RedCafe's top 20 Manchester United players of all-time

Thisistheone

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In my time:

1. Ryan Giggs
2. Eric Cantona
3. Roy Keane
4. Bryan Robson
5. C. Ronaldo
6. Paul Scholes
7. Rio Ferdinand
8. Peter Schmeichel
9. David Beckham
10. Wayne Rooney
 

Jeffchin

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From those I've seen:

Cantona
Ronaldo
Robson
Giggs
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Keane
Scholes
Whiteside
Bruce
Schmeichel
 

VP

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Ronaldo
Keane
Scholes
Schmeichel
Giggs
Ruud
Rio
Beckham
Rooney
Nani
 

Rood

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1. Cantona
2. Scholes
3. Ronaldo
4. Robson
5. Keane
6. Schmeichel
7. Rio
8. Beckham
9. Irwin
10. Giggs
 

JohnLocke

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In my time only.

Based on ability, longevity, what they brought to the team and favouritism bias.

01 - Scholes
02 - Giggs
03 - Cantona
04 - Schmeichel
05 - Keane
06 - Ronaldo
07 - Beckham
08 - Van Nistelrooy
09 - Ferdinand
10 - Neville
 

deltakaye

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1. George Best
2. Bobby Charlton
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
4. Ryan Giggs
5. Paul Scholes
6. Bryan Robson
7. Eric Cantona
8. Roy Keane
9. Denis Irwin
10. Peter Schmeichel
 

Revan

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1. Ronaldo
2. Charlton
3. Best
4. Giggs
5. Cantona
6. Law
7. Scholes
8. Robson
9. Keane
10. Edwards
 

Amar__

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1. Scholes
2. Giggs
3. Charlton
4. Cantona
5. Robson
6. Rooney
7. Ferdinand
8. VDS
9. Beckham
10. Neville
 

Cheesy

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Thanks for the good response, all the lists have been updated.
 

Bref

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Based on players I've seen live:

1) Paul Scholes
2) Cristiano Ronaldo
3) Roy Keane
4) Eric Cantona
5) Wayne Rooney
6) Ryan Giggs
7) Ruud Van Nistelrooy
8) Peter Schmeichel
9) Denis Irwin
10) Gary Neville
 

Jonno

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Born in 1987, the best Manchester United team I have ever SEEN.

1. Ronaldo
2. Scholes
3. Keane
4. Cantona
5. Schmeichel
6. Giggs
7. Robson
8. Irwin
9. Rooney
10. Ferdinand
 

Amar__

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:eek: :eek: no keane, ronaldo or best(seen as you have charlton you must have seen hin play)?
I don't like Ronaldo. :yawn: Best played around 300 games for Manchester United, while Charlton played double more, so I think he was better player for Manchester United. As for Keano, it was between him and Gary, but I like gary more, eventough Keane was better player. Almost whole list it's favouritism biased, so there is your answer for any player in that list.
 

Enigma_87

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1) Best
2) Robson
3) Charlton
4) Cantona
5) Giggs
6) Scholes
7) Keane
8) Ronaldo
9) Schmeichel
10) Ferdinand

Unfortunately only seen Best, Charlton and (prime) RObson on tapes for obvious reasons.
 

Sky1981

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Based on what? Overall? Ability? Loyalty? Contribution? It's kinda too broad of to claim Greatest when he move on to Madrid after 5 years, or picked up from Fulham at the age of 33

Although Giggs/Scholes are definitely there based on any category
 

jojojo

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1. Scholes
2. Giggs
3. Charlton
4. Cantona
5. Robson
6. Rooney
7. Ferdinand
8. VDS
9. Beckham
10. Neville
I don't like Ronaldo. :yawn: Best played around 300 games for Manchester United, while Charlton played double more, so I think he was better player for Manchester United. As for Keano, it was between him and Gary, but I like gary more, eventough Keane was better player. Almost whole list it's favouritism biased, so there is your answer for any player in that list.
Except George played 470 games for United. That's more than Cantona, Robson, Rooney, Ferdinand, VdS, and Beckham who did make your list. Nothing wrong with having likes and dislikes, but your research (I've got to assume you didn't see Best play) let you down.
 

ravelston

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1. Best
2. Schmeichel
3. Charlton
4. Edwards
5. Ronaldo
6. Beckham
7. Styles
8. Scholes
9. Rooney
10. Cantona

This is impossible. Too many ways to judge them; to many players that should be in there. Can't believe that there's no room for Coppell, Law, Robson and many others. Not only that, I'll bet that, for one, Coppell doesn't make it into your top 20 because he won't be in many top 10s - but he'd be in everybody's top 20.

11. Coppell
12. Giggs
13. Robson
14. Law
15. Ferdinand
16. Keane
17. McGrath
18. G Neville
etc.
 

Brwned

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I don't like Ronaldo. :yawn: Best played around 300 games for Manchester United, while Charlton played double more, so I think he was better player for Manchester United. As for Keano, it was between him and Gary, but I like gary more, eventough Keane was better player. Almost whole list it's favouritism biased, so there is your answer for any player in that list.
Best was top scorer in 4 separate seasons with us - only one player (Jack Rowley) in post-war football has been top scorer more times, he's up there with the likes of Ruud and Law in that sense. 126 goals in 5 seasons, compare that to Ruud's 150 or Law's 163 in 5-season sets and it's not a bad record at all considering the game Best played. People don't idolise him simply because he was so talented, they idolise him because he carried the team from that European Cup-winning season onwards. The club went from finishing 2nd-1st-4th-1st-2nd to midtable mediocrity with Busby retiring, Law having injury troubles, Foulkes, Crerand and Stiles moving on and without Best's goals we might well have gotten relegated earlier.

With him losing his way in '72, we slipped to 18th, then 21st - with our top goalscorers scoring 7 and 6 respectively. He was the last player to score over 25 league goals for us for almost 40 years. Before then we had Law, Charlton, Herd, Rowley, Taylor, Viollet and co. scoring for 25 years straight (only scoring less than 20 twice), after that we scored over 20 just 7 times in 25 years. He was the best player in the best team, he was the top scorer in perhaps the only season that comes close to matching the treble season, and he's one of just four Manchester United players to be voted the best player in the world...if Charlton's in there he has to be in there.
 

An Irish Red

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1) Ronaldo
2) Schmeichel
3) Keane
4) Scholes
5) Giggs
6) Cantona
7) Irwin
8) Rooney
9) Van Nistelrooy
10) Van der Sar

Obviously the likes of Best and Charlton would most likely be on it, but I haven't seen enough of them to post them.
 

711

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Edwards
Best
Ronaldo
Charlton
Robson
Cantona
Schmeichel
Giggs
Law
Coppell

Apologies to McGrath, Stam, Rio, Scholes & Keane.

Edited because I had put them in chronological order for some reason, and to say I didn't see Edwards, but I can not ignore all that I have read about him.
 

ravelston

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How could you put him above Robson and Keane , and Law and Giggsy , come to that ?
The only one of the four you mention that I feel bad about is Law - I idolised him. I've never known how to rank a pure goal scorer in these lists. If I include Law how can I not include Tommy Taylor or Jack Rowley (or even Van Nistelroy)? They were all players of a singular talent.

Just think Beckham was a better player than Robson or Keane (I'm not alone - twice runner-up in WPOTY suggests that others agreed). You could argue that they both "meant more to United" and I might agree, but Beckham was the better player and that's the criterion I'm trying to use.

I love Giggs as much as the next man but, when I think about it, Coppell was a better player. Giggs' advantage over Coppell is that he didn't get a knee destroyed by a Hungarian thug when he was in his prime. As I'm not really factoring in longevity (how else would I get Edwards in there) Giggsy doesn't make the cut.

[Edit: I probably should have Coppell in the top 10 rather than Styles, but I loved Nobby and there ought to be a defender in there.]
 

Galactic

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Just doing the top 10 United players that I like/admire when they were at the peak of their forms. And obviously Duncan Edwards is well down my list because I didnt see him actually playing, but his impressive impact on United's history made me include him.

1. Paul Scholes
2. Eric Cantona
3. Ryan Giggs
4. Peter Schmeichel
5. George Best
6. Roy Keane
7. Duncan Edwards
8. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Bryan Robson
10. Ruud Van Nistelrooy

I'll probably give you the bottom 8 in a different order tomorrow :D
 

amolbhatia50k

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I don't like Ronaldo.:yawn: Best played around 300 games for Manchester United, while Charlton played double more, so I think he was better player for Manchester United. As for Keano, it was between him and Gary, but I like gary more, eventough Keane was better player. Almost whole list it's favouritism biased, so there is your answer for any player in that list.
You missed the point of the thread. It's about the best 20 not your favorite 20.
 

Cina

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It's amazing how Ronaldo is omitted from so many lists. He may be a bit of a whiney prick who left early, but in terms of talent he's unmatched by 90% of the players put on the lists, and was the catalyst behind the most successful few years in the clubs history. Strange stuff.
 

Jonno

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It's amazing how Ronaldo is omitted from so many lists. He may be a bit of a whiney prick who left early, but in terms of talent he's unmatched by 90% of the players put on the lists, and was the catalyst behind the most successful few years in the clubs history. Strange stuff.
I'm 24, and he is quite easily the best ever player I have seen play for Manchester United
 

Orton

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1. Ronaldo
2. Scholes
3. Keane
4. Giggs
5. Schmeichel
6. Van Nistelrooy
7. Rooney
8. Rio
9. Stam
10. Irwin