I miss Scholes, Keane and Carrick

Yeah and Kroos if I remember right.

It's just that one thing I look down upon of the last SAF years is how old everyone was who he left behind.

I remember how Giggs had arguably turned in to one of our main CM's during the last couple of years of SAF's years.

Then players like Rio, Vidic, Evra were old, Scholes retired literally with SAF, Carrick being old soon etc, ashley young and Valencia being average getting old players, even Rooney's and Van Perise were arguably on the last years of their prime.

Considering how good we were in 2007/08 , I felt like SAF had the ability to start even half of a good young build for us but it didn't happen in the 5 years up that led up to 2013.

Anyway, it's in the past and not worth crying about. It's just I do wonder what "Class players" he did leave behind.
You’re right but in fergies mind the likes of Jones, Smalling, Powell (:lol: in hindsight), Kagawa, etc were the future.
 
Didn't know where to put this as i don't think i can start threads and didn't want to bump a really old one but seems like Keane is about to be offered the Sunderland job (again). If he does then it's either going to be amazing or an epic disaster and there will be no inbetween.

Edit: For some reason i didn't see there was another thread discussing this my bad.
 
Last edited:
A midfield of O'Shea Fletcher and Butt will make us look like an entirely different team at this point.
 
lgywqsjklgg91.jpg
 
I miss the fact players needed to be on par to be in the first team, when the team sheets used to come out (SAF times) there could be a surprise inclusion and you trusted the decision, god just go look at the line up when we beat Arsenal 8-2 and just look at our midfield. SAF could get the best out of anyone and that’s the biggest asset he had, he’s teams would die for him. Nowadays these wage thieves cry if the break a nail…!
 
John O'Shea and Ryan Giggs, the 2005-06 stop gap midfield, is easily better than McFred.
 
Let's be honest, a 35+ years old Giggs would mop the floor with our current central midfield options
 
Why can't pur academy produce player like him anymore for fecks sake.

He was a genius, miss him.

Yeah, I know he's referencing himself a bit there but he's downplaying just how good he was. He was always one of our most talented, incredibly consistent in his play. McTominay could play on the half turn but he still won't do a thing (he would be better). Same for Fred, but I suspect he'd still be ambushed. He is right though.

The other thing about Scholes is he seemed to have a picture of everything around him. He'd play it first time if needed, or take a touch to turn and then fire a ball into the toe of our winger, who was in full flight. I've not seen many players that could do this.

Yeah I miss him :lol:
 
I understand the OP nostalgia but the game has changed. This is the era of the social media fan, where quick and extreme soundbites hold sway over genuine reasoned analysis.
Keano would be a dirty disgrace of a player, shunned for daring to challenge for the ball, Scholesy would be branded a long ball hoof and hope merchant and Carrick would be branded irrelevant and not good enough because he didn’t play for NT much. What a time to be alive.
Yeah and Donald Trump and Boris Johnson would be leaders of the USA & UK! What a world.
 
I understand the OP nostalgia but the game has changed. This is the era of the social media fan, where quick and extreme soundbites hold sway over genuine reasoned analysis.
Keano would be a dirty disgrace of a player, shunned for daring to challenge for the ball, Scholesy would be branded a long ball hoof and hope merchant and Carrick would be branded irrelevant and not good enough because he didn’t play for NT much. What a time to be alive.
Sorry but thats absolut bollocks.
 
Yeah, I know he's referencing himself a bit there but he's downplaying just how good he was. He was always one of our most talented, incredibly consistent in his play. McTominay could play on the half turn but he still won't do a thing (he would be better). Same for Fred, but I suspect he'd still be ambushed. He is right though.

The other thing about Scholes is he seemed to have a picture of everything around him. He'd play it first time if needed, or take a touch to turn and then fire a ball into the toe of our winger, who was in full flight. I've not seen many players that could do this.

Yeah I miss him :lol:
His footballing Intellect was genuinely among the best of his era, what he managed to achieve considering that he apparently has asthma was nothing short of extraordinary.

While non of our current midfielders will be ever as good as he was he's absolutely spot on about how they can't even seem to do the basics right, tragic.
 
Fellaini and Herrera are ten times better than our current midfield options. Here I said it.
 
40 year old Giggs held his own against Real Madrid in 2012/13.
It was more than holding his own. He was the best player on the pitch before we capitulated after the red. I couldn't believe what I was watching.
 
Let's be honest, a 35+ years old Giggs would mop the floor with our current central midfield options
Thought he made an excellent centre mid in his later years, still quicker than most and super creative in his play
 
It was more than holding his own. He was the best player on the pitch before we capitulated after the red. I couldn't believe what I was watching.
Even more extraordinary considering who he was up against.
 
It was more than holding his own. He was the best player on the pitch before we capitulated after the red. I couldn't believe what I was watching.

It was incredible to watch. The game also had Rooney, RVP, Ronaldo, Modric etc.
 
We all miss the glory years. I am certain that having self belief and several trophies under their belt helped along with the squad being miles better than most teams in the league. Our squad just isn’t that good right now and arguably hasn’t been in nearly a decade. We became too reliant on individual talent/brilliance. Mou’s and Ole’d second places finishes deceived us into believing that the squads quality had improved. That wasn’t the case. Just money thrown down the drain.
 
This thread has sort of turned into "who is the worst former player that would still improve our midfield?"

My vote goes to Anderson
 
Fellaini and Herrera are ten times better than our current midfield options. Here I said it.
Fellaini as a midfielder was painful to watch. He played his best football here when we played him further up the pitch. Had a very good run in the team towards the end of LvG's first season and helped us get top four.
 
I miss the fact that it’s not possible to identify who the equivalent players are in the market.
 
It was more than holding his own. He was the best player on the pitch before we capitulated after the red. I couldn't believe what I was watching.
He was sensational that match, possibly the most underrated performance by a United player ever. Played right wing too, against Ronaldo and Coentrao, if we had won that match his performance would perhaps be talked about in Keano vs Juventus terms.

Cleverly and Anderson were better than pretty much any midfielder we have had post Ferguson.
In a Fergie team, Fergie could’ve won the league with a midfield of Mark Noble and Charlie Adam.
We would literally get relegated with a Cleverley and Anderson midfield duo in the current team.
 
Fellaini as a midfielder was painful to watch. He played his best football here when we played him further up the pitch. Had a very good run in the team towards the end of LvG's first season and helped us get top four.

Still better than whatever shit Scott and Fred have been serving us up at the moment.
 
This thread has sort of turned into "who is the worst former player that would still improve our midfield?"

My vote goes to Anderson

John O'Shea was better at #6 than Fred or McTominay. John O'Shea nutmegged Figo, he was much more press resistant than Fred or McTominay. Fred panics under any pressure, McTominay needs 10 touches to make up his mind. John O'Shea of 15 years ago would massively level up our midfield. That's how shocking it is.

No word of a lie, I'm not even convinced that McTominay is a better option at #8 than Darron Gibson. Gibson could at least control the ball and move it out his feet in two touches. That moment outside the box on Sunday where McTominay took 6 touches and his 7th was a tackle on Caicedo, Gibson switches that outside his feet and hammers it at the goal. Probably doesn't go in but at least its something useful to us.
 
I absolutely detest Keane off the pitch. Absolute legend on it.