Quality.This man is the reason I got the name I did. My father wouldn't have it any other way.
Story is though my father tried every United legend name until my mother approved, he denies this though.
Denis Law
- Thread starter Buster15
- Start date
This is a great compilation of the Law man.
What a player,what a striker,what a man.Sir Matt's best bit of business bringing him to Old Trafford.
What can one say about this player that has not already been said, his heading ability was excellent, he could out jump many defenders from a standing jump, his acceleration over the first 10 yards left defenders unable to recover, his reading of the game and reflexes were second to none. A slight figure but as hard as nails and would give as got from the hardest of defenders. With his reading of the game and reflexes, I remember a game against Spurs at OT., Pat Jennings in goal for Spurs, Denis receivied the ball around the 18 yard line and a single movement of control he sent a shot in towards Jennings right hand post. A goal was on the cards but Jennings was equal to it and managed to get his palms to the ball which would have pushed the ball for a corner., However, Denis had all ready computed this and kept running into the space where the ball would be, a head long dive and his head met the ball parried by Jennings, result Denis was able to head the parried shot back into the net. This was the ability of the player to anticipate where the ball would likely be before defenders
Unfortuneately you cannot coach this skill, a player has the ability to read the game in this way or he does not. Of Utd' s present players I see only Greenwood who has this ability.
Unfortuneately you cannot coach this skill, a player has the ability to read the game in this way or he does not. Of Utd' s present players I see only Greenwood who has this ability.
Well spotted Robyn
You’re a fighter. You’re a Manchester United player. Wow.
Some of our current players should talk to her.
Some of our current players should talk to her.
Perfect description of the great Denis Law.
Regarding Greenwood, you are right. He has similar attributes. But I am not sure that he has the same level of hunger as Law. Hope I am proved wrong though.
Fantastic player.Still my favourite United player (just ahead of Best!).
A great man too.Loved by the fans. Feared by the hatchet man defenders who were plentiful back when he played.
Rightfully honoured with the other two greats from that era Best and Charlton with the statue outside Old Trafford.
A great man too.Loved by the fans. Feared by the hatchet man defenders who were plentiful back when he played.
Rightfully honoured with the other two greats from that era Best and Charlton with the statue outside Old Trafford.
Capacity was 63,500 in the sixties. From the Right Side - only ever one King!
A top player and professional. Scored 237 goals in 409 appearances for utd., scored 46 goals in a single season, 30 goals for Scotland in 55 appearances, still joint top scorer. Scored 6 goals in a FA Cup tie against Luton Town which was abandoned so those goals did not count, and in 602 appearances scored a total of 303 goals. Now 81 years of age and still is very reluctant to give media interviews, to be honest cannot remember one whilst he was a player.
Love the guy. Hard as nails and silky smooth. Best natural goalscorer that has been at Utd. Sad to know he's got Alzheimer's.
Whenever this thread gets bumped I get anxious and fear that the worst has happened
I saw all of these goals years ago, yet I forgot just how good they are. I watched that compilation vs England the other day and I couldn't believe how many times he traveled deep into Scotland's half to instigate attacks. His passing was incredible, always taking possession in tight spaces and opening up space for the recipient. I never realised he was that good. Or rather it just never sunk in. He was really amazing.
I assumed he was just a goalscorer for a long time but those compilations showed just how good his overall game was. An absolutely brilliant player.
Oh, I forgot to post it in the regular football forum, thanks.
Denis is certainly the most underappreciated and the most misrepresented part of our Holy Trinity. It was not surprising to learn that his personal favourite footballer was Alfredo Di Stéfano — arguably the most complete attacker that football had ever seen — and when Denis was given a chance to play alongside him, he outdistéfanoed Di Stéfano himself, dropping back to defense, carrying the ball forward and, of course, scoring his side's only goal with a clinical finish. It's such a shame that Law had to miss the 1968 European Cup final which had been the pinnacle of Busby's resurgence — because without him that resurgence simply wouldn't have happen. It was Denis who had played the most crucial role in our return to the top (Sir Matt aside) — and yeah, Charlton was also brilliant, a mercurial teenage talent who was forced to grow up in an instant and assume a senior position in the squad — but the catalyst to our eventual success was Law's transfer.
I wish we would've had more footage of that earlier period. Law's best season, 1963/64, in which he had scored 46 goals in 42 games (as well as 11 goals in 7 games for Scotland in 1963) and won Ballon d'Or, basically doesn't exist — BBC had only introduced Match of the Day in 1964/65, with one of the reasons being the enormous amount of viewer's attention that Law had brought back to the league. Highlights are great and everything, but you rarely get moments of defending actions or build-up and this is where Law doesn't get the credit he deserves — he had actively pursued this role of a total footballer and wanted to be included in any action, but because of the nature of the remaining footage he's mainly depicted simply as a brilliant goalscorer, while he was much, much more than that. Sir Matt had to force him to stay up (which Denis didn't like very much) because he wanted him to focus on goalscoring, while Denis would've preferred to roam around the pitch, initiating bits of play and winning the ball back — before eventually moving into the opposition's box and scoring.
And then you have the goals... there have only been a few players in history that can match the variety and inventiveness of Denis Law's goalscoring. Right foot, left foot, heading, overhead kicks, backheels — the ball could come at any height and at any angle, it didn't really matter, he would've find a way to adjust himself and to put the ball into the net. Off the top of my head I would only name a few — Uwe Seeler, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Gerd Müller (what's with all the Germans?), probably Cristiano & Marco van Basten as well.
To have out played Alfredo Di Stefano is a world class accolaide and really sums up the all round skills Denis had.
Remember watching Di Stefano play at Old Trafford, his all round ability with the ball was outstanding. All in white he looked like a ghost moving over the pitch. Real had a penalty and up strode Alfredo to take it, his body angle suggested that he would strike the ball to wards the left hand side of the goal. With very little back lift he struck the the ball, Harry Gregg dive confidently to his right, but Alfedo had put swerve on the ball, ( this ability in striking a ball was rarely seen if ever in English football at that time ) the ball nestled in the opposite corner of the goal.
Remember watching Di Stefano play at Old Trafford, his all round ability with the ball was outstanding. All in white he looked like a ghost moving over the pitch. Real had a penalty and up strode Alfredo to take it, his body angle suggested that he would strike the ball to wards the left hand side of the goal. With very little back lift he struck the the ball, Harry Gregg dive confidently to his right, but Alfedo had put swerve on the ball, ( this ability in striking a ball was rarely seen if ever in English football at that time ) the ball nestled in the opposite corner of the goal.