Brilliant Highlights

Unfortunately the season finished with my beloved reds. Sticking with my 13 series of blogs and not wanting to write about the misery that was the end of the season, I thought I’d write about my 13 favourite players since I have been following them (so no Charlton, Edwards, Best or Law). As all my top 13 blogs they are not in order of preference but I think it will be clear who is actually at the top of the list.

Ryan Giggs
Most appearances ever for Man Utd. The most decorated footballer in British Football. The Welsh Wizard that we all wished was English. Ryan Giggs was the first poster child of the Fergie era and he had the skills to prove he weren’t just a pretty face. The fact that the man is still playing (he’s coming up to his 20th season in the United first team) at the highest level and was last season’s PFA player of the year shows you the character of the man. As a child I loved seeing him run at players and he scored some incredible goals. Now he has to reserve his energy but can still beat the right back with a shot of pace and his skill is still there. Just like Fergie, it will be a sad day when he finally hangs up his boots and for his achievements, nobody will ever come close.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Some people hate him but the fact is that when he was a United player he was the best in the world. I still think on his day there is nobody better. Messi has more skill more Ronaldo has more bows to his arrow. When he first joined the club he was given the No. 7 shirt, which at Old Trafford is saying that you’re something special. Beckham had left and we had signed this 19 year old Portuguese winger to take over one of the world’s best passers. His debut against Bolton showed his promise. He came off the bench and he destroyed the defence. His first couple of seasons were hit and miss. Some days he was sublime, others he would infuriate you. Then for three years (2006 – 2009) He became the main attraction at the Theatre of Dreams. He eclipsed goal scoring records in the premiership. In one season he scored 32 goals in 38 games. For a striker that would be phenomenal, but for winger, it was a different class. That same season his goal to game ratio was practically a goal a game. Unfortunately he left but I’ll never forget the impact. He may even be the most technically gifted player to ever don the famous red shirt.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
When United signed Solskjaer from Norwegian side Molde in 1996, I had no idea who the player was. He was signed at the same time as Yordi Cruyff (son of dutch legend Johann) and Karel Poborsky. Cruyff and Poborsky were big to me because they had played in Euro 1996 and particularly Poborsky because he had scored a fantastic goal against Portugal in that tournament and I was excited to him play for us. Of those three players Ole was the one who got a legendary status. I loved the guy from his debut when he scored a chip against Blackburn (the equalising goal in a 2-2 draw) after coming off from the bench. He did this until his retirement from the game in 2007. I loved him so much that I named a cat after him in 1998, and this was before his winner against Munich in 1999 to win the European Cup. The guy never complained about being on the bench, and whenever he played he scored and worked very hard. At Old Trafford there is a fan banner that calls him a legend and deserves that status at the Theatre of Dreams.

Gary Neville
The guy is a massive dick. He if played for any other club I would hate him, but he isn’t and he loves the club. I know when he goes onto the pitch he will give his all on the pitch and will won’t give up. He’s also the best English right back, even though he is at the end of his career. The player can still provide a great cross.


Rio Ferdinand
The guy cost 30 million and at the time I just thought he was good. He went on to become the best defender in the world from 2006 – 2009. He was unbeatable. He makes everything effortless and it takes moments of brilliance to get past him. I love Rio and he is rightfully England Captian.

Nemanja Vidic
Part of the best centre pairing in the world. He’s an old school defender that gets stuck in and he is very commanding. When he first started his United career, he looked dreadful. I thought that he was going to go to obscurity and be remembered in the same way as William Prunier. How wrong I was because the man is a rock at the back. There are rumours that Vidic will be leaving in the summer, and if that happens he will be sorely missed.

Eric Cantona
Arrogant. Cocky. Nutcase. Loose Screw. God.
I actually love the guy. I would wear my collar up for years whenever I would wear a collared shirt (even at school) . If I ever met him I would turn into a school girl meeting Marky Mark when he still had the Funky Bunch. I would kiss the man’s feet because of his genius. He came into Old Trafford and he brought trophies. We could have been playing rubbish, Eric would do one little trick and the whole team would come to life. I own three DVDs about his career, two of them I had on video. My favourite goal of his was against Sunderland in his final season. He hadn’t played well for a couple of months and scored the most audacious chip from the edge of the box and then did his arrogant pose to say ‘what else do you expect from me?’. I remember I was playing football in my back garden when my borther told me that Cantona has retired. I remember that like people remember where they were when the man landed on the moon. It was huge to me, but the man gave me so many memories. There was a poster for a Nike advertisement saying “1966 was a great year fro English football, Eric was born.” I actually think that his birth was bigger than England winning the World Cup. I really do love Eric Cantona, in my eyes he is the greatest footballer of all time.

Paul Scholes
The unsung hero. I always loved Paul Scholes. The guy never became the star that Beckham did, but he was always a better player. Even today his vision to pick out a player is second to none. Whenever you hear players talking about he best people they played against, Paul Scholes is always top of their list, which tells you how good the man is. It will be a sad day when the little ginger genius hangs up those boots.

Wayne Rooney
The star of the moment. There’s not much to say about Wazza other than he will give you his all on the pitch. I was happy when we signed him because you knew he was going to be special. This season he has become the main man (every team has one) and he has exceeded all expectations. I can see him at United for life and I think next season he will be better than the last. I can’t wait to see him back in a UNITED shirt next season (Fuck England)

Andrei Kanchelkis
Looking back I don’t think he was that great a player, but as a child he was amazing. He was lightning quick on the right wing and he scored quite a lot of goals. I loved watching him as a child and then he joined Everton for the 95-96 season, when the previous season we had lost the league. I hated him for that and I felt betrayed. I now realise that Ferige sold him because he had the next player coming through the ranks.

David Beckham
I’m not going to say much about Beckham but he was fantastic. In 1999 he was one of the best players in the world. He’s the best crosser I’ve ever seen of a ball, he took brilliant free-kicks and he would cover every blade of grass. I was sad to see him go but he went at the right time and we replaced him with Ronaldo who went on to be a much better player. He is a United legend and I also think maybe the best looking player United have ever had.

Roy Keane
Roy Keane is a scary man. On the pitch he was like a General who got involved on the front line. Every tackle was there to be one and if he didn’t win the ball then he let the player know that he was there. In his prime he was the standard bearer for how a defensive midfielder should be, Strong, quick and a good tackler. I miss his type of player

Peter Schmeichel
The greatest goalkeeper of all time. He changed the art of the position. He would always make himself as big as possible to stop the ball. I remember a game against Newcastle in 1997 at St James Park. It weren’t a great performance but it was a must win. Newcastle had two of the best strikers in the box with Sir Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer. They threw everything at the Great Dane but he was unbeatable. A brick wall in front of the goal couldn’t have done a better job than him on that day and we won the game 1-0. He did that many times over the years and I could watch his saves for hours and never get bored. He will always be United’s number one between the sticks.