.
The Reds trailed 3-0 after the first 45 minutes, tied the score in the second half, and won the game in penalty shootout. Gerrard was the team's captain and scored Liverpool's first goal at the 53rd minute.
He never shared the top talents of Xavi or Andrea Pirlo as a midfield commander. The 120 goals and 92 assists in 504 games he scored for or the two FA Cup titles, three League Cup championships, one UEFA Champions League title and one UEFA Cup championship he won with Liverpool did not make a him a top three player globally either.
However, as long as Gerrard was still on the field and led the team, The Reds could never die.