The greatest ever Manchester United players

[Junaids]

Now here is a strange thread.

I'm a lifelong Manchester City fan - as a boy I was a Junior Blue. But we actually have plenty of respect for our neighbours, just like Everton and Liverpool fans get on fine. In fact, my family is split down the middle between blues and reds. And players like Denis Law and Brian Kidd graced both teams.

Growing up on the outskirts of Manchester it was always a thrill even for a blue like me to walk into a restaurant or a pub and bump into Bobby Charlton or Georgie Best, just as much as seeing a City player like Colin Bell or Mike Summerbee.

In fact, I spent my first five years in Stretford, close to Old Trafford, and it still pains me to see the Munich clock, even though it was their tragedy, not ours.

Some of you might have seen that on the cricket board I've been in conflict with [MENTION=134300]Tusker[/MENTION] and some others about the quality of the players of yesteryear.

It didn't cross my mind that in football too there might be some people who think that the players of the past were inferior, as if the Real Madrid of Di Stefano, Puskas and Kopa were inferior to the players of today.

I was just channel surfing, and saw that MUTV was showing a Tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton. And it got me to thinking, are there people out there who think that Beckham, Rooney and Ronaldo a decade ago were better than the Holy Trinity of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton?

This is my United Top Five.

5. Cristiano Ronaldo
4. Denis Law
3. George Best - the second most gifted player behind Maradona that I've seen.
2. Sir Bobby Charlton - the most two-footed player in history
1. Duncan Edwards - England's greatest ever player, gone at just 21.

Any thoughts?

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Nice list. Although, as a Culé, I'd say CR7 is more of a Merengue than a Red Devil.

 

[Junaids]

You've got to hand it to Denis Law.

Imagine being a legend with both.........



and

 

[Bewal Express]

The best Man U i have seen are:
Peter Schmeichel
Ronaldo
Cantona
Ryan Giggs
Roy Keane
Just Missing the list include players such as Bruce,Robson, Ferdinand, Irwin, Beckham, Robson, Hughes, Pallister, Van Der Sar

 

[proud_pakistani]

The best for me would be:

1 - Cristiano Ronaldo
2 - Ryan Giggs
3 - Roy Keane
4 - Paul Scholes
5 - Eric Cantona

 

[Tusker]

Now here is a strange thread.

I'm a lifelong Manchester City fan - as a boy I was a Junior Blue. But we actually have plenty of respect for our neighbours, just like Everton and Liverpool fans get on fine. In fact, my family is split down the middle between blues and reds. And players like Denis Law and Brian Kidd graced both teams.

Growing up on the outskirts of Manchester it was always a thrill even for a blue like me to walk into a restaurant or a pub and bump into Bobby Charlton or Georgie Best, just as much as seeing a City player like Colin Bell or Mike Summerbee.

In fact, I spent my first five years in Stretford, close to Old Trafford, and it still pains me to see the Munich clock, even though it was their tragedy, not ours.

Some of you might have seen that on the cricket board I've been in conflict with [MENTION=134300]Tusker[/MENTION] and some others about the quality of the players of yesteryear.

It didn't cross my mind that in football too there might be some people who think that the players of the past were inferior, as if the Real Madrid of Di Stefano, Puskas and Kopa were inferior to the players of today.

I was just channel surfing, and saw that MUTV was showing a Tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton. And it got me to thinking, are there people out there who think that Beckham, Rooney and Ronaldo a decade ago were better than the Holy Trinity of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton?

This is my United Top Five.

5. Cristiano Ronaldo
4. Denis Law
3. George Best - the second most gifted player behind Maradona that I've seen.
2. Sir Bobby Charlton - the most two-footed player in history
1. Duncan Edwards - England's greatest ever player, gone at just 21.

Any thoughts?

Football doesn't tickle me at all and the only names that I recognize in that post are Beckham and Ronaldo. Therefore I cannot process your post and give you a detail fact based meaningful response on this matter like I generally do on the Cricket board.

But that said I wouldn't categorize our discussions as a "Conflict". I would like to think that these are debates between 2 people who come from vastly different perspectives and its been a great pleasure for me to discuss these topics.

You are the cricket romantic ( of the tragic type high on nostalgia lol ) and me the cricket nut (of the engineer type high on numbers, precision and facts ) . The two generally arent easily compatible. To you the words of the Benauds, the Chappells and the Bradmans are Gospel. To me they are merely a starting point to indulge in a deep analysis with an open mind to get to the bottom of the said Gospel. You are a slave of crickets quaint traditions and fiercely try to protect the status quo. Me Iam closer to being a practical rebel.

In the past any debates between these two classes of cricket fans flowed one way. i.e OLD simply far better than the NEW. There was no option to challenge. If you had the temerity to question the old you got ridiculed and categorized as an ignorant village idiot. All that has changed thanks to technology. It has been a game changer unlike anything and a big headache for the OLD ERA fanatics who can no longer throw around their weight and get away.

So after every time you or anyone of your fellow comrades (under the influence of nostalgia I should say) goes on a nostalgic trip saying Barry,Viv,Boycott,Bradman,Sobers,Hobbs etc were far superior to anyone from the lot that came in the last 30 yrs or so I go deep into the facts and come up with posts that you are quite familiar with by now.

That said one of the oft repeated themes over here is how batsmen had superior techniques in the past. Someday I wish to get into the nitty gritty of that by doing a proper technical analysis. That should take our debates to the next level. You interested ?

Once again thanks for taking time and indulging in the numerous discussions !!!

 

[Robert]

Sir Bobby, Law, Best, Robson, Giggs.

 

[Markhor]

As a Liverpool fan, doing a list like this is akin to naming your favourite in laws. Ronaldo, Schmeichel, Scholes, Cantona and Best spring to mind. Giggs is somewhat overrated due to his longevity. I don't recall him being the best player in a Utd title winning team.

One player who could've been a United great whom [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] might recall, who was an absolute pain in the backside for us Liverpool fans, was Norman Whiteside. A very talented player whose career was curtailed by injury. He was dirty as hell too.

Prime example being April 1988 at Anfield in the famous 3-3 match. We had the title all but wrapped up. We passed United off the park, went 3-1 up and United had a man sent off. Barnes, Beardsley et al tore them apart. Then Whiteside comes on.

He immediately lays into Steve McMahon with a challenge that even got the usually sedate Main Stand irate. It was the turning point, United levelled it to 3-3 with Gordon Strachan smoking his imaginary cigar in front of the Kop.

 

[PakLFC]

Cantona, Ronaldo, Giggsy, Best, Edwards, Charlton, Law, Robson, and Roy Keane to name a few.

 

[Kianig89]

Ronaldo Rooney Giggs

 

[Slog]

Giggs is my most favorite player ever

 

[big_gamer007]

In terms of fan following and money brought to the club I don't think anyone can surpass Beckham.. He might not have been the best football player to have ever graced the club but the amount of new fans he brought during his time which resulted in money for the club cannot be matched..

Duncan Edwards as per players of his time is regarded as one of the best however he did not play enough for the club due to the unfortunate tragedy.. Not sure if he can be ranked as number 1 United player because of that.. Though I can understand why people would rank him at top spot..

From players I have watched play I had say schooled, giggs, schmeichel, Ronaldo, Keane were my personal favourite closely followed by Rooney.. Beckham would always be a favourite but that was more to do with his aura than his footballing skills..

 

[idrizzy]

I don't indulge into footballing history much, as I like to create memories in the present so cannot speak of Charlton, Best, etc when I haven't seen them play, so my list will only be a post-2005 of Man Utd greats:
Scholes
Giggs
Keane
Van Der Sar
Ferdinand
Vidic
Evra
Neville
Ronaldo
Giggs
Rooney
Beckham
Ruud van Nistilerooy

Although these are greats, the greatest ever from this era is easily Ronaldo. Followed by Scholes.

 

[shaz619]

1. Ronaldo the modern goat
Ruud Van Nisteroy
Beckham
Scholes
Giggs
Keane
Ferdinand
Fabian Barthez what a legend

 

[Junaids]

As a Liverpool fan, doing a list like this is akin to naming your favourite in laws. Ronaldo, Schmeichel, Scholes, Cantona and Best spring to mind. Giggs is somewhat overrated due to his longevity. I don't recall him being the best player in a Utd title winning team.

One player who could've been a United great whom [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] might recall, who was an absolute pain in the backside for us Liverpool fans, was Norman Whiteside. A very talented player whose career was curtailed by injury. He was dirty as hell too.

Prime example being April 1988 at Anfield in the famous 3-3 match. We had the title all but wrapped up. We passed United off the park, went 3-1 up and United had a man sent off. Barnes, Beardsley et al tore them apart. Then Whiteside comes on.

He immediately lays into Steve McMahon with a challenge that even got the usually sedate Main Stand irate. It was the turning point, United levelled it to 3-3 with Gordon Strachan smoking his imaginary cigar in front of the Kop.

Norman Whiteside went from United to Everton - unlikely to be popular with Liverpool fans!

You're right: he was a great talent: two World Cup tournaments by the age of 21. But he drank too much, and in common with many Aussie cricketers (whose fitness regimes belong in rugby league) he was too heavy for his body, and ended up with knee damage that 80's era medicine could not fix.

I enjoy my arguments across the eras with internet frenemies like [MENTION=134300]Tusker[/MENTION]. And I must confess that sports medicine is now far ahead of where it was thirty years ago.

The problem now is premature ageing and decline in young players who play too many games too young. Cristiano Ronaldo has shown that you can minimise it by having a lightweight body but training hard. Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Fernando Torres and even Lionel Messi have shown that for most it is an unavoidable premature decline.

 

[big_gamer007]

In terms of fan following and money brought to the club I don't think anyone can surpass Beckham.. He might not have been the best football player to have ever graced the club but the amount of new fans he brought during his time which resulted in money for the club cannot be matched..

Duncan Edwards as per players of his time is regarded as one of the best however he did not play enough for the club due to the unfortunate tragedy.. Not sure if he can be ranked as number 1 United player because of that.. Though I can understand why people would rank him at top spot..

From players I have watched play I had say schooled, giggs, schmeichel, Ronaldo, Keane were my personal favourite closely followed by Rooney.. Beckham would always be a favourite but that was more to do with his aura than his footballing skills..

Scholes*

Forgot to mention Cantona though I only watched his last couple of years since that is when I started following United as a young kid.. Amazing player who retired too early..

 

[Finisher]

First ever football match that I watched was of man utd v lk lodz in that 1999 triple winning season, been a utd fan since.
So from then on.

Scholes-Giggs-Ronaldo-keane-Ruud-Stam

 

[PakLFC]

Beckham never was or will be a Man Utd legend. He ust played in a brilliant side, that's all. Left the club at the first opportunity after he became more of a celebrity then footballer. Seems to have no mind of his own at all.

 

[Yossarian]

In the last 30 years, the two players who's effect on Man Utd was such that Man Utd would not be where they are today if it weren't for them.

Mark Robins (Google it if you don't know why)
Eric Cantona - Changed the whole attitude and mindset of the Man Utd players when Cantona arrived at Old Trafford. Played six years in England. Helped his teams become champions every season, except the season he was banned for his kung-fu kick.

 

[Protea Fan]

Greatness isn't simply a function of talent and performances. It factors in longevity, association with fans, impact made on the long-term aspirations of the club and all

Cristiano Ronaldo is possibly the best player to ever play for united but he's not the greatest ever because of the above mentioned aspects

I heard a lot about Cantona, Charlton, Best, Robson etc but i can't rate players whom i haven't watched live because generally youtube clips and books mostly highlights good parts of players not only in football but in any sport

SO the greatest united players i have watched live is

Ronaldo
Giggs
Scholes

 

[MenInG]

England World Cup winner and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton has been diagnosed with dementia.

The news follows the deaths of his older brother Jack in July and fellow World Cup-winner Nobby Stiles on Friday, both of whom had also been diagnosed with dementia.

Sir Bobby, 83, won three league titles, a European Cup and an FA Cup with United during 17 years at Old Trafford.

He finished his career with spells at Preston and Irish side Waterford.

His wife, Lady Norma Charlton, expressed the hope that the knowledge of his diagnosis - first reported by the Telegraph - could help others.

Manchester United said in a statement: "Everyone at Manchester United is saddened that this terrible disease has afflicted Sir Bobby Charlton and we continue to offer our love and support to Sir Bobby and his family."

Joining United in 1953, he scored 249 goals in 758 games for the club, long-standing records which were eventually broken by Wayne Rooney in 2017 and Ryan Giggs in 2008 respectively.

Born in Ashington, Northumberland, he remained England's record goal scorer until Rooney surpassed him against Switzerland in September 2015.

At the age of 20, Sir Bobby was a survivor of the Munich air crash of 1958 in which 23 people died, including eight of his Manchester United team-mates.

He inspired United to a first European Cup win in 1968, scoring twice in the final, and was awarded the Ballon d'Or in 1966 after playing every minute of England's World Cup victory.

Sir Bobby came second in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 1958 and 1959. In 2008, he received the lifetime achievement award.

United renamed Old Trafford's South Stand in honour of Sir Bobby in 2016.

Dementia in football
Sir Bobby is the fifth member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning side to be diagnosed with dementia.

In addition to his brother, Jack, and Stiles, both Martin Peters and Ray Wilson - who died in 2019 and 2018 respectively - also had the condition.

Stiles, Peters and Wilson were diagnosed with it while still in their sixties. In a BBC documentary screened in 2017, Stiles' son John told former England captain Alan Shearer he was "utterly convinced" heading a football was responsible for his father's dementia.

A study by Glasgow University in 2019 found former professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die of dementia than people of the same age range in the general population.

The study began after claims that former West Brom striker Jeff Astle died at the age of 59 because of repeated head trauma and compared deaths of 7,676 ex-players to 23,000 from the general population.

The inquest into Astle's death found heading heavy leather footballs repeatedly had contributed to trauma to his brain, but research by the Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association was later dropped because of what were said to be technical flaws.

Astle's daughter, Dawn, said "players who have suffered dementia must not be a statistic" after she was left "staggered" by the study's findings.

In response, the FA launched new coaching guidelines to restrict the amount of heading by under-18 players in training.

source BBC

 

[Kianig89]

Van Nistelrooy Berbatov Hargreaves Vidic Evra

And best players. In reverse order
Bellion Bebe Kleberson

 

[MMHS]

My MU all time XI in 4231 formation

GK: Schmeichel (really tough pick over Van der Sarr)

Back Line: Irwin, Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville (Steve Bruce misses out for lack of international exposure)

CM: Scholes, Keane
AM: Sir Charlton (Would have loved to pick Cantona)

Wingers: CR 07, George Best

CF: Denis Law

 

[Slog]

My MU all time XI in 4231 formation

GK: Schmeichel (really tough pick over Van der Sarr)

Back Line: Irwin, Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville (Steve Bruce misses out for lack of international exposure)

CM: Scholes, Keane
AM: Sir Charlton (Would have loved to pick Cantona)

Wingers: CR 07, George Best

CF: Denis Law

Pallister was better than Bruce. And no Duncan Edwards? He probably makes United best 3 ever let alone 11. Bryan Robson over Scholes easily too.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

The best for me would be:

1 - Cristiano Ronaldo
2 - Ryan Giggs
3 - Roy Keane
4 - Paul Scholes
5 - Eric Cantona

This is my top 5 aswell. Don't know much about the footballing history of Man Utd but these are the players that come to mind for me.

 

[MMHS]

Pallister was better than Bruce. And no Duncan Edwards? He probably makes United best 3 ever let alone 11. Bryan Robson over Scholes easily too.

Edward's position is a bit difficult to match - he was more of a left-winger/midfielder. I'll have to drop CR or Best to accommodate him. I have already dropped Giggs. Robson could be a better player individually, but Scholes has achieved lot more than him. If i change the formation to classic 442, may be then Charlton/Best & CR plays as forward and Giggs-Edwards at wings and Robson-Keane/Scholes as CM, it's possible; but then I am to drop their best two centre forwards - Law & Rooney.

MU is a club whose history is tilted towards legendary attacking players but not much in defensive half or midfield, therefore it'll always be a difficult task to pick 6 players out of Scholes, Robson, Keane; Giggs, Edwards, Best, CR, Charlton, Cantona; Law, Rooney, RVN,

 

[Kroll]

From the Premier League era, got to be Giggs, after all he's their and the Premier League's most decorated player.

Otherwise, I would say Cantona who was the catalyst for them winning their first title since the sixties. But he wasn't there long enough like some of their other greats like Scholes, Keane and Rooney.

CR7 truly became 'real' superstar he is now after joining Real Madrid.

Although, most of us can only go by legends, the holy trinity must be up there.

 

[Mamoon]

Giggs was overrated. From 1994-1995 onwards, he never really had a world class season.

He was consistent and reliable and obviously his longevity was amazing, but he didn’t reach the heights he promised as a teenager.

In the early 2000s, he wasn’t even the best left wing/mid in the league because Pires was significantly better.

Bale has already surpassed him as an individual player.

Sir Alex would disagree though. He stated in his book that he only managed 4 world class players during his time at Man United and Giggs was one of them.

“I don't mean to demean or criticise any of the great or very good footballers who played for me during my 26-year career at United, but there were only four who were world class: Cantona, Giggs, Ronaldo and Scholes”

- Sir Alex

 

[Bhaijaan]

"As flies to wanton boys, we are for the gods.

“They kill us for their sport. Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the ageing of the cells – soon the science will fix the cells to the state. And so we will become eternal.

Only accidents, crimes, wars will still kill us, but unfortunately crimes and wars will multiply. I love football. Thank you,”

-Eric Cantona

 

[jaf348]

Scholes for me. Lots of GOATs of the game would agree too.

"My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder. Scholes is undoubtedly the greatest midfielder of his generation" – Zinedine Zidane

"Without any doubt the best player in the Premiership has to be Paul Scholes. He knows how to do everything, and he is the one who directs the way his team plays. On top of that, he has indestructible mental strength, and he is a genuine competitor" – Thierry Henry

“In the last 15 to 20 years the best central midfielder that I have seen — the most complete — is Scholes. I have spoken with Xabi Alonso about this many times. Scholes is a spectacular player who has everything. He can play the final pass, he can score, he is strong, he never gets knocked off the ball and he doesn’t give possession away. If he had been Spanish then maybe he would have been valued more.” - Xavi

 

[Kroll]

"As flies to wanton boys, we are for the gods.

“They kill us for their sport. Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the ageing of the cells – soon the science will fix the cells to the state. And so we will become eternal.

Only accidents, crimes, wars will still kill us, but unfortunately crimes and wars will multiply. I love football. Thank you,”

-Eric Cantona

"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea."

-Eric Cantona

 

[Kroll]

Ryan Giggs denies assault allegations after arrest

Wales manager Ryan Giggs has denied an allegation of assault made against him.

The Wales manager has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend, several newspapers have reported.

His representatives said he denies all allegations of assault made against him and is co-operating with the police.

Greater Manchester Police said a man, 46, had been arrested on suspicion of section 47 assault and section 39 common assault and bailed pending further inquiries.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has cancelled a press conference planned for Tuesday where Giggs was due to announce his squad for upcoming international games.

It said it was "aware of an alleged incident involving the men's national team manager Ryan Giggs".

A statement released on behalf of Giggs said: "He is co-operating with the police and will continue to assist them with their ongoing investigation."

Greater Manchester Police said it was called to reports of a disturbance at an address in Worsley, Salford, just after 22:00 GMT on Sunday.

It said a woman in her 30s "sustained minor injuries but did not require any treatment".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54791144

 

[TrentDevil]

Harry Maguire