Premier League XIs: A whole team of Daves

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This week marks ten years since Manchester City magician David Silva signed for the club. The Spaniard will soon say farewell to England but on a far more important note, is he the greatest Dave to play Premier League football? Take a look at the Dave XI and decide…

 

Goalkeeper: David De Gea
Good competition for the best of the Daves Saves brigade but current Manchester United number one David De Gea takes the starting spot. However, there may be some Seaman-stained tears from Arsenal fans over their former hero having to settle for a spot on the bench alongside fellow former England internationals David James and London-born Dave Beasant. If you fancy a goalkeeper challenge, try naming six more ‘keepers eligible for the Dave Premier League XI.

 

Right-back: David Bardsley
David beats Davide for the right-back spot, with QPR legend David Bardsley starting ahead of Chelsea’s Italian international Davide Zappacosta. Bardsley became the first ever Dave in a PFA Premier League Team of the Year side, having helped the Loftus Road club to a fifth-place finish in the 1992/93 season.

 

Centre-back: David Luiz
Fancy some comedy on Dave? Arsenal centre-back David Luiz provides the light-hearted entertainment in the side, with the Brazilian international a repeat offender in the gaff stacks throughout his time in England. However, Luiz is a Premier League and Champions League winner, not to mention the proud owner of a shiny new contract at the Emirates.

 

Centre-back: David O’Leary
A far more respected Dave in the red corner of north London is Irish legend David O’Leary, who sees off competition from Merseyside-born Dave Watson and another former Everton player, David Weir. Other defenders to miss out include the treble-winning David May and the Daves of Busst, Egdar, Lee, Linighan, Rozenhal, Wheater and Bradford City’s hero in the 1999/2000 season, David Wetherall.

 

Left-back: David Unsworth
A one-time England international, David Unsworth didn’t have the chance to play in the Alphabet League, with a lack of eligible players making a U-Team impossible. However, he does make the Dave Team, with his fellow namesakes of Barnes, Burrows, Grondin, Murphy, Robertson and Santon all missing out on the left-back spot.

 

Right wing: David Beckham
A clear-cut choice in the battle for the right-wing spot at Dave FC, Manchester United legend David Beckham takes the number 7 shirt…or 23 if he prefers. The iconic Englishman sees off competition from Beckham-lite David Bentley, as well as the Daves of Brooks, Cotterill, Lee, Lowe, Phillips, Rocastle and White.

 

Defensive midfield: David Batty
There’s got to be a hard-working grafter in the middle of the park for any self-respecting Dave team and former Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United midfielder David Batty fits the bill. Leeds-born Batty makes the cut but his fellow Yorkshireman David Prutton misses out on the first eleven.

 

Attacking midfield: David Platt
Batty was a World Cup villain for England after his missed penalty against Argentina in 1998 but another Dave had been a hero for the Three Lions eight years earlier. Manchester-born Platt scored the decisive goal against Belgium in the round-of-16 at Italia ’90 and was on the scoresheet again in the quarter-finals against Cameroon.

 

Attacking midfield: David Silva
This Dave will wave goodbye at the end of a decade-long spell at Manchester City when the current season finally concludes but the Spanish international will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest Premier League players of the 2010s. Some midfield Daves to miss out include Beresford, Davis, Dunn, Edwards, Fox, Hillier, Hopkin, Howells, Hughes, Jones, Meyler, Oldfield, Pizzaro, Smith, Thomspon, Vaughan and current Brighton player, Davy Propper.

 

Left wing: David Ginola
Far more Da-vid than Dave, Ginola adds some flamboyant French flair to the side. The former Newcastle United star was part of the ‘entertainers’ team under Kevin Keegan in the mid-nineties, before moving south to Tottenham Hotpsur. Much to Alex Ferguson’s dismay, Ginola won the 1998-99 PFA Player of the Year award, becoming the second Dave to hold the trophy after Platt’s triumph in 1990.

 

Striker: David Hirst
Former Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst starts up top for the side, seeing off competition from a host of Dave related forwards. The man with the easiest goal in international football history, David Nugent, misses out, alongside Bellion, Connolly, Di Michele, Elm, Goodwillie, Johnson, Kelly, Kitson, McEwan, McGoldrick, N’Gog, Speedie  and Northern Ireland hero David Healy.

 

James Wiles – whose Instagram has a whole load more XIs