When my editor suggested putting together a list of the top 50 players, I greeted it with a healthy dose of apprehension. For journalists, such lists are often a lose-lose proposition, exposing you to ridicule and, occasionally, venom. Then again, they do generate debate and I like open-ended discussions as much as the next guy.

But before we get into it, here are the usual caveats. Making comparisons between different positions on the pitch is extremely difficult. Equally, while I do watch a lot of football (far more than is healthy), I haven't watched most of these players week in, week out, for all ninety minutes. Then again, nobody has. So what you're getting is a combination of personal assessment and, perhaps more importantly, the distilled views of people I talk to, from scouts to fellow journalists, from agents to managers, from club officials to, yes, ordinary fans.

I couldn't even have begun to compile such a list without basic criteria. So here they are: imagine you are the manager of a totally new team. You have a certain budget to spend, but first you get one freebie, one guy to build your team around. You get him only for one season, the 2007-08 campaign, so you want to go for who can do the best job for you here and now, without worrying how good he can be down the line. Who would you choose? Who would your "ringer" be? Here is my selection:

50. Gary Neville (Manchester United)
A right back is admittedly an unusual choice, but Neville brings a host of intangibles to the table, from leadership to experience to consistency.

49. Clarence Seedorf (Milan)
You don't win four Champions League crowns with three different clubs by accident. Perhaps he doesn't turn it on as often as he once did, but his collection of rabbit's feet alone makes him a worthwhile punt.

48. Jefferson Farfan (PSV Eindhoven)
He gives you trickery, pace and width, plus a host of goals (42 in the Dutch league over the past two years, a remarkable total for a guy who is not a genuine centre forward).

47. Phillip Lahm (Bayern Munich)
Little Mr Consistency runs all day and is a reliable source of goal-saving tackles and pinpoint crosses. Arguably the best left back around.

46. Rodrigo Palacio (Boca Juniors)
Probably the most reliable striker outside Europe. Something of a late bloomer, at 25 he's really hitting his stride.

45. Diego (Werder Bremen)
Stick him in the hole behind two strikers and watch him weave his magic. He's Kaka-lite (or, given his corpulent build, Kaka-heavy).

44. Rino Gattuso (Milan)
Steven Gerrard's ghostwriters may not rate him, but most of the rest of us do. He runs himself into the ground, lifts the crowd and never gives up.

43. Hernan Crespo (Inter)
139 goals in his past 209 league starts in Serie A and the Premiership tell only part of the story. His movement up front is also straight out of a footballing textbook.

42. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Ajax)
By all accounts, he had a poor season - "just" 21 league goals (down from 33 last year). That says it all. Comparisons to Marco van Basten may be wide of the mark, but he'll get you goals.

41. Alessandro Nesta (Milan)
Now that he's fit again, strikers beware: he's unnaturally quick, strong in the tackle and about as athletic as anyone playing the game today.

40. Juninho Pernambucano (Lyon)
Elegant and creative, but also with an edge when necessary, he can light up any side. Plus, he'll get his usual haul of set-piece goals.

39. "Lucho" Gonzalez (Porto)
A box-to-box dervish who gets his fair share of goals and is a natural leader to boot. If only he played in a higher profile league...

38. Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
He redefined the role of attacking midfield player in the Premiership. The one concern is how well he would do away from his mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson.

37. Daniele De Rossi (Roma)
The poor man's Roy Keane. Runs the midfield with intensity and intelligence and, like Keane, occasionally falls prey to the red mist (just ask Brian McBride).

36. Dejan Stankovic (Inter)
His long-range goals make the highlight reels, but his real contribution is the way he can effortlessly slot into any midfield position.

(...to be continued)