"He was/is clearly the best player in the league"

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Cantona was a much better all round player and leader. Shearer is an elite level striker who happened to be a c*ck and not much of a leader.

Depends if your comparing goals scored alone. If I'm picking a team I pick peak Cantona over Shearer every day of the week and that's not a decision skewed by bias or nostalgia. You can't underestimate Cantona's presence and influence within a team.

Ideally you'd have had both. Imagine what a partnership that would've been

 

[jus2nang]

Henry's reputation is slightly elevated by his overall body of work in the way Giggs' is, the first two or three seasons there was nothing between Henry and Van Nistelrooy. Arsenal fans would choose Henry, we would choose RVN. It was only when he got injured and fell out with SAF that Henry pulled ahead.

No chance.

Van Nistelrooy was an incredible goalscorer, but Henry had much more to his game. People forget that he assisted almost as much as he scored and contributed way more in overall play.

If you look at the entire package and not just goals, it was never close.

 

[adz_87]

There was a point where David Silva was comfortably the best player in the league for me, Criminally underrated. Think if he played for a proper club we'd be talking about him as one of the true greats. Many pundits and I think Neville to mention one said he was the best in the league over players like Hazard due to his all round game and professionalism. There was a period where everything went through him and when you took him out that city side they really struggled to break teams down. Not the same these days but he was irreplaceable.

 

[Josh 76]

There was a point where David Silva was comfortably the best player in the league for me, Criminally underrated. Think if he played for a proper club we'd be talking about him as one of the true greats. Many pundits and I think Neville to mention one said he was the best in the league over players like Hazard due to his all round game and professionalism. There was a period where everything went through him and when you took him out that city side they really struggled to break teams down. Not the same these days but he was irreplaceable.

Klopp said he was the one player he wish he could sign.
That says a lot about how good Silva was.

 

[RUCK4444]

Ideally you'd have had both. Imagine what a partnership that would've been

Mouthwatering. What a waste Shearer going to Newcastle was, I know it was his hometown club and that has its own appeal but my god what he could have won here.

 

[RUCK4444]

There was a point where David Silva was comfortably the best player in the league for me, Criminally underrated. Think if he played for a proper club we'd be talking about him as one of the true greats. Many pundits and I think Neville to mention one said he was the best in the league over players like Hazard due to his all round game and professionalism. There was a period where everything went through him and when you took him out that city side they really struggled to break teams down. Not the same these days but he was irreplaceable.

Yeah I was going to list Silva yesterday but it frustrates me he plays for that lot.

Incredible player, biggest compliment I could give him is that he could have slotted in fine with the peak Barca teams, as you say there was a period (and I would say multiple complete seasons) where everything went through him.

 

[DanClancy]

No he wasn't. He was just a strong combative but limited midfielder. Certainly one of the best midfielders in the world at the time but no way was he a top 5 player overall. Very few midfielders reach that level and he wasn't one of them.

Best midfielder of his type the last 25 years. So who was United's best player from 98-01?

 

[RooneyLegend]

Best midfielder of his type the last 25 years. So who was United's best player from 98-01?

Can't agree with that. Vieira was better imo. Stam, Becks or Keane. No one was clearly the best player at the club.

 

[Gio]

Before the Premier League Era?

If so Best stands more than any really.

I would say between Peak Ronaldo and Best, they are by far better than anybody else we can list, IMO anyway.

Post Best, I'd say there's a strong case for Kenny Dalglish around late 1970s/early 1980s and John Barnes in the late 1980s as being a cut above their peers.

 

[paraguayo]

So nobody cares about defensive players or midfielders..

 

[hmchan]

Yeah I was going to list Silva yesterday but it frustrates me he plays for that lot.

Incredible player, biggest compliment I could give him is that he could have slotted in fine with the peak Barca teams, as you say there was a period (and I would say multiple complete seasons) where everything went through him.

It's a disgrace so many compare Mata to Silva.

 

[Righteous Steps]

There was a point where David Silva was comfortably the best player in the league for me, Criminally underrated. Think if he played for a proper club we'd be talking about him as one of the true greats. Many pundits and I think Neville to mention one said he was the best in the league over players like Hazard due to his all round game and professionalism. There was a period where everything went through him and when you took him out that city side they really struggled to break teams down. Not the same these days but he was irreplaceable.

When was this, Silva comfortably the best player?

 

[Righteous Steps]

The only players who have been comfortably the best for me in a season or more, are Shearer Henry Ronaldinho Suarez and Salah.

Drogba should get a mention because his 09/10 season was absolutely one of the greatest premier league seasons of all time, it’s just the competition was pretty good at the time so you couldn’t say he was comfortably better than the likes of Ronald Rooney et al.

 

[Righteous Steps]

17/18 is split in half between De Bruyne and Salah. De Bruyne was better in the first half of the season and city pretty much sealed the title by January, and Salah was better in the second half.

Salah's form was also perfectly timed for the PFA awards, it's why he ended up with the individual accolades. There wasn't anything between them though, and I personally think De Bruyne should've won.

There definitely was, 32 goals and 10 assists, the only players who can claim to have comparable stats overall are Henry Suarez and Ronaldo.

Salah got 6 less assists than De Bruyne without taking free kicks and corners and 24 more goals only 1 of them being a penalty, there was a clear gap imo.

 

[Righteous Steps]

Can't agree with that. Vieira was better imo. Stam, Becks or Keane. No one was clearly the best player at the club.

Keane was the best midfielder in the league in the late 90’s, I don’t think he was ever top 5 in the world though, the competition was stacked in those periods.

 

[Righteous Steps]

Surely Cantona was up there for the best player in the league around that time

Easily.

 

[Bullhitter]

Threads like these as well as awards in general are always stupidly biased to attacking players.

Strong argument for Makelele in 04-05 and Kante in Leicester's title winning season.

 

[DanClancy]

Can't agree with that. Vieira was better imo. Stam, Becks or Keane. No one was clearly the best player at the club.

You're well in the minority, I've seen interviews with a lot of the players he played with stating he was the best player during that period and all my mates would state the same.

 

[Peyroteo]

Threads like these as well as awards in general are always stupidly biased to attacking players.

Strong argument for Makelele in 04-05 and Kante in Leicester's title winning season.

It's not bias, it's always been pretty much agreed in the world of football that the best attacking players generally have more of an impact than defensive midfielders, defenders or goalkeepers. Hence why clubs spend more money on attacking players.

There are usually just a few forwards that people would put at the very highest level while for the other positions it tends to be a lot closer at the top I think.

 

[Redcy]

The issue is that the player had to be clearly the best player in the league. I’m not Kante nor Claude can say that

 

[fps]

Don't know, but if he was a legitimate challenger throughout that time it surely also rules Shearer out for that time period.

Shearer was an absolute monster, he was arguably the best centre forward in the world. He is definitely one who was, at one point, the top dog in the PL as a player, and it wasn't that close. Every club would want a 25 year old Shearer now, he was insane.

 

[GuybrushThreepwood]

It's not bias, it's always been pretty much agreed in the world of football that the best attacking players generally have more of an impact than defensive midfielders, defenders or goalkeepers. Hence why clubs spend more money on attacking players.

There are usually just a few forwards that people would put at the very highest level while for the other positions it tends to be a lot closer at the top I think.

Yeah I think that generally (of course there are exceptions to any rule) and overall, attacking players are simply and clearly better footballers than defensive midfielders, defenders or goalkeepers.

It is far more difficult to score than it is to stop the other team from scoring. A very small percentage of goal-scoring opportunities actually result in goals, and even if Man City, Juventus, Bayern etc. win a game 4-0, they'll probably have missed numerous other clear-cut chances in the same game.

Far more people growing up wanting to be a world class attacking playing than a word class defensive midfielder, defender or goalkeeper, as there is far more glory in scoring and creating goals than preventing them. So in terms of pure numbers the best attacking players in the world will generally have had to beat more competition from youth level onwards to get to where they are. Also again while there of course are exceptions to the rule, I think many more attacking players could adapt to play in different, defensive positions than vice versa.

 

[Schweigaard]

There definitely was, 32 goals and 10 assists, the only players who can claim to have comparable stats overall are Henry Suarez and Ronaldo.

Salah got 6 less assists than De Bruyne without taking free kicks and corners and 24 more goals only 1 of them being a penalty, there was a clear gap imo.

There is a thing called the "eye test" though. Salah's overall play isn't nearly as impressive as KDB's. I don't think Salah was a level above KDB in that season at all.

Also, Lampard was at no point the best player in the league, and especially not "clearly" so. As with Salah, you can't look at goals only.

 

[Zehner]

Yeah I think that generally (of course there are exceptions to any rule) and overall, attacking players are simply and clearly better footballers than defensive midfielders, defenders or goalkeepers.

It is far more difficult to score than it is to stop the other team from scoring. A very small percentage of goal-scoring opportunities actually result in goals, and even if Man City, Juventus, Bayern etc. win a game 4-0, they'll probably have missed numerous other clear-cut chances in the same game.

Far more people growing up wanting to be a world class attacking playing than a word class defensive midfielder, defender or goalkeeper, as there is far more glory in scoring and creating goals than preventing them. So in terms of pure numbers the best attacking players in the world will generally have had to beat more competition from youth level onwards to get to where they are. Also again while there of course are exceptions to the rule, I think many more attacking players could adapt to play in different, defensive positions than vice versa.

I think you need to distinguish among attacking players, though. There are countless examples where players with not even that amazing end product were considered the best in their teams/leagues instead of the most prolific strikers.

I think it ultimately comes down to the impact you have on the attacking prowess of your team. Beckenbauer exemplarily is considered the best German player in history although he was a defender. Ronaldinho was considered the best in the world by quite a margin although there were many, many players with better end product. The same goes for Zidane.

On the other hand, there are also countless examples of players with great scoring statistics but it just feels wromg to say they are the best in the world, league or even their team. Guys like Inzaghi, Toni, Makaay, Lukaku, Icardi, ... those guys are similarly out of the equation as most defenders and defensive midfielders.

 

[Righteous Steps]

There is a thing called the "eye test" though. Salah's overall play isn't nearly as impressive as KDB's. I don't think Salah was a level above KDB in that season at all.

Also, Lampard was at no point the best player in the league, and especially not "clearly" so. As with Salah, you can't look at goals only.

You wouldn’t compare a forwards overall play with a midfielder generally, bit like comparing Shearer with Giggs or Pires.

If a forward scores 32 goals assists 10 goals, and is top 5 in the league for key passes so is generally nearly as big of a creative force as he is a scorer, it doesn’t matter about the ‘eye test’ that is subjective as I feel Salah overall play in his first season was very good, dribbling passing and etc, you may feel different but the stats are the stats.

Especially with a player like De Bruyne who is not as refined as a David Silva, the guy loses the ball just as much as he creates, in a way he’s basically given the licence to be a forward in a midfield position.

Also I can name loads of players I enjoy watching more than Cristiano Ronaldo for example...

 

[SirReginald]

Rooney was the best player for most of that season. He was dragging our team to the title kicking and screaming. Without his Injury Chelsea wouldn't have won anything.

Well firstly, we were without a doubt the best team in the league that season. Destroyed quite a few teams and even Malouda played well. So I doubt Rooneys injury would have made much difference unless you want to infer that you were a 1 man team.

Secondly, while it was easily Rooneys best season, Drogba was almost unplayable and I cant imagine more than a handful of defenders would have even kept him at bay. When I say that, I dont just mean goal scoring, I mean that man could hold off some teams entire backlines on his own

 

[Canagel]

There is a thing called the "eye test" though. Salah's overall play isn't nearly as impressive as KDB's. I don't think Salah was a level above KDB in that season at all.

Also, Lampard was at no point the best player in the league, and especially not "clearly" so. As with Salah, you can't look at goals only.

KdB wasn't even the clear best on his own team . D Silva, Fernandinho, Sane etc were just as good and important for winning the title. Overall Salah was the best and deserved to win the award in 2018

 

[kidbob]

The only undisputed clearly best was obviously the two Ronaldo years and the one Suarez year. You've seen in this thread that you have Rooney v Drogba, Salah vs KBD and Henry vs RVN. So clearly the only clear best player in the league in the last years has been Ronaldo and Suarez. To the point that I'm sure no one can debate this. If there is a debate then there is logically no 'clear' best player. Even the absolute idiots that argue that Gerrard and Lampard were anywhere near as good as Scholes can agree on the Ronaldo and Suarez years. In fact even people who don't recognise Keane as the best midfielder in PL history would agree. I see that as pretty solid evidence.

 

[Infordin]

As far as La Liga is concerned

Ronaldo 1996-97
Ronaldinho 2003-06
Messi 2007-11
Messi 2015-20

Rivaldo vs Figo was never as clear cut. I personally favour Rivaldo but it was close enough.

 

[Gazza]

Bergkamp in 1997/98 was probably the best player by a clear margin. Cole was brilliant that season, Shearer was injured, Overmars had probably his best season too, but I seem to remember Bergkamp being on a different level.

 

[Charlie Foley]

Not true, most likely wasn't even our best player.

When did you start watching United

 

[Kag]

Only Henry and Ronaldo stand out as unarguable certainties, to be honest.

Although Suarez had one of the best Premier League seasons of all time, in my opinion.

In my mind, Hazard had sustained periods as the best player in the league, but that is still open to a degree of debate.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Alittle surprised to find that Aguero hasn't won the PFA or the FWA award when rival players and journo's generally consider him the best forward in the PL for the last few seasons.

 

[adexkola]

KdB wasn't even the clear best on his own team . D Silva, Fernandinho, Sane etc were just as good and important for winning the title. Overall Salah was the best and deserved to win the award in 2018

That is absolutely not true.

 

[Canagel]

That is absolutely not true.

I don't believe so. He had a high peak but across the season the core group of Silva, Sane, Aguero, KdB, Fernandinho and Sterling were more or less on the same level. Silva and Sane in particular are very underrated for their contribution in 2017/18 (both doubles figures in G+A)

He was nominated for the accolade because his individual games like Stoke 7-2 and Chelsea were a like a catalyst for winning the title and they stick in people's memories but if we look across the season there wasn't much between them. The best player fluctuated from game to game.
Infact KdB was their clear best player in the season before (2016/17) but not 2017/18

 

[arnie_ni]

Can't agree with that. Vieira was better imo. Stam, Becks or Keane. No one was clearly the best player at the club.

Viera was not better than roy keane

 

[arnie_ni]

The only players who have been comfortably the best for me in a season or more, are Shearer Henry Ronaldinho Suarez and Salah.

Drogba should get a mention because his 09/10 season was absolutely one of the greatest premier league seasons of all time, it’s just the competition was pretty good at the time so you couldn’t say he was comfortably better than the likes of Ronald Rooney et al.

How have you not got mid to late 2000s uniteds ronaldo on this?

 

[arnie_ni]

Regarding that Suarez season, i seen someone saying almost half his goals came against relegated teams and he only scored 1 against the top 6.

If true, doesnt that devalue the season a bit, or was it just that a good a season nothing de values it?

Still think that goal against Newcastle he scored from the long ball is one of the best ive ever seen.

 

[Withnail]

When did you start watching United

I was thinking the same thing.

There was a period in the late 90s were he was absolutely irreplaceable and definitely our best player.

 

[Fingeredmouse]

Can't agree with that. Vieira was better imo. Stam, Becks or Keane. No one was clearly the best player at the club.

Vieira was better than Keane? feck off. He dominated Vieira in virtually every game they came up against one another.
Your opinions on Roy Keane are objectively bollocks of the highest order. Limited, combative midfielder? Did you ever see him play? Have you ever watched Utd?