And here, perhaps, lies the crux of it. While Phil Neville, who was very versatile and ended up playing many games in midfield, can be viewed as a potential wing-back on either flank, his brother Gary feels more at home as a traditional full-back rather than one pushing forward more. However, Denis Irwin was so outstanding when linking with the attack seamlessly, that his all-round talent appears to lend support to an argument that he would also be a pretty useful wing-back.
Ryan Giggs is surely the most forward-thinking flair player on our list, we do recall him playing at full-back against West Ham United and loved those sliding tackles where he would snake his leg out to win the ball, but would he get caught out going the other way? For all his diligence, it would be a test and we also wondered if David Beckham, who was excluded despite his excellence, would be ill fitting for the challenges posed.
Anthony Elanga, the most recent of our nominees, could probably handle the up-and-down nature of the position but, like Giggs, is maybe too attacking.
