his goalscoring records speaks for itself. in the CL he's only behind 4 players- Ronaldo, Messi, Raul and Benzema. The Fulham goal is also one my favourite ever goals and makes mockery of people that said he can't do it outside of the box(even though the finish was inside).. what's the problem if you can pick the ball on the halfway line and go past players like that ? He focused on what he was good at and was absolutely clinical .
BBC article on Ruud van Nistelrooy
- Thread starter M Utd
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Thanks for that! He was such a genius in front of goal, never panicked, he 99% of the time let the others make their move and always seemed to be 2 steps ahead regardless.
His penalties were also great, as far as I remember he only missed 1 in his whole time at the club. (Haven't watched the whole video yet, only 20 minutes in).
I think only 8 of his 150 goals for United were assists by Becks.
From the top of my head he missed at least 4. (Chelsea home, Arsenal home, Bolton home 03/04 ... Middlesbrough/Sunderland (maybe both) at home 05/06. Then he also missed in the penalty shootout against Arsenal in the community shield 03/04. Don't think he missed a penalty away from home though.
Ruud was a typical United player. He attacked, he scored goals. He scored regardless of how we performed. He was so quick in the box with his mind and accuracy. I don't understand how some fans bitch about lack of attacking, then so ambivalent to Ruud.
One of the other links at the bottom of the page is about Nedved. I never knew he regretted never signing for us!
One of the other links at the bottom of the page is about Nedved. I never knew he regretted never signing for us!
His goal against Fulham at OT 
Never thought he had it in him to do that when he was perceived as a typical penalty box striker/poacher. He was much more than that. And that goal in Basel on the by-line
Never thought he had it in him to do that when he was perceived as a typical penalty box striker/poacher. He was much more than that. And that goal in Basel on the by-line
one of the deadliest poacher I have seen. Big fan.
That is indeed very
sad. Still as the saying goes what you never had you never miss and you’ve got videos, sorry You Tube and DVDs with him showing how it was done.Terrorised defenses by lurking in the box and just before he could touch the ball commentators used to shout ruud van nilsterrrrrroy, anticipating now he is gonna score.
I've never saw that injury footage before
I get that kids these days will say anything to seem different but this takes the cake.
Don't know how you can not have memories of Ruud's time with us and somehow still remember something as meaningless as the league cup. I can't even remember who we played against or what the final score was. Anyway, I can admit now that Henry was one of the best players ever in my opinion. Should have won player of the year over Ronaldinho.
Fantastic article on a fantastic player. I still remember arguing on Orkut about him being better than Henry
Incredibly underrated when we talk about strikers of last decade.
Also, I wonder where people stand on RvN v Kane debate? Who’s the better player?
Think Kane is better personally. I’m sure there will be stats somewhere that could be presented to say otherwise, Ruud was prolific in the CL for example, but I do think Kane is better. Scored less tap-ins for one, and generally a better finisher for me.
me too. The most clinical Utd/PL striker I have ever seenI've clarified my feelings champ. Good effort though.
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It was a joke to ever compare them. And Ruud wasn’t a better goal scorer than Henry either.
Winning trophies is never meaningless and he acted very poorly that day. I believe it was the beginning of the end for what was at the timr our main striker, so it was quite an important moment at the time.
Little did any of us realise we'd improve as a team after he left.
Absolute poacher. And he could generate so much pace and power behind the shot. His penalties were simply too good.
What a player.
What a player.
What makes you say that? I mean, considering not even stats can back you up, let alone watching either play.
Henry out scored Ruud more frequently from my recollection.
Ruud was better. He stood out in an era chock full of great #9's whereas it's far more sparse today in that regard.Fantastic article on a fantastic player. I still remember arguing on Orkut about him being better than Henry
Incredibly underrated when we talk about strikers of last decade.
Also, I wonder where people stand on RvN v Kane debate? Who’s the better player?
I liked RVN not loved him but really liked him. I didn’t like Henry but come on, Henry was in a different class as a striker
I loved him, he was an absolute machine, this was a great match:
A perfect blend of dogshit incompetence from Neville, salvaged by our world class strikers.
A perfect blend of dogshit incompetence from Neville, salvaged by our world class strikers.
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Probably my favourite Ruud moment, off the bench to score two crackers and turn the tie on its head.
His finishing was insanely good. He wasn’t good outside the box, did not really beat defenders that frequently but when he got the ball in the box he would almost always do the best possible with it.
Actually Piatek currently reminds me of RvN from his United days.
Actually Piatek currently reminds me of RvN from his United days.
Of course he was.
Ruud has a far better goals to game ratio over their careers and a vastly superior one in the CL. He was a better goal scorer, no question.
Great read. Love this line :
“with a world-class supply-line, it's likely you would have lost before even stepping on to the pitch. If you stopped David Beckham there was still Paul Scholes. If you stopped Paul Scholes there was still Ryan Giggs”
That there is what we’ve lacked for a while. We don’t have that same depth now.
“with a world-class supply-line, it's likely you would have lost before even stepping on to the pitch. If you stopped David Beckham there was still Paul Scholes. If you stopped Paul Scholes there was still Ryan Giggs”
That there is what we’ve lacked for a while. We don’t have that same depth now.
It was a while ago, but when they both played in the PL, Henry was scoring more goals. He won 2 golden boots in Ruud’s was it 3 years here?
Loved him......... (Apart from when he "blacked up")
Fast, clinical, intelligent, Ruud had it all.
I’d love to see him back at Utd in a coaching capacity.
I’d love to see him back at Utd in a coaching capacity.
The best striker I've ever seen at the club
His goal against Fulham at OT
Never thought he had it in him to do that when he was perceived as a typical penalty box striker/poacher. He was much more than that. And that goal in Basel on the by-line
I prefer that goal against Basel than the Fulham one. Can't believe it when I first saw it, how on Earth did he find an angle to do that
I'll be standing at the fecking door. Tired of hearing these shite comparisons that people obsess over.
He remains one of my favourite United players, and is easily the best goalscorer we've had in my time supporting the club. One chance, one goal.
He also happens to be my first proper transfer saga. I was delivering newspapers the year we signed him, and I used to just stop 5 minutes into my round to read all the sport sections just to follow the news. After the deal fell through the previous year I had become weirdly obsessed with the idea of us buying this prolific Dutch striker that I'd never really seen play.
He also happens to be my first proper transfer saga. I was delivering newspapers the year we signed him, and I used to just stop 5 minutes into my round to read all the sport sections just to follow the news. After the deal fell through the previous year I had become weirdly obsessed with the idea of us buying this prolific Dutch striker that I'd never really seen play.
Was it the same year we brought Veron?
He was so good it was bordering on the absurd at times. A born striker. An absolute monster of a finisher. Just lethal. His hold up play was astonishly good too. He’s the sort of player that comes to mind when someone uses the phrase “a rolls Royce of a player”.
It’s also amazing to think of the incredible Dutch strikers the PL has seen in my lifetime. And how far dutch football has fallen in the last few years. Bergkamp, Van Nistelrooy, Van Persie. I would absolutely love to see the Netherlands have a footballing resurgence. My favourite national team after my own. They’ve also given us three of my favourite ever United players in Van der Saar, Stam, and Ruud.
Imagine Stam to partner Lindelof now, and a front three of Martial, Rashford and Van Nistelrooy.
It’s also amazing to think of the incredible Dutch strikers the PL has seen in my lifetime. And how far dutch football has fallen in the last few years. Bergkamp, Van Nistelrooy, Van Persie. I would absolutely love to see the Netherlands have a footballing resurgence. My favourite national team after my own. They’ve also given us three of my favourite ever United players in Van der Saar, Stam, and Ruud.
Imagine Stam to partner Lindelof now, and a front three of Martial, Rashford and Van Nistelrooy.
Our improvement had nothing to do with him leaving, but with our team improving as a whole. Rooney and Ronaldo going from raw talent to world class performers.
I have no doubt Ruud at his best would have thrived in that team as well.
”Bit of a nothing player”? Now I’ve seen it all
Did you just get to the bolded bit and read no further. Yawn.
Maybe. Maybe not. Was his head in the right place by then? Arguably not.