3. DEAN ASHTON
At 26 years, you expect a footballer to be in prime form of his career but for Dean Ashton, it was time for retirement. This hugely talented forward from the famous Crewe Alexandra’s youth system went on to be a revelation as he moved up the ranks. He managed to score 61 goals in 159 appearances for Crewe. Ashton then moved on to Norwich City where he managed to score 17 times in one season. Following the relegation of Norwich, he moved to West Ham where he impressed from the beginning. He was then called up to the England squad for a friendly against Greece and during training Ashton broke his ankle which left him out of the whole of 2006 – 07 season. During the beginning of 2007 season, Ashton made his comeback and managed score 10 times in 31 games despite of the nagging injury. He failed to recover from the ankle injury and was forced to retire following his last game against West Brom.