David Artell / David Artell / 21 November 2007 / Leave a comment " class="free-bet-btn" rel="external" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/G4/inline-freebet');" target="_blank">Free Bet

Morecambe's defender runs the rule over the Premier League strikers he's faced and who would give him nightmares...

Steve McClaren had a big decision to make last night in relation to choosing his goalkeeper. Paul Robinson is an experienced international but going through a sticky patch whereas Scott Carson is untried in competitive internationals but in good form. It was a decision that could have cost McClaren his job.

At Morecambe we welcomed back our goalkeeper Joe Lewis after his horrific injury at Rotherham where he clashed heads with an opposition striker and ended up having 20 stitches from his nose into his hairline. It was the worst injury I've ever seen but Joe has come back as confident as he was before his injury and you wouldn't notice any difference apart from his scar and the fact that for the next few weeks he is playing in a Peter Cech style head guard. Goalkeepers need to be brave and big Joe (he's 6' 6'' and got arms like a chimpanzee) certainly is and he's got a big future ahead of him. Getting called up to the under 21s certainly hasn't done him any harm either.

As defenders you need confidence in your goalkeeper and Joe instills that in us in the bucket load. As defenders you don't want your goalkeeper to work that hard, as it means you're not protecting him well enough, but goalkeepers are the hardest workers at the training ground in readiness for when they are called into action.

Goalkeepers I've come across in my career are a different breed and are always one of the loudest characters in the dressing room and Joe is no different. One keeper at Rotherham even took to eating worms at the training ground and you never jumped in the big bath with him as you were in danger of getting washed in fluids you shouldn't!

One decision McClaren didn't have to make was whether to play Peter Crouch due to the injuries of Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. Having played against both Owen and Rooney I knew exactly how big the boots were that Crouch needed to fill. When I played against Owen and Rooney I wasn't very impressed and neither scored although Owen scored three goals in three separate finals (in 1999) and Rooney went on to Manchester United. Essentially, it's all about the performance on the day.

Owen played alongside Emile Heskey at a time when Heskey was being ridiculed in the press and by Liverpool fans, yet he was one of the toughest opponents I've ever faced. His pace, power and strength one the day was frightening and he recently showed his critics wrong with his return to the England team. I read recently that he is Owen's first choice partner, which I think says a lot about him.

Although Heskey ran him close, the toughest opponent I've ever played against has to be Gianfranco Zola. He was simply amazing and didn't give the ball away once in 90 minutes. His attitude and work rate to that game (Shrewsbury versus Chelsea FA Cup 4th Round) was first class and we couldn't even get near him to kick him! Although he didn't have the raw pace and power of Heskey, Zola's still had enough pace to take you on and his skill meant that he could take you on at will although he never did more than necessary even though they won the game 4-0.

For me the toughest opponents in the Premier League at the minute are Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo, a sort of modern day Heskey and Zola. Both have pace in abundance, are fantastic in the air and can do the hardest thing in football almost at will - score goals. If I played against either of these I would try and give them a kick to see if they liked it and try to wind them up (although this could obviously have the opposite affect) and cross my fingers that they had a stinker.

I plumped for Didier Drogba as Premiership top scorer and I believe he might get on the score sheet on Saturday when Chelsea play Derby. As Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham have scored five or more against Derby I can't see any reason why Chelsea wouldn't do the same and over 3.5 goals (3) looks very attractive.

Tags: Drogba, Owen, Premier League Top Scorer, Ronaldo, Rooney, Zola