With Robson surely the comparison is with Keane and Souness, the other two great box-to-box midfielders? I'd put Robson above Keane because he was better offensively. I haven't seen enough of Souness to fairly compare them.
Classic Players - Bryan Robson: The greatest British midfielder ever?
- Thread starter Joga Bonito
- Start date
United We Stand. Long standing fanzine with an online forum (£10 I think to subscribe - not sure) I expect someone on there would have a copy but definitely worth a try.
Cheers, will have a look
Different players really. Robson was a genuine box to box mf whilst Souness was more of a playmaker I think. Hard bastard Souness but more than Robbo he could get nasty. Great passer. Can't be forgiven for running around with a tache that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Frankie Goes To Hollywood video.
Great player and I was lucky to see him playing for United in the 80's. United use to always seem to have something over us back then and he played a part in it ( lady luck played a part too in a few games ) . He was similar to Gerrard in a way as being the outstanding player at a massive club but always falling short of the league ( 1980's ) . Also in 1985 someone tear gassed the United players getting off the coach at Anfield and young Liverpool fans were injured. Ive seen footage of Robson in the Liverpool changing rooms helping the kids and washing their eyes.
The greatest British midfielder ever ?
Debatable.
The greatest British midfielder ever ?
Debatable.
The term British midfielder is a vague one tbf and I guess I should have been more specific. I specifically meant the more deep-ish variety and not the more offensive ones. Sir Bobby Charlton, imo is the greatest British player ever and one of the greatest players of all time, right up there with the likes of Eusebio, Platini, Puskas etc. However, I wouldn't classify him as a conventional midfield player who'd play in a midfield duo for example, as complete as Sir Bobby was and could have easily played that role and did at times. For United it was often Stiles (unless he played in defense) and Paddy Crerand in midfield and Sir Bobby took a more offensive midfield role, although he did contribute a lot defensively. Same for England with the likes of Stiles/Mullery, Peters and Ball in midfield with Sir Bobby as the more offensive minded midfielder, with the most freedom.
There have been plenty of excellent British box to box midfielders, from Souness, Mackay, Bremner, Giles, Keane, Duncan Edwards, Gerrard, Lampard amongst a host of others. You also have a different class of the more creative central midfielders such as Scholes, Brady, Blanchflower etc. It was primarily the dynamic B2B midfielders and perhaps the deeper creative ones that I was alluding to when I threw Robson's name in the hat as the greatest midfielder ever, and I do believe Bryan Robson has a legitimate shout for that title, although of course the likes of Souness, Keane, Edwards etc can easily lay claim to that as well.
Robbo mural which will be going up in J Stand concourse for this season
Robbo mural which will be going up in J Stand concourse for this season
That's fantastic.
So is it just Robson's mural which is going up or will there be other murals of other legends too?
Robson and Cantona will be going up first, there is then another 6 for sure and possibly 3 more if enough money is raised - I will put up a thread about all this when I get round to it
That's class. As for Robbo, I was too young to genuinely appreciate him when he was at his peak, as an 8/9 year old I was all about goalscorers, so failed to see just how important the midfielders were. That said, my family are all massive Reds and they all raved about Robson. They all put him above Keane, who was my absolute idol, so he must've been a truly World Class player.Robbo mural which will be going up in J Stand concourse for this season
Cheers for another excellent thread @Joga Bonito.
Joga these threads you are making are absolutely superb, best threads on the caf as far as Im concerned.
Thanks, much appreciated. Glad to know you enjoyed them.
I wasn't even born when he was playing, but many people said that he was the ultimate captain for United, so this thread is a real eye-opener of what Robson is capable of and what his playing style is
From the videos I can say he is even more aggressive than Keane, which is absolutely insane as I've never seen player like that, Keane probably has better first touch, but Robson scores more goals
Excellent thread, thanks a lot man
From the videos I can say he is even more aggressive than Keane, which is absolutely insane as I've never seen player like that, Keane probably has better first touch, but Robson scores more goals
Excellent thread, thanks a lot man
One can probably say he was kind of a combination of scholes and keane.
Wouldn't say so myself. While with Robbo you get excellent technical ability and great link up while on quick transitions, you don't really reach the point where you have a player who completely controls the game and dictates the tempo of the match while also being easily able to launch counters and quick transitions with his insane passing range, which is what you get with Scholes.
It's probably a factor of said eras as in the 80s the game was usually more all action and gradually you had these cultured modern playmakers who were technically superb - which especially for British players was something to be proud of compared to your Brazilans, etc. - and could just slow down the game when needed as well as get the required momentum and direct the pace. You get that in players like Scholes, Pirlo, Xavi (GOAT at doing that), Modric now etc. I wouldn't put Robbo in that category or even call him a "playmaker" for that matter as good as he was technically.
Couple of posters in this thread seem to discard the mention of Scholes as if he's nowhere near the likes of Keane, Robbo etc which to me stems from the fact that his personality wasn't that flamboyant or outgoing on the pitch and he kept within himself while letting his skill do the talking but if you talk of purely technical skill he's easily the best British CM since the 80s in that regard and there's a reason why he's raved by the likes of Zidane, Xavi etc. And the fact that he was a mainstay of several of great Fergie teams especially the 06-09 one where he was absolutely key in our midfieild domination should be regarded just as highly. It's not surprising tho as it's not uncommon to have British fans fawn upon someone "who covers every blade of grass" more than the technical ability - an attitude that stems from the grassroots levels and is a big reason by British players struggle technically compared to other countries. But looking past that Scholes is absolutely right up there.
Robson would never have been third choice for England behind Lampard and Gerrard.
Yes. Robson was a product of his environment - box-to-box 4-4-2 and lots of second balls on scrappy pitches. It's difficult to compare him with Scholes on that basis and you can envisage Scholes struggling to fully fulfill his talent in the 1980s in the same way that Glen Hoddle did. Hoddle was often crowbarred into 4-4-2s and had to fight against the tide of a lot of direct and aerial football on pitches which simply weren't suited to his natural game. Like @Moby says I don't see much of Scholes in Robson at all to be honest and they're not an easy comparison without consideration of the wider context.
Neither was Scholes, and even Sven said, and I quote: "Scholes was England’s best football player". He was more versatile than the other two, which, combined with the lack of thinking on Eriksson's part, lead to that catastrophe.
Robson is more alike Gerrard, but better, while Scholes was a completely different player that those two.
That is amazing.Robbo mural which will be going up in J Stand concourse for this season
We d have won the league under big Ron if it hadn't been for those pesky injuries to Robbo at the worse times. A true man mountain of a player and our superstar. He could do everything but mostly it was the example he led on the field. Pass long and short, make energy sapping runs, score vital goals....a world class player and all round action man. Incomparable. A mixture of keane and scholes.
Agreed, with this. Scholes was a cracking player to say the least and one of my favourites.
Robbo was the best of his generation in the U.K. by a mile, he had in attacking prowess what Keane had in defensive ability so they are hard to compare directly, except that Robbo played in an inferior team for much of his time at United. As for the Best/Charlton/Law comparisons they are mute - never have 3 Ballon D'or players been in the same side & I doubt it will happen again, for Best think Messi but with more pace, more arrogance and much more lenient referees and you are getting there
This is fantastic.
Love Robbo.
One Bryan Robson....
One Bryan Robson....
Was at the game when he signed for us on the pitch...my 2nd hero...my 1st being Joe Corrighan but we won't go into that.
Eric took over the hero position but Bryan will always be a red legend.
Eric took over the hero position but Bryan will always be a red legend.
Something else occurred to me about the 1983 Cup Final replay.
3-0 up we get a penalty, Robson has scored twice - you don't see many hat tricks in the Cup Final, massive game back then.
He doesn't even look remotely interested in taking it, little nod to say it's obvious Arnold Muhren still takes this & on we go.
3-0 up we get a penalty, Robson has scored twice - you don't see many hat tricks in the Cup Final, massive game back then.
He doesn't even look remotely interested in taking it, little nod to say it's obvious Arnold Muhren still takes this & on we go.
I loved Robson but Gazza, Scholes and Hoddle are up there plus going back further I'd say some of the older fans would put Charlton ahead of him. I think Keane and Souness are just below Robson though.
The best of his generation. There's nothing Robson couldn't do. A slashing ball winner, a fantastic header, amazing long range goals just when the team needed them. It's a shame he never played in great teams until right at the end. The classic one man army.
Robson was an all round better player than Scholes, Gazza and Hoddle. He could pass and shoot with either foot, head the ball better than any of them and also tackle better than any of them. On top of that he had a far better engine and was braver than all of them. Add in the fact he was an absolute beast of a leader.
Now THAT is a Legend!
Thanks for this thread...reminded me of the time I nearly met the great man...
At the time I was in school and we having the usual lunchtime shenanigans of goading teachers, avoiding the attentions of Priests and playing football with a "tenniser" in the main playground.
Our school had two large gates which were usually left open so the teachers could nip off for lunch / run errands etc.
On this particular day, all of a sudden a large car drove into the playground (vaguely i remember it as a white saloon car). The car had obviously intended to do a u-turn but had got itself suddenly surrounded by kids.
I wandered over to see what the fuss was, only to see Gordon McQueen get out of the car...followed by Bryan Robson!
I could have handled speaking with Gordon McQueen, but at the site of my Hero Captain Marvel I just froze. They asked for directions to a nearby private hospital as Robbo's wife had just given birth and they were going to see the baby (there was a time when Men just did not go near the birthing process!).
A few kids gave some directions, others grabbed a few quick autographs....i just stood under the tupperware skies of Manchester, bathed in the glow of light from my hero.
I had been to a handful of games at Old Trafford, however my family were wary of me going. The atmosphere was still febrile and violent and full of tension. There was little coverage of games on television, so not much chance otherwise to see the great man in action other than the occasional "Big Match Live" on ITV.
What I remember of those games is of Robson lifting the team, the crowd, hell even the stadium itself onto his shoulders and carrying us for just a vital few moments to overcome a crisis, turn a game around.
I remember illicitly listening to the Barcelona game under the covers using my Snoopy radio and feeling the intensity of the crowd as Robson inspired us to victory.
When i think back to that moment, part of me is angry I did not go up to shake his hand or grab an autograph....but i also value that I felt so awed in his presence that i could not move.
This was an era before personal mobiles, selfies, instagram and other avenues of fandom and even without such tools Robbo stood out as a hero!
Thanks for this thread...reminded me of the time I nearly met the great man...
At the time I was in school and we having the usual lunchtime shenanigans of goading teachers, avoiding the attentions of Priests and playing football with a "tenniser" in the main playground.
Our school had two large gates which were usually left open so the teachers could nip off for lunch / run errands etc.
On this particular day, all of a sudden a large car drove into the playground (vaguely i remember it as a white saloon car). The car had obviously intended to do a u-turn but had got itself suddenly surrounded by kids.
I wandered over to see what the fuss was, only to see Gordon McQueen get out of the car...followed by Bryan Robson!
I could have handled speaking with Gordon McQueen, but at the site of my Hero Captain Marvel I just froze. They asked for directions to a nearby private hospital as Robbo's wife had just given birth and they were going to see the baby (there was a time when Men just did not go near the birthing process!).
A few kids gave some directions, others grabbed a few quick autographs....i just stood under the tupperware skies of Manchester, bathed in the glow of light from my hero.
I had been to a handful of games at Old Trafford, however my family were wary of me going. The atmosphere was still febrile and violent and full of tension. There was little coverage of games on television, so not much chance otherwise to see the great man in action other than the occasional "Big Match Live" on ITV.
What I remember of those games is of Robson lifting the team, the crowd, hell even the stadium itself onto his shoulders and carrying us for just a vital few moments to overcome a crisis, turn a game around.
I remember illicitly listening to the Barcelona game under the covers using my Snoopy radio and feeling the intensity of the crowd as Robson inspired us to victory.
When i think back to that moment, part of me is angry I did not go up to shake his hand or grab an autograph....but i also value that I felt so awed in his presence that i could not move.
This was an era before personal mobiles, selfies, instagram and other avenues of fandom and even without such tools Robbo stood out as a hero!
Paul Scholes sends his regards
Got you and with you with Robson he was my hero. But in my opinion Hoddle Scholes and Gazza were simply better and I don't mean that as a slight to Robson he was absolutely brilliant.
Best wasn't British. Britain is England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, not GB. Only saying this cos he was the first name I thought of myself until I realised.
On topic, Robson was a decent player but I don't think I'd put him anywhere near a top 10 of best ever British midfielders personally. I'd not even say he's the best British midfielder that played for United or the best of his era.
My first football hero, for club and country. He and Keane will always be at the heart of my fantasy XI.
I'd rather not go down that road but when we say British in this situation I believe most of us are talking about players from the British Isles rather than any political identity. Best imo was the best player to come from the British Isles.
Wow.