Redcafe's Top Ten Manchester United players of all time

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Paul Scholes
3. Nemanja Vidic
4. Rio Ferdinand
5. Patrice Evra
6. Edwin Van der Sar
7. David De Gea
8. Michael Carrick
9. Wayne Rooney
10. Ryan Giggs

On another day I would have had Gary Neville and Robin van Persie over Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney respectively.
 
I've gone for favourites, not necessarily the best, in no particular order:

Cole
Solskjaer
Scholes
Cantona
Keane
GNev
Schmeichel
Van Persie
Irwin
Stam
 
Purely based on players I have actually seen play live.


1. Bryan Robson
2. Eric Cantona
3. Paul Scholes
4. Cristano Ronaldo
5. Ryan Giggs
6. Peter Schmeichel
7. Steve Bruce
8. Denis Irwin
9. Roy Keane
10. Steve Coppell
 
Sigma said:
di Maria and Schweini are based on how much I wanted/want them to succeed here.
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Fair enough. I hope Schweini sticks around for another season under a different manager too.
 
  1. George Best
  2. Cristiano Ronaldo
  3. Sir Bobby Charlton
  4. Duncan Edwards
  5. Ryan Giggs
  6. Eric Cantona
  7. Peter Schmeichel
  8. Dennis Law
  9. Roy Keane
  10. Paul Scholes
Bryan Robson should be in there but I've no idea who to exclude.
 
If this is favourites:

1. Berba
2. Scholes
3. Vidic
4. DDG
6. Rio
7. Ronaldo
8. Nani
9. Carrick
10. Giggs
 
Going to have to leave out players that definitely would make United's all-time Top.10 as only started watching in 70's so no Edwards, Babes or The Holy Trinity (my Dad said Duncan Edwards was better than Charlton and only Best was comparable). So my list is the last 35-40 years

1 - Scholes (as Zidane, Iniesta, Davids, etc say.... the best MF)
2 - Keane (the heartbeat of the team)
3 - Robson (the original Keane)
4 - Schmeicel (the best keeper of ANY team, not just United)
5 - Irwin (the best all round FB I've ever seen)
6 - Cantona (great player and more importantly, the catalyst to the start of a great run of success)
7 - Paul McGrath (don't know why not on people's lists, he was freaking awesome!!!!)
8 - Ronaldo (brilliant, almost as great as he thinks he is)
9 - Kanchelskis (Giggs might have his yoga and longevity but Kanchelskis was my type of winger)
10 - Martin Buchan (my only partial "heart" decision but a great player in an average team)
 
These lists are all obviously subjective, but I always find the inclusion of Edwards on these sorts of lists baffling. Surely very few people on here (I'm assuming a handful at most) have actually seen him play?
 
I've only been alive for the Fergie era so for me there's too close a call to pick 10 in order so I'll do a top 3 instead.

Scholes
Ronaldo
Keane
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
These lists are all obviously subjective, but I always find the inclusion of Edwards on these sorts of lists baffling. Surely very few people on here (I'm assuming a handful at most) have actually seen him play?
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I don't think there is a lot of footage too, like in the case of the Holy Trinity for example - there is a 1957 FA cup final game on youtube and a few highlights from United and England games, but certainly not enough to justify his inclusion (if you haven't seen him live from the stands of course, as I'm sure some here, albeit very few here, did).

Although he was awesome in that game, defensive powerhouse, with United playing with 10 men almost from the beginning. His long passing was a little erratic
 
harms said:
I don't think there is a lot of footage too, like in the case of the Holy Trinity for example - there is a 1957 FA cup final game on youtube and a few highlights from United and England games, but certainly not enough to justify his inclusion (if you haven't seen him live from the stands of course, as I'm sure some here, albeit very few here, did).
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Yeah, that's what I mean -- very little footage. I was only shown this FA Cup final game recently by someone on here (didn't even know the footage existed).
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
These lists are all obviously subjective, but I always find the inclusion of Edwards on these sorts of lists baffling. Surely very few people on here (I'm assuming a handful at most) have actually seen him play?
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I haven't actually seen Pelé or Di Stefano play either (if you mean live, or at the time), but if I were forced to draw up a list of the ten best players in history, it would seem plain wrong not to include them - not least because I have seen plenty of footage, and read many accounts of their exploits.

Duncan Edwards is different in the sense that there isn't much footage to study, but anybody with an Internet connection is capable of researching him to the extent that they can get a fairly good idea about what sort of player he was - and not least what his status as a United player, specifically, is.

Of course, if the premise is that you don't include players you haven't experienced first hand in one way or the other, that's a different kettle. But if that is the premise, he wouldn't make many lists (as you suggest, the number of Caf posters who have actually seen him in action is bound to be tiny).
 
Chesterlestreet said:
I haven't actually seen Pelé or Di Stefano play either (if you mean live, or at the time), but if I were forced to draw up a list of the ten best players in history, it would seem plain wrong not to include them - not least because I have seen plenty of footage, and read many accounts of their exploits.

Duncan Edwards is different in the sense that there isn't much footage to study, but anybody with an Internet connection is capable of researching him to the extent that they can get a fairly good idea about what sort of player he was - and not least what his status as a United player, specifically, is.

Of course, if the premise is that you don't include players you haven't experienced first hand in one way or the other, that's a different kettle. But if that is the premise, he wouldn't make many lists (as you suggest, the number of Caf posters who have actually seen him in action is bound to be tiny).
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Yeah, but the difference (in terms of footage) between Pele and Edwards is vast.
 
1. Scholes
2. Cantona
3. Schmeichel
4. Keane
5. Giggs
6. Best
7. Charlton
8. Rooney
9. Law
10. Ronaldo
 
Chesterlestreet said:
Yeah, I'd agree with that.

Giggs was brilliant in his pomp, and obviously had an incredible overall career, so it's no surprise that people rate him highly in this context. But Keane was a better player. He was better than Scholes too, for that matter.
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Clearly better. In fact, when they both missed the Champions League final, it was huge news that Keane was out. Scholes barely got a mention. He became a more integral part of the team in future years but nowhere near the level of influence Keane had.

I always thought it was opposition fans who undervalued Keane. I am actually amazed how low he is on these lists.
 
Going to go with players I've seen live, which excludes Charlton, Law, Best, Viollet, Taylor and Edwards; but makes it a lot easier for me.

In order:

1. Eric Cantona - He was an artist, pure and simple. Did things that left your mouth open. The King of Old Trafford.
2. Paul Scholes
3. Cristian Ronaldo
4. Roy Keane
5. Ryan Giggs
6. Rio Ferdinand
7. David Beckham
8. Jaap Stam
9. Wayne Rooney
10. Peter Schmeichel

To think back now, to have Keane and Scholes in the same midfield, is almost cheating.
 
POF said:
In fact, when they both missed the Champions League final, it was huge news that Keane was out. Scholes barely got a mention. He became a more integral part of the team in future years but nowhere near the level of influence Keane had.
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Bad example - it was clearly not the peak Scholes. He came close to Keane's influence later in his career - he was incredibly important for our 3rd CL win campaign for example, our second best player after Ronaldo, with Rio and Vida close third. And even monstrous Keane wouldn't have been the best player in the team with Ballon D'Or winning Ronaldo in the team. I get the idea that Keane was better than Scholes, but it was much closer than you say and 1999 final shouldn't be used as an argument
 
harms said:
Bad example - it was clearly not the peak Scholes. He came close to Keane's influence later in his career - he was incredibly important for our 3rd CL win campaign for example, our second best player after Ronaldo, with Rio and Vida close third. And even monstrous Keane wouldn't have been the best player in the team with Ballon D'Or winning Ronaldo in the team. I get the idea that Keane was better than Scholes, but it was much closer than you say and 1999 final shouldn't be used as an argument
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Which is why I qualified it in the following sentence.

I disagree re Scholes being the second best player in that team. While the treble team was built around the midfield, the 3rd CL team was based on a world class defence and a superstar up front to provide the quality. Scholes was a very good player in that side but Vidic and Ronaldo were clearly the key men.
 
1. Scholes
2. Giggs
3. Keane
4. Ferdinand
5. Rooney
6. Ronaldo
7. Cantona
8. Vidic
9. Beckham
10. RVN
 
Charlton
Edwards
Best
Scholes
Ronaldo
Giggs
Schmeichel
Ferdinand
Robson
Keane
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
Yeah, but the difference (in terms of footage) between Pele and Edwards is vast.
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Don't see what difference that makes. The earlier the era, the less footage - plus, Edwards had a short career.

You don't have to see tons of actual footage in order to determine that he was incredibly highly rated by people (fans, neutrals, team mates, managers, opponents, journalists) who watched him play. And there are plenty of sources that describe what sort of player he was too.

If you want to reconstruct him scientifically, as it were, as a player - then you have a problem. You can do that with someone who played after, say, 1970 - before that, you have to rely on reports more than footage. But you don't have to reconstruct him as a player in order to reach a fairly informed conclusion regarding his overall quality.
 
1. Charlton
2. Scholes
3. Giggs
4. Ronaldo
5. Cantona
6. Keane
7. Best
8. Robson
9. Schmeichel
10. Ferdinand
 
Cantona'sCollar said:
Personal favourites, only counting players who I have watched consistently in my lifetime:

Ronaldo
G Neville
Scholes
Beckham
Rio
Keane
Evra
VDS
Vida
Park

Could also have picked Rafael, Ruud, Rooney, DDG, O'Shea, Berbatov, Chicharito & Giggs, to name a few.
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So little love for the great dutch. I love his calm demeanor and professionalism. To be able to maintain his consistency to his 40s was an incredible feat and inspiration.
 
Is RvN United greatest striker of all time? His technique and power were extraordinary. His influence to our 'success' at his time was as much as Ronaldo.
 
Isotope said:
Is RvN United greatest striker of all time? His technique and power were extraordinary. His influence to our 'success' at his time was as much as Ronaldo.
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Yeah, he was a bit unlucky in terms of having his stint coincide with a down period for the club.

Brilliant player, of course. I wouldn't rank him above Law, though, who won the Ballon as a United player and played a huge role in one of the truly great United vintages.
 
Chesterlestreet said:
Yeah, he was a bit unlucky in terms of having his stint coincide with a down period for the club.

Brilliant player, of course. I wouldn't rank him above Law, though, who won the Ballon as a United player and played a huge role in one of the truly great United vintages.
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Law, Taylor and Ruud. Our best three.
 
Don't get the huge love for Giggs (and I'm Welsh so it's not a nationality thing) .... being a very good player for a long time (i.e. having a great career) doesn't do it for me and definitely nowhere near someone like Ronaldo. Might make my Top.20 but not my United Top.10 (never mind so many people's Top.5!!!), but guess that's what opinion/forums are for eh?
 
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Chesterlestreet said:
Yeah, he was a bit unlucky in terms of having his stint coincide with a down period for the club.

Brilliant player, of course. I wouldn't rank him above Law, though, who won the Ballon as a United player and played a huge role in one of the truly great United vintages.
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Thanks for the info. It's incredible for a club as famous as United, we only have very few truly world class striker.
 
Isotope said:
Thanks for the info. It's incredible for a club as famous as United, we only have very few truly world class striker.
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You could say that, yes, compared to other positions. Depends how narrowly one defines striker, I suppose. Cantona was world class, in my opinion, but he wasn't a pure striker. Taylor, who Spoony mentioned above, was top-of-the-line. Jack Rowley is another - one of the many who had his career somewhat fecked up by the war. Dennis Viollet definitely deserves a mention too.

And dare I mention Rooney - who certainly had world class potential, if nothing else. Hughes should get a mention too, I feel, he was extremely highly rated (by neutrals, I mean, he was always rated by United fans) at one point.
 
1. Mark Hughes
2. Patrice Evra
3. Eric Cantona
4. Andrei Kanchelskis
5. Paul Scholes
6. Roy Keane
7. Peter Schmeichel
8. George Best
9. Robin Van Persie
10. Dimitar Berbatov

feck me that was hard to do. Putting RVP in ahead of Giggs was hard, but he was magnificent in that first season and we wouldn't have won Sir Alex his final league title without him and he was just brilliant to watch. Just my favourite players, not our best players. It was tough between Berbatov and RVN too. But Berba was just a joy to watch.
 
Isotope said:
So little love for the great dutch. I love his calm demeanor and professionalism. To be able to maintain his consistency to his 40s was an incredible feat and inspiration.
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Indeed - definitely our 2nd greatest keeper in history, and that's only because Schmeichel was the best GK of all time. Always calm and unfazed by everything, & his triangle with Vida and Rio was almost cheating, it was that good. Very underrated because he was less spectacular than most other keepers.
 
Only players seen with my own eyes, included on my list:
1: Cantona
2; Schmeichel
3: Ronaldo
4: Keane
5: Robson
6: Scholes
7: Giggs
8: Rooney
9: Beckham
10: Vidic

(Van der Sar, Rio, Stam, Irwin, Ruud, Gaz Nev and -of course- Whiteside were all just on the periphery of making the list......)
 
First my list is based on who i liked the most and not who is the best. I started supporting United in 98/99.

1. Beckham - my supporting started when we got fifa 99. I was 8 and didn't know anything about clubs outside my country, my brothers were older, one was supporting Madrid, other Juventus, they told me I should play with United because it is good club. And if there would not be Beckham it would probably stayed at that, basically I started supporting United because I liked Beckham, his free kicks and crossing was just wow for me.
2. Rooney - in the period from 2005 to 2010 my favourite player. My second and last "favourite" player.
3. Scholes - best MF I have seen. Sadly I only started appreciating him in his last years, till then it he was just there for me to do the job for United.
4. C.Ronaldo - best player I saw in United shirt.
5. Schmeichel -I watched just a few matches with him in the United shirt but I liked him very much.
6. RVN - he was just superb striker.
7. Ferdinand - best United defender I had seen.
8. VDS - wish we bought him sooner than we did.
9. Nani - always wanted that he will succed at United. He wasn't "United great" but a very likeable player indeed.
10. Martial - I just want so much that he will become best player in the world. He clearly has the potential.

(honorable mention to: Giggs, Vidic, Evra, Yorke&Cole combo, Solskjaer, ...)
 
1. Bryan Robson
2. Eric Cantona
3. Roy Keane
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
5. Wayne Rooney
6. David Beckham
7. Rio Ferdinand
8. Ruud van Nistelrooy
9. Van der Sar
10. Peter Schmeichel
 
Gonna start rolling this out from tomorrow. As of now I think we have either 63 or 64 players to get through. Should be a good laugh.
 
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