BeforeKeanetherewasRobson
Full Member
One day someone will start a thread saying "is it possible to start a thread without Caf opinions quickly becoming completely polarised?"... and the thread would get quickly polarised.
In contrast, when Robson was out, you were looking at the likes of Colin Gibson or maybe playing Whiteside out of position (he'd do a job but I'd have Butt any day as a CM)
Digressing to playing ability again but bold is a bit harsh, especially given comparative quality of squads they played in. Robson/pre Keane sides still won a couple of cups, a European trophy (Robson brilliant) and could have won another if Robson hadn't have missed the Juve semi.
He also missed out on years when English teams were banned in Europe (not saying they'd have won mind)
I think that's got lost a bit in semantics and what a word means to people tbf. He said no OBVIOUS drop off and I think meant the team could still compete given the all-round quality in it. Nicky Butt must be one of the best players we've had who wasn't a regular starter? Maybe "massive drop off" is more accurate?No obvious drop off with Nicky Butt or Phil Neville?. That is frankly outrageous
In contrast, when Robson was out, you were looking at the likes of Colin Gibson or maybe playing Whiteside out of position (he'd do a job but I'd have Butt any day as a CM)
Yip. Keane clearly missed by any team, as a player and captain but I can't remember a great result without Robson whereas there are some without Keane. The Bayern game is the obvious one, plus when he got sent off v Arsenal. The team/squad strength meant we could still give ourselves a chance without him... and we had a lot of mentally tough players and other people who acted like captains. Schmeicel, Stam, Rio, etc didn't collapse if Keane wasn't about.It's not total bollocks at all, some of our better performances in Keane's time at the club were when he was actually missing, not many but some, but you could count on the finger of one finger the times you could say the same when Robson was missing.
He wasn't pissed in games Not ideal but he still played well over 300 games and had a 1 in 5 goal ratio (Keane 1 in 10, different positions I know)... he wasn't out for seasons due to drink, more his 100% committment to tackles and a little bit of bad luck too.There is not much between Robbo and Keane but to say Robson by quite some distance is just ludicrous.
Keane for me due to Robson's unprofessionalism, he was basically an alcoholic for most of his time at united and had he stayed off the booze he probably would have avoided some of those injuries. Keane on the other hand was a great professional and therefore shades it for me.
I guess to be fair to Robson he played in a less professional era but still....
This is what makes it a tougher question. The teams Robson played with meant he had more opportunities to drag teams to ridiculous results... it's not Keanes fault he played in amazing teams who shared the workload.He was truly fantastic and one of the greatest ever. There is a reason everyone who played against him and played with him swears by him.
The difference is Robson had the talent to take over a game going forward in a way Keane just didn't have the ability to. Mind you he faced those circumstances regularly. Never complained, just handled his business.
Robson was a better player post 25 than before. Again, drink not ideal but I don't think it had a huge impact on playing side.That's all very well and good but the debate is who is the better captain, not player so the giggs/best comparison is neither here nor there.
In my view the ongoing boozing had a significant impact on his injury record which in turn impacted on uniteds trophy haul in the 80s. Keane gave up the boozing around age 25 and became a better more mature player and captain as a result. Robson for whatever reason couldnt do that.
Anyway I think its perfectly acceptable for one to argue that Robbo was the better captain but to say he was by quite some distance is nonsense. Keane led us to trophy after trophy, Robbo and his drinking buddies led us nowhere in the end unfortunately.
Digressing to playing ability again but bold is a bit harsh, especially given comparative quality of squads they played in. Robson/pre Keane sides still won a couple of cups, a European trophy (Robson brilliant) and could have won another if Robson hadn't have missed the Juve semi.
He also missed out on years when English teams were banned in Europe (not saying they'd have won mind)
Happy BirthdayI've heard it all now, Bryan Robson being a piss-can is the main reason apart from the occasional Cup win we won feck all ....
@admin, it's my Birthday today, can I have special dispensation to post LOL?
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