Charlie Foley
Full Member
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- Mar 11, 2012
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Who was our best left back in the premier league era? Mods could you add a poll maybe?
We did feck him over a bit in those last couple of years, with no adequate back up and no real rest.There is an argument that Irwin is both our best left AND right back in the Premier League era. I am going with him. Even as much as I love Evra those last couple of years where he developed a habit of jogging back while being caught up the pitch is still too clear in the memory.
You aren't wrong, but still. If you know you don't have it in your tank, don't get caught that far up the pitch. It happened from like 2010 until 2014 and I dunno, I just can't shake it out of my system the mad bastard.We did feck him over a bit in those last couple of years, with no adequate back up and no real rest.
Easily debatable.Evra was a much better attacking full back
I'd delete this ridiculous postEvra is black so people won't vote for him.
well done. Appalling poster. You need to take a break.Evra is black so people won't vote for him.
Lingard or PerrieraAnother one of these, Geez!
They were both great players that have played for Utd at different times so that is the indisputable truth.
What is next
Stam or Rio?
Nani or Kanchelskis?
good argument. Evra certainly had a bigger profile, helpers by playing from France rather than ROI.Irwin was more consistent over a longer period of total domestic dominance. More versatile too.
But I think Evra's peak was better. At his absolute best he was considered to be one of, if not the best in the world in that position. As good as Irwin was, I think he doesn't quite have the international recognition that Evra has.
If neutral sources were to rank the best left backs of the last 30 years, I'd predict Evra would be ranked much higher than Irwin by most, if not all. Perhaps perennially underrated outside of United fans.
Longevity and contribution to the club, its Irwin. Top level as a footballer whilst playing for us, it's Evra. I voted the latter, by a whisker.
Exactly. That's why none of us rate Pele either.Evra is black so people won't vote for him.
This is in line with that I’m thinking too.Irwin was more consistent over a longer period of total domestic dominance. More versatile too.
But I think Evra's peak was better. At his absolute best he was considered to be one of, if not the best in the world in that position. As good as Irwin was, I think he doesn't quite have the international recognition that Evra has.
If neutral sources were to rank the best left backs of the last 30 years, I'd predict Evra would be ranked much higher than Irwin by most, if not all. Perhaps perennially underrated outside of United fans.
Longevity and contribution to the club, its Irwin. Top level as a footballer whilst playing for us, it's Evra. I voted the latter, by a whisker.
Definitely not 'much better', I don't remember Evra scoring many goals compared to Irwin and not just set pieces either - would like to check the assist/goal stats for eachEvra.
I know Irwin was Mr. Consistent, can strike good freekick, and solid defensively. But Evra was a much better attacking full back, a good tackler and great link up with Ronaldo at that time.
Yea exactly. The same reason people prefer Paul Konchesky in dream teams over Ashley Cole or Paul Dickov over Henry..... You fecking idiot.Evra is black so people won't vote for him.
Hey mate,Evra was a great player and a big part of our success over the years but I'll go with Irwin (by a fine but noticeable margin). Mostly because he was a more astute defender in fairly gung ho setups as Fergie was more adventurous back then, played with weaker defensive partners (relative to the consistent excellence of Ferdinand-Vidić), had a better final delivery (one of the best in club history in fact), and boasted a broader range of playmaking qualities on the ball. If Philipp Lahm represented Denmark instead of Germany in an alternate reality, I really think he would have a comparable profile to Irwin as they had a lot of similarities in terms of skill set and personality.
This graphic by @Mrs Smoker is always worth citing as it paints a lucid picture of Irwin's offensive impact (some of them were off set pieces but it's still a notewrothy output overall)...
P.S. Evra also benefited from playing in a slightly diluted era of fullbacks as his direct competition from the mid 2000s was mostly limited to Cole and Abidal...so it was easier to him to rise to prominence, whereas for Irwin you had the likes of Maldini, Carlos, Lizarazu over different stages of the '90s decade — even if United is equalized vs. Milan or Madrid or Bayern for the sake of argument, all of them represented stronger national teams and frequently reached the final stages of major international tournaments like the 1994/1998 World Cups and EURO 2000 and 1997/1999 Copa Américas (which afforded them the chance to build a global profile) — on top of being All-Time great caliber leftbacks on their own merit, of course.
Those stats were compiled by @Mrs Smoker: Manchester United Goals and Assists (1987/88-today).Hey mate,
What site did you use to get the stats for retired players from the premier league era?
Nothing to do with race what a cockwomble.Evra is black so people won't vote for him.
If you have somehow formed the conclusion that this place is overwhelmed with racist opinions then why are you still posting here?Evra is black so people won't vote for him.
In this case its more like Ronaldo vs Valencia, Giggs vs Martial or Schmeichel vs DDG. Irwin is clearly the better playerAnother one of these, Geez!
They were both great players that have played for Utd at different times so that is the indisputable truth.
What is next
Stam or Rio?
Nani or Kanchelskis?
DDG is the better GK though?In this case its more like Ronaldo vs Valencia, Giggs vs Martial or Schmeichel vs DDG. Irwin is clearly the better player
Oh no. He's the better shot stopper but that's all. Schmeichel was a better leader, he was more dominant in the box, he was better in air and he was better 1 vs 1DDG is the better GK though?
ok thanksThose stats were compiled by @Mrs Smoker: Manchester United Goals and Assists (1987/88-today).
But in general fbref is pretty reliable for league stats in the Premier League era.
Lingard or Perriera
I think that Irwin was the more complete player for us but I thought Evra was brilliant for us as well.In this case its more like Ronaldo vs Valencia, Giggs vs Martial or Schmeichel vs DDG. Irwin is clearly the better player
Even if the latter statement is true (which is debatable, although I can see why people would say so), it's clearly nowhere close to the pairs that you've mentioned. Both were world-class fullbacks at their peak, Evra was even the best in the world for a couple of seasons between Cole and Marcelo, I guess, (not sure about Irwin, but he had a tougher competition) but neither were quite at the all-time level of the likes of Maldini, Facchetti or Roberto Carlos.In this case its more like Ronaldo vs Valencia, Giggs vs Martial or Schmeichel vs DDG. Irwin is clearly the better player