Rio, Stam, Vidic: what's your order?

[Fortitude]

Jaap Stam was the best CB I'd seen at United until Rio came along. McGrath did his best work for country and Villa, but would rank above them all for career peak, for me, but he's not part of this conversation. I'm curious as to how you rank the aforementioned three, and why you put them in the order you have. Incidentally, a combination of either Rio or Vidic with Stam would have been some sight to behold!

Mine:

1. Rio - Was the best defender in the world for a period of time (Nesta's injuries accepted) and was simply imperious at his best. Have him as a lock for United's all-time team.

2. Stam - Really enabled us to play with a high line. His reading of play, raw power and strength allied to his pace - once he picked up a head of steam - made him such an imposing figure. Perhaps the biggest shock sale of them all, despite talk of him being done for because of his injuries. Went on to be sublime in a strong Serie A, no bother.

3. Vidic - being ranked 'bottom' never looks good, but it's more testament to those above than Vidic being bad. Had less pace than the others, which is something he had to compensate for, which he did well with most of the time. An expert at dealing with any type of bruiser forward, but nimbler, fleet-footed ones were annoying fleas for him. I think his suscebility to that was greater than Rio's for donkeys, which does separate them, for me. But still an imperious CB and 3rd or 4th best of all-time for us, I think.

Where are you putting them, and why?

 

[OverratedOpinion]

Your order is correct.

 

[horsechoker]

Bottle of Heineken for Río, pint of Guinness for Stam and 3 shots of vodka for Vidic

 

[TsuWave]

Vidic
Rio
Stam

Vidic is just one of those defenders that made defending look fun for me. Eric Bailly has that same quality. I think it’s due to being hard tacklers. I tend to rate players that make the game fun to watch quite high

Vidic is in my all time favourite players

 

[SilentWitness]

I agree, I don't think there's a better 'version' of Rio yet in the PL. VVD is close but not quite there yet overall. Vidic has a better 'version' of himself in Terry.

 

[Relevated]

Another thing which may people rate Vidic higher than Ferdinand is that the two had somewhat contrasting styles. Vidic was a lot more, kind of unclean, with his defending, in the sense that he'd go right in without messing about and he'd make Kyle walker did 360 front flips whilst in the process.

 

[Blood Mage]

Rio was the best of the three, it's just a shame he didn't have the longevity that the other two had due to injuries.

 

[Oldyella]

Same order as the OP

 

[royboy16]

Vidic
Rio
Stam

Always felt Vidic covered a bit for Rio and he (Rio) wouldnt have been as good without Vidic.
Both were superb defenders, Vidic just shades it for me.

 

[Hammondo]

Rio, Stam, .........Vidic.

 

[Kostov]

Another thing which may people rate Vidic higher than Ferdinand is that the two had somewhat contrasting styles. Vidic was a lot more, kind of unclean, with his defending, in the sense that he'd go right in without messing about and he'd make Kyle walker did 360 front flips whilst in the process.

I fecking loved that. He destroyed that ugly little cnut on the spot

 

[Freak]

Rio
Vidic
Stam

 

[Lentwood]

I'd rank Vidic lower than Rio and Stam, purely because I believe those two could have played in any team, in any system.

I'm not entirely sure, for example, how Vidic would have coped in this United side. The huge gaps between midfield and the back four and the high-line would have been a nightmare for him. We saw when a player like Torres was able to get about his feet that he wasn't as mobile or as good one vs one as Rio and Stam. Of course, any defender would struggle in this United side, but I do feel van Dijk, Rio and Stam fall into a select group of players who could just about manage to look half-decent.

That being said, I'd still rate Vidic a better 'penalty box defender' than either of those two, and if it's a backs-to-the-wall job to hold out for 5-minutes in a Champions League final, I'd want Vidic in that back four every time!

 

[Herman Toothrot]

Pallister

 

[Gavinb33]

Vidic
Rio
Stam

Always felt Vidic covered a bit for Rio and he (Rio) wouldnt have been as good without Vidic.
Both were superb defenders, Vidic just shades it for me.

I see this completely the other way around to be honest with you, Rio allowed Vidic to play like Vidic because he covered so much had more pace and better positional play, Rio's yellow card and fouls record is insane for a center back.

i'd go

Rio
Stam
Vidic

 

[AdNani]

Rio
Stam
Vidic

Rio is my all time favourite defender and one of my favourite united players ever, he made everything look so easy and was the one who organised the whole defence, quicker than most strikers and good on the ball. Could go a whole game without having to make a tackle because he was 2 steps ahead

Stam was like vidic but had far more pace.

Vidic was a beast but just below those two

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Your order is correct.

Yup.

 

[Stobzilla]

Rio
Stam
Vidic

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

Stam then Rio...best two centre-halves I've seen play for United.

After that take your pick but Paul McGrath, Gary Pallister, Nemanja Vidic, Martin Buchan would be the four main candidates for third spot.

 

[led_scholes]

I agree, I don't think there's a better 'version' of Rio yet in the PL. VVD is close but not quite there yet overall. Vidic has a better 'version' of himself in Terry.

VVD for me is better. Is up there with Nesta. Rio was a bit so-so until Vidic arrived.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

Vidic was the best, most consistent and the most dominant, he's underrated now somehow because of a few games against Torres when Torres also destroyed Ferdinand if I remember correctly and Ferdinand was beaten by others during his career. Put Vidic on your team and the likes of Stoke were no problem at all. Ruined Drogba in the CL final so much that he got sent off.

Ferdinand was more graceful than Vidic but Vidic was a better all-round defender, less mistake-prone, more consistent. He also was decent on the ball, better than some people think, and more of a threat at set-pieces. Vidic is top 3 PL CBs in my opinion along with Van Dijk and Terry.

Stam was probably as good as Vidic but was here only 3 seasons, Vidic was like that but with extra seasons. If he stayed longer he could have been the best. Ferdinand was a brilliant defender too, just prefer Vidic.

 

[ShinjiNinja26]

Rio
Vidic
Stam

 

[Gio]

Same as the OP.

Not much between Stam and Vidic, but I'd feel more comfortable with Stam defending lots of space in a high line in 1v1 / 2v2 situations.

 

[Chripper]

Stam
Rio
Vidic

The top two are so close. I love both.

I hear that the Grim Reaper dresses as Jaap Stam for Halloween.

 

[Rozay]

Jaap Stam was the best CB I'd seen at United until Rio came along. McGrath did his best work for country and Villa, but would rank above them all for career peak, for me, but he's not part of this conversation. I'm curious as to how you rank the aforementioned three, and why you put them in the order you have. Incidentally, a combination of either Rio or Vidic with Stam would have been some sight to behold!

Mine:

1. Rio - Was the best defender in the world for a period of time (Nesta's injuries accepted) and was simply imperious at his best. Have him as a lock for United's all-time team.

2. Stam - Really enabled us to play with a high line. His reading of play, raw power and strength allied to his pace - once he picked up a head of steam - made him such an imposing figure. Perhaps the biggest shock sale of them all, despite talk of him being done for because of his injuries. Went on to be sublime in a strong Serie A, no bother.

3. Vidic - being ranked 'bottom' never looks good, but it's more testament to those above than Vidic being bad. Had less pace than the others, which is something he had to compensate for, which he did well with most of the time. An expert at dealing with any type of bruiser forward, but nimbler, fleet-footed ones were annoying fleas for him. I think his suscebility to that was greater than Rio's for donkeys, which does separate them, for me. But still an imperious CB and 3rd or 4th best of all-time for us, I think.

Where are you putting them, and why?

Same order as you.

Rio is the best centre half I’ve seen in my lifetime.

 

[Bwuk]

Rio > Vidic > Stam.

But to be honest you could argue any of the options.

 

[Oranges038]

Bruce
Pallister
Johnsen

 

[Dazzmondo]

For me it's Vidic, Rio, Stam. All were incredible though. I feel Vidic has become criminally underrated since his retirement for whatever reason.

 

[youngrell]

Vidic was the best, most consistent and the most dominant, he's underrated now somehow because of a few games against Torres when Torres also destroyed Ferdinand if I remember correctly and Ferdinand was beaten by others during his career. Put Vidic on your team and the likes of Stoke were no problem at all. Ruined Drogba in the CL final so much that he got sent off.

Ferdinand was more graceful than Vidic but Vidic was a better all-round defender, less mistake-prone, more consistent. He also was decent on the ball, better than some people think, and more of a threat at set-pieces. Vidic is top 3 PL CBs in my opinion along with Van Dijk and Terry.

Stam was probably as good as Vidic but was here only 3 seasons, Vidic was like that but with extra seasons. If he stayed longer he could have been the best. Ferdinand was a brilliant defender too, just prefer Vidic.

Yeah the Torres thing gets brought up way too much as a slight against Vidic. I remember Craig Bellamy ruining Rio FFS.

 

[Red Shorts]

Can't argue with your order and reasons there. Especially the point of Vidic; no bad thing being last when Rio and Jaap are the ones above you.

 

[Jericho]

I'd go along with OPs order.

Rio was the best IMO, but if you watched the Premiership coverage on RTE backed in the noughties Giles and Dunphy would have you convinced he wasn't very good at all.

 

[tenpoless]

One pepperoni pizza please. With pineapple.

Vidic, Stam, Rio.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Your order is correct.

Agreed.

Vidic's lack of pace means he's a level below the other two I'd suggest. Stam and Ferdinand would have been an amazing combo.

 

[The_Midfielder]

VIDIC

 

[JohnnyKills]

Yeah the Torres thing gets brought up way too much as a slight against Vidic. I remember Craig Bellamy ruining Rio FFS.

Yeah when Rio was getting on a bit though right? His peak years were probably between 06-09. Best defender in the world when we won the CL in 08 (for me that team was better than 99 but that's a debate for another day).

 

[youngrell]

Stam
Vidic
Rio

Very little between them and it's a case of what you like. Stam seemed almost unbeatable at the time, but that may be my age during his time at the club.

I can definitely see the case for Rio being the best of the 3, despite him being bottom of my list, because he was certainly the better overall footballer. But I find it hard to place him above Vidic when the latter was not only the leader of the team but also won the individual accolades while both played together.

 

[Jeppers7]

Your order.

 

[youngrell]

Yeah when Rio was getting on a bit though right? His peak years were probably between 06-09. Best defender in the world when we won the CL in 08 (for me that team was better than 99 but that's a debate for another day).

For sure. I was just pointing out how unfair it is to use Torres (who was one of the best forwards in the world at the time) to bash Vidic with when Rio had his own failings against lesser players but it never gets mentioned.

 

[Dazzmondo]

I'd rank Vidic lower than Rio and Stam, purely because I believe those two could have played in any team, in any system.

I'm not entirely sure, for example, how Vidic would have coped in this United side. The huge gaps between midfield and the back four and the high-line would have been a nightmare for him. We saw when a player like Torres was able to get about his feet that he wasn't as mobile or as good one vs one as Rio and Stam. Of course, any defender would struggle in this United side, but I do feel van Dijk, Rio and Stam fall into a select group of players who could just about manage to look half-decent.

That being said, I'd still rate Vidic a better 'penalty box defender' than either of those two, and if it's a backs-to-the-wall job to hold out for 5-minutes in a Champions League final, I'd want Vidic in that back four every time!

Varane is one of the best cbs of this generation and he has struggled massively in our defence so I doubt any of these would be able to fix it on their own regardless of how excellent they were.

 

[rimaldo]

rio looks like he would take care of you, both emotionally and financially. he may occasionally head into lad mode and throw the odd barb at you in front of his mates in an attempt to show how much of a top boy he is but you’d let it slide. the odd snide comment is nothing compared to all the times he held you close and you told him how horrible your day at work had been. he also has no problem with public displays of affection. he makes you feel like a princess.

vidic however would never show you any kind of affection in public. he would walk 5 yards in front of you, fists always clenched, ready to protect you but to the naked eye you are strangers. the only window into his nature is through his eyes. he has kind eyes for a hard man.

stam however would just roll over you like a freight train. there would be no love. no
tenderness, just cold, hard thrusting. the only indication you’d get that he might like you is if he spat on you after finishing himself off. you’ll never be enough to get him over the line.