Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Mainoldo said:
So why is he not a better finisher than R9? Just saying. I mean your facts back him up for Raul and to beat Raul is to also beat R9 for Madrid and yes that R9 was not the one that was on another level but.. take his Dutch league record... R9 out performed him by 1 goal. So it wouldn’t be outlandish for you to also claim he’s a better finisher than R9 if you consider the latter having a far superior skill set.
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Erm, what? So now you're arguing Ruud is better than all the players you'd previously said he wasn't, and are questioning why I said Ronaldo may have been a better finisher?

Tbh I didn't see enough of peak R9 to know, but his goals to minutes ratio is incredible at that time, and I have seen him perform all kinds of finishes, so I have to assume he was rather good.But I really don't get what you're saying anymore.
 
Mainoldo said:
Not really. There are Liverpool fans all over England who think Gerrard is the best midfielder ever to grace the Prem...

Some people just don’t realise when bias blocks there common sense. I mean you actually think he was a better finisher than those names mentioned. No one in world football but United fans think this.
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RVN was a better finisher than all those names except Raul and R9.
 
the chameleon said:
When people think of Ruud, they assume he was just a goalscorer. Some of his link-up play was quite underrated. I would Ruud over Zlatan, mainly because he was doing it in a stronger league's and for his Champion's League goals.
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lsd said:
Raul is better than Ruud in every way . I would only put C Ronaldo above Raul in terms of Real's greatest forward over the last 30 years and even then it is debatable
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Think your over rating Raul there
 
Zlatan is fairly overrated. His efforts in the French league in the twighlight of his career and his 'character' has skewed the narrative. He's made out to be this elite player who was just behind Messi or Ronaldo, or something. He wasn't. He was among the best strikers of his generating as generally are a fair number of others.

Would pick RVN over him.

And example of the narrative part mentioned is how differently Zlatan and Rooney are looked at one, which is find interest and absurd.

lsd said:
Go ask Real Madrid fans who was the better striker between Raul and Ruud ?
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lsd said:
Raul is better than Ruud in every way . I would only put C Ronaldo above Raul in terms of Real's greatest forward over the last 30 years and even then it is debatable
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:lol: In every way

Raul was the Giggs of Real Madrid. Just because he was beloved and obviously a quality player for years doesn't mean there weren't plenty better than him.
 
Mainoldo said:
I didn’t question who was the best striker. I said who was the best finisher. RVN was one of the best strikers of all time. Would I make my son watch him in terms of how to be a good finisher? Not really.. maybe his penalty technique which was the best.. but your ignoring my argument. I’m talking about finishing.
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:lol: This part
 
Bebestation said:
Wow that's class!

He was a proper predator goalscorer to me, he would just somehow always seem to be in the right place at the right time whilst we'd supply him.

Whilst we complain about players not making runs and stuff now- Van nistelrooy's never seemed to make runs to me because he'd be so ahead of the defender's game to just always kind of be there, making the right little movements to find space away from someone's back etc.

Then he would just finish it off. He made everything look very simple.

Best finisher I've seen at United.
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At the time, he held the record for most CL goals scored in a season, until Cristiano broke it I think and he was only behind Raul in most CL goals before Messi/Ronaldo shat on everyone.

RvN is the best finisher I have seen playing for us. He scored a ridiculous amount of goals, always felt like he would score or do something, his finishing was sublime, bottom corner, top corner the guy never messed around, had a solid partnership with Beckham, can hold the ball, can bring others into play, one of Fergie's best signings at the time. Would have loved to have him in a coaching role at united, imagine Martial Rashford/Greenwood with Ruud's finishing/presence in the box...
 
Incredibly ruthless goal scorer. Clinical with his feet and great with his head. He did of course have an advantage in the fact that his head was the actual size of horses head.
 
Beachryan said:
Erm, what? So now you're arguing Ruud is better than all the players you'd previously said he wasn't, and are questioning why I said Ronaldo may have been a better finisher?

Tbh I didn't see enough of peak R9 to know, but his goals to minutes ratio is incredible at that time, and I have seen him perform all kinds of finishes, so I have to assume he was rather good.But I really don't get what you're saying anymore.
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Yeah I was because I felt like you was just saying R9 is better just not to be disrespectful and it looks like you’ve pretty much said this.

Nothing wrong it’s just what I assumed. But Same goes for the other guys..your probably assuming based on goal scoring records.
 
anant said:
Crespo - Never scored 30 goals across all competitions in his career. Scored 25+ goals in a season just thrice
Trezeguet - Scored 25 goals or more in a season just twice. Scored 30+ goals in a season just once
Raul- 1 30+ season in his career, scored 25 or more goals in a season 6 times. At the end of his career, his goals/appearance ratio was 0.43

RVN - 6 seasons where he scored 30 or more goals

Wouldn't argue R9 case because I'm certain the argument would go to who the better player was and it's a no contest there (in finishing terms, RVN has more than a decent claim here)
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I don't think a great finisher is all about the amount of goals scored or conversion rate. I would look at the technique, the variety, and the ability to score from various ranges and angles.
 
Mcking said:
I don't think a great finisher is all about the amount of goals scored or conversion rate. I would look at the technique, the variety, and the ability to score from various ranges and angles.
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Sure, I agree to a certain extent. I believe its more about the decision making than anything else
If there is a 1 v 1 situation vs the best GK in the world, I'd prefer RVN being the man on the ball rather than Trezeguet, Raul or Crespo just because RVN's decision making- when to dink the ball or when smash it, or dribble it past the GK- is better than the others
 
Beachryan said:
Again, is your point that extremely biased Madristas believe Raul to be their greatest striker? If so, cool, that's fine. I was quite a big Welbeck fan for a while there.

But it doesn't change the fact that Raul categorically was not their best striker, emotions aside. Or ever as good as Ruud at his peak.
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That's pretty weird logic tbh. So you say Madristas will be biased but you're not ?
 
There's not really a definitive answer it's all about how one envisions their team to function as a unit.

Van Nistelrooy was a great box striker but wasn't anything special outside the box and relied on service. Believe it or not I preferred Louis Saha over him because with Saha he made us a more fluid team and could interchange with the attackers and could play as a target man and had good acceleration. That doesn't mean he was a better finisher but i'd say his profile suited a more progressive approach which improved the whole dynamic and brought out the best in our attackers. Sadly it was short lived due to injuries.
 
amolbhatia50k said:
Zlatan is fairly overrated. His efforts in the French league in the twighlight of his career and his 'character' has skewed the narrative. He's made out to be this elite player who was just behind Messi or Ronaldo, or something. He wasn't. He was among the best strikers of his generating as generally are a fair number of others.

Would pick RVN over him.

And example of the narrative part mentioned is how differently Zlatan and Rooney are looked at one, which is find interest and absurd.






:lol: In every way

Raul was the Giggs of Real Madrid. Just because he was beloved and obviously a quality player for years doesn't mean there weren't plenty better than him.
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100% this. I said it before in this thread. Zlatan was overrated. I've watched him a lot of times since he was at Ajax.
Agree on Raul too. Di Stefano, Puskas, Ronaldo? Even Benzema now.
 
Adnan said:
There's not really a definitive answer it's all about how one envisions their team to function as a unit.

Van Nistelrooy was a great box striker but wasn't anything special outside the box and relied on service. Believe it or not I preferred Louis Saha over him because with Saha he made us a more fluid team and could interchange with the attackers and could play as a target man and had good acceleration. That doesn't mean he was a better finisher but i'd say his profile suited a more progressive approach which improved the whole dynamic and brought out the best in our attackers. Sadly it was short lived due to injuries.
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Saha was perfect for us. Complete striker. I was so happy when we've signed him. Unfortunately injuries ruined his time here.
 
He was the perfect number 9 striker. Some people are describing him as a goal hanging tap in merchant.

I swear people have never seen him play, and as for one poster saying Raul was better in every way :wenger:. Your having a laugh.
 
anant said:
PSV U19 manager and was supposed to be Netherlands Assistant manager for Euros
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Cheers. He probably loves being back home with his family, always seemed like a down to earth kind of character. I would really like him to join our staff if that was a possibility. There are a few characters I'd like in and around the club, like Irwin, Ruud, VDS, Cole (if his health was better :() and a few others.
 
RVN had a really good playing relationship with Beckham. RVN wanted to score goals all day every day, and Beckham provided him the best crosses to do this from. Young Ronaldo, for all his tricks, was a significant step down in terms of delivering that final ball into the box.

I'd still say Solksjaer was the slightly better finisher and overall better analyzer of the game. But RVN had physicality and the ability to create chances for himself if you could just feed him the ball in the box. He was the ultimate out and out striker in his day in contrast to ballers like Rooney and Henry.
 
Adnan said:
There's not really a definitive answer it's all about how one envisions their team to function as a unit.

Van Nistelrooy was a great box striker but wasn't anything special outside the box and relied on service. Believe it or not I preferred Louis Saha over him because with Saha he made us a more fluid team and could interchange with the attackers and could play as a target man and had good acceleration. That doesn't mean he was a better finisher but i'd say his profile suited a more progressive approach which improved the whole dynamic and brought out the best in our attackers. Sadly it was short lived due to injuries.
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Louis would have been electric for us if he'd stayed fit, people forget just how good he was as a player. Had a bit of everything and was unbelievable with the ball at feet or aerially.

That said, this is a bit like the R9 versus CR7 debate at a lesser level where one 'could have been this or that' whereas the other one actually was. Id pick RVN every day over Saha because of that, even if I think Saha could have been better.
 
Carl S Bridge said:
Think your over rating Raul there
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I’m terms of quality it’s hard to differentiate. I rate RVN and Raul pretty equal.

Based on personality (loyalty, teamplayer, leader skills and more) I definitely choose Raul before RVN.
 
I remember when everyone was salivating over a Rooney/RVN partnership, but they didn't really complement each other that well. Rooney and Saha, on the other hand, seemed to bring the best out of both of them when Saha was fit.
 
Was a really honest interview. Although it would have been interesting had either one of those 3 asked about what they felt about current front 3 at Utd - what they should be working on, and his views on Haaland, who's arguably similar to him when it comes to obsession with goals
 
Great clips RVN was the best finisher I think we've had in modern day football, I was at both those games. European nights wow.
 
I was watching PSV’s all-time best Eredivisie goals and there are quite a few of beauties by Ruud (including a couple of mazing runs that he rarely did after his knee got snapped).

 
lsd said:
Go ask Real Madrid fans who was the better striker between Raul and Ruud ?
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Can we ask United fans who was better, Schweinsteiger or McTominay?
 
harms said:
I was watching PSV’s all-time best Eredivisie goals and there are quite a few of beauties by Ruud (including a couple of mazing runs that he rarely did after his knee got snapped).

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His close ball control was insane and one of the most slept on parts of his game. When running at pace the ball was glued to the outside of his boot.
 
First player whose name I had on the back of a United shirt. Absolutely loved him and remember been gutted when he lost out on the golden boot to Henry.
Shame he wasn’t around for when we started winning league titles more regularly again but I guess him leaving unlocked our young stars.
 
lsd said:
Raul is better than Ruud in every way . I would only put C Ronaldo above Raul in terms of Real's greatest forward over the last 30 years and even then it is debatable
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Raul was brilliant, but to me it's strange to compare him ans Ruud. They were such different players. Ruud was the ultimate Striker in the box, lethal. Raul played a more varied role, often playing off a striker... Raul scored shit loads of long range screamers and was much better a link player out of the box. Not a like or like comparison imo
 
This seems to be the full interview from those instagram clips, was uploaded today. Probably going to watch the whole thing later on :drool:

"Today we are joined by one the greatest strikers of all time as Ruud Van Nistelrooy makes his appearance on Vibe With FIVE. Rio Ferdinand, Stephen Howson and Joel Beya take you through an hour long interview of pure Ruud madness."

 
Henrik Larsson said:
This seems to be the full interview from those instagram clips, was uploaded today. Probably going to watch the whole thing later on :drool:

"Today we are joined by one the greatest strikers of all time as Ruud Van Nistelrooy makes his appearance on Vibe With FIVE. Rio Ferdinand, Stephen Howson and Joel Beya take you through an hour long interview of pure Ruud madness."

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Thanks a huge bunch. Didn't intend to invest over an hour of my Friday night watching an interview, but here I am, and I enjoyed every second
 
Bojan11 said:
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Great interview. Wanted him to win the topscorer award too. I remember every year it felt pretty tight between him and Henry. But you get the feeling that Henry had another gear in him to outscore Ruud if he wanted to.
 
I’m going to say it. He was the best Premier League striker of all time. I’m not talking who stayed in the Premiership for 30 years (i.e. Shearer) or who could run the fastest (i.e. Henry) but the best striker. When it to Ruud you just knew it was a goal
 
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