He had a mediocre World Cup, often poor against Uruguay. Most annoying though, is his haircut.
Leighton Baines
- Thread starter ::sonny::
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Scholes is considered world class by all non-Liverpool fans but on the other side I have yet to meet a non-United fan who thinks that he was as good as Pirlo or Xavi.
If you ask Xavi and Pirlo who the best centre mid is they'll tell you it's Scholes.
And they would be right.
In the last 15 to 20 years the best central midfielder that I have seen — the most complete — is Scholes. I have spoken with Xabi Alonso about this many times. Scholes is a spectacular player who has everything. He can play the final pass, he can score, he is strong, he never gets knocked off the ball and he doesn’t give possession away. If he had been Spanish then maybe he would have been valued more.
Xavi
My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder.
Zinedine Zidane
Rooney is one of the best players in the world and I love watching him play. But if you had to pick out only one, then for their history and for all that they have achieved it would have to be Paul Scholes or Ryan Giggs. They are two shining examples for any player.
Andres Iniesta
I’m not the best, Paul Scholes is.
Edgar Davids, in his prime
Out of everyone at Manchester United, I would pick out Scholes – he is the best midfielder of his generation. I would have loved to have played alongside him.
Pep Guardiola
I tell anyone who asks me – Scholes is the best English player.
Laurent Blanc
The player in the Premiership I admire most? Easy – Scholes.
Patrick Vieira
He is the one whose level I aspire to. He is the best player in the Premier League.
Cesc Fabregas
I can’t understand why Scholes has never won the player of the year award. He should have won it long ago. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t seek the limelight like some of the other ‘stars’.
Thierry Henry
Why isn’t he playing for England? It is crazy. Only in England. Scholes is a great, great player. So experienced and still, for me, one of the best in the world in midfield. Manchester United are lucky to have him.
Jose Mourinho
Paul Scholes would have been one of my first choices for putting together a great team – that goes to show how highly I have always rated him. He would have been one of the first players I’d have bought, given the chance.
Marcello Lippi
Scholes is undoubtedly the best midfielder of his generation.
Zinedine Zidane
He is a very complete, spectacular footballer. He always fights for the ball and tries to lose his marker to help his team-mates – either to defend or to have a shot on goal. For any football player in the Premiership, Scholes is a player you want to emulate. I would happily end my career with the medals that Scholes has. I am young and I hope that I will be able to surpass him – but it is not going to be easy.
Cesc Fabregas
Juan Sebasticn Veron while at Chelsea being asked in an interview who’s the best English player : “Paul Scholes.”
There isn’t a player of his mould anywhere in the world.
Glen Hoddle
He’s always in the right position, always seems to be at the end of the box when the ball drops in. The complete midfielder – when he’s fit, he’s the best. Some go missing but he’s in the right place at the right time. He’s my favourite player of all-time, unbelievable. If you give him a chance it’s a goal, isn’t it?
Micah Richards
He’s the best one- or two-touch passer in the country. He sees the game unlike any other player.
Terry Venables
If you ask footballers to pick out the player they most admire, so many of them will pick Paul Scholes. He can tackle, and his passing and shooting is of the highest level. He’s the most consistent and naturally gifted player we’ve had for a long, long time.
Alan Shearer
Paul Scholes has been the best England midfield player for 30-odd years. You’d probably have to go back to Bobby Charlton to find someone who could do as much as Scholes. When the ball arrives at his feet he could tell you where every player on that pitch is at that moment. His awareness is superb.
Gordon Strachan
Scholes is one of the most complete footballers I’ve ever seen. His one-touch play is phenomenal. Whenever I have played against him, I never felt I could get close to him.
Eidur Gudjohnsen
For years Paul Scholes has been one of the best players in the Premiership. He’s incredible. He has always been under-rated throughout his career. He’s a team player, a one and two-touch footballer who makes good decisions on the pitch and makes his team play.
Thierry Henry
Ashley? Andrew? Joe? Ah... Carlton!
i believe mcclaren's era was 2006-2008 thus scholes never played under him for england.
scholes' best period as an england player was under hoddle and keegan, where he was allowed to play to his best ability. then eriksson came in and scholes' form kind of hit a rough patch circa 2002 but it wasn't until euro 2004 when he was shifted out to the left wing, of all places.
he was very right to call it quit with england.
I think thats what you call 'winning'.
as great as they are, xavi or pirlo would never survive in a midfield 2.
Yeah I love a good Leighton Baines thread...
If anything it's the opposite. Shy Salford lad, and his modest ways kept him away from all the praise and publicity he actually deserved.
Personally I don't think Baines is in the same league as Scholes, Pirlo or Xavi. For one his positioning is all wrong for a cm.
They'd have a good stab at it with Roy Keane at the beastly height of his powers beside them I'd say.
Or missing the point.
I think thats what you call 'winning'.
ok. so it is obvious roy keane is the best of them all.
scholes didn;t did so bad alongside a certain michael carrick either didn't he?
Neither would Xavi and Pirlo with that defence and attack tbf!ok. so it is obvious roy keane is the best of them all.
scholes didn;t did so bad alongside a certain michael carrick either didn't he?
Nothing makes me cringe more on this website than when someone whips out the Scholes quotes because they are that insecure that he doesn't belong in the same league as Xavi and Pirlo. I could find as many quotes for Gerrard i reckon.
On Baines i don't think he has the personality to play for England because he looks a shell of a player when he plays for them, constantly laying the ball of instead of using his great passing ability. He was also used wrong by Roy as in both games when he was going forward there was no one for him to link up with and get one twos going to try and work a good angle for a cross or a cut back in which he excels in. The left midfield role was left deserted it seems and Baines hasn't got the pace to sprint past defenders on his own he is much better in tight places where he can use his good close control. Defensively he is decent not great or poor even but if your using a player like him you need to play him correctly otherwise you might aswell have took Cole and started him if your going to have the full backs playing cautiously anyway instead of on the front foot and causing problems going the otherway which is where Baines strengths lie. It also didn't help having Gerrard playing the left centre midfield role or at least attempting to anyway.
On Baines i don't think he has the personality to play for England because he looks a shell of a player when he plays for them, constantly laying the ball of instead of using his great passing ability. He was also used wrong by Roy as in both games when he was going forward there was no one for him to link up with and get one twos going to try and work a good angle for a cross or a cut back in which he excels in. The left midfield role was left deserted it seems and Baines hasn't got the pace to sprint past defenders on his own he is much better in tight places where he can use his good close control. Defensively he is decent not great or poor even but if your using a player like him you need to play him correctly otherwise you might aswell have took Cole and started him if your going to have the full backs playing cautiously anyway instead of on the front foot and causing problems going the otherway which is where Baines strengths lie. It also didn't help having Gerrard playing the left centre midfield role or at least attempting to anyway.
Go on then.
Missing the point? You said it wasn't a view shared outside of United. His response made a total mug out of you.
I lol'd.
Unless the conversation was about other FANS perception!!!
... research the conversation properly you'll see it was.
Actually there's another bigger point "going to early" misses but hey, don't worry about it. As most of the Pros said in England he was tops, I agreed.
I agree most of the time but in this case the statement that needed to be refuted was that no one outside of OT sees Scholes as world class. The quotes were deserved here I'd say.
It's been said that he showed little interest in leaving Mersyside to come here even when Sir Alex was in charge, which was why we never went for him more aggressively, but I've also read that he's a pessimist and that he often doubts (or doubted) his own ability.
He may be one of those players who just would go into his shell when it comes to the bigger games or biggest clubs, which obviously wouldn't be good news.
I think that he is on the league with them. I think that both of them were better than Scholes, but still not a level above or anything like that. If I had to choose the best three central midfielders of my lifetime undoubtedly I would choose Xavi, Pirlo and Scholes. Gerrard - a great player on his best days - wasn't ever on that league IMO. His best was great, but his best was as an attacking player with almost no playmaking ability and he was never a player who can dictate games. That is why he will be remembed as a great player while the three midfielders I mentioned will be remembered as some of the best CM of all time.
The best three deep-lying playmakers definitely but there's other types of central midfielders as well. Controversial maybe but if I was picking a team from scratch I'd rather have a prime Roy Keane than a prime Xavi.
Dont know why he started against Uruguay. He didnt impress against Italy either. Would have gone with Shaw and Barkley instead of Henderson and Baines.
He doesn't seem to be able to cut it at International level, the same with Jagielka.
On Baines don't be surprised to see him playing the holding role for us next season with our lacks of centre midfielders as things stand and Bryan Oviedos form at left back last season. Martinez had this to say in April -
"I've always thought Leighton can develop into Philipp Lahm's role, it is in his make-up," the Everton manager said. "Not this season but in seasons to come he is someone who can play in that central role. I wanted him to watch Philipp Lahm in a live game because when it's on TV you only see the player when he's on the ball. It was good for Leighton to watch a player I feel he can be as good as or even better.
"Like Lahm, Leighton doesn't give the ball away, he's got a very low centre of gravity and technically he is as good as it gets. When you have that control of the ball and have been such a good defender, and as a left-back you have to be very good on one-v-one situations, it is very important to have that defensive mindset in those midfield areas. That is important for defensive balance. As a player Leighton has been through so many different experiences and has always found a way to rise to new challenges in his career. I am convinced he can step up to a new challenge. You need to look at the physicality and he is a naturally fit boy so can easily go into the role. He can be more expansive in central midfield than in his left back role. That's why I wanted him to see it first hand."
Martínez admitted Baines had no say in his extracurricular activity on Tuesday – "He was told he was going to the game and that was it," he said – and has used the exercise before. "I took the whole Swansea team to watch Barcelona a couple of times in 2007, one was against Celtic in the Champions League," he added. "It was very powerful in terms of understanding what we were trying to do. I'm not saying that was how we were going to play but, in terms of specific aspects of a game, when you see it live it is very powerful. It was the season we won the League One title. The specific aspect was how they kept possession. It helped the penny drop."
"I've always thought Leighton can develop into Philipp Lahm's role, it is in his make-up," the Everton manager said. "Not this season but in seasons to come he is someone who can play in that central role. I wanted him to watch Philipp Lahm in a live game because when it's on TV you only see the player when he's on the ball. It was good for Leighton to watch a player I feel he can be as good as or even better.
"Like Lahm, Leighton doesn't give the ball away, he's got a very low centre of gravity and technically he is as good as it gets. When you have that control of the ball and have been such a good defender, and as a left-back you have to be very good on one-v-one situations, it is very important to have that defensive mindset in those midfield areas. That is important for defensive balance. As a player Leighton has been through so many different experiences and has always found a way to rise to new challenges in his career. I am convinced he can step up to a new challenge. You need to look at the physicality and he is a naturally fit boy so can easily go into the role. He can be more expansive in central midfield than in his left back role. That's why I wanted him to see it first hand."
Martínez admitted Baines had no say in his extracurricular activity on Tuesday – "He was told he was going to the game and that was it," he said – and has used the exercise before. "I took the whole Swansea team to watch Barcelona a couple of times in 2007, one was against Celtic in the Champions League," he added. "It was very powerful in terms of understanding what we were trying to do. I'm not saying that was how we were going to play but, in terms of specific aspects of a game, when you see it live it is very powerful. It was the season we won the League One title. The specific aspect was how they kept possession. It helped the penny drop."
Won't judge it until i see it in a game but i think i would hate that. Yes, he hasn't shown it for England but for Everton he's one of the best LB's in the league and although he wasn't at his best sometimes last season he's still a quality player with insane delivery, and he links up well with everyone when he plays there. I hate when people are moved from their best position, or have their best attributes taken away, which would be happening in this case. It should only happen as a last option.
I would of agreed until i seen Oviedo's form last season, he genuinely looked like a top class full back so i think it could be worth an experiment in certain games.
I know what you're saying, Ovideo did look brilliant and he is deserving of game time, but I wouldn't use it to justify shifting Baines into CDM, i'd make them fight it out and it can only be better for the squad to have two top LBs, and a CDM that we've signed who's experienced and isn't on a learning curve. This will be a big season for us.
I hope we can get Barry he will give us atleast 1 great season again i feel. Garbutt looks like a great talent aswell but unluckily for him we are well stocked at LB.
Oviedo played well but Luke Garbutt will be the first choice soon.. baines will be in two years too slow to catch the tempo of the game as a LB, same happened with Evra even tho hes better athlete than baines, so yeah maybe robertos experiment is worth a try because hes got two quality leftbacks in squad waiting for their chance.
Are people suggesting he can do what Lahm does...jesus.
Could Baines not play left wing, ahead of Oviedo, if Martinez wanted to fit both in? His delivery is his best asset, and playing him in the middle would completely void that part of his game.
No.
He is too slow and the only reason he gets so much space is because of the intelligent runs of Pienaar who creates space for him. Won't be the same as left winger.
Nope. Oviedo can play wide though, and i'd imagine that's how he would and should be used - as cover for Baines at LB if he can't oust him and/or cover for the wing.
Roberto Martinez seems to think so
I don't foresee any games in Baines' future where he has 100% passing accuracy on 142 passes.