THEATER OF DREAMS:FERGIES TOP TEN
Ok you f$3ken MANCS I was on goal.com and I cam across this interesting article.
Now lets get this straight you Know I hate the MANCS BUT I do acknowledge great and classy players. I thought this article was appropriate. If I look at this list I SAY that there are some greats in this list. The best Volleyer of the ball.Marc Hughes. This lity Ronaldo should consider himself lucky that he is part of this list. This list epitomises consistency. Can the Lity keep it up.
I watched a DVD once of Goerge Best, CLASS. Thats my number 1. Pity he retired young. But the MAN WAS GREAT.
He had it all, the Badaams, the Glits, the glamour and the Skill. Look the Man.He was phenominal.Look at the video
29/01/2008 12:49 Ferguson’s Top Ten Manchester United Players Sir Alex Ferguson reckons Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs are the best to play for Manchester United since his arrival as manager on November 6th, 1986. Gil Gillespie begs to differ.
Now, if the longest serving boss in the Premier League had been talking about the club’s greatest servants since his reign began in 1986, then Scholes and Giggs would have to be right up there, along with Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Brian McClair and Dennis Irwin. But, in truth, not many observers would put Giggsy and Scholesy at number one and two in a top ten of players who have served under Alex Ferguson. Compiling such a list is no easy task. First, there are the players that don’t quite make it into the top ten. There is no room on this particular hall of fame for the following United legends:Gary Neville, because he is a great professional but by no means a great player, decent enough defensively but very average going forward.Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who spent 11 patient years at the club and was a useful little striker but never a world class one.Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister, who were, again, great servants, but journeymen defenders on a global scale.Jaap Stam, who despite being the finest centre-back in the Premier League at the time was booted out by Fergie after three years.Rio Ferdinand, doesn’t make the cut because of his lapses in concentration that occur in every other game he plays in.Paul McGrath, although he is the greatest Irish defender of all time and did indeed look like Nelson Mandela’s son.And neither do Paul Ince, Teddy Sheringham, Nicky Butt, Nemanja Vidic or the excellent Carlos Tevez. But the most glaring omission, and the one that’s certain to receive the most criticism, is Wayne Rooney. Since his arrival on the Premier League stage, there is no doubt that Rooney has been a revelation. He is that most uncommon of English players – a technically-gifted second striker who is able to mesmerise and destroy in equal measures. He is still the only current member of the England football team who regularly uses the outside of his foot. But he doesn’t make this list of United greats because he hasn’t quite proved himself worthy of inclusion yet. The finest English talent since Gazza hasn’t lived up to his potential. In fact, there is a genuine fear that he might even be going backwards as a player. His first touch, these days, is often heavy and sometimes even sloppy. He himself admits that he has lost the ability he used to have to go past defenders. And, against the classiest of opponents – AC Milan in last season’s Champions League, for example – he can be nothing short of missing in action. So here, in order of greatness, are the best ten players to ever play under Sir Alex Ferguson at Man United.
1. Eric Cantona Not for nothing is he referred to as King Eric. The Rimbaud-quoting French genius who, in the words of Roy Keane, “glided into the arena as if he owned the f****** place,” has to be number one. Cantona’s influence on the club he joined from Leeds in 1992 is almost immeasurable. He changed the way they trained, changed the way they played, even the way they re-fuelled. As George Best, the greatest player to ever pull on a Reds shirt, once said; “I’d give all the champagne I’ve ever drunk to be playing alongside him in a big European match at Old Trafford.”
2. Roy KeaneLike Cantona, Keane is a true maverick. And, like Cantona, he was not your average footballer. Intelligent, supremely focussed, slightly unhinged and a leader of men who was capable of grabbing a game, and his team-mates, by the scruff of the neck and literally forcing events to go his way. Who will ever forget his stellar performance in dragging a down-and-almost-out United side back from two goals down against Juventus in the Champions League semi-final of 1999 in Turin?
3. Peter SchmeichelNot so much a goalkeeper as a screaming, Rudolph-nosed, superhuman with the smothering capabilities of thousand goose-feathered pillows. He wore an XXXL shirt size. No other keeper, before of since, has been so commanding in his own area: his organisational skills and distribution saw him transcend the status of shot-stopper. In 2001 Schmeichel won a Reuters poll with more than 200,000 participants who voted him as the best goalkeeper of all time. The Old Trafford faithful reckon he was worth 12 points a season at least.
4. Bryan Robson Before Roy Keane, there was Bryan Robson. Captain Marvel led his team out onto the pitch for 12 years, making him the longest-serving skipper in Man United’s history. Back in the 1980’s, people used to call United a ‘one-man team’. Robson was that man. A ferocious tackler with a habit of making perfectly-timed runs into the box, he was always at the centre of Ferguson’s plans, everyone else rotating around his aggressive, match-winning aura. The epitome of the all-action modern midfielder.
5. Paul ScholesDespite growing up as an Oldham Athletic supporter, Paul Scholes has spent his entire career at Old Trafford. This small, quiet, asthmatic is apparently the only one of the long-serving United players never to receive the hair-dryer treatment from Alex Ferguson. His intelligent, simple passing and ferocious long-distance shooting have made him one of the first names on the team sheet for more than a decade. If he’d improved his tackling, he’d be rated as one of the most dangerous midfielders in Europe.
6. Ruud van NistelrooyOr Rutgerus Johannes Martinius van Nistelrooy, to give him his full name. If Alex Ferguson’s reign at Man United has been short of one thing, it has been world class centre-forwards. Cole, Yorke, Solskjær, Saha – none of them were world class. This Dutch Greg Rudeski look-a-like definitely was. In 150 appearances for United he scored an astonishing 95 goals. And, as is always the case with six-yard box predators, most of them were more about being in the right place at the right time than aesthetic delight. He continues to prove his worth at Real Madrid.
7. Cristiano Ronaldo It’s difficult to remember any other player who has had such an all-conquering influence on the Premier League as Cristiano Ronaldo has had this season with Manchester United. He has scored 25 goals in 25 games so far and has, at times, been almost unstoppable. Dispensing with the more ridiculous side of his dribbling, the Portuguese winger has been by far the most outstanding performer in the league and has led some people to ask, ‘what would Man United do without him?’
8. Ryan GiggsPossibly the last of the genuine left-wingers in the game, Giggs has played 636 games for just one club and has been one of the key components in the lighting quick attacking philosophy that has defined Man United for the last ten years. Why is he so low down on this list? Because the occasional incredible display and the odd breath-taking goal have disguised the fact that he doesn’t always perform to the level he’s credited for.
9. David BeckhamWith his move to Real Madrid, his sojourn in Los Angles and all the tabloid activity that’s surrounded his every breath, it’s easy to forget how important David Beckham was at Man United. Twice runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards, Beckham dodged his lack of pace and ability to go past players by becoming the most deadly crosser of the ball in the world. Always gave 100%, sometimes even more, but probably should have used some the time he spent on marketing himself to make himself a better footballer.
10. Mark HughesBlessed with incredible upper body strength and deadly shooting ability, Hughes was an unusual blend of work-horse and spectacular goal-scorer. The Welshman’s talent for holding the ball up was second to none, as was his capacity for unleashing gymnastic volley’s that would almost break the net as they fizzed past the goalkeeper’s outstretched hand. ‘Sparky’ scored 164 times in 453 games for Man United and is currently doing a pretty good impression of being Britain’s best young manager with Blackburn Rovers. Who do you think should be on the list of the best Man United players during Sir Alex Ferguson’s 22-year reign? Let us know which ten players you think are the finest.
goal.com
MINI
January 30, 2008 at 11:32 amCANTONA…No1 could we more worthy….Afterall he did come from a great team…..LEEDS!
Punisher
January 30, 2008 at 12:21 pmagh mini…shut up..we bought him for a measley 1.2m, what a steal. this is what i would call a good top ten. Eric was definitely the catalyst for the 1st premier league win and started MUFC on a roll. I would think that Schmec’s is worth more than 12 points. I rem in 99 he saved the penalty while being injured in the FA CUP semi- Evry1 talks of Giggs gr8 goal which was superb but we forget the save. You must rem that this list is only from SAF’s reign and some of these would definitely not make the all time top 10.
MUNNA BHAI
January 30, 2008 at 2:16 pmBest was superb just like Maradonna.I think they were the 2 greatest players ever,heck even better than Pele,but their biggest problem was they wanted too much of the goodstuff which caused their downfall.
Anonymous
January 30, 2008 at 3:31 pmthanks for thr “BEST” clip. the man was class.
“go”
Punisher
January 31, 2008 at 6:09 amF$$$. The lighty RON the DON is fast moving up the ladder. At his age he is fast moving to be one of the best players the world has seen. what a freekick last night
Anonymous
January 31, 2008 at 7:07 amSAF came out saying its the greatest freekick ever scored in the Premier League:
Fergie said: “Have I seen a better free-kick in the Premier League? No, that must be the best.
“It was within two or three inches of the junction of the crossbar and post. No goalkeeper would have saved it.
“It was a marvellous hit. Ryan Giggs used to take them for us and so did David Beckham.
“But Cristiano’s strike rate is definitely the best — it’s phenomenal.
“It was a fantastic performance — one of our best of the season. I can’t believe it only ended up 2-0.”
Ronaldo said: “That was probably my best-ever goal. I work on this in training and I am very pleased to score.”
Pompey coach Joe Jordan said: “We can play better than that and we didn’t do ourselves justice.
“But that’s not to take anything away from United. Ronaldo was exceptional but he wasn’t the only one.”
Chavilinho
Mini
January 31, 2008 at 9:20 amFreeking awsum stuff by Ronaldo…Punisher you said Rooney is the man a season ago…Told you that lity is class…He is in a league of his own….Maradonna sutff