How good was Paul Scholes?

Skills

Snitch
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
42,242
And then by the same logic a world cup, 2 European championships and 4 champions Leagues make Xavi better than Scholes?
 

starman

Full Member
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
7,092
Location
Under a tree.
In a counter attacking team, Scholes is better then Xavi and probably Pirlo, as he added a goal threat in the box
Xavi is the better for the Tiki Taka , give and go style
 

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
34,063
Random footballers, Zidane,Xavi,Lippi and so on. Yeah you must know better than those random players.
You're avoiding my question. Do you think Gerrard was better than Scholes, or do you disagree with all the professionals who repeatedly voted for Gerrard ahead of Scholes? It's a fairly simple question.
 

TheReligion

Abusive
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Messages
51,622
Location
Manchester
He was neer our best player, or most important player.

As I said, if you go by players choices, they put Gerrard 8 times in team of the year, and Scholes only twice. Do you know better than them?
Why don't you answer it yourself rather than deciding based on the opinions of others
 

johanovic

Full Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2015
Messages
758
He was neer our best player, or most important player.

As I said, if you go by players choices, they put Gerrard 8 times in team of the year, and Scholes only twice. Do you know better than them?
You're avoiding my question. Do you think Gerrard was better than Scholes, or do you disagree with all the professionals who repeatedly voted for Gerrard ahead of Scholes. It's a fairly simple question.
In my mind Gerrard was a great player but see what Henry said about Scholes http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/thierry-henry-names-paul-scholes-6722152. Do all those former players playing for other teams not know their stuff?
 

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
66,699
Location
France
In a counter attacking team, Scholes is better then Xavi and probably Pirlo, as he added a goal threat in the box
Xavi is the better for the Tiki Taka , give and go style
I totally disagree, simply because when you compare both players in the same roles, they have the same type of output. Scholes stats are inflated by his initial more attacking role.
 

djdhrubs

Full Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
1,852
Xavi was comfortably ahead of Scholes, though Xavi was comfortably ahead of most.
This seems to be a xavi vs scholes thread. I think xavi was better as a controlling midfielder. Scholes was way better as a goal threat though, in fact, comfortably better! Xavi wasn't a good finisher.
 

Cascarino

Magnum Poopus
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
7,616
Location
Wales
Supports
Swansea
Scholes was great, one of the best midfielders I've seen.
Xavi is the best midfielder I've seen.
 

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
34,063
In my mind Gerrard was a great player but see what Henry said about Scholes http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/thierry-henry-names-paul-scholes-6722152. Do all those former players playing for other teams not know their stuff?
Again, avoiding the question. It's an either/or: Either you think Gerrard was better or you think the professionals who repeatedly picked him ahead of Scholes are wrong. Which is it?

This is your own argument you're failing to answer, not ours.
 

Richard Cranium

New Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
1,357
Location
Location: Location:
He was not better than Xavi. At all.

Heading and goalscoring aside, he has nothing on him. Xavi wasn't a bad finisher himself. But he liked to stay deep

Scholes was unfortunate that we were pretty dire in Europe between his late 20's and 32 (when we became an elite European side).
Bit narrowminded. Can you not objectively consider Scholes? I.e. if he was in the same team as Xavi who would perform better?
 

starman

Full Member
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
7,092
Location
Under a tree.
I totally disagree, simply because when you compare both players in the same roles, they have the same type of output. Scholes stats are inflated by his initial more attacking role.
Well if you are going by stats, Xavi did play in the most dominant team in the world, club and country for most of his career and with the probably the best player ever.
 

Rozay

Master of Hindsight
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
27,497
Location
...
In my mind Gerrard was a great player but see what Henry said about Scholes http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/thierry-henry-names-paul-scholes-6722152. Do all those former players playing for other teams not know their stuff?
Nobody is asking for Henry's opinion. They are asking for yours.

Again, if the consensus amongst all players and managers was that he was the best, I don't understand why they reserved that for interviews instead of voting him as such.
 

Rozay

Master of Hindsight
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
27,497
Location
...
Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Keane, Vieira are all often argued as the best PL midfielder.

In my personal opinion, Fabregas at his Arsenal best was a better player than Scholes ever was.
 

Bojan11

Full Member
Joined
May 16, 2010
Messages
33,116
Well if you are going by stats, Xavi did play in the most dominant team in the world, club and country for most of his career and with the probably the best player ever.
And one of the main reasons they were dominant was Xavi. If the best player ever had Xavi as a team mate for Argentina then he probably would have won a World Cup too.
 

RedSky

Shepherd’s Delight
Scout
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
74,883
Location
Hereford FC (Soccermanager)
Scholes was an awesome player. But feck me you didn't want him anywhere near your own penalty box, he really was a bit shit at tackling. In my opinion he was the second best United player during the Ferguson era with only Ronaldo above him.
 

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
66,699
Location
France
Well if you are going by stats, Xavi did play in the most dominant team in the world, club and country for most of his career and with the probably the best player ever.
That's not stats, Xavi has played deeper and still scored a fair amount of goals, he has always been a goal threat. Scholes is also a goal threat but from deep he wasn't as much a goal threat as Xavi. Personally I struggle to separate them, it's greedy but I would just play them together.
 

WhoDaGOAT

New Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2015
Messages
3,719
Scholes was an awesome player. But feck me you didn't want him anywhere near your own penalty box, he really was a bit shit at tackling. In my opinion he was the second best United player during the Ferguson era with only Ronaldo above him.
He could tackle when he wanted to. To be honest, he was just a dirty little fecker. He liked a good kick. His technical ability spared him criticism.
 

Skills

Snitch
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
42,242
And one of the main reasons they were dominant was Xavi. If the best player ever had Xavi as a team mate for Argentina then he probably would have won a World Cup too.
The same Barcelona team is stacked with even more talent now, yet they're nobody puts them up with the greatest teams of all time. They've been knocked out at the QFs for the last 2 seasons, and even in their last treble they weren't as dominant as the 11 team.
 

El Jefe

Full Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
5,028
Do you think Scholes is the only player praised by players and managers? The fact is, if the entire world thought he was the best, why wasn't he voted the best by his fellow pros at the awards?
You'll be told that awards are popularity contests and they mean feck all and that the endless lists of quotes mean more :wenger:

I'm with you on this. I absolutely adore Scholes but its somewhat upsetting to see fans overrate a player that really doesn't need to be.

There's no shame in saying Xavi was clearly better but many just want to rewrite history for the sake of it.

He had sporadic moments of greatness on the biggest stages whereas players like Zidane, Xavi, Iniesta and Pirlo to a lesser extent regularly performed exceptionally on the highest levels in club and international football.

Men lie but numbers don't. Their accolades in comparison to Scholesy's tells you all you need to know.
 

Moby

Dick
Joined
May 20, 2011
Messages
51,356
Location
Barcelona, Catalunya
I've seen this list before and I'm unsure if its credibility. Most stats sites and the official PL website don't have Giggs anywhere near that number?
That user created that list after watching each and every United goal in the Premier League era. It's far more credible than anything else on the internet, literally.
 

Skills

Snitch
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
42,242
You'll be told that awards are popularity contests and they mean feck all and that the endless lists of quotes mean more :wenger:

I'm with you on this. I absolutely adore Scholes but its somewhat upsetting to see fans overrate a player that really doesn't need to be.

There's no shame in saying Xavi was clearly better but many just want to rewrite history for the sake of it.


He had sporadic moments of greatness on the biggest stages whereas players like Zidane, Xavi, Iniesta and Pirlo to a lesser extent regularly performed exceptionally on the highest levels in club and international football.

Men lie but numbers don't. Their accolades in comparison to Scholesy's tells you all you need to know.
Yes the insecurity is incredible. Some of these people would be those horrific parents, who constantly get offended at the thought of other children being more able than their precious little son or daughter.
 

starman

Full Member
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
7,092
Location
Under a tree.
And one of the main reasons they were dominant was Xavi. If the best player ever had Xavi as a team mate for Argentina then he probably would have won a World Cup too.
This is nonsense. you are comparing a player like Messi to players likes Valencia. And Argentina got to the final of the world cup and were beaten after 120 minutes. You are saying if they had Xavi would have won... but not Scholes? stuff like this is ridiculous reaching.
 

Drainy

Full Member
Joined
May 5, 2009
Messages
15,010
Location
Dissin' Your Flygirl
Out of the great United midfield of Giggs, Scholes, Keane and Beckham he has been the hardest to replace. We've still not replaced him properly.
 

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
34,063
This seems to be a xavi vs scholes thread. I think xavi was better as a controlling midfielder. Scholes was way better as a goal threat though, in fact, comfortably better! Xavi wasn't a good finisher.
Aye but Scholes's best goalscoring period came when he wasn't a controlling midfielder, so it's a bit unfair to hold that against Xavi. It's not like Scholes was dictating the game and scoring 20 goals a season.

Example (according to wikipedia): Xavi got 14 goals in the 11/12 season. The only two seasons Scholes scored more than that were 02/03 and 03/04. From 06/07 on (when he was more comparable to Xavi in style) Scholes was scored roughly 3.5 goals a season, compared to Xavi's 7 goals per season in his final seven years at Barca, albeit with more appearances in that time.
 

Moby

Dick
Joined
May 20, 2011
Messages
51,356
Location
Barcelona, Catalunya
In a counter attacking team, Scholes is better then Xavi and probably Pirlo, as he added a goal threat in the box
Eh? Pirlo's greatest period of his career came as a deep lying playmaker in one of the greatest counter attacking sides of all time in AC Milan. His PRECISE role was to launch counters the entire game with the likes of Kaka and Shevchenko breaking with menacing pace, and he dominated Europe for a good few years doing that. Talking strictly about long range passing, accuracy and releasing it quickly - Pirlo was superior to Scholes.
 

johanovic

Full Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2015
Messages
758
Again, avoiding the question. It's an either/or: Either you think Gerrard was better or you think the professionals who repeatedly picked him ahead of Scholes are wrong. Which is it?

This is your own argument you're failing to answer, not ours.
So on one hand you have Scholes a leading player that won 11 league titles,3 Fa cups and 2 Champions league titles. He´s held in high regard by fellow players and managers of the highest standards even though you do not want to see that. Gerrard won 2 fa cups and 1 cl title and must regret his choice of not going to Chelsea when he had the chance. So you think because Gerrad won the PFA it makes him a greater player? For me it´s the titles and opinon of those I´ve stated that matter. So by your logic perhaps read this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...never-to-have-won-pfa-player-of-the-year-awa/ where you see players like Robson,Hoddle,Zola,Adams,Schmeicel,Wright,Beardsley,Hansen,Aguero that never won the PFA. Are they all examples of overrated players?
 

starman

Full Member
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
7,092
Location
Under a tree.
That's not stats, Xavi has played deeper and still scored a fair amount of goals, he has always been a goal threat. Scholes is also a goal threat but from deep he wasn't as much a goal threat as Xavi. Personally I struggle to separate them, it's greedy but I would just play them together.
You are looking pass thing like adapting his game to midfield. Attacking freedoms for playing for Barcelona most dominant period in their history to United transitional periods. Xavi has Messi, Scholes briefly had Ronaldo
 

starman

Full Member
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
7,092
Location
Under a tree.
Eh? Pirlo's greatest period of his career came as a deep lying playmaker in one of the greatest counter attacking sides of all time in AC Milan. His PRECISE role was to launch counters the entire game with the likes of Kaka and Shevchenko breaking with menacing pace, and he dominated Europe for a good few years doing that. Talking strictly about long range passing, accuracy and releasing it quickly - Pirlo was superior to Scholes.
You missed the point about being a in box goal threat as a reason for being better at counter attacking
 

Moby

Dick
Joined
May 20, 2011
Messages
51,356
Location
Barcelona, Catalunya
So on one hand you have Scholes a leading player that won 11 league titles,3 Fa cups and 2 Champions league titles. He´s held in high regard by fellow players and managers of the highest standards even though you do not want to see that. Gerrard won 2 fa cups and 1 cl title and must regret his choice of not going to Chelsea when he had the chance. So you think because Gerrad won the PFA it makes him a greater player? For me it´s the titles and opinon of those I´ve stated that matter. So by your logic perhaps read this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...never-to-have-won-pfa-player-of-the-year-awa/ where you see players like Robson,Hoddle,Zola,Adams,Schmeicel,Wright,Beardsley,Hansen,Aguero that never won the PFA. Are they all examples of overrated players?
You've literally confessed your selective bias in that post. Well done, I admire your honesty.
 

Bojan11

Full Member
Joined
May 16, 2010
Messages
33,116
This is nonsense. you are comparing a player like Messi to players likes Valencia. And Argentina got to the final of the world cup and were beaten after 120 minutes. You are saying if they had Xavi would have won... but not Scholes? stuff like this is ridiculous reaching.
No stuff likes yours is ridiculous reading and stupid reasoning.

Xavi was always the best player in a big game. If it was for Spain or Barca then Xavi would produce 10/10. I can't recall Scholes producing 10/10 in big games. I can recall Keane doing it. It was Keane who used to boss the games against Arsenal in the 90s. I have never even seen Scholes produce a performance like Keane did vs Juventus let alone any of the performances Xavi has made in finals.
 

Moby

Dick
Joined
May 20, 2011
Messages
51,356
Location
Barcelona, Catalunya
No stuff likes yours is ridiculous reading and stupid reasoning.

Xavi was always the best player in a big game. If it was for Spain or Barca then Xavi would produce 10/10. I can't recall Scholes producing 10/10 in big games. I can recall Keane doing it. It was Keane who used to boss the games against Arsenal in the 90s. I have never even seen Scholes produce a performance like Keane did vs Juventus let alone any of the performances Xavi has made in finals.
Aye, over a season or a long period a player like Scholes is priceless as he constantly keeps you ticking, especially in league games. However against top quality opposition, Keane makes the difference.