I don't think any United fan anywhere has ever considered Tevez a legend
a legendary cnut, maybe
a legendary cnut, maybe
OK so who are the united legends?
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That legend term is a tricky thing. It is highly highly subjective so you can't say "he is and he isn't". You must take everything in consideration. And even that you can argue all day is he or not. For me things which i look are:
1) When you (or some neutral fan) mention player's name, is Man Utd first name which comes on your mind.
2) Was that player just quality player who we bought to help us to achieve our goals or he was much more.
3) Can that player after career say "We" for Man Utd?
4) Results in club
5) How he left our club
6) x factor
Some examples; Zlatan and RVP. Both have one excellent season for us but i treat RVP as our legend. Zlatan i don't. RVP's impact and aura around him was something special for me.
Phil Neville, Butt, Carrick and O'Shea. They were nearly whole career here and won everything. Only O'shea i rate as a legend. Don't ask me why, i didn't even liked him or rated him much.
Yorke, Teddy and Ole. Only Ole is. (Note; see, i don't hate the guy. Just don't want him as a manager.
)
Stam and Bruce. Stam was world class defender and among our best in history. Bruce was just a very good defender. But Stam is not a legend. Bruce is.
Hughes and Cole. Both scored a lot. But i don't think that Hughes is a legend. Andy Cole (of course) is.
I can't talk about older players (of course that sir Bobby, Edwards, Best... are legends) but in my era i would say;
Rooney as no1. Others would be Rio, Vida, big Pete, Gary Neville, Scholes, Giggs, Becks, Keano, Bruce, Evra, Irwin, Cole, Ole, Wes, O'Shea, VdS, Rvp, Eric, Robson. Some are bigger legends some smaller but i rate them as legends.
From current players only De Gea.
And Martial
1) When you (or some neutral fan) mention player's name, is Man Utd first name which comes on your mind.
2) Was that player just quality player who we bought to help us to achieve our goals or he was much more.
3) Can that player after career say "We" for Man Utd?
4) Results in club
5) How he left our club
6) x factor
Some examples; Zlatan and RVP. Both have one excellent season for us but i treat RVP as our legend. Zlatan i don't. RVP's impact and aura around him was something special for me.
Phil Neville, Butt, Carrick and O'Shea. They were nearly whole career here and won everything. Only O'shea i rate as a legend. Don't ask me why, i didn't even liked him or rated him much.
Yorke, Teddy and Ole. Only Ole is. (Note; see, i don't hate the guy. Just don't want him as a manager.
)Stam and Bruce. Stam was world class defender and among our best in history. Bruce was just a very good defender. But Stam is not a legend. Bruce is.
Hughes and Cole. Both scored a lot. But i don't think that Hughes is a legend. Andy Cole (of course) is.
I can't talk about older players (of course that sir Bobby, Edwards, Best... are legends) but in my era i would say;
Rooney as no1. Others would be Rio, Vida, big Pete, Gary Neville, Scholes, Giggs, Becks, Keano, Bruce, Evra, Irwin, Cole, Ole, Wes, O'Shea, VdS, Rvp, Eric, Robson. Some are bigger legends some smaller but i rate them as legends.
From current players only De Gea.
And Martial
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No love for Carrick, man. That's so sad. Played longer and more than Evra, and contributed as much if not more than him also.
And he's one of my favorite player also.
When others retired and either become pundits or social media influencers, Carrick stays at the Club and coaching players.
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How can people say he isn't a legend when it has been shown we have failed to replace him.
Anyone who claims Ronaldo isn’t after being the best player in the world at the club. Becoming the talisman that’s led us to three league titles in a row and back to the pinnacle of European football, played for the club longer than Eric, was on another level to him as a player and had a bigger impact once he matured as a player...42 goals in a season where we won the league and CL.
Some are claiming Rooney is and Ronaldo isn’t on the basis that Rooney never got his way twice.
Some are claiming Rooney is and Ronaldo isn’t on the basis that Rooney never got his way twice.
Personally, I would say anyone that's left an indelible mark on the club its a legend... So Ronaldo, Rio, Vidic, Evra all fit into that... Even players like O'Shea and Fletcher too.
We failed to replace Nani also so...
He’ll go into my T3’s etc.
You could never say Ronaldo was inconsistent.We failed to replace Nani also so...
That's a solid list.
Although it's very subjective. Many would not consider the players in T2/T2&T3 as legends, and it really depends on how loosely you use the term.
I genuinely don' understand why those who consider Ronaldo a legend, defend their argument by pointing out how good he was. I mean, surely you understand those who do not consider him a legend for our club, are not doing so on the basis of his quality and performances!
The term legend is very subjective. To me it's a mixture of quality, impact, performances and just as importantly, the connection to the club, the feeling that they really were one of us. You just can't say that about Ronaldo. It's absolutely nothing against him and I have nothing but gratitude and admiration for what he did for us but it always felt like a marriage of convenience where he used us to reach his real dream as opposed of living his dream with us. We knew it, Fergie knew it and Ronaldo knew it. He did nothing wrong as far as I am concerned and was very respectful and honest about it but there was never the feeling of romance that we had with the likes of Best, Charlton, Giggs and some others who felt like part of our family. This to me, makes it feel a bit wrong to put him in the same category.
Based on that criteria my tier 1 would be: Charlton, Best, Giggs and Scholes
Tier 2 would be: Law, Cantona, Robson, Beckham, Keane, Ferdinand and Neville
The term legend is very subjective. To me it's a mixture of quality, impact, performances and just as importantly, the connection to the club, the feeling that they really were one of us. You just can't say that about Ronaldo. It's absolutely nothing against him and I have nothing but gratitude and admiration for what he did for us but it always felt like a marriage of convenience where he used us to reach his real dream as opposed of living his dream with us. We knew it, Fergie knew it and Ronaldo knew it. He did nothing wrong as far as I am concerned and was very respectful and honest about it but there was never the feeling of romance that we had with the likes of Best, Charlton, Giggs and some others who felt like part of our family. This to me, makes it feel a bit wrong to put him in the same category.
Based on that criteria my tier 1 would be: Charlton, Best, Giggs and Scholes
Tier 2 would be: Law, Cantona, Robson, Beckham, Keane, Ferdinand and Neville
Sorry to be this guy but... How can RVP be a legend for us and then CR7 isn’t. When people think of RVP they think of arsenal and him having ONE great year at United (maybe two). I respect the man and love him for what he did but come on.That legend term is a tricky thing. It is highly highly subjective so you can't say "he is and he isn't". You must take everything in consideration. And even that you can argue all day is he or not. For me things which i look are:
1) When you (or some neutral fan) mention player's name, is Man Utd first name which comes on your mind.
2) Was that player just quality player who we bought to help us to achieve our goals or he was much more.
3) Can that player after career say "We" for Man Utd?
4) Results in club
5) How he left our club
6) x factor
Some examples; Zlatan and RVP. Both have one excellent season for us but i treat RVP as our legend. Zlatan i don't. RVP's impact and aura around him was something special for me.
Phil Neville, Butt, Carrick and O'Shea. They were nearly whole career here and won everything. Only O'shea i rate as a legend. Don't ask me why, i didn't even liked him or rated him much.
Yorke, Teddy and Ole. Only Ole is. (Note; see, i don't hate the guy. Just don't want him as a manager.
Stam and Bruce. Stam was world class defender and among our best in history. Bruce was just a very good defender. But Stam is not a legend. Bruce is.
Hughes and Cole. Both scored a lot. But i don't think that Hughes is a legend. Andy Cole (of course) is.
I can't talk about older players (of course that sir Bobby, Edwards, Best... are legends) but in my era i would say;
Rooney as no1. Others would be Rio, Vida, big Pete, Gary Neville, Scholes, Giggs, Becks, Keano, Bruce, Evra, Irwin, Cole, Ole, Wes, O'Shea, VdS, Rvp, Eric, Robson. Some are bigger legends some smaller but i rate them as legends.
From current players only De Gea.
And Martial
Another one is Eric. The man spent 5 years with us and yes, he had an amazing aura, impact, swap, complete baller but he wasn’t on CR7 level his last two years with us.
Cristiano spend 7 years with us. Lead us to 3 straight Pl titles and a champions league win as the leader/main man at the club. Just because he went to Madrid and became their best player doesn’t mean that what he did here all of a sudden means nothing.
BTW Eric is definitely a legend in my mind. Just comparing him, which I’m sure 90% of the cafe has as a legend, with CR7 which it seems like less than half of the people commenting believe his is.
As i said; i never on this forum present my opinion as a holy truth. This is football. 90% of things are subjective. For me it is like i said. I respect that for others it is different.
And regarding Cristiano; yes, i am probably bitter. I don't deny that. But that are my feelings towards him and because of that for me he is not legend of my club. Only a legendary slave.
Yeah. I've said it in another thread, I'd be down to separating T1 and T2+T3 in a FM-like fashion to legends (T1) and icons (T2&T3), or which term did they use, I'm not sure.
I beg your pardon? What is a “mom’s”?
Why do these questions always have a set period, PL Era, Post Munich Era etc. United legend is a United legend regardless of the period.
Dennis Violett deserves to be on the list, 160 goals for the club is nothing to be sniffed at.
Dennis Violett deserves to be on the list, 160 goals for the club is nothing to be sniffed at.
I know it's a different thread, but the first thing that came to mind was my idea when people talk of hall of fames or statues who goes in and who gets the next statue etc. I also believe that should said hall of fame ever happen, that each season the fans vote in a player, but that each season should represent a decade. So as an example we'd vote for a player from say the 30's this year, next would be the 40's. That way we respect players from every era. The club can promote say 4 or 5 players from each decade, inform the fans of why they are nominated and votes take place. That was everyone learns more about our past, that way we don't fill things like this up with modern players for whom we remember with joy from our childhood or teenage years with rose tinted lenses. This way we'd be able to denote our legends truely.
Sadly we are coming to the point where fewer and fewer people who saw the Babes play are around to actually tell us how good they were, once that generation goes we will be losing those that saw the 68 team play, say in roughly 20 years time we'll have people totally ignoring the likes of Best, Law and Charlton in these sort of lists as they are but names of whom nobody saw play and so can't compare them to say Rooney, Ronaldo or Giggs. So trying to compile lists of legends is so difficult and so very subjective. Talk of Ole being a legend for what he did in 99 automatically elevates VDS to the same level for saving the penalty in 08 in my opinion as he won us the cup with that save, however so many people are putting Ole above him.
Sadly we are coming to the point where fewer and fewer people who saw the Babes play are around to actually tell us how good they were, once that generation goes we will be losing those that saw the 68 team play, say in roughly 20 years time we'll have people totally ignoring the likes of Best, Law and Charlton in these sort of lists as they are but names of whom nobody saw play and so can't compare them to say Rooney, Ronaldo or Giggs. So trying to compile lists of legends is so difficult and so very subjective. Talk of Ole being a legend for what he did in 99 automatically elevates VDS to the same level for saving the penalty in 08 in my opinion as he won us the cup with that save, however so many people are putting Ole above him.
I think we can look at this in three ways.
1. Individually - just the player/manager/coach/etc himself.
2. Collectively - as part of a great squad(s)/season(s).
3. Both
Different degrees/tiers for either one of the two.
Greatest Legends of the Legends belong in Category 3, and have high degrees for both.
And in the end , it's a matter of perception. Subjective. No way we can agree on many of the players. We are spoiled in having so many great players over the many decades.
1. Individually - just the player/manager/coach/etc himself.
2. Collectively - as part of a great squad(s)/season(s).
3. Both
Different degrees/tiers for either one of the two.
Greatest Legends of the Legends belong in Category 3, and have high degrees for both.
And in the end , it's a matter of perception. Subjective. No way we can agree on many of the players. We are spoiled in having so many great players over the many decades.
Its in your profile mate. Anyway may be you didn't get my humour. But sticking to your choices of United legends, I think its laughable.
Yeah, there is something very interesting about that and the idea of "post-Munich" players. Edwards, Foulkes and Sir Bobby seem to be the only players from the Busby Babes era mentioned, but Violett and even Tommy Taylor deserve some mention.
I wonder why players like Jack Rowley, Billy Meredith or Violett are forgotten. Being a "legend" almost requires either a living memory of a player, or, with players like Foulkes/Charlton/Law/Best, a larger folklore or tradition built around their story. I find it kind of odd also that there is this period between the aftermath of Munich and the club's 1965 League championship where the history of the club is, perhaps, less celebrated or somewhat forgotten. I kind of feel like the history is clear on who was lost at Munich, and clear on the rise of the Holy Trinity in the mid to late 1960s success, but that there is less clarity or less celebration for those who continued to play after Munich but who did not enjoy the successes of the later 1960s, Violett included. Even for players who stayed later into the 1960s but their names are not directly connected to the 68 team, their story seems lost. I think of Mark Hughes as something of a legend but David Herd is a name that never springs to mind
For players who bridged the gap, like Charlton and Foulkes, and obviously Sir Matt, there is this almost mythical aura surrounding their time at the club, from rise, to fall, to rise again. But for those in the interim period, their story almost seems lost a little
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This. You can't be a legend if you lack loyalty to the club and you don't love that club.
In a nutshell, that describes Ronaldo. No loyalty to United and going by his recent interviews at Madrid, he has no love for United.
Great player yes but he gets no affection from genuine United fans who see him as someone who used United as a stepping stone for his career.
He gets no love from me and like I said if I saw him on the streets I would not beg for an autograph from him. If I saw Gary Neville, I am definitely asking for an autograph. I would even chase Messi down the streets for an autograph.
Jack Rowley (211 goals)
Dennis Viollet (178 goals)
Dennis Irwing (529 caps)
Gary Neville (602 caps)
Ronaldo.
Hughes is one for me a scorer of spectacular and important goals. Wore his heart on his sleeve.
I can forget his career after United easily enough.
I can forget his career after United easily enough.
Ok, I’d never seen the profile bit before.
What issue did you have with my legends list?
No Andy Cole but Ole the guy he made sit bench is tier 1 legend. This is why the world is what it is.
The bolded bits are important to understand why Ronaldo isn't in a lot of lists.
Ronaldo is obviously one of top 5 best players to ever put on a United shirt. But he's not even top 50 for players who have been legends for Manchester United.
For me, legendary status comes down to a formula of =
length of service
x
level of talent
x
individual contribution
x
trophies won with the team
x
public identification with the club
x
willingness to sacrifice his personal interests for the sake of the club
x
love of the club after retirement
÷
ranking of the club in the player's career
I wouldn't have RvP as a legend. Not even close. Rooney wouldn't make my list either as he puts Everton before United (something I respect but consider disqualifying).
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Nice List - This would be mine in no particular order :
Tommy Taylor - 50s
Duncan Edwards - 50s
Bobby Charlton - 50/60s
George Best 60s
Sammy McIlroy 60/70s
Bill Foulkes - 50s/60s
Harry Gregg - 50s
Nobby Stiles - 50s/60s
Paddy Crerard - 60s
Bryan Robson - 80s/90s
Lou Macari - 70s/80s
Tony Dunne - 60s
Arthur Albiston - 70s/80s
Martin Buchan - 70s/80s
Mark Hughes - 80s/90s
Rio Ferdinand - 2000s/2010's
Nemanja Vidic - 2000s/2010s
David Beckham - 90s/00s
Paul Scholes - 90s/2010s
Gary Neville - 90s/2010s
Roy Keane - 90s/2000s
Ruud Van Nistelrooy -2000s
Peter Schmeichel - 90s
Edwin Van Der Sar - 2000s/2010s
Andy Cole - 90s
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 90s/00s
Cristiano Ronaldo - 2000s
Eric Cantona - 90s
Wayne Rooney - 2000s/2010s
Denis Law - 60s
Ryan Giggs - 90s/2000s/2010s
Michael Carrick - 2000s/2010s
Steve Bruce - 90s
Patrice Evra - 2000s/2010s
Robin Van Persie - 2013
Alex Stepney - 60s
All these players made a lasting impact even if there for only a small period like Van Persie but without him we wouldn't have won our 20th and final league title under sir alex.
He won world player of the year at our club. If you dated the hot chick whilst she won Miss Beauty pageant, I’d say your still that guy. Not the bloody boyfriend from her nursery like your stupid story.
The fact is that the word legend means different things to different people as do the players/staff we would each put in that category so it’s pointless us ever trying to come up with a definitive list. - that’s what makes the beautiful game so special, things are measured in intangibles, not goals scores or trophies won.
How the feck are so many people saying Evra, but arguing about Ronaldo? 
For me, there are only two real club legends. David Moyes and Chris Eagles.
For me, there are only two real club legends. David Moyes and Chris Eagles.
Probably because Evra loves United more than any other club and Ronaldo doesn't care that much about us.How the feck are so many people saying Evra, but arguing about Ronaldo?
For me, there are only two real club legends. David Moyes and Chris Eagles.
Regarding the Cristiano-Madrid elephant in the room that is brought up time and again, you can be a legend for two (or more) clubs, at least IMO. For example, look at a club like Juventus in isolation: Michel Platini could be considered a legend for Saint-Étienne, Nancy and Juventus, Zinédine Zidane could be considered a legend for both Juventus and Madrid (and probably Bordeaux), Roberto Baggio could be considered a legend for Fiorentina and Juventus, Andrea Pirlo could be considered a legend for Milan and Juventus, and so forth. They weren't comparable legends with an identical legacy at each of those clubs, of course — but legends nonetheless (or at least in with a shout in my mind).
Cristiano played close to 300 matches for United...so he wasn't some flash in the pan, was integral to our re-emergence as an elite club in the mid 2000s when it looked like Chelsea would dominate the domestic scene for a long while, crucial in back-to-back-to-back league title wins and 2 Champions League final appearances (no United team in any other era had accomplished that feat), became the best player in the world as well as one of the absolute best in United history, gave us one of his two best variants (winger peak at United and forward peak at Madrid), will be remembered fondly after 50 or 60 or even 100 years for his bewitching George Best-esque performances, and left for a world record fee when he felt his adventure with United was over after 7 mostly fruitful years — instead of giving us minimal returns and half-efforts for extended periods of time or crawling through the backdoor in acrimonious circumstances.
Is he a greater legend of Madrid? Undoubtedly so, no one can argue otherwise — especially considering it was his Dream Club as a kid and the only one he would purportedly leave United for, but that shouldn't be used to tarnish and diminish his legend with United (or Sporting Clube de Portugal for that matter), and there are innumerable reasons why Viva Ronaldo! is still vociferously sung from the stands. Would have him just below cream-of-the-crop legends like Charlton, Giggs and co. as they gave more to the club, were United through and through and boast greater intangibles on top of being outstanding footballers for the club (and in a broader sense).
Cristiano played close to 300 matches for United...so he wasn't some flash in the pan, was integral to our re-emergence as an elite club in the mid 2000s when it looked like Chelsea would dominate the domestic scene for a long while, crucial in back-to-back-to-back league title wins and 2 Champions League final appearances (no United team in any other era had accomplished that feat), became the best player in the world as well as one of the absolute best in United history, gave us one of his two best variants (winger peak at United and forward peak at Madrid), will be remembered fondly after 50 or 60 or even 100 years for his bewitching George Best-esque performances, and left for a world record fee when he felt his adventure with United was over after 7 mostly fruitful years — instead of giving us minimal returns and half-efforts for extended periods of time or crawling through the backdoor in acrimonious circumstances.
Is he a greater legend of Madrid? Undoubtedly so, no one can argue otherwise — especially considering it was his Dream Club as a kid and the only one he would purportedly leave United for, but that shouldn't be used to tarnish and diminish his legend with United (or Sporting Clube de Portugal for that matter), and there are innumerable reasons why Viva Ronaldo! is still vociferously sung from the stands. Would have him just below cream-of-the-crop legends like Charlton, Giggs and co. as they gave more to the club, were United through and through and boast greater intangibles on top of being outstanding footballers for the club (and in a broader sense).
Got to have Alex Stepney on the list and maybe even Stuart and Stan Pearson. Steve Coppell even.
The usual suspects aside: any list that doesn't contain Ole, Vidic, VDS, Carrick and Ronaldo is just plain wrong.
He won it and left immediately for a guy with a bigger dick.
Enjoying every moment of it, cant wait to leave our miserable arse.
For me he's an absolute legend, mainly due to him being my first ever favourite player, so my view are rose tinted for sure. The other thing is it's highly likely that no one will ever beat his 207 straight appearances record for the club, not in this day and age of squad rotation. However many will argue about his inclusion as his career was cut short by injury and many wouldn't have ever seen him play.
I never got to see Stan Pearson play, however my god father and an old neighbour of the family went to school with Stan and played school football with him. He used to wax lyrical about him obviously, that's how you learn about the players of old, those that played in the era when the only way to see these players play was go to the match, if they make the FA cup final or the odd pathe news clip. Which further to my previous post means that a lot of the players that are being ignored as people simply have no visual evidence on how to rate these players.
I would also like to suggest that when we talk about United legends, the first 8 players named in respect should be those that died in at Munich. Simply put it they died representing the club, tragically of course, but that instantaneously elevated them to legends for me.
I agree 100%.
I'm also biased toward the Babes as my Dad played football with David Pegg as a kid in Doncaster.
O'Shea is a legend for the winner at Anfield the year we won the league, if for no other reason. Right at the Kop End, glorious.
Being the all time top scorer for the club makes you a legend by default.