KEVIN PILKINGTON
The Notts County goalkeeper-player-coach chooses his favourite XI, made up from players he has played with or against in his football career.
GOALKEEPER
Peter Schmeichel – Retired
The big man Peter Schmeichel – he was great to watch and in my opinion the best ever. He was awesome in training when I was at Man Utd. Some days he wouldn’t even get beaten. He was a great role model and a real inspiration.
RIGHT BACK
Alistair Asher – Retired
He’s my best mate so I’ve got to put him in. As a young lad he had a lot of potential. I got on really well with him from day one at Mansfield and he’s someone I can really call a mate.
LEFT BACK
Denis Irwin – Retired
Every week you knew what you were going to get because he was so consistent. He never made a mistake and was just solid all round. A lovely person, a great pro and great for young boys to look up to.
CENTRE BACK
Les Robinson – Retired
He’s only about 5ft 8in but he was unbelievable, he just read the game so well. He could bully people out of the game as well and he was a leader on and off the pitch. A very good golfer as well.
CENTRE BACK
Adam Barrett – Gillingham
A top guy. He’s won a lot of promotions throughout his career. A captain and a leader who you would want on your side in the trenches. He would put his head in front of anything and as a goalkeeper that’s brilliant. You knew he was going to put his body on the line every time he went out on the pitch.
RIGHT MIDFIELD
David Beckham – Retired
A lovely, lovely fella. A really nice guy. He also had great ability and had the ball on a sixpence and I’m just privileged to say that I played with him at Man Utd. Not just because of the player he is, but the person he is also.
LEFT MIDFIELD
Hristo Stoichkov – Retired
When Barcelona beat Manchester United 4-0 it was one of the best performances from a left-sided player I’d ever seen. He was unbelievable. In that game, he was a class above anyone else.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD
Roy Keane – Retired
He’s a winner and a tough man, you can’t say any more than that. He had fantastic ability, but most of all he was a winner and that really rubbed off on everyone around him. A true Man Utd great.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD
Nicky Butt – Retired
He was a box-to-box player, he had a great engine on him and perhaps doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. He was one of the best players in our youth team, he had fantastic ability and again, like Roy, he was a winner.
STRIKER
Chris Greenacre – Retired
He’s a great goal scorer. If it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have got promoted when I was at Mansfield. Chris was scoring week in, week out and he was just a natural goal scorer. Again, a great lad to be around, he was a bit of a joker.
STRIKER
Eric Cantona – Retired
Just a magician with the ball. What a player, on the pitch on a Saturday, and in training he was just an unbelievable talent. He had that Gallic flair about him – and the temperament as well! He’s another player that it’s just a pleasure to say I’ve played football on the same pitch with.
