Heads up, I got a warning for overuse of that particular smiley, i'm not that sad i'd report you but ....
United's Greatest Captain?
- Thread starter GailSpaceWynand
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Exactly and that's why every time I'm in Old Trafford I hear the stretford end signing "Oh Robsons fecking magic, he wears a magic hat, and when he saw Old Trafford, he said I fancy that".. hang on, no sorry I never hear a song for Robbo, ever. I wonder why?
Robson. Captain marvel.
Bryan Robson never wore a hat!?
But seriously when Bryan Robson ruled the roost we tended to go through the battle-anthem songbook, when we became successful the glory-hunters tended to go for the catchy sing-a-longs, I blame Pete Boyle
Robbo would have been on the bench behind Keane and Scholes.
Doesn't matter where he's sat that's still some bench
A poll to settle this?
I see only two most worthy inclusions - Robbo or Keano?
I see only two most worthy inclusions - Robbo or Keano?
Nah, unless the Russians are allowed to vote Captain Marvel will piss it.
You know what I meant.Doesn't matter where he's sat that's still some bench
The Keane v Robbo debate will go on forever on here. It's no surprise for a lot of kids before Keane came along Robson was probably their favourite United player, he was mine for a while but Keane just had the edge. He pushed us that little bit further than Robbo could.
I understand the nostalgia of an English captain for a lot of Brits on here but he wasnt a better captain than Keane and the history books will show that long after the people who want to debate the fact are long gone.
I have seen both many a times and though Keane was a fantastic leader he never was as good as Captain Marvel. Robson doesn't need to pick fights. All other respect him and don't dare pick a fight with him.
As for people saying he will be behind Keane and Scholes, Keane as a player was never as good as Robson.
I think most people who pick Keane never saw Robson at his peak when Big Ron was the manager.
As for people saying he will be behind Keane and Scholes, Keane as a player was never as good as Robson.
I think most people who pick Keane never saw Robson at his peak when Big Ron was the manager.
I am not British and I am not a kid. I have seen Sir Bobby and Bestie too when I was a kid. Martin Buchan was a good captain too.
I have seen the best of Robson as an adult and the same with the best of Keane.
Robson was a better captain. That's why he was called Captain Marvel. He led from the front.
I'm okay with giving United's best captain to Robson the fact that Keano is a bit of a crazy tit. Captain Marvel is still involved with the club because he has continued to embody all that is great and successful about The Club.
Robbo was made club captain going into his second season, even quicker than Maguire has been made captain given the fact that established club players such as Bailey, Coppell, and Norman Whiteside were overlooked. Then was captain under SAF before Bruce was selected.
He gets overlooked, but he'd be ranked as the greatest captain in modern history as in the past 35 odd years (not including Sir Bobby Charlton)
Robbo was made club captain going into his second season, even quicker than Maguire has been made captain given the fact that established club players such as Bailey, Coppell, and Norman Whiteside were overlooked. Then was captain under SAF before Bruce was selected.
He gets overlooked, but he'd be ranked as the greatest captain in modern history as in the past 35 odd years (not including Sir Bobby Charlton)
Keano. The perfect leader on the pitch and the extraordinary success we had is evidence of that. I remember a quote from SAF on the 97/98 season (where Keane was injured) something along the lines of 'the games we lost this season, we wouldn't have lost them if Keane was playing'.
I was too young to watch Robson like some of you, so can't compare.
I was too young to watch Robson like some of you, so can't compare.
Oh well if we won more when Keane was Captain he was obviously the better Captain, life in the simple lane
Unfortunately that's the way it goes. People will remember Charlton for his 66 world cup performances because he was a winner. His 68 performances because he was a winner. Balon D'or wins etc. Etc. You may not agree with it but it's how the very best are separated from the rest.Oh well if we won more when Keane was Captain he was obviously the better Captain, life in the simple lane
Yeah but how many people know who the Captain was in 66 and 68 without Googling?
Who became the captain after Keane left ? Off the top of my head I think it was Giggs because he was always playing with the armband sometimes, but I also remember Gary Neville with it
To all the glory hunters and Irish bias. Here is our trophy room
YR Trophy. Captain
84 FA Robson
89 FA Robson
90 EC. Robson
91 EFL. Robson
92 EPL Robson
93 EPL FA Robson
94 Bruce
95 EPL FA Bruce
96 EPL. Cantona
97
98 EPL FA CL Keane
99 EPL Keane
When Bruce was the step-in Captain during 92, 93, hence Bruce always gave me the perception as the 1st Captain that started our run since 1992. But that is my perception anyway, as Robson was the official Captain.
YR Trophy. Captain
84 FA Robson
89 FA Robson
90 EC. Robson
91 EFL. Robson
92 EPL Robson
93 EPL FA Robson
94 Bruce
95 EPL FA Bruce
96 EPL. Cantona
97
98 EPL FA CL Keane
99 EPL Keane
When Bruce was the step-in Captain during 92, 93, hence Bruce always gave me the perception as the 1st Captain that started our run since 1992. But that is my perception anyway, as Robson was the official Captain.
keane...demanded excellence in those around him and players didn't want to let him down
and look no further than juve away , when he knew he wasn't going to be involved in the final as to his character
and look no further than juve away , when he knew he wasn't going to be involved in the final as to his character
I’m surprised how authoritatively one-sided a lot of the posts in here are. To me it’s only the players and staff who worked with both players on a day to day basis who can properly judge. So much of what makes a captain great is felt in the dressing room, on the training pitch and at close quarters on a Saturday on the pitch. Fans know how good the players are and the captain’s impact on matchday, but it’s hard to get a feel for the overall package of leadership that a good captain will show. I think @RedTiger is onto something in looking at what players who worked with the likes of Robson had to say.
Keane is the perfect captain in the right situation. But he needs a team that is good enough to live up to his expectations. Give him that and he'll get every little bit out of every player, driving them forward to reach the highest level they possibly could. Which of course then makes the team as a whole as good as it possibly could be. However if the team around him isn't good enough I don't think it'd work. Ultimately I expect he'd explode and cause issues amongst the players and the management, and end up being a negative influence.
Hence I think Keano was the absolute perfect captain for us during his time, but he wouldn't have done anywhere near as well as Robson did during that earlier time.
Hence I think Keano was the absolute perfect captain for us during his time, but he wouldn't have done anywhere near as well as Robson did during that earlier time.
If we go back as far as Peter Reid in 1984/85 who won the PFA player of the year, Of all the midfielders who have won the award since then, there's only David Platt, Roy Keane, Steven Gerrard, N'Golo Kante on the list. In fact Roy Keane is the only Man Utd midfielder to make the list since the award began. Scholes or Carrick never won the award.
I think if Robbo controlled central midfield as consistently on a weekly basis as Keane did, as some make out on here, then his name would obviously be on this list. I just don't think he had the consistency that Keane had on a weekly basis.
In saying that, I think it's daft to say one was absolutely a better captain than the other. They were both phenomenal. Let's leave it at that.
I think if Robbo controlled central midfield as consistently on a weekly basis as Keane did, as some make out on here, then his name would obviously be on this list. I just don't think he had the consistency that Keane had on a weekly basis.
In saying that, I think it's daft to say one was absolutely a better captain than the other. They were both phenomenal. Let's leave it at that.
I actually forgot that Keane left after the Treble season in 99, for some strange reason i thought he stayed until 2005 and captained the club to another 4-5 trophies.
Same. Left when you've achieved the greatest is a nice feeling.
The dreams I had of him staying for further 5 years roughly is also nice pleasant dreams.
I’ll support this to a point of principle.
Robson was performing Keane vs Juve feats every few weeks. He operated in a far poorer side.
Keane was his equal, but he was fortunate to play in sides full of leaders, with a squad that was packed with talent.
In that sense, Robson missing was a far bigger hole than Keane missing.
With that said, I think Keane was the better Captain. The players seemed to know they had to meet his level of application. Every single minute of every game. With Robson it felt as though the players relied on him to bail them out and carry the side.
General Consensus?
1. Robbo v Keano
3. Cantona
In my opinion,
4. Vidic
5. Bruce
6. Carrick
7. GNev
8. Rooney
9. Maguire (too new but may rise up to 8 in future)
10. Young
11. Valencia
Bobby Charlton for United, Bobby Moore for England. Everyone knows that mate.
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I don't think anyone would challenge that level of use of a smiley for such a ridiculous post.
If anything, I think I under did it.
Any reason you stopped in 99?
There is certainly an Irish bias from Irish fans towards Keane, but equally Robson being England's captain and best player for a number of years creates a major bias among English fans.
The influence Keane had on keeping standards high (impossibly high in some instances) was instrumental in United's prolonged success. I've never seen another player elevate his whole team to the level Keane did - including far inferior players for Ireland.
Robson was a great player and led by example on the field. He was a Roy of the Rovers type captain who led in an individual manner rather than controlling the tempo of a game and driving others on like Keane. He was similar to Gerrard in that way (but without the massive ego).
But his influence off the pitch on the likes of McGrath and Whiteside was hardly positive.
Robsons injuries are a bit exaggerated - he had one season where he was injured a lot in his younger days at United - 85/86
But the fact is that Robson in 7 out of the first 8 seasons at United, played 30 League games or more - so in 7 of those 8 seasons he lost an average of less than 8 League games pr season
So Roy Keane for instance (even if we remove the season when he did knee) missed a lot more games than Robson
The players in general knew the on-field bollockings were for their and the teams benefit and were fine with it, but at times Roy went too far, poor Jesper Blomqvist still comes out in a cold-sweat when somebody mentions Roy Keane's name 21 years after that night in Turin when Roy destroyed him for a bad pass that resulted in him lunging in on Zidane? and picking up the booking that meant he missed the Final, but the pass was fine it was Roy's bad control that fecked him up - and if he had anything about him as a Captain and a Man he would have apologised to Blomqvist after the match once he'd watched it back as i'm sure he did, but he didn't, and that was the beginning of the end for Blomqvist at United.
Give me Robbo's go out there and play your game lads because i'm not gonna let this lot beat us style over Roy's every single day of the week.
Rio and Vidic.
Keane until 2004.
Keane until 2004.
Well yeah apart from me
Exactly and whoever said that seems to be forgetting the 97/98 season when we won nothing, jeane was missing from september onwards.
Nah think 11 was sufficient, one for each of your fingers.
Wow it's crazy that Giggs or Scholes were never given it
Scholes was never a captain and wouldn't have wanted it. Giggs always had more obvious candidates ahead of him but often deputised when the main man wasn't playing.
It's weird that Giggs went on to become a sucessfull manager and Neville failed so big. Always thought of Gary as more of a leader in a dressing room.
In fairness to Neville he has managed one club and it was a very strange scenario to take on as a rookie manager and a big club of which he had no affiliations with, in arguably the best league in the world of which he never played in and in a country where he didn’t even speak the language.
It‘s a bit of a stretch to call Giggs a successful manager. Managing the welsh national team who have low expectations is completely incomparable to managing Valencia. Chris Coleman has been the most successful wales manager in decades and his club record in management is hardly that impressive.