Finnan is easily one of Liverpool's most underrated players of the Premier League era, and produced consistently good performances over many years. He was signed by Houllier from Fulham in 2003, and slotted straight into the side at right-back. The former Republic of Ireland international offered good attacking thrusts and was rock solid defensively, forming part of a formidable back four alongside Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia and John Arne Riise as they won the 2005 Champions League and 2006 FA Cup. While others made the headlines and earned more respect from rival fans, Finnan always went quietly under the radar and rarely put a foot wrong. He eventually fell out of favour under Benitez in 2008, and was sold to La Liga side Espanyol, but Liverpool supporters still regard Finnan very highly to this day. Rob Jones, Markus Babbel and Alvaro Arbeloa were all close to making the team, but Finnan just has the edge.
