Redcafe's favourite Manchester United players.

sullydnl said:
Has to be Cantona surely? Though Keane might be a dark horse given the amount of Irish people on the forum.
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Depends on what people have based their votes on, I suppose. Keane isn't all that popular round here as a post-United character. Giggs has become a problematic character - even Scholes has received his share of abuse as a pundit. Ronaldo will divide opinions too, for several reasons.

I'd go with Cantona - he should be the least problematic of them.
 
1. Cantona
2. Scholes

from who's left. Charlton should be n.1 though :(
 
Chesterlestreet said:
Depends on what people have based their votes on, I suppose. Keane isn't all that popular round here as a post-United character. Giggs has become a problematic character - even Scholes has received his share of abuse as a pundit. Ronaldo will divide opinions too, for several reasons.

I'd go with Cantona - he should be the least problematic of them.
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When the one who kung-fu kicked a fan is the "least problematic", says a bit about the others? :angel:

Though the fan was a twat and deserved it, for wearing a plasticy jacket and having no fashion sense, if for nothing else?
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Though the fan was a twat and deserved it...
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That would be the key part. He didn't assault a random fan - he was provoked by a right wing cnut.

The vast majority of United fans I know do not regard that incident as a blemish on Cantona's United career - if anything it's just another part of the legend.
 
5. Roy Keane
5. Roy Keane
592 points
roy-keane-439461.jpg

Premier League Appearances - 309 (17)
Overall Appearances - 458 (22)
Premier League Goals - 33
Overall Goals - 51
Position - Centre Midfield

In 1993, Roy Keane had just been voted relegated Nottingham Forest's best player. Brian Clough had called Keane, "the hottest prospect in football right now", but knew he faced a struggle to take the Irish player into the Championship. So they arranged to sell Keane to a then Premier League powerhouse. Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish (then manager of Blackburn) agreed a deal to see Keane arrive at the Lancashire club. Keane had agreed to go. Luckily for Manchester United fans across the world, Blackburn had messed up the paperwork and then shut down for the weekend. Which allowed wily old Scot, Sir Alex Ferguson to get involved. He phoned up Roy Keane and told him he could get him signed that weekend. Crisis averted, Roy Keane a man who would end up winning so much for Manchester United, had finally arrived.

There was no guarantee that Keane would establish himself in the first team right away, despite the British record transfer, Roy Keane had Robson and Ince in front of him in the pecking order. However, Reds who have watched Roy Keane play football know that he simply crushes everyone and everything in front of him and by the end of the season Keane was established as a Manchester United player. In his first season his intense desire and drive would see Manchester United crowned Premier League champions for a second successive year and also beat Chelsea 4-0 at Wembley as Keane lifted his first F.A. Cup.

This would be his first year of a thirteen year stay at the club that would go down in legend as Roy Keane poured every single ounce of blood and swear into the shirt. He would stop at nothing on the football pitch to ensure that Manchester United got the win and when he finally left in 2006 he would have collected seven Premier League titles, Four F.A. Cup trophies and a Champions League win in 1999.

Roy Keane famously does not feel he deserves his Champions League win as he was suspended for the final. However, the semi-final against Juventus in Turin is possibly remembered as the greatest performance by any Manchester United player in history. That night Keane was a man possessed, scoring a great header to start United's recovery from a 2-0 deficit and then his constant passing and harassing of Juventus players ensured United would go onto be in the 1999 final. I still remember that game vividly, and so do thousands of other United fans. When Roy Keane was asked what he thought about all the coverage he got for his excellent man of the match performance in the game he simply replied "embarrassing". But that's just Roy Keane.

If you are young enough to have never seen Roy Keane in his pomp go and track down videos. My words fail to do justice to a player who simply gave his all to a United shirt. His greatest failure would be that he expected everyone else to be as dedicated as him. He would cover every blade of grass in a game, he wouldn't give the opposition a minute and he was great technically as well. Once he won the ball back, he'd set up an attack with his intricate passing.

Ultimately, his refusal to accept other players' mediocrity cost him his career at Old Trafford after he was released following an interview with MUTV in which he criticised many of the club's young players. At this time Roy Keane was quite injury prone and was not the all encompassing force that he once was, nevertheless fans were gutted to see one of the all time greats leave Old Trafford. Despite the rather unceremonious circumstances around his exit, manager Alex Ferguson clearly had great respect for Keane calling him "The best midfield player in the world of his generation", in a prearranged statement.

Roy Keane to this day is still a massively influential player in Manchester United's DNA. It's not rare to here fans after a drab 1-0 loss exclaim, "Roy Keane wouldn't have let that happen", and it's true. Roy Keane gave his all to the shirt and if everyone had the passion and desire that Keane has, we'd have won even more trophies in our clubs incredibly successful history.
 
Like I said the top ten is relatively spread out, however two more number 1 votes for Roy Keane would have put him fourth.
 
Mr Smith said: ↑
I feel like I'm missing something here... What's wrong with Giggs coming out on top?

Twigginater said:
Some people don't like his extra curricular activities.
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You had to kick the hornets nest, didn't you? :nono: :cool:

Hand on heart, it's NOTHING to do with that ....my Top ten was done before the news about his latest "dalliances" came out but even if I'd known (and thought "what a knob!"), it wouldn't change what I think about him as a player.... Scouts honour. Keane deliberately crocked Haaland, Cantona kungfu kicked a fan.... both in my list.

First things first.... Giggs has been a great player for United....thanks for the 99' semi goal. I'm also Welsh so should be slightly biased?

The poll is favourite and I see that as .... best player, the best "character", the one who got you off your seat, the one you'd pay your last pound to watch again, the one who you'd like to be.

So, my list for example included Buchan.... he wasn't one of our best ever players, he (unfortunately) didn't win much, but he was absolute class, he glided across the pitch, he led us wonderfully through seasons when we struggled to really compete and was my first United hero. If you could somehow scientifically "drop him" into the 94 or 99 teams, he'd win shedloads.

My list includes Whiteside (pure talent) and McGrath (possibly the best, naturally gifted CH I've seen), yet they were both pissheads and only had a few seasons with United.

Giggs has played loads of games (great), won lots of medals (good on him.... Wes Brown probably has more than George Best :(), been an example to a professional sportsman of how to look after yourself and max your career (commendable).

Has he represented this club wonderfully? Yes, absolutely. Will we ever see a player play for so long at the top level again? Probably not.

Great player for United definitely.... but in a list with people like Best, Robson, Scholes, Cantona, Ronaldo, Charlton, Schmeicel, Keane ... FOR ME, he's in the next tier.

It's all about opinions? :wenger:
 
Roy Keane famously does not feel he deserves his Champions League win as he was suspended for the final. However, the semi-final against Juventus in Turin is possibly remembered as the greatest performance by any Manchester United player in history. That night Keane was a man possessed, scoring a great header to start United's recovery from a 2-0 deficit and then his constant passing and harassing of Juventus players ensured United would go onto be in the 1999 final. I still remember that game vividly, and so do thousands of other United fans. When Roy Keane was asked what he thought about all the coverage he got for his excellent man of the match performance in the game he simply replied "embarrassing". But that's just Roy Keane.

That. Could not agree more. My favourite ever game. He was immense. That Juve team were stupidly good, better than the bayern team we played in the final, but Keane destroyed them.
 
4. Ryan Giggs
4. Ryan Giggs
617 Points

52067883-ryan-giggs-of-manchester-united-celebrates-gettyimages.jpg

Premier League Appearances - 522 (110)
Overall Appearances - 802 (161)
Premier League Goals - 109
Overall Goals - 168
Position - Left Wing

Ryan Giggs enjoyed a twenty four year career at Manchester United. Twenty four years. During that time he would make 963 appearances for Manchester United. Bobby Charlton made over 200 fewer appearances for Manchester United than Ryan Giggs did, and Giggs did it in an era when footballers had to be at the top of the game physically. While football increasingly became a young man's game, Ryan Giggs would continue his domination of the footballing world until he finally retired in 2014. He would retire the most decorated footballer in history.

I'm not even going to try and write a synopsis of his career. I don't have enough time and you'd need a book to describe the incredible journey that Ryan Giggs went on. Over his career at Manchester United he would win thirteen premier league titles, two Champions League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, a Club World Cup and nine charity shields. He was the first player in history to win back to back Young Player of the Year awards (in 1992 and 1993) and would win PFA Player of the year in 2009, the same year in which he would win Sports Personality of the Year. On top of all that he holds the records for the most assists in Premier League history (271) and scored in the first 21 years of the Premier League. A pretty successful career all in all.

As I don't have time to go into detail in his career, I'll just pick two high points that will forever live in my memory. In 1999, United were chasing an historic treble. In their way were a fantastic Arsenal side, who we were playing in an FA Cup Semi Final replay. United were drawing 1-1 but down to ten men after Roy Keane got sent off. In the 109th minute a weary Patrick Vieira passed Giggs the ball just inside the United half. What happened next is the stuff of legend as Giggs ducked and weaved his way past the Arsenal defenders and finished off a wonderful run with an explosive shot that tucked into the top corner. United wouldn't look back and would complete an historic treble.

The next moment comes from the 2008 Champions League final. Having assisted Teddy Sheringham for his equaliser in Munich, Ryan Giggs was on the hunt for his second Champions League medal. Giggs had come on in the last few minutes of normal time as the game petered out to a penalty shoot out. It looked as if we would lose until John Terry missed with a famous slip. As both teams went on to sudden death, Ryan Giggs confidently slotted past Petr Cech. It would prove to be the winning penalty and 17 years after making his debut, Ryan Giggs would once again lift the Champions League trophy.

His style was reinvented so many times that it is hard to talk about in this summary. In his younger days Giggs was known for his extraordinary pace, his fantastic close dribbling skill and his ability to cross the ball into the box. As he got older his ability to control play, find a pass and make perfectly timed runs meant he was able to continue well into his late 30s.

Giggs has done it all at Manchester United. Teen icon, respected mentor, veteran playmaker even a stint as player manager at one point. He will go down not just a Manchester United legend or a Premier League legend, but as one of the best players to ever lace up his boots. His place on this list is not just down to longevity but due to his own miraculous high standards.


 
Twigginater said:
5. Roy Keane
592 points
roy-keane-439461.jpg

Premier League Appearances - 309 (17)
Overall Appearances - 458 (22)
Premier League Goals - 33
Overall Goals - 51
Position - Centre Midfield

In 1993, Roy Keane had just been voted relegated Nottingham Forest's best player. Brian Clough had called Keane, "the hottest prospect in football right now", but knew he faced a struggle to take the Irish player into the Championship. So they arranged to sell Keane to a then Premier League powerhouse. Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish (then manager of Blackburn) agreed a deal to see Keane arrive at the Lancashire club. Keane had agreed to go. Luckily for Manchester United fans across the world, Blackburn had messed up the paperwork and then shut down for the weekend. Which allowed wily old Scot, Sir Alex Ferguson to get involved. He phoned up Roy Keane and told him he could get him signed that weekend. Crisis averted, Roy Keane a man who would end up winning so much for Manchester United, had finally arrived.

There was no guarantee that Keane would establish himself in the first team right away, despite the British record transfer, Roy Keane had Robson and Ince in front of him in the pecking order. However, Reds who have watched Roy Keane play football know that he simply crushes everyone and everything in front of him and by the end of the season Keane was established as a Manchester United player. In his first season his intense desire and drive would see Manchester United crowned Premier League champions for a second successive year and also beat Chelsea 4-0 at Wembley as Keane lifted his first F.A. Cup.

This would be his first year of a thirteen year stay at the club that would go down in legend as Roy Keane poured every single ounce of blood and swear into the shirt. He would stop at nothing on the football pitch to ensure that Manchester United got the win and when he finally left in 2006 he would have collected seven Premier League titles, Four F.A. Cup trophies and a Champions League win in 1999.

Roy Keane famously does not feel he deserves his Champions League win as he was suspended for the final. However, the semi-final against Juventus in Turin is possibly remembered as the greatest performance by any Manchester United player in history. That night Keane was a man possessed, scoring a great header to start United's recovery from a 2-0 deficit and then his constant passing and harassing of Juventus players ensured United would go onto be in the 1999 final. I still remember that game vividly, and so do thousands of other United fans. When Roy Keane was asked what he thought about all the coverage he got for his excellent man of the match performance in the game he simply replied "embarrassing". But that's just Roy Keane.

If you are young enough to have never seen Roy Keane in his pomp go and track down videos. My words fail to do justice to a player who simply gave his all to a United shirt. His greatest failure would be that he expected everyone else to be as dedicated as him. He would cover every blade of grass in a game, he wouldn't give the opposition a minute and he was great technically as well. Once he won the ball back, he'd set up an attack with his intricate passing.

Ultimately, his refusal to accept other players' mediocrity cost him his career at Old Trafford after he was released following an interview with MUTV in which he criticised many of the club's young players. At this time Roy Keane was quite injury prone and was not the all encompassing force that he once was, nevertheless fans were gutted to see one of the all time greats leave Old Trafford. Despite the rather unceremonious circumstances around his exit, manager Alex Ferguson clearly had great respect for Keane calling him "The best midfield player in the world of his generation", in a prearranged statement.

Roy Keane to this day is still a massively influential player in Manchester United's DNA. It's not rare to here fans after a drab 1-0 loss exclaim, "Roy Keane wouldn't have let that happen", and it's true. Roy Keane gave his all to the shirt and if everyone had the passion and desire that Keane has, we'd have won even more trophies in our clubs incredibly successful history.
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He could dominate midfields on his own. Juve or Portugal had world-class midfields and he still came out on top.
 
This thread is absolutely marvellous. Keep up the good work.
 
Šjor Bepo said:
Well, most people never watched George Best "live" so its understandable that he isnt in people favorite XI.....yes you can read about him, even watch full games where he played but players that you followed live will always have edge no matter how good or how likeable George Best is, at least thats my view of it.
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Exactly right. I was lucky to see Best and he would be #1 for me but an awful lot of years have passed and so many never saw him so its completely understandable that he isnt top of this list. We always relate more to those we actually got to see.
 
Top three of Cantona, Scholes and Ronaldo then.

Seeing as this thing shifts towards the modern era, that seems fair enough. Personally can't see Ronaldo above Giggs, Scholes or Keane though. Ideally would have him around eighth.
 
Twigginater said:
Top three of Cantona, Scholes and Ronaldo then.

Seeing as this thing shifts towards the modern era, that seems fair enough. Personally can't see Ronaldo above Giggs, Scholes or Keane though. Ideally would have him around eighth.
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This goes back to the old chestnut of which criteria you use to make that determination. I don't think there is any doubt that there are players who have meant more to United (as legends) than Ronaldo, but in terms of who's the best player there's been at OT, IMHO (in 50+ years of watching/following United) that is Ronaldo with George a very close second.
 
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charlton66 said:
This goes back to the old chestnut of which criteria you use to make that determination. I don't think there is any doubt that there are players who have meant more to United (as legends) than Ronaldo, but in terms of who's the best player there's been at OT, IMHO (in 50+ years of watching/following United) that is Ronaldo with George a very close second.
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This.

Thread is favourite players which is broad and subjective?

If it was best players for United, I'd probably have Giggs in Top.10 and Buchan would be nowhere near...... but it's not. That said, I think I'd have Ronaldo in either list.
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
This.

Thread is favourite players which is broad and subjective?

If it was best players for United, I'd probably have Giggs in Top.10 and Buchan would be nowhere near...... but it's not. That said, I think I'd have Ronaldo in either list.
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I think that's a little harsh on Buchan. I didn't have in my top 10 (I went with best not favorite) but I did have him in my all time best 11. I think Buchan would certainly show up in the top 25 best players (maybe even top 20). He was a superb defender. One of the very (very) few really top class players we had in that era.
 
charlton66 said:
I think that's a little harsh on Buchan. I didn't have in my top 10 (I went with best not favorite) but I did have him in my all time best 11. I think Buchan would certainly show up in the top 25 best players (maybe even top 20). He was a superb defender. One of the very (very) few really top class players we had in that era.
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Man!..... every word you type (quickly) on here is dissected and interpreted??

In this thread (and others), I've said time and time and time again how classy Buchan was. I've also said how he was my first United hero....

Off the top of my head.... Charlton, Best, Law, Foulkes, Edwards, Herd, Taylor, Byrne, Schmeicel, Stam, Vidic, Rio, Irwin, Scholes, Robson, Keane, Giggs, Cantona, Ronaldo, McGrath..

For me, 25th is "nowhere near" top.10

Twigg... thanks for the thread and the chat we've had. Ciao
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Man!..... every word you type (quickly) on here is dissected and interpreted??

In this thread (and others), I've said time and time and time again how classy Buchan was. I've also said how he was my first United hero....

Off the top of my head.... Charlton, Best, Law, Foulkes, Edwards, Herd, Taylor, Byrne, Schmeicel, Stam, Vidic, Rio, Irwin, Scholes, Robson, Keane, Giggs, Cantona, Ronaldo, McGrath..

For me, 25th is "nowhere near" top.10
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Actually I wasn't trying to give you a hard time. It was more along the lines that I sometimes think he gets forgotten because of our relative lack of trophies in that era. He was such a classy defender.
 
I'm hoping Dong takes the top spot.

Really it should be Best but that ship has sailed.
 
charlton66 said:
Actually I wasn't trying to give you a hard time. It was more along the lines that I sometimes think he gets forgotten because of our relative lack of trophies in that era. He was such a classy defender.
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Yeah I think most of the posts in this thread are light hearted, don't think anyone has been offended!

(Apart from Petrucci's inclusion!)
 
3. CR7
2. Cantona
1. Scholes
 
3. Eric Cantona
672 points.
Cantona_2387428b.jpg

Premier League Appearances - 142 (1)
Overall Appearances - 184 (1)
Premier League Goals - 64
Overall Goals - 82
Position - Striker

Even though King Eric is only in third place in the list, I thought I'd point out he received more first place votes than any other player.

At the dawn of the Premier League era, Leeds chairmen Bill Fotherby rang up Manchester United to ask about signing Dennis Irwin. Sir Alex Ferguson told Leeds that Irwin was not for sale, but enquired about the enigmatic Frenchman. Fergie knew his team needed a striker to add potency to their attack. On the 26th November 1992, Cantona joined the Red Devils. It was probably the most important signing in the history of Manchester United football club.

To put that statement into perspective, you have to recall what was happening in the league at the time. Despite coming close the season before, United were forced to endure a 26 year wait for the first division title. Even though great things were expected, in the middle of November Manchester United were languishing in tenth place. Fellow attacker Dion Dublin had broken his leg and was ruled out for seven months. What promised to be a successful season was turning out to be another false dawn. Then Cantona arrived.

If you've watched Cantona play, the first thing you recall is his confidence and assuredness as he played football. His presence on the pitch illuminated those around him, he was peerless at Manchester United. His towering size meant that he would dwarf those around him, yet his technique was as intricate and precise as anyone else in the sport. He would play football like a ballerina, gliding around the football pitch, it wasn't like watching a typical sports player but more akin to an artist perfecting his craft.

United only lost two games in the league after Cantona arrived and would go onto win the inaugural Premier league by ten points. He would score nine league goals in his first season at Old Trafford but his contribution was much more than that, often setting up chances for those around him. As Sir Alex Ferguson would recall, "He illuminated Old Trafford. The place was a frenzy every time he touched the ball."

The next year was even better for Eric. He scored 25 goals in all competitions (including two in an FA Cup final) on the way to helping United to the double. He was also voted PFA player of the Year as well as coming third in the Ballon d'Or award ceremony. The following season was the only season in his five year stay at Old Trafford in which he didn't win the Premier League. It's also the season that will be remembered for Eric Cantona kicking a Crystal Palace fan in the face after being sent off. He would be banned for the rest of the season, but not before uttering probably one of the most famous quotes in world football at a press conference following the incident.

"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much."

The following year he returned to the first team and once again helped United to the double, including scoring the only goal of the game in a match against Liverpool in the FA Cup final. He would score another 19 goals that season, important goals that helped United haul back Newcastle's ten point lead that opened up midway through the campaign. As United lifted the FA Cup that season, Eric Cantona became the first player from outside Britain to captain his team to FA Cup glory.

His fifth and final year came in the 1996/97 season. Although Cantona was only 30 he chose to retire at the peak of his powers, once again being instrumental as United won the Premier League. His retirement sent shock waves through the sport, but Cantona simply said "I stopped playing football because I'd done as much as I could. I needed something which was going to excite me as much as football had excited me."

After only five years at United, Cantona immortalised himself as a legend. Neither before or after Eric has anyone as cool kicked a football. The king of Old Trafford, "Ooh ah Cantona" is still sung by the Stretford End on a regular basis. A true United icon.
 
Wouldn't be surprised if he came out top. He's easily one of the best players we've ever had and the fact he left before he got to his very best probably heightens his stardom here really.
 
P-Nut0712 said:
Wouldn't be surprised if he came out top. He's easily one of the best players we've ever had and the fact he left before he got to his very best probably heightens his stardom here really.
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Whilst I agree he's arguably the best we've had here, that doesn't equate to favourite for me. Scholes was my favourite because he was such a modest professional, not only naturally talented and arguably the best CM the league has ever seen, but didn't surround himself in the celebrity bullshit that many modern stars do. Stayed loyal to United and was a big part in most of the trophies we won during the Ferguson golden years. He was a quiet hero, he didn't bathe himself in limelight. His modesty wins it for me.

Ronaldo on the other hand was a fantastic player, but also a right flash bastard. And he didn't help us win enough trophies to be a proper legend in my eyes - he was too keen to leave; also his antics annoyed me, always quick to go running to the referee making the 'show a card' gesture. Not to mention the Rooney wink incident; but the whole "I'm not going back to United after WC 2006, I just want to play at Madrid." I didn't much like him as a man, and I still don't really.
 
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