He used to do that dribble at top speed which you don't see anymore. You all know the one; the one where he runs directly at a defender, who is on the half turn running back and then Giggs runs to his blind side, and when the defender adjusts, Giggs changes direction to his new blind side.
How good was Ryan Giggs?
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All this is irrelevant because he had an affair or something.
Awesome player underrated by most I feel
Awesome player underrated by most I feel
I'd be interested to know what your reasoning is here.
He’s really the only one I can think of which says a lot about Giggs. He also played most of his career not on the left wing and more central in the end to be fair to Giggs so his goal involvements are probably higher.
He was an incredible player. Later in his career when he reinvented himself into a centre midfield, and Fergie would play him once every two weeks and he'd inevitably get MOM.
I remember his performance against Inter in the CL at Old Trafford, he was sensational that game and the one v Chelsea in the PL that year too.
I remember his performance against Inter in the CL at Old Trafford, he was sensational that game and the one v Chelsea in the PL that year too.
Most might remember only the older Giggs, hence longevity. They forgot peak Giggs who was absolutely world class
To be fair Antony cant boss Westham at 23. What a player as well.
One of the best ever to do it in the Prem; what a player.
He was a wonder kid when he was young, and the most talented wing wizard and dribbler in the world at one point.
I think his wonder solo goal against Arsenal in FA cup semi during our treble winning years sums up how good he was back then. He also holds the record of all time most assists in PL.
I think his wonder solo goal against Arsenal in FA cup semi during our treble winning years sums up how good he was back then. He also holds the record of all time most assists in PL.
"This is embarrassing to say but I have cried twice in my life watching a football player. The first one was Maradona and the second was Ryan Giggs.". Allesandro Del Piero
The guy was world class...no doubt about it.
Why did you cry?
Sorry...did Piero say that?
Difficult really given how we played. 442 with absolute wingers. I imagine he might have been moulded in todays game differently and am drawn to Salah comparison occupying the right side
he was a genuine world class winger for a long time (7,8,9 yrs perhaps) before frequent hamstring injuries saw his form suffer and the transformation into a more central playmaker.
he was brilliant. SAF often turned to him in times of need. That said, I wanted him out. He was 38/39 and it was clear as day we needed a different breed of player to rely on with the emergence of citeh, Yaya in particular and other teams around us improving.
Watching that video, it's amazing how quick and agile Giggs still was at 39. In that video, he wins all of his foot races and seems pretty darn positive with the ball as well. He had a habit of really upping his game in the big matches when he got older - proper reast probably helped as well. I remember him playing other wordly against City as well, basically running the socks off a prime Micah Richards.
As a player, arguably my favourite player to watch. A young Giggs was to me at least as fun to watch as a young Ronaldo - he could do all the tricks, but he would rather just run at players doing his swirly zig-zag hip thing that no other player I've seen has replicated. And, he was always one hell of a team player - tracking back like no other - I think Irwin said he would've made a brilliant left back.
I never wanted him gone - even at 39 he could put in the kind of matches he did against RM. He was never the issue. The issue was we never upgraded the midfield properly as the best players were aging. Look at what RM have been doing with their midfield. Then again, SAF won his last season with 11 points to 2nd place...
Yes
Bale?
But Giggs was unbelievable. A 39 year old Giggs would walk in to this team and be the star winger or CM that's how good he was.
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It's ultimately a very complicated question
Pre 97 ish, he was arguably one of the best wingers in the world at that. He was so good and so quick and was perfect for that counter attacking style of play.
From the Treble season onwards, I think he changed his style due to injuries and whilst, he was never quite as good as his earlier years, the work he put in probably allowed him to play until he was 40.
I do think in his final two/three seasons, Fergie used him to much and that probably cost us in a few games because he naturally didn't have the legs to cope with younger players.
Pre 97 ish, he was arguably one of the best wingers in the world at that. He was so good and so quick and was perfect for that counter attacking style of play.
From the Treble season onwards, I think he changed his style due to injuries and whilst, he was never quite as good as his earlier years, the work he put in probably allowed him to play until he was 40.
I do think in his final two/three seasons, Fergie used him to much and that probably cost us in a few games because he naturally didn't have the legs to cope with younger players.
Neither makes him a better player?
And he doesn't have more goals than Robben, not even close (180 for Giggs vs 246 for Robben). In fact, he barely clears Figo (169).
He is a legend and certainly an all-time great winger but he's still a level below the very best, which isn't a shame. Both Figo and Robben were in contention for being the best player in the world at one point, something that Giggs never was.
One of the best ever for United.
Figo probably wasn't better than Rui Costa?
Robben never was. Not while Messi and Ronaldo were playing.
That’s fair. He did finish 4th in 2014 Ballon d’Or vote though and should’ve gotten the Golden Ball ahead of Messi in my opinion, if not for the hype.
As a rule of thumb I do look past Messi & Cristiano while talking about things like this, as they were beyond world class, but I should’ve specified this.
At times a world class winger, very dependable, rarely injured. Very old school on the left wing but adapted so well to different roles later in his career. I remember thinking he was finished in 09 and then he transitioned to the middle of the park and did amazing work there with Carrick. Amazing longevity too. I'd say probably a top 10 all time PL player thanks to his consistency over such a long period.
Shame he turned out to be such a cnut of a human being.
Shame he turned out to be such a cnut of a human being.
He was superb. When he was young he was inconsistent like most but explosive. Remember him scoring a cracker against spurs in 92/93, dancing around their defence.
I always thought of him like del piero in some ways, probably just explosive fast winger type out at the same time. He was so part of that United success of the 90s , it was easy to take him for granted.
His goal against arsenal in FA cup final is probably one of the greatest and most important in the history of our club. Without it momentum in the treble winning season is crushed. The same could be said of Keanes goal v Juventus , but these players were doing unreal things in pressure Cooker environments and no room to make a mistake.
On a tangent rant, it’s why uniteds treble is vastly superior to citys. We had a season of cup games nearly every week. We squeezed out of a champions league group of death. We squeezed past every Italian team (strongest league at the time) and then missing our best central midfield stole victory from Bayern.
But Giggs was in my opinion under valued, like scholes. These players had super talent, savage consistency, unrelenting hunger for succes but also wickedly unshakable character and mental strength. That’s lacking in a lot of modern footballers.
Somebody mentioned ronaldo, well I’d like to of seen Ronaldo play in England from the early 90s. He’d be black and blue and probably crocked by his mid 20s. The game has evolved so much now, the protection that players get (most of which is correct) makes it nearly a different sport.
The fact that Giggs lasted as long as he did in that far more physically tough environment, with less supports on and off pitch, is a testament to the man.
Level below is hyperbolic, they were clearly similar levels despite who you might think is better from the 3.
I think during Ferguson's reign, many of our players were overlooked or not appreciated enough as individuals. It was always talk about their collective. Giggs was widely recognized as the best or one of the best left wingers in the world in the nineties. Ferguson had Giggs down as one of his four world class players. Bleacherreport (I have no idea about their reputation) have him above Best, for instance. Another countdown has Giggs down as the fifth best winger of all time, behind Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and George Best. Above Ribery, Bale and Robben.
I think he's definitely up there both for talent, application, quality and longevity. Other sites have him down top ten or just about there - he's widely regarded as one of the best all time wingers, mostly always ahead of said Ribery and Robben, to which I agree with.
Or as Luis Figo said:
“He has the most talent than any other football player. He is delicate and dynamic. He is the player chosen by God.”
I think del piero is a better comparison, certainly earlier in his career.
Ginola was an explosive winger but like alot of Liverpool players back then. Really hot and cold and never really good enough for elite level.
Fair point, those 2 were freaks
I think the only thing separating Robben and Giggs is international performances. I was on Giggs' wiki the other day and I noticed he's been included in 6 PL teams of the season. He was more than a decent player who managed to stick around for so long (which is what the narrative sounds like sometimes)
Id add to that, when you played for Ferguson you had to adapt. For example Cole had to change from being an instinctive finisher , out and out striker with Newcastle to a more rounded centre forward.
This is a recurring theme. How can the best team of the PL not have players ranked amongst the best of their peers?
Oh, certainly. A lot of younger fans underrate him because they’ve only caught the latter part of his career (and it felt like a proper career to them because of his freakish longevity). He was insanely talented even though, I’d argue, he didn’t fully fulfill his early promise (which sounds ridiculous considering how successful he ended up becoming, but then that’s how highly I rate his natural talent). When he just broke through people were comparing him to Best and those comparisons didn’t feel unjustified.
That’s enough to answer your question about their reputation
Oh, Giggs was world class. It’s his standing in the all-time greats list that’s being debated. Fergie’s choice of world class players was… controversial though, to say the least. Who am I to question him, but that was an odd selection (that left behind the likes of Schmeichel, Keane, Rooney etc.).
Look if you made a how good were Mark Robins, Lee Sharpe, Brian McClair, Park or Pallister thread it would kind of make sense.
Dont get me wrong I rate all these players but this question could be raised.
But when its f... Ryan Giggs then its just insulting and a product of a generation that only remembers Rooney and Ronaldo.
But to answer this funny little question he was brilliant
Dont get me wrong I rate all these players but this question could be raised.
But when its f... Ryan Giggs then its just insulting and a product of a generation that only remembers Rooney and Ronaldo.
But to answer this funny little question he was brilliant
David Ginola won player of the year, the season Roy Keane captained United to the treble. There was a lot of hate against United and not much credit given by the broader public/media. Anybody who stood out , who wasn’t a United player was blown up.
Like Gerrard/ Lampard versus Scholes. They aren’t fit to lace Scholes boots , yet England pushed Scholes out the wing to accommodate them.
I know he left on a bad note but calling him "de worm" is harsh.
Purely from a football perspective, one our greatest ever players. No exaggeration.
Figo and Robben were better. Robben was mainly a right sided inverted winger and though Figo played could play on the left, he favoured playing right. I still dont really think there were any or almost any traditional left sided wingers who better than Giggs in his prime. Overmars and Pires were class though. I guess you slot in Rivaldo but he favoured being an AM or a 2nd striker.
Did Figo say this about Giggs?
Yeah, I wouldn’t say that any left winger was significantly better, unless you count the likes of Ronaldinho, Neymar & Cristiano (I, personally, wouldn’t). Džajić & Gento are on the same level for me. Bale’s peak as a left winger was too short for him to be in contention.
He's my number one favourite player and one of the big reasons I became a United fan. In terms of longevity, reliability and importance for the team, he's my GOAT bettered by none.
What also hurt his international reputation was playing for the dire Welsh side, had he played and starred for England his standing in the eyes of casual fans would probably be much higher.
But in the same time I agree with this and see no shame in admitting his peak was probably never as high and as spectacular as Robben, Rivaldo or Figo. He was indeed never considered the best player in the world, and again I see no shame in that. His best runs for Ballon d'Or were 10th in 1993 and 14th in 2009 - the range is much more impressive than his final position, I can't think of any other player that would score two top15 Ballon d'Or finishes with 17 years between them!
What also hurt his international reputation was playing for the dire Welsh side, had he played and starred for England his standing in the eyes of casual fans would probably be much higher.