Keane and it’s not close.
Take any one player at his peak from our past and put him in this team, who do you choose?
- Thread starter Fortitude
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The correct answer!
07/08 Ronaldo on the left and our attack changes instantly. You put any other player in his peak whether it’s Scholes or Rooney and it doesn’t change a single thing since Marcus would still be on the left so we would still be toothless. Although I would be tempted to pick Keane just to sort out some of these overpaid fecks.
My mind tells me that a proper CM is what we need, like a Keane or Scholes, but I can't look past the fact that our attack is by far the worst part of our team, and having Ronaldo in there could compensate for a lot of other shortcomings in the team far more than having a midfielder could compensate for the shortcomings in the attack. Close second place to peak Rooney.
I always pick Keane for this but really it should be Sir Bobby Charlton. A player who set goal and appearance records that lasted generations whilst being the ultimate example of what a united player should be both on and off the pitch. Never injured, exciting, skilful, could play pretty much any position and he loved the club more than anyone. Then he went on to pick Fergie and stick by him. Plus he was English, what more could you want?
There are a number of past players who would resolve all our problems, but if it was only one player and a key role, there’s no dispute.
Either Keane or Robson.
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Either Keane or Robson.
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With VAR he'd be sent off every single game unfortunately. I'm not sure he could ever restrain that part of his character. He got away with a few stamps and studs. Had to hold your breath after a few of his fouls and hope the referee didn't see it properly because there was quite a bit of nastiness alongside the absolute GENIUS.
Ruud or Keane
Dennis Law....goals win games.
Keane would be a terrible choice, he'd publicly call them all out after each game.
Scholes would be mine, possibly Giggs so we could at least have some creativity from the wings.
Scholes would be mine, possibly Giggs so we could at least have some creativity from the wings.
King Cantona. He was the catalyst for our success in 92 and we badly need a CF.
There aren't many players from Sir Alex Ferguson's best sides at their prime that I WOULDN'T put in our team and consider them transformational. Andrei Kanchelskis, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane would be unbelievable in the modern day still, Rooney and RVP too.
But as @Invictus mentioned albeit somewhat in passing it would be a dream to see George Best. toy with footballers today. He was a mercurial dribbler in a time when you were basically allowed to kick the SHIT out of players and did the things he did on shitty, muddy pitches with a heavy football.
I'll put Peter Schmeichel's name into the mix though. I liked de Gea and I think Onana will be great for us, but for me still the Dane is the greatest of all time, and if we had him it would solve a LOT of our problems - leadership, command of the area, aerial dominance, and he made some improbable saves.
But as @Invictus mentioned albeit somewhat in passing it would be a dream to see George Best. toy with footballers today. He was a mercurial dribbler in a time when you were basically allowed to kick the SHIT out of players and did the things he did on shitty, muddy pitches with a heavy football.
I'll put Peter Schmeichel's name into the mix though. I liked de Gea and I think Onana will be great for us, but for me still the Dane is the greatest of all time, and if we had him it would solve a LOT of our problems - leadership, command of the area, aerial dominance, and he made some improbable saves.
Robson or Keane. Both of those guys would hold the team together and drag everyone else’s level up with their force of personality.
It was tempting to say Rooney because he has that fire we are lacking and was very productive in terms of goals and assists. But Keane and Robbo had an overall game intelligence that would have greater impact on the team as a whole.
It was tempting to say Rooney because he has that fire we are lacking and was very productive in terms of goals and assists. But Keane and Robbo had an overall game intelligence that would have greater impact on the team as a whole.
2008 Ronaldo, goals is our biggest problem and there was never a better man to find the net than him.
Ronaldo.
A team without a real leader needs a leader. Keane or Robson.
Roy Keane /thread
Carrick would be perfect in the deep lying playmaker role in this team. He would help protect the defence, provide control in midfield and quality passing.
This team was at its best when Casemiro was playing well. Carrick would help to replicate that.
This team was at its best when Casemiro was playing well. Carrick would help to replicate that.
I'll just answer with the ones I've seen play. Cantona, Keane or Robson. I'd probably say Cantona.
In terms of someone to take control of the shambles, Roy Keane.
But I also think if you put Dennis Law or Ruud at the top, the goals would make us a lot more competetive.
Dennis probably, he had more to his game.
But I also think if you put Dennis Law or Ruud at the top, the goals would make us a lot more competetive.
Dennis probably, he had more to his game.
The answer for me is almost always Keane or Scholes. We’ve not had a midfielder anywhere near close as either since they’ve gone (bar Carrick I guess)
Keane…he would just elevate everyone around him and control the tempo of the game for us.
We might as well take Darwin Nunez, he used to get goalscoring chances (at his peak) when playing like a donkey (and team around was playing shite like we do now). Actually, I think that role is covered by McTominay now so scrap that.
A proper B2B central midfielder would be the biggest benefit to this team. I would take Roy for that role, so that we can play him as a #10 obviously.
A proper B2B central midfielder would be the biggest benefit to this team. I would take Roy for that role, so that we can play him as a #10 obviously.
Wayne Rooney not only scored goals but also linked up well with Rashford and Bruno.
The season Ginola won player of the year, such a joke that was!! I’d cavaet an answer by saying I don’t think any one player comes in and changes much. That said Cantona showed how one player can transform a squad taking us from almost mid table nothing a third through the season to the league title by the end of it. Can’t think of any other examples anywhere , where one player transformed things so quickly.
Im not sure how Keane would do with this squad. He was superb and quite often played his best when we were at our worst. But he had zero patience for players lowering levels or not working hard.
If people think ETH is being hard on Sancho they haven’t seen anything. Keane would absolutely obliterate that child.
He’d be having on/off field fights with players which may be amusing to some.
The problem is that United, post Ferguson, has never remotely gotten near the level of success culture that’s needed to challange at top honors. Part of this is down to the clubs strategy of prioritising marketing strategies and hoping throwing money at the first team just sorts itself out. That would drive keane mad.
Id choose robson over keane as robson was able to just be a one man machine regardless of who was playing around him. United is not in a position to have a top class perfectionist like keane in its ranks.
In that case, Keane should be involved in our transfer dealings. Maybe it would've saved us Sancho/Antony trouble.
It would be Cantona for me.
Despite the way Mourinho treated him, he still speaks very highly of us, such a class player and one of my favorite non-United players before he joined us.
On topic though: this is a really tough one: I'd go for either Keane, Scholes, Rooney, Ronaldo or Rio tbf. All of the these players would improve us, but for versatility alone I'd either pick Keane(since he can play as ball playing CB as well if needed) or Rooney(since he can cover all of the attacking positions, plus the Bruno role)
Bryan Robson, box to box, goal scorer, brave, leader, strong........
Mourinho dealt with that well. Van Gaal indulged the German and let him fly to America to watch his girlfriend play tennis all the time.
A legend of the game and clearly seems to really like the club, but he was diabolical here.
It's Keane, it's always Keane. Forget his technical excellence in terms of ball retention, passing, positioning, tackling and work rate. The reason it's always Keane is that he elevated the entire squad. No one is slacking off work rate wise with a peak roy keane in the team. They simply wouldn't dare. By virtue of existing he takes the team up a level.
Carrick for me. We would look 10 times better with an actual controlling midfielder. Put prime Carrick in place of Eriksen/McTominay and watch us play normal football for once.
Tempting as Scholes, Rooney at physical and creative peak, Best or Charlton etc are, it has to be Keane.
Beyond any cultured passing (and Kene was a good passer-usually economical but seldom negative except to temporarily slow things down after frenetic spells of opp pressure or to give us a 5 min energy recharge), we need a heartbeat, someone to check things in one direction, drive them forward in the other, issue instructions and maintain standards. A mixture of aggression, mobility and footballing intelligence, able to crunch tackles and see patterns.
Beyond any cultured passing (and Kene was a good passer-usually economical but seldom negative except to temporarily slow things down after frenetic spells of opp pressure or to give us a 5 min energy recharge), we need a heartbeat, someone to check things in one direction, drive them forward in the other, issue instructions and maintain standards. A mixture of aggression, mobility and footballing intelligence, able to crunch tackles and see patterns.
In no particular order:
1) Beckham would instantly upgrade the whole right flank. Probably the best right foot in the English game, a marvel to watch with the ball at his feet. He could hug the touchline, he could tuck inside, he could carry the ball through the lines, you name it. He could even help the current manager implement his desired midfield of three easier in the modern game. Good at link-up plays and clever enough to use his first touch(es) to create separation in isos. He just opens up so many options.
2) Keane, but not just for his leadership skills, his aggressiveness and tenacity. His short/medium passing got criminally underrated as the years went by. It was so crisp and "to the point" and it made the team tick by bringing others into play. He could always play either the metronomic passes that help set and maintain the desired tempo or the decisive "break through the lines" ones that speed things up. Nothing like the braid-dead football we see from United in the last decade. Excellent sense of space and of timing.
3) Rooney as the best facilitator between the lines we had for quite some time. He can interchange positions with the main man, he can find pockets of space in deeper positions, he could open up spaces centrally for others to exploit, he could do a job on the wings... you name it. The most important thing for me is that, unlike others who can produce great numbers, when the camera zoomed in on him, you would find him not where the ball was but where it needed to be.
1) Beckham would instantly upgrade the whole right flank. Probably the best right foot in the English game, a marvel to watch with the ball at his feet. He could hug the touchline, he could tuck inside, he could carry the ball through the lines, you name it. He could even help the current manager implement his desired midfield of three easier in the modern game. Good at link-up plays and clever enough to use his first touch(es) to create separation in isos. He just opens up so many options.
2) Keane, but not just for his leadership skills, his aggressiveness and tenacity. His short/medium passing got criminally underrated as the years went by. It was so crisp and "to the point" and it made the team tick by bringing others into play. He could always play either the metronomic passes that help set and maintain the desired tempo or the decisive "break through the lines" ones that speed things up. Nothing like the braid-dead football we see from United in the last decade. Excellent sense of space and of timing.
3) Rooney as the best facilitator between the lines we had for quite some time. He can interchange positions with the main man, he can find pockets of space in deeper positions, he could open up spaces centrally for others to exploit, he could do a job on the wings... you name it. The most important thing for me is that, unlike others who can produce great numbers, when the camera zoomed in on him, you would find him not where the ball was but where it needed to be.
George Best, because I want to enjoy watching football again.
Keane easy, he would put these primadonnas right.
Just because another manager gave him preferential treatment, doesn't mean that you have to banish him to the reserves. If he did that under Mourinho, that would be understandable. If anything, every time Mourinho played him, he always tried to prove himself to him.
Completely unwarranted by Mourinho.
Rooney
Ronny Johnsen would fit this team like a glove. Fast, very good 1-on-1, tactically disciplined, strong in the air, could play both left and right CB, comfortable on the ball and always injured.