British & Irish Lions 16

1 (GK) Joe Hart – England – The best Keeper in the Premier League at the moment, and arguably the best keeper in the world to some people. He was instrumental in Manchester City's Premier League winning season and at the age of 25 he easily has another 10-15 years left at the top. You would be silly to not have him as your first choice keeper.

2 Chris Smalling – England – Probably more of a centre back, but Smalling has played a season and a half at right back for Manchester United and has even made appearances for England in the same position. Four years ago he was playing for Maidstone United, he has had a hell of a career already and at 22 and with his natural ability still has a lot to offer for years to come.

3 Ashley Cole -  England - Arguably the best and most consistent defender since the turn of the millennium. Cole has won 3 Premier Leagues, 7 FA Cups, a League Cup and Champions League medal as well as being named in the PFA Team of the Year on 4 different occasions, enough said really.

4 Rio Ferdinand (C)  - England – Ferdinand will be my captain. Experienced, great ability, smart, he doesn't panic, controls a defence and has been there and done it all. Rio has won 5 Premier Leagues, a FA Cup, a Champions League, 2 League Cups and a World Club Championship all with Manchester United, like Cole, his honours speak for themselves.

5 Jonny Evans - N.Ireland – Probably not going to appear in a lot of peoples squads, but for me there is no better improved defender over the past 12 months in the whole of the Premier League. Last season he came in to the Manchester United squad to replace Nemanja Vidic; arguably the best defender of the last 5 years and not only did a good job he made the position his own. He has developed a great understanding with Ferdinand over the season so that is why I would choose Evans for my Lions squad.

6 Darren Fletcher – Scotland – Even with his unfortunate stomach virus he is still Scotland's best player, gives 100% every time he dons the shirt of Man Utd or Scotland, one of the first names in this line up

7 Aiden McGeady – R. Ireland – Creative winger who dominated left backs in the SPL for 6 years and now terrorising defenders in Russia, with 103 assists in 307 club appearances he knows how to provide for strikers to feed off and an ideal player for the squad.

8 Frank Lampard – England – A midfielder who has over 200 career goals and has experience at the highest of levels, winning Premier League and Champions League titles with Chelsea he is a consistent winner and like Fletcher will give you 100% every game. Has countless amount of individual honours but has also won 3 Premier Leagues, 4 FA Cups, 2 League Cups and a Champions League.

9 Kevin Doyle – R.Ireland – Signed for Reading in 2005 for just a mere £78k and is now worth anywhere between £5-7 million, doesn't have the best goals to game ratio but won't give up and will always allow for his striking partner to dominate the play.

10 Wayne Rooney – England – The best British player. One of England's only world class players and with a partner like Kevin Doyle could be the second half to a destructive strike force. Doyle comes from the Hernandez mould which Rooney will thrive off. Has won as many individual honours as Lampard as well as lifting 4 Premier Leagues, 1 Champions League, 2 League Cups and a World Club Championship. He is mentioned in the same company as Ronaldo and Messi for a reason.

11 James McLean - R.Ireland – A young man who made arguably the greatest impact of the season this year, making his league debut as part of a new, resurgent Sunderland side under new management was a creative winger, who showed pace, flair and skill to not only make goals but score. Was inspirational for Sunderland with highlighted great performances vs Man City and Arsenal at the Stadium of Light, one for the future.

Subs

12 Ashley Young - England - Had one of the greatest first seasons at Manchester United I can remember seeing by anyone. Countless amounts of assists to go with his 8 goals made it a season to remember for Young. One of the stars of the future for England and by playing for United can only get better.

13 Shay Given (GK) – R.Ireland - Given is one of the most under rated and under achieved goalkeepers of all time. Has been consistently great every season in the Premier League for every team he was played for, only rivaled by Brad Friedel. And in my opinion in the Top 5 goalkeepers the league has ever seen.

14 Shane Long – R.Ireland - A younger copy of Kevin Doyle, has great natural ability with plently of energy which he puts in every game. Like Doyle, Long will give you a forward who will work hard for the team and ultimately benefit the team.

15 Phil Jones - England - Only just turned 20 years of age Jones is one of the hottest prospects for the future for any country. Having moved to Manchester United last summer he didn't have the greatest of first seasons but it was good enough to show a high level of quality and to show that he has the potential to be a world class player in the future.

16 Aaron Ramsey - Wales - Ramsey was installed as Wales captain at the tender age of 21 by the late Gary Speed in March 2011 and with good reason to be. The midfield playmaker has shown enough with the newly reformed Wales side under Chris Coleman and Arsenal to warrant a place in the Lions Squad.

Manager - Sir Alex Ferguson - Scottish - Simply put, the greatest manager to ever grace English football let alone the Premier League.

Assistant - David Moyes – Scottish - Predicted as the heir to the throne of Sir Alex at Manchester United, not only could he learn a lot from Sir Alex Ferguson but he has the managerial ability to teach him a thing a two. 

Coaches - Paul Scholes (England) and Ryan Giggs (Wales)- Two of the greatest players to ever grace world football. In regards to British football no one can touch Ryan Giggs for what he has achieved in his 21 year career, and with an eye on the future he would be a great coach to have to share experience with the younger players like McLean. Scholes is a midfield maestro and any player who Zidane wishes he had played with is clearly one of the best.

Physio - Gary Lewin – England- Arsenal physio for 22 years, England's physio for 16. One of the best and most experienced members of staff you could wish for.

Bring on the tour!

Ryan Butler