Best ever season by a United player.

brophs · 4th June 2008, 13:14

This is something that has had me thinking lately. I've seen it mentioned in another thread that one or two people consider Ronaldo's season as the best ever by a player at this club. What do you lot think (I'm particularly interested in the views of anyone who has been watching from Busby's time at the club)?

For me, although Ronaldo has been brilliant(rare that the word brilliant can be an understatement) this season, the single best season I've seen has to be Roy Keane's when we won the treble. He seemed to dominate almost every game, and it got to the point where we had this aura about us whenever he was on the pitch, that meant I felt we could only beat ourselves by playing badly or messing up.

There's no need for me to rehash some of his performances from that year, plenty on here have already done it(and far better than I could), but it goes without saying that without him, I'm not sure our season would have been so successful. To this day, I think he is comfortably still the greatest(most effective rather than most skillful/capable of game-changing moments) United player I have seen in my lifetime.

What say the rest of you?

ecantona7 · 4th June 2008, 13:25

didn't law score like 46 goals in one season? I'd like to get the thoughts of our older poster on how dominant he was that season.

Billy Blaggs · 4th June 2008, 13:49

I've never seen a better season than this one.

Cantona came close but we didn't do it in Europe.

Devils Advocate · 4th June 2008, 13:51

tbh i think ronaldos probably was. if that happened on a computer game you'd think it was too unrealistic. in 99 keane was brilliant but schmeichel, stam, beckham and yorke in particular were all key as well. i wouldnt say kean was twice as good in that season as the others whereas, with the exception of rio, ronaldo has been far and away our best player this year. he was winning games on his own(like eric in 95-96)but scoring 2 instead of 1 in a lot of the games and provided more moments of jaw dropping awe than i can ever recall from one player in one season. that's from me following united since 1990. regardless of where he finishes in the overall pantheon of great united players, i doubt any player will be as consistently unbelievable as ronaldo this season (from the pompey freekick, to the header against roma, to the villa backheel etc).

Name Changed · 4th June 2008, 16:50

Keano during the treble year was unstoppable.

Magnus · 4th June 2008, 18:30

I think Keane in 95/96 was the best season I´ve ever seen from a single United-player. All those youngsters around him and they did the double. Cantona and Schmeichel did help him alot though. Still, with that motor in midfield they would never been near the double

Crustanoid · 4th June 2008, 18:33

Keane in 1998/9

Giggs in 1992-3

Eric in 1995-6

Ronaldo last season and this season

Ruud in 2002-3

all in my life time - didn't see the holy trinity who may well have had better ones

TheRedPirate · 4th June 2008, 18:56

Ruud in 2002-03 is a good call, how many goals did he score that year? Over 40 i think.

CantonaVeron · 4th June 2008, 19:07

Ronaldo's was the best individual season I have seen, he is playing with alot of great players no doubt but to score 42 goals, all different kind of goals at that is just unbelieveable. I think as far as influence goes there have been better put just pure footballing greatness Ronaldo clearly takes it.

ralphie88 · 4th June 2008, 21:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magnus

I think Keane in 95/96 was the best season I´ve ever seen from a single United-player. All those youngsters around him and they did the double. Cantona and Schmeichel did help him alot though. Still, with that motor in midfield they would never been near the double

Er, yes. Just a tad.

I'd go for Ruud in 2002/3
Or Hughes in 1990/91

Alex · 4th June 2008, 21:49

Ronaldo's goal scoring was as good as anybody's ever(almost), probably have been better individual seasons at OT, that said when you factor in the club's success as well as the fact that Ronaldo will win all the player of the year awards, it has to be considered the best; doesn't mean it won't be surpassed(greatest season, not necessarily goal scoring) in the future or even the near future, either by Ronaldo or someone like Anderson or a certain possible French signing.

All this said, I won't shed a tear if Ronaldo leaves, because as big as Ronaldo is, and he is the biggest most popular player in the world atm; Manchester United are the biggest club in the world, Real have that draw with some Latin, you have to consider Ronaldo was watching them when he was younger before he ever heard of Manchester United, that said I am sure United are doing that same thing to to a lot of kids who will someday be great players-mesmerizing them with our brilliance). That said Becks was when he was #7 at United as well, and we more than adequetely replaced him in Ronaldo(it did take a little time to see his best, but it's not like he was shit ever), their are only two atm(I'm sure their are some other great prospects somewhere dont get me wrong) but I want either Ribery or Benzema to fill that number 7 shirt when/if Ronaldo leaves

surf · 4th June 2008, 23:00

Ronaldo 2008, ahead of Best 1968, Law 1964, Charlton 1966.

Ronaldo 2008 won everything that matters: the league/CL double, every domestic player of the year award, every scoring award in England and Europe, and scored 42 goals as a "winger".

jasonrh · 4th June 2008, 23:11

Ronaldo in 2007/8.

Ruud might have scored a bundle when he first arrived, but he was playing all alone up front and all of the play was running through him.

Ronaldo is a part of the magic roundabout that is the current United attack. It is much more effective, and it takes a lot more work than just standing there with your hands on your hips waiting for David Beckham to place the ball at your feet two yards out.

reddevilcanada · 4th June 2008, 23:30

It has to be Ronaldo.

To break Bestie's record and score 10 more that the legend himself could in his best ever season speaks volumes in itself, what's more he's been the major reason for our sixth back-to-back title (beating the dipper's record of 5) and our third European cup.

Sultan · 4th June 2008, 23:44

I would say Ron, and Rio this year.

Keane also had a stand out season during our treble win...

anver · 5th June 2008, 08:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

Ronaldo's goal scoring was as good as anybody's ever(almost), probably have been better individual seasons at OT, that said when you factor in the club's success as well as the fact that Ronaldo will win all the player of the year awards, it has to be considered the best; doesn't mean it won't be surpassed(greatest season, not necessarily goal scoring) in the future or even the near future, either by Ronaldo or someone like Anderson or a certain possible French signing.

All this said, I won't shed a tear if Ronaldo leaves, because as big as Ronaldo is, and he is the biggest most popular player in the world atm; Manchester United are the biggest club in the world, Real have that draw with some Latin, you have to consider Ronaldo was watching them when he was younger before he ever heard of Manchester United, that said I am sure United are doing that same thing to to a lot of kids who will someday be great players-mesmerizing them with our brilliance). That said Becks was when he was #7 at United as well, and we more than adequetely replaced him in Ronaldo(it did take a little time to see his best, but it's not like he was shit ever), their are only two atm(I'm sure their are some other great prospects somewhere dont get me wrong) but I want either Ribery or Benzema to fill that number 7 shirt when/if Ronaldo leaves

Spot on, Alex. No tears. Just regrets.

Hope Ribery and Benzema come along. We wont feel the loss.

FranklyVulgar · 5th June 2008, 08:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by surf

Ronaldo 2008, ahead of Best 1968, Law 1964, Charlton 1966.

Ronaldo 2008 won everything that matters: the league/CL double, every domestic player of the year award, every scoring award in England and Europe, and scored 42 goals as a "winger".

Can't claim to have seen any of those seasons the way i have seen Ronaldo this season so it would be pointless to argue. I can't help but think that Best is still clearly UNiteds most tallented ever player and he would have actually been playing as a winger, Ronaldo was a forward this season, not a winger.

Crustanoid · 5th June 2008, 09:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by ralphie88

Er, yes. Just a tad.

I'd go for Ruud in 2002/3
Or Hughes in 1990/91

Steve Bruce in the same season - 4th top scorer in the league

RedRichio · 5th June 2008, 09:55

Brian McClair, 87/88.

reddevilcanada · 5th June 2008, 09:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by FranklyVulgar

Can't claim to have seen any of those seasons the way i have seen Ronaldo this season so it would be pointless to argue. I can't help but think that Best is still clearly UNiteds most tallented ever player and he would have actually been playing as a winger, Ronaldo was a forward this season, not a winger.

Ronaldo has played more as a winger than a forward, especially in the games where Rooney has started. Even Bestie wasn't the traditional winger a la Steve Coppell who'd just hug the flanks and cross teh balls into the box, he drifted in and out quite a lot and got into the box quite often, it's a pathetic attempt to belittle Ronaldo's acheivements this season, but it doesn't surprise me especially considering your previous comments on Ronaldo and messi and how lucky we were against Barca. btw, where is your other fellow barca fanatic MehdiMahdavikia? I remember how the both of you were predicting barca to humiliate us...

FranklyVulgar · 5th June 2008, 10:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by reddevilcanada

Ronaldo has played more as a winger than a forward, especially in the games where Rooney has started. Even Bestie wasn't the traditional winger a la Steve Coppell who'd just hug the flanks and cross teh balls into the box, he drifted in and out quite a lot and got into the box quite often, it's a pathetic attempt to belittle Ronaldo's acheivements this season, but it doesn't surprise me especially considering your previous comments on Ronaldo and messi and how lucky we were against Barca. btw, where is your other fellow barca fanatic MehdiMahdavikia? I remember how the both of you were predicting barca to humiliate us...

Cant remember that and i know Best wasn't a traditional winger but Best was like Cruyff in the way he would basically go anywhere on the pitch to pick the ball up. My dad says Best could play anywhere and also says he was a better player than Maradona.

So from what i have heard and seen it is not an attempt to belittle ronaldo it is more to put it in perspective. Fans have short memories.

reddevilcanada · 5th June 2008, 10:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by FranklyVulgar

Cant remember that and i know Best wasn't a traditional winger but Best was like Cruyff in the way he would basically go anywhere on the pitch to pick the ball up. My dad says Best could play anywhere and also says he was a better player than Maradona.

So from what i have heard and seen it is not an attempt to belittle ronaldo it is more to put it in perspective. Fans have short memories.

It's funny that's what you believe as those who actually have seen bestie and have commented in this thread think that Ronaldo's had the better season. Perhpas their perspective and viewpoint is more credible than your attempts to 'put things into perspective from what you've heard and seen of best'.

ukbob · 5th June 2008, 10:20

Very hard to say as the game has changed over the years. The likes of Law,Best etc. great as they were, did not play in a team that dominated. Individualy they were as good if not better, than say Ronaldo is today.
Ronaldo has the luxury of being surrounded by good, if not great players, which helps his type of game.
The game today also has to deal with the media and clubs that operate in an underhand manner to unsettle players and teams. I say this because the Babes players were 100% commited to United and the likes of Duncan Edwards would NEVER consider going to another club, never.
To me, the Busby Babes were the best "team" ever. So young, yet so mature. They had been developed by Sir Matt and moulded into the team that they were. You have to remember that Bobby Charlton was just a fringe player at that time. We did not of course ever see the full potential of that team.
Had they continued I believe they would have changed the game of football and history completely.
Duncan Edwards was the consumate pro. Skilled, strong, a great footballing brain and above all LOYAL.
Sir Alex stood by and supported Ronaldo after the last world cup. We, United, have developed him into one of the greatest players in the world and yet he still gets influenced by outside sources. None of the players of the 58 side would ever have dreampt of being so disloyal.
That is why the United team of 58 were the greatest team we have ever produced.

reddevilcanada · 5th June 2008, 10:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by ukbob

Very hard to say as the game has changed over the years. The likes of Law,Best etc. great as they were, did not play in a team that dominated. Individualy they were as good if not better, than say Ronaldo is today.
Ronaldo has the luxury of being surrounded by good, if not great players, which helps his type of game.
The game today also has to deal with the media and clubs that operate in an underhand manner to unsettle players and teams. I say this because the Babes players were 100% commited to United and the likes of Duncan Edwards would NEVER consider going to another club, never.
To me, the Busby Babes were the best "team" ever. So young, yet so mature. They had been developed by Sir Matt and moulded into the team that they were. You have to remember that Bobby Charlton was just a fringe player at that time. We did not of course ever see the full potential of that team.
Had they continued I believe they would have changed the game of football and history completely.
Duncan Edwards was the consumate pro. Skilled, strong, a great footballing brain and above all LOYAL.
Sir Alex stood by and supported Ronaldo after the last world cup. We, United, have developed him into one of the greatest players in the world and yet he still gets influenced by outside sources. None of the players of the 58 side would ever have dreampt of being so disloyal. That is why the United team of 58 were the greatest team we have ever produced.

the likes of Duncan Edwards and Charlton weren't Portugese though were they? To them, England was where they would have wanted to play in and United their dream club. If they were snapped up by Madrid at 16, I'm sure their loyalty to madrid wouldn't have been as strong as their loyalty to United and they'd certainly would've been tempted and considered a move to the top English club at 23, just as Ronaldo may be tempted by a move to Madrid....So I think it's rather unfair to compare Ronaldo's loyalty with those legends without actually considering the difference in culture, personal preferenceces... Even after the world cup, Ronaldo was hated all over England and jeered at every away ground and his house vandalized, yet he stayed on and led us to back to back titles and a 3rd CL...all despite the treatment and abuse he recieved...

Denis' cuff · 5th June 2008, 10:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by surf

Ronaldo 2008, ahead of Best 1968, Law 1964, Charlton 1966.

Ronaldo 2008 won everything that matters: the league/CL double, every domestic player of the year award, every scoring award in England and Europe, and scored 42 goals as a "winger".

the team won everything that matters - Ronaldo was a big part of that

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecantona7

didn't law score like 46 goals in one season? I'd like to get the thoughts of our older poster on how dominant he was that season.

Must admit I was only a young fella and more impressionable than now but that doesn't mean I imagined their brilliance. I can still see the look on older fellas' faces as George did some outrageous things that I have yet to see Ronaldo do, with/without falling over. A wry smile with a shake of the head which said "I don't know how the fuck he does it, but it's sheer joy to watch". You only have to see the vid of George scoring against Chav$ when Harris tried to cut him in half - his whole body nearly fell flat under the blatant attempt to stop him, regardless of where the ball was....and that was pretty routine then but he righted himself almost in mid air and carried on and put the ball away. Fuckin filthy fouls went unpunished and hardly anybody bothered with diving because they knew the ref would just ignore it and you'd be a figure of absolute ridicule. Should've joined that to comments re: George, below.

11 (64?) when Dazzling Denis was EFotY although not good enough to be voted England's by the "national" media.......no change there then. I've never seen a quicker player. Not quick as in 100yd sprint, although he was no slouch there, but he always reacted quicker an he'd fight his way to the ball holding far bigger defenders of with his sheer energy. The word journos always used was "mercurial"...and if you've seen how mercury behaves, that was Denis. He probably had at least 6 goals wrongly flagged for offside every season because he was so quick to react, that by the time the linesman looked up he was 10 yeards ahead of the nearest defender - so he must've been offside - "nobody's that quick"...and feisty.... he didn't mind a bit of biff. If any of you young uns know what a rip-rap was (fireworks - doubt if they still do em) that's what he was like in the penalty area. It was like he had springs in the soles of his boots.

14 when Charlton was utterly masterful in winning the EFotY and leading United to what should've been their first European Cup win. Still, he was by far the most influential player for England in 66 despite what our "national" press like to think (most of whom weren't even around then) particularly nowadays .He was an odd mixture of power and delicate balance - he kind of floated through tackles and when he was caught by some fuckin big oaf, he never made any big deal of it, just a look of frustration on his face - a bit like Scholes. Very understated. Fast, powerful burst of speed and a fuckin shot as good as anyone before or since. Not big on tackling, or heading, but a plaer so graceful and a pleasure to watch.

Probably got the dates a little bit out when they each won their Euro Footballer of the Year and now I'm a middle aged old fart probably reminiscing a bit after a few glasses of red but....surf, mate, you're fuckin kidding yourself. Ronny has been phenomenal, but he's done it for two seasons. This season particularly he has produced the goods when we didn't look like winning. Strikers do that. Nobody can argue with his goals tally or his performances particularly last season, which, I think, were actually better than this, when he has so often not been in the game although still come up with the goods. A special player but not in th same league as the Holy Trinity or whatever you wanna call them.

Van Piorsing · 5th June 2008, 10:50

Scholes in 02/03 season was on fire with goals and great performances.

Sultan · 5th June 2008, 10:50

The question asked by the thread starter was "Best ever season by a United player".

Having seen a lot of Best, and Law, I reckon Ronaldo's season has eclipsed the best from all the greats.

Where Best, Cantona and Law trump over Ronaldo is their consistency over many years.

anver · 5th June 2008, 11:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denis' cuff

the team won everything that matters - Ronaldo was a big part of that

Must admit I was only a young fella and more impressionable than now but that doesn't mean I imagined their brilliance. I can still see the look on older fellas' faces as George did some outrageous things that I have yet to see Ronaldo do, with/without falling over. A wry smile with a shake of the head which said "I don't know how the fuck he does it, but it's sheer joy to watch". You only have to see the vid of George scoring against Chav$ when Harris tried to cut him in half - his whole body nearly fell flat under the blatant attempt to stop him, regardless of where the ball was....and that was pretty routine then but he righted himself almost in mid air and carried on and put the ball away. Fuckin filthy fouls went unpunished and hardly anybody bothered with diving because they knew the ref would just ignore it and you'd be a figure of absolute ridicule. Should've joined that to comments re: George, below.

11 (64?) when Dazzling Denis was EFotY although not good enough to be voted England's by the "national" media.......no change there then. I've never seen a quicker player. Not quick as in 100yd sprint, although he was no slouch there, but he always reacted quicker an he'd fight his way to the ball holding far bigger defenders of with his sheer energy. The word journos always used was "mercurial"...and if you've seen how mercury behaves, that was Denis. He probably had at least 6 goals wrongly flagged for offside every season because he was so quick to react, that by the time the linesman looked up he was 10 yeards ahead of the nearest defender - so he must've been offside - "nobody's that quick"...and feisty.... he didn't mind a bit of biff. If any of you young uns know what a rip-rap was (fireworks - doubt if they still do em) that's what he was like in the penalty area. It was like he had springs in the soles of his boots.

14 when Charlton was utterly masterful in winning the EFotY and leading United to what should've been their first European Cup win. Still, he was by far the most influential player for England in 66 despite what our "national" press like to think (most of whom weren't even around then) particularly nowadays .He was an odd mixture of power and delicate balance - he kind of floated through tackles and when he was caught by some fuckin big oaf, he never made any big deal of it, just a look of frustration on his face - a bit like Scholes. Very understated. Fast, powerful burst of speed and a fuckin shot as good as anyone before or since. Not big on tackling, or heading, but a plaer so graceful and a pleasure to watch.

Probably got the dates a little bit out when they each won their Euro Footballer of the Year and now I'm a middle aged old fart probably reminiscing a bit after a few glasses of red but....surf, mate, you're fuckin kidding yourself. Ronny has been phenomenal, but he's done it for two seasons. This season particularly he has produced the goods when we didn't look like winning. Strikers do that. Nobody can argue with his goals tally or his performances particularly last season, which, I think, were actually better than this, when he has so often not been in the game although still come up with the goods. A special player but not in th same league as the Holy Trinity or whatever you wanna call them.

Some of the middle aged farts,(me included) who have seen legends like Law, Sir Bobby, and Bestie in their prime, know the difference between Ron's type of play, and that of the legends mentioned above.

Ronnie is great, no doubt. But he is not in the same class as the past masters mentioned.

4th June 2008, 13:14	#1 (permalink)
brophs Reserve Team Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Dublin. Posts: 4,552	Best ever season by a United player. This is something that has had me thinking lately. I've seen it mentioned in another thread that one or two people consider Ronaldo's season as the best ever by a player at this club. What do you lot think (I'm particularly interested in the views of anyone who has been watching from Busby's time at the club)? For me, although Ronaldo has been brilliant(rare that the word brilliant can be an understatement) this season, the single best season I've seen has to be Roy Keane's when we won the treble. He seemed to dominate almost every game, and it got to the point where we had this aura about us whenever he was on the pitch, that meant I felt we could only beat ourselves by playing badly or messing up. There's no need for me to rehash some of his performances from that year, plenty on here have already done it(and far better than I could), but it goes without saying that without him, I'm not sure our season would have been so successful. To this day, I think he is comfortably still the greatest(most effective rather than most skillful/capable of game-changing moments) United player I have seen in my lifetime. What say the rest of you?

4th June 2008, 13:25	#2 (permalink)
ecantona7 unlucky bet winner Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Whatever happens, there are always things you could have done better. You score two goals and you usually feel you could have done better.You score two goals and you usually feel you could have scored a third. That's what makes you progress in life. Posts: 7,699	didn't law score like 46 goals in one season? I'd like to get the thoughts of our older poster on how dominant he was that season.

4th June 2008, 13:49	#3 (permalink)
Billy Blaggs Billy no mates and im shit at Halo Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: I shit my pants at work and threw my grundies in the dumpster! Beat THAT! Posts: 4,450	I've never seen a better season than this one. Cantona came close but we didn't do it in Europe.

4th June 2008, 13:51	#4 (permalink)
Devils Advocate Youth Team Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 378	tbh i think ronaldos probably was. if that happened on a computer game you'd think it was too unrealistic. in 99 keane was brilliant but schmeichel, stam, beckham and yorke in particular were all key as well. i wouldnt say kean was twice as good in that season as the others whereas, with the exception of rio, ronaldo has been far and away our best player this year. he was winning games on his own(like eric in 95-96)but scoring 2 instead of 1 in a lot of the games and provided more moments of jaw dropping awe than i can ever recall from one player in one season. that's from me following united since 1990. regardless of where he finishes in the overall pantheon of great united players, i doubt any player will be as consistently unbelievable as ronaldo this season (from the pompey freekick, to the header against roma, to the villa backheel etc).

4th June 2008, 16:50	#5 (permalink)
Name Changed weso26 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dublin Posts: 5,518	Keano during the treble year was unstoppable.

4th June 2008, 18:30	#6 (permalink)
Magnus Another mad swede Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: In Boylies bathroom singing while having loads of pints Posts: 1,263	I think Keane in 95/96 was the best season I´ve ever seen from a single United-player. All those youngsters around him and they did the double. Cantona and Schmeichel did help him alot though. Still, with that motor in midfield they would never been near the double

4th June 2008, 18:33	#7 (permalink)
Crustanoid Reserve Team Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lancs Posts: 2,460	Keane in 1998/9 Giggs in 1992-3 Eric in 1995-6 Ronaldo last season and this season Ruud in 2002-3 all in my life time - didn't see the holy trinity who may well have had better ones

4th June 2008, 18:56	#8 (permalink)
TheRedPirate Reserve Team Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: UK Posts: 1,424	Ruud in 2002-03 is a good call, how many goals did he score that year? Over 40 i think.

4th June 2008, 19:07	#9 (permalink)
CantonaVeron Reserve Team Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,004	Ronaldo's was the best individual season I have seen, he is playing with alot of great players no doubt but to score 42 goals, all different kind of goals at that is just unbelieveable. I think as far as influence goes there have been better put just pure footballing greatness Ronaldo clearly takes it.

4th June 2008, 21:49	#11 (permalink)
Alex Spam Alert! Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Californication Posts: 21,224	Ronaldo's goal scoring was as good as anybody's ever(almost), probably have been better individual seasons at OT, that said when you factor in the club's success as well as the fact that Ronaldo will win all the player of the year awards, it has to be considered the best; doesn't mean it won't be surpassed(greatest season, not necessarily goal scoring) in the future or even the near future, either by Ronaldo or someone like Anderson or a certain possible French signing. All this said, I won't shed a tear if Ronaldo leaves, because as big as Ronaldo is, and he is the biggest most popular player in the world atm; Manchester United are the biggest club in the world, Real have that draw with some Latin, you have to consider Ronaldo was watching them when he was younger before he ever heard of Manchester United, that said I am sure United are doing that same thing to to a lot of kids who will someday be great players-mesmerizing them with our brilliance). That said Becks was when he was #7 at United as well, and we more than adequetely replaced him in Ronaldo(it did take a little time to see his best, but it's not like he was shit ever), their are only two atm(I'm sure their are some other great prospects somewhere dont get me wrong) but I want either Ribery or Benzema to fill that number 7 shirt when/if Ronaldo leaves

4th June 2008, 23:00	#12 (permalink)
surf Reserve Team Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: In the wilderness Posts: 1,725	Ronaldo 2008, ahead of Best 1968, Law 1964, Charlton 1966. Ronaldo 2008 won everything that matters: the league/CL double, every domestic player of the year award, every scoring award in England and Europe, and scored 42 goals as a "winger".

4th June 2008, 23:11	#13 (permalink)
jasonrh Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: "You sir, are the syphilitic cockbiscuit son of a hamster rimmer."; "Sir Alex Ferguson, trainer of the English champions, wants to start the spoon fruits since early." Posts: 58,972	Ronaldo in 2007/8. Ruud might have scored a bundle when he first arrived, but he was playing all alone up front and all of the play was running through him. Ronaldo is a part of the magic roundabout that is the current United attack. It is much more effective, and it takes a lot more work than just standing there with your hands on your hips waiting for David Beckham to place the ball at your feet two yards out.

4th June 2008, 23:30	#14 (permalink)
reddevilcanada First Team Regular Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 10,088	It has to be Ronaldo. To break Bestie's record and score 10 more that the legend himself could in his best ever season speaks volumes in itself, what's more he's been the major reason for our sixth back-to-back title (beating the dipper's record of 5) and our third European cup.

4th June 2008, 23:44	#15 (permalink)
Sultan Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown Posts: 16,781	I would say Ron, and Rio this year. Keane also had a stand out season during our treble win...

5th June 2008, 09:55	#19 (permalink)
RedRichio Man on a mission Join Date: May 2006 Location: Birminghamium Posts: 2,877	Brian McClair, 87/88.

5th June 2008, 10:20	#23 (permalink)
ukbob Caf's Coolest Grandad Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Home Posts: 4,196	Very hard to say as the game has changed over the years. The likes of Law,Best etc. great as they were, did not play in a team that dominated. Individualy they were as good if not better, than say Ronaldo is today. Ronaldo has the luxury of being surrounded by good, if not great players, which helps his type of game. The game today also has to deal with the media and clubs that operate in an underhand manner to unsettle players and teams. I say this because the Babes players were 100% commited to United and the likes of Duncan Edwards would NEVER consider going to another club, never. To me, the Busby Babes were the best "team" ever. So young, yet so mature. They had been developed by Sir Matt and moulded into the team that they were. You have to remember that Bobby Charlton was just a fringe player at that time. We did not of course ever see the full potential of that team. Had they continued I believe they would have changed the game of football and history completely. Duncan Edwards was the consumate pro. Skilled, strong, a great footballing brain and above all LOYAL. Sir Alex stood by and supported Ronaldo after the last world cup. We, United, have developed him into one of the greatest players in the world and yet he still gets influenced by outside sources. None of the players of the 58 side would ever have dreampt of being so disloyal. That is why the United team of 58 were the greatest team we have ever produced.

5th June 2008, 10:50	#26 (permalink)
Van Piorsing Lost his light sabre Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Polska Posts: 10,024	Scholes in 02/03 season was on fire with goals and great performances.

5th June 2008, 10:50	#27 (permalink)
Sultan Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown Posts: 16,781	The question asked by the thread starter was "Best ever season by a United player". Having seen a lot of Best, and Law, I reckon Ronaldo's season has eclipsed the best from all the greats. Where Best, Cantona and Law trump over Ronaldo is their consistency over many years.