How good was Ryan Giggs?
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He should have been the de facto Cantona replacement, I think had he moved in field earlier he would of had an even better career than what he did.
Absolutely magic to watch.
Absolutely magic to watch.
He was sensational. The modern game is one of systems, the game he played in not so much. In his flying prime he was so dangerous teams constantly had two players after him, panic when he had it. The space that opened up on the field for others can't really be measured, in terms of how important it was to United's play or how many goals it made by stretching the opposition to breaking point.
There’s a reason he played week in week out from age 18 to 40. Sublime player
Imagine your left flank sorted with Giggs and Irwin. That's just rude
Always thought that
Best left winger in the world for a over a decade and one of the best wingers of all time. Only Figo was better than him and then you can always argue about Giggs vs Beckham.
Fantastic player always gave his best loved watching him over the years so many great memories of him. I had the chance to thank him once he was playing golf in the group ahead of me but I did not want to make a fool of myself. On the football side he for me always made things happen on the pitch great, great player.
So hard to compare him to today because of how the game has developed but best way is simply he was arguably the best LW in the world, unarguably at least 2nd best for a long period of time.
I think how good he was later in his career when he moved centrally is overstated
Good. Very good.
Chumps nowadays compare his stats to Mo Salah/Mane and say he was a much inferior player because of G/A stats.
Infuriating analysis. Loses so much tactical context.
Infuriating analysis. Loses so much tactical context.
I think it was mainly due to the ability for him to elongate his career to the extent he did by moving position was what's most impressive.
Yeah but that just shows he is no good at his job then. It’s a pity average ex players get hired to be football pundits and not people who actually know the game in and out.
He's literally saying it because United fans are so numerous and writing insightful and accurate articles isn't what sells sadly, drama and controversial comments are the name of the game these days. I doubt any City fans would even argue that.
Carragher generally snubs the United players being a Pool fan, he's got history with downplaying Giggs' ability to get a rise out of Keane as well.
Peak Giggs was unplayable. And his peak lasted a long time. Doing it over and over for many years puts him amongst the greats. Watched him many times. Giggs at full speed with the ball was jaw dropping at times and what he had was great intelligence particularly later in his career. Knowing when and where to play a pass. Deadly. Never shirked a challenge or got fazed by an occasion. Top it off with the ability throughout his career to do the unpredictable, he was just awesome even if some have forgotten or are too young to remember
He was fecking Super talent. Only Ronlado was better than him talentwise who played for the club.
he definitely played risky passes and there were times nothing came off and he looked dreadful, but had other longer spells where he would rip through teams. Was still quick enough to get away from most centre midfielders too.
It’s very very difficult to explain or judge…because he transformed from one player to a completely different player and both were exceptional.
The hardest thing to accurately explain is how good he was from 1993-1995/6. That version of Ryan Giggs was an absolute sight to behold. I honestly think he should have gone on to be a lot better than he did, which is more a compliment to that version of Giggs than a criticism of the absolute legend that he became.
The hardest thing to accurately explain is how good he was from 1993-1995/6. That version of Ryan Giggs was an absolute sight to behold. I honestly think he should have gone on to be a lot better than he did, which is more a compliment to that version of Giggs than a criticism of the absolute legend that he became.
One of the main reasons i started supporting United was Giggs in them early years. The hamstring injuries slowed him down a lot, I think it's underrated how much he had to change his game from being a winger relying on his pace to being a CM and still being a great player
Annoying when people that didn't see all of his career criticise him because they're just looking at stats
You put Di Maria and Bruno together and you still don't get a player as good as Giggs, criminally underrated these days and a young version of him would cost at least 150m.
Living legend.
He was brilliant, and even more fun to watch. I think he said he never had a full sprint after the age of 20 because of his hamstring issues, but even at 80-90% he was faster than pretty much any player on the pitch. That combined with his extreme agility, close control and dribbling made him a handful for any defender. Even at 39 he could outsprint most defenders when he wanted to:
However, looking at that clip and comparing to this run, there is a bit of a difference:
His right foot wasn't quite as bad as most would have it either. Not sure what his preferred position would be today, but he was one of those players that got you off your seat. How many players do that today in the PL?
However, looking at that clip and comparing to this run, there is a bit of a difference:
His right foot wasn't quite as bad as most would have it either. Not sure what his preferred position would be today, but he was one of those players that got you off your seat. How many players do that today in the PL?
I always though Giggs had more to his game and much more unpredictable. Not saying he was better, although I would argue that as well, but he was a different player in a different system. Robben is more similar to the modern Salahs of the world. If Giggs had played on the right, he might have been more similar to Robben.
Even his last game at 40, he was incredible
Hit the bar, remember an incredible dribble too
Hit the bar, remember an incredible dribble too
Some people might think the question is daft, but how would people compare Giggs vs Sterling. Both very fast. Wingers. Dribblers. Giggs of course had this grace to his game and way running that Sterling didnt. Sterling runs like a chicken. But Sterling has had more seasons where he has scored a lot more goals than giggs.
Don't forget about Rafa!
It is a daft question, sorry. Sterling isn't a winger, he was always a forward, playing in a more attacking era. Overall Sterling was never world class (always just below) while Giggs absolutely was at his peak.
And I'm pretty sure he doesn't come close to Giggs' assist numbers
It is a daft question, sorry. Sterling isn't a winger, he was always a forward, playing in a more attacking era. Overall Sterling was never world class (always just below) while Giggs absolutely was at his peak.
And I'm pretty sure he doesn't come close to Giggs' assist numbers
True Sterling has 0,17 assists pr. game. But yeah I guess Sterling is more of a wide forward rather than a winger.
Bit of a Contradiction this when we consider how the other thread got locked.
Good player
I have to be honest though the guy is a complete scumbag and I give zero fecks about him or his career.
Absolute creep.
I have to be honest though the guy is a complete scumbag and I give zero fecks about him or his career.
Absolute creep.
Giggs miles ahead technically, passing, vision, crossing, creatively, etc. He was a great playmaker, sterling doesn't really have much about him when it comes to being a playmaker.
Very good. And because he was one of ours, he cost nothing in transfers.
Giggs had far far more ability. Giggs was more like Di Maria and the City version of Sane.
Sterling's game is very limited as you can see once the goals dried up he doesn't look as good.
Skipping past players like slipping from jails
I think one of things about Giggs is when you watch videos of all the goals durings Fergies era is that he features in all of them some way almost. Either by the assist or pre assist. He was always involved to the very end. I think there are some stats that show how much Giggs contributed to our goals that are pretty mental.
To the young people comparing Giggs to attacking forwards using stats - it doesn't work.
Giggs played wide on a 442 - his role was to get past the full back and put in crosses for the 2 strikers in the box and the midfield runners. The goals he scored were additional. If he played today he'd be a 20 a season wide attacker without doubt.
He dribbled well, had great close control, could go inside and outside, superb passing, great crosses, was good on deadball situations. There was a time where every corner was a genuine goalscoring opportunity - we didn't fk them up, the oppo really had to defend them. He made stuff too, always aggressive and going forwards, none of that sideways and backwards shite.
Giggs played wide on a 442 - his role was to get past the full back and put in crosses for the 2 strikers in the box and the midfield runners. The goals he scored were additional. If he played today he'd be a 20 a season wide attacker without doubt.
He dribbled well, had great close control, could go inside and outside, superb passing, great crosses, was good on deadball situations. There was a time where every corner was a genuine goalscoring opportunity - we didn't fk them up, the oppo really had to defend them. He made stuff too, always aggressive and going forwards, none of that sideways and backwards shite.
amazing to think how good he was when he was almost 40. Even comparing to Ronaldo and the drop off he's had in his later years it really points out how good Giggs was and what a top professional he must have been to have such a long period at the top of his game
Close to the perfect player. I rate him even higher than Scholes (I know this can be unpopular).
Very smart, strong technical skill, great stamina, hard worker and always work for the team. There is a reason he stand out in all MU CR7, Rooney etc goals collection.
How I wish we have him now instead of our other player who can't even get fired to stop City's treble...
Very smart, strong technical skill, great stamina, hard worker and always work for the team. There is a reason he stand out in all MU CR7, Rooney etc goals collection.
How I wish we have him now instead of our other player who can't even get fired to stop City's treble...
And of course Beckham. An incredible group of players.Jesus Christ, I'm starting to feel like how my
dad must have felt telling me how good George Best was...
Giggs, Neville, Scholes, Keane... they were fecking phenomenal players, who played for, arguably the best team in the world at the time as nailed on starters.. I pity any Utd fans who didn't get to see them in their prime.