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Fergie's 'world class players' at Man U

He reckons he only had 4:

Scholes
Giggs
Cantona
Ronaldo

Surprising insight
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Comments

  • ...at some point he'd have probably said Keane...but maybe not now after their books
  • Heard this on the radio this morning. I would say he's spot on. The only other world class player I can think of is Schmiechael
  • Keane at his peak was. There was no one better in his position around 98/99.

    I wouldn't describe Cantona as world class. He was a good Premier League player but didn't perform at the top level, i.e. Champion's League. Can't argue with Ronaldo, Giggs and Scholes though. Agree that Schmiechael should be up there.

    What about Van Nistelrooy as a forward? Ferdinand at his peak? Beckham even?
  • Keane at his peak was. There was no one better in his position around 98/99.

    I wouldn't describe Cantona as world class. He was a good Premier League player but didn't perform at the top level, i.e. Champion's League. Can't argue with Ronaldo, Giggs and Scholes though. Agree that Schmiechael should be up there.

    What about Van Nistelrooy as a forward? Ferdinand at his peak? Beckham even?

    I think Cantona was part of the United team that took a while to get used to how to win in the CL. You've got to remember that English clubs being banned after Heisel and the time it took for us to re-adjust etc. Cantona was slap bang in the time of their early CL attempts. For me he was class, probably my best ever player. Probably had something to do with my age at the time being 10-16 when he was playing.

    I had this video when I was younger called Eric the King. That video demonstrated how much emphasis Alex placed on Cantona being the catalyst for United to turn into a powerhouse. He was the start of it IMO. I couldn't believe Leeds agreed to sell him and for only £1.2m.

    Cantona is for me one of the greats of football. Van Nistelrooy was a great striker, but then so was Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. All of them had great goal scoring records. Ferdinand yes was class, but do you compare him to a Maldini and say, he was as good. Beckham, great for England and such a talent, was it perhaps the manner in which Beckham left that Alex Ferguson omitted him. Tough to call
  • Did Bryan Robson not play under him ?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34311859 "Ferguson demanded pay rise to match Rooney" ?

    Didn't he pretty much appoint Moyes ?

    He's not had a good word to say about Beckham since he decided to have a life outside of AF's undercarriage.

    Is one of the "arts of management: Leading" kicking crockery around the changing room ?
  • Jaap Stam surely
  • Schmeichel, Beckham, Stam, Keane?

    Yes I think @guinnessaddick may be right!!
  • 10/15 years ago, Keane and Vieira were colossus in midfield, the perfect midfielders able to do everything, box to box energy, creative, goal scorers, able to put their foot in...

    Both teams have never really replaced them properly, that's a sign of how good they were
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  • 10/15 years ago, Keane and Vieira were colossus in midfield, the perfect midfielders able to do everything, box to box energy, creative, goal scorers, able to put their foot in...

    Both teams have never really replaced them properly, that's a sign of how good they were

    I think had Parker stayed with us for the whole season, he would have replaced Keane at Utd.
  • A lot of sour grapes between Fergie, Keane, Beckham, Neville etc so there are always glaring omissions in these lists.

    In the Vieira & Keane documentary, Keane chose Paul Parker as the best right back at United during his time there.
  • edited September 2015
    That old chestnut World class ?

    Eric Cantona came to England at the age of 26 because he was persona non grata
    in France where he had run ins and fights with so many players and Coaches that
    After calling every member of a disciplinary board idiots; his time in France was untenable and on the advice of his Psychoanalyst came to England.
    After Wednesday and Liverpool turned him down because of his record of unrest.
    Went to Leeds then United and the rest is History.
    What can not be disputed ? Eric is a genius on the football field but mad as a box of frogs off it.
    He never played for France again after his Bruce Lee/Jackie Chan exploits
    and never looked as good in European football as he did in the domestic game.
    Maybe Fergie's fault because he was isolated a lot in the Euro matches.

    Ferguson catered to the Narcissistic mirror man Ronaldo ,
    who is world class by any standards
    and the superb quiet lads Giggs and Scholes as well.

    Yaap Stam(the Book) and Roy Keane and maybe Schmeichel all stood up to him and Fergie was a bully and autocratic so there was only one winner.
    Van Nistelrooy was a world class striker but when he started to upset Ronaldo in training by taking the mickey out of his vanity his time was up as well.

    That is just Ferguson opinion and as we know, he does hold grudges.



  • Schmeichel and Keane were world class.
  • Hard to define world class...apart from the 4 he named surely you would include Schmeichel...and at their peaks Keane, Ferdinand, Stam and Nistleroy.
  • If Fergie hadn't had his relentless grudges, he'd never have been able to get up in the morning. Given his well-defined personality type, he will cling on to his grudges until the day he dies.
  • Stam was right up there with the best defenders in the world at his peak.

    Great shout.
    cabbles said:

    Keane at his peak was. There was no one better in his position around 98/99.

    I wouldn't describe Cantona as world class. He was a good Premier League player but didn't perform at the top level, i.e. Champion's League. Can't argue with Ronaldo, Giggs and Scholes though. Agree that Schmiechael should be up there.

    What about Van Nistelrooy as a forward? Ferdinand at his peak? Beckham even?

    I think Cantona was part of the United team that took a while to get used to how to win in the CL. You've got to remember that English clubs being banned after Heisel and the time it took for us to re-adjust etc. Cantona was slap bang in the time of their early CL attempts. For me he was class, probably my best ever player. Probably had something to do with my age at the time being 10-16 when he was playing.

    I had this video when I was younger called Eric the King. That video demonstrated how much emphasis Alex placed on Cantona being the catalyst for United to turn into a powerhouse. He was the start of it IMO. I couldn't believe Leeds agreed to sell him and for only £1.2m.

    Cantona is for me one of the greats of football. Van Nistelrooy was a great striker, but then so was Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. All of them had great goal scoring records. Ferdinand yes was class, but do you compare him to a Maldini and say, he was as good. Beckham, great for England and such a talent, was it perhaps the manner in which Beckham left that Alex Ferguson omitted him. Tough to call
    Very good point actually and I think it's something City are dealing with now too.
  • Does that mean he doesn't regard Shreck as world class?
  • Apparently he regards most of the other players that have been named here, Rooney, Beckham, Keane, Schmeichel etc as great but not world class.
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  • Rizzo said:

    Apparently he regards most of the other players that have been named here, Rooney, Beckham, Keane, Schmeichel etc as great but not world class.

    There's no way Schmeichel was not world class. You can argue that the others weren't, but not Schmeichel.
  • Rizzo said:

    Apparently he regards most of the other players that have been named here, Rooney, Beckham, Keane, Schmeichel etc as great but not world class.

    There's no way Schmeichel was not world class. You can argue that the others weren't, but not Schmeichel.
    He must hold a grudge over the tackle on Kim Grant in 1994!
  • Stam, Tevez, Schemeichel, Ferdinand, Keane, Van Nistelrooy & Beckham (for his crossing alone) in my opinion.
  • Rizzo said:

    Apparently he regards most of the other players that have been named here, Rooney, Beckham, Keane, Schmeichel etc as great but not world class.

    There's no way Schmeichel was not world class. You can argue that the others weren't, but not Schmeichel.
    Totally agree. If Schmeichel was not world class then there has never been a world class goalkeeper as he is the best there has been in my opinion.
  • Beckam was a world class set piece specialist
  • cabbles said:

    Keane at his peak was. There was no one better in his position around 98/99.

    I wouldn't describe Cantona as world class. He was a good Premier League player but didn't perform at the top level, i.e. Champion's League. Can't argue with Ronaldo, Giggs and Scholes though. Agree that Schmiechael should be up there.

    What about Van Nistelrooy as a forward? Ferdinand at his peak? Beckham even?

    I think Cantona was part of the United team that took a while to get used to how to win in the CL. You've got to remember that English clubs being banned after Heisel and the time it took for us to re-adjust etc. Cantona was slap bang in the time of their early CL attempts. For me he was class, probably my best ever player. Probably had something to do with my age at the time being 10-16 when he was playing.

    I had this video when I was younger called Eric the King. That video demonstrated how much emphasis Alex placed on Cantona being the catalyst for United to turn into a powerhouse. He was the start of it IMO. I couldn't believe Leeds agreed to sell him and for only £1.2m.

    Cantona is for me one of the greats of football. Van Nistelrooy was a great striker, but then so was Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. All of them had great goal scoring records. Ferdinand yes was class, but do you compare him to a Maldini and say, he was as good. Beckham, great for England and such a talent, was it perhaps the manner in which Beckham left that Alex Ferguson omitted him. Tough to call
    There were also only 3 foreigners allowed in the team in europe.

  • World class to me means that a player at their peak would walk into any team in the world. Under SAFs time at United there were MUCH more than 4 players that would've done this. He absolutely holds grudges and probably enjoys winding specific players up by not mentioning them.
  • Massimo Taibi was better than Schmeichel.
  • Macronate said:

    Massimo Taibi was better than Schmeichel.

    One strike and he was out ?

    One strike which went between his legs and he was out.

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