the renaissance of paul scholes

a couple of years ago i remember a lot of criticism being levelled at ryan giggs and there was a general feeling that he was on a fairly quick decline, that he couldn't cope with the pace of premier league football, that his career was winding down. easy to forget but he was being written off by many at the time. thankfully our manager is fergie and the rest is history...


for the last couple of years a lot of criticism has been levelled at "@#%&!" :shakehead: paul scholes and there has been a general feeling that he has been on a fairly quick decline, that he can't play in a midfield two, that his career is winding down. but are we witnessing a renaissance of paul scholes to mirror that of ryan giggs? it's still early days this season but on the evidence so far i think we are. many have written him off but thankfully our manager is fergie





unrivalled in so many ways

[SIZE="5"]Scholes, Giggs & Neville Are Not Finished - Manchester United Boss Sir Alex Ferguson
The determined Scot believes there is more to come from the ageing trio.


Top honours adorn the respective cabinets of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, yet their veteran status and ageing legs are no handicap according to Sir Alex Ferguson, who believes it is "dangerous" to make such an assumption as "they seem capable of going on forever".

For Giggs, the secret to his continued fitness could lie in yoga. Ferguson told The Sun, “People may say Giggs, Scholes and Neville are finished, that they’ve had their day.

“But that is a pretty dangerous assumption. Giggs has been out of this world in pre-season. I don’t know how he does it – at 36 he still has so much energy and an incredible change of pace to go past defenders.

“The only thing he does different now to when he started is yoga, and maybe that has helped prolong his career. But some people are just born that way.

“They seem capable of going on forever. He still has that same desire to win things, but it’s something you must have at Manchester United.

“You have to be able to fulfil the expectation of winning all the time – the only alternative is the exit door.

“People are also saying this is the last year for Scholes. But you have to remember he missed a lot of football last season and rushed himself back. As a result, he wasn’t the same player. But he’s been great in pre-season, too, and there’s a lot of football left in him.”

Ferguson then went on to mention the case of Neville.

“Gary also suffered with injuries and I’m afraid that’s the way it’s going to be with him from now on," the Scot lamented. "He’s likely to get a lot of minor niggles, because his muscle arrangement is more tense than the other two and if I can get 25 games out of him I’ll be very happy.”

and just for contrast, anyone remember this?

i bet there were quite a few on here of the 'yeah, get rid' opinion

Anyone calling Scholes & Giggs a @#%&! are not Manchester United fans.

PFA player of the year 2010.

I thought Giggs was £#%&!ed and past it a couple of years ago and am delighted I as proved wrong.

Scholesy still has quite a bit to offer and tends to be fine unless he gets injured because it then it takes a ridiculous amount of time for him to get back up to speed beause he is no where near the natural athelete that Giggsy is.

Originally Posted by borsuk

a couple of years ago i remember a lot of criticism being levelled at ryan giggs and there was a general feeling that he was on a fairly quick decline, that he couldn't cope with the pace of premier league football, that his career was winding down. easy to forget but he was being written off by many at the time. thankfully our manager is fergie and the rest is history...


for the last couple of years a lot of criticism has been levelled at "@#%&!" :shakehead: paul scholes and there has been a general feeling that he has been on a fairly quick decline, that he can't play in a midfield two, that his career is winding down. but are we witnessing a renaissance of paul scholes to mirror that of ryan giggs? it's still early days this season but on the evidence so far i think we are. many have written him off but thankfully our manager is fergie





unrivalled in so many ways







and just for contrast, anyone remember this?

i bet there were quite a few on here of the 'yeah, get rid' opinion

I thought these 2 were past it years ago, i also thought Fletcher was shit York was a bad buy Milner was ace and Saha was as fit as a fiddle


should i be a city fan i think so:eek

Originally Posted by Zorg

PFA player of the year 2010.

bet you'd get pretty good odds on that and it wouldn't be surprising to see scholes decorated a year after giggs. if he keeps his form up, which i have no doubt he will, and united have a successful season, which i have no doubt we will, then there will be a hell of a lot of pressure for him to get the nod. worth a few bob, i reckon.

still think darren fletcher will be player of the season. that's not the same thing as getting the award, of course.

Good post Borsuk, agree with Ste on the fact anyone calling Scholes a @#%&! can't be a United fan too. Scholes will always be class to me and if their is one player with enough balls about him to call it a day, say his best has gone or say he no longer enjoys the game it's Scholes. He would be the first to £#%&! it off like he did with England, players dont make them decisions lightly but he kept to his word on it and never played for them again so he could give his best at united,something he is still giving IMO.

When Scholes says he has nothing left to give I will listen and be sad to hear it, untill then I dont really listen to the forum Fergies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa17LGUHBFo

tbph i don't see how anyone calling scholes a @#%&! can call themselves a football fan. along with giggs and ole he's one of the few modern players almost universally respected and admired, even by our bitterest rivals. can't think of too many players with that kind of reputation. certainly not at the same kind of level. they genuinely represent everything good about the game.

As discussed before, I thought Ryan was finishing the year we won the CL , he matched Sir Bob's record, his performances since have suprised me.

I think Scholesy struggles sometimes if it's particularly quick and competetive in midfield, delighted he seems to be going well this year

I do worry when they are both picked at the same time.

Don't think i have ever called a united player a @#%&! tbh.

Agree with all the above and long may it continue.

I rarely stray into the world of football posts but even I was making some rather rash comments about the state of United's midfield at the start of the season which have so far proved unfounded.

Spurs away was an epic result for us - confidence building for all concerned. I now just want to get past Sunday which again, is a really important match in that a decent result would really help assert ourselves in a very competitive league this year but in doing so, would also damage the confidence swimming around a city side who are looking more than half decent.

I said as soon as the arabs took over City that it would only be a matter of time before they win the title and I'm still of that view. Beating them on Sunday will in a little way prolong that day coming.

As said above I think he will struggle in fast paced games and his tackling seems to be getting worse but he's a quality player and always has been...

Legend

He has surprised me this season. In The last 2 years, bar the odd match his form has been pretty poor, only Fulham at home, when they gave him acres of space did he look anything like himself in 08/09.

He looks sharper this season, was caught on the ball quite a lot last year, little sign of it so far this time around, moving the ball quicker. He helped by Utd playing 2 wide men who will stay wide, makes the pitch bigger and forces the opposing midfield defence to stretch out, giving more space for those threaded passes through the middle. All of our wide players are hard workers as well, so they get back and there is less ground for Scholes to cover.

His fitness seems better though, got through 90 mins last night, still trying to get forward, got the goal and just seemed comfortable.

Carrick is struggling so badly for form at the moment, that will initially help Scholes get a run in the team, but can he sustain it over a full season? As a passing team Utd are better when Scholes is like this, we make teams chase, he controls the tempo so well.

Just ban him from going to ground, the sending off at Spurs while slightly unlucky was reckless.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

Just ban him from going to ground, the sending off at Spurs while slightly unlucky was reckless.

It was indeed, but what annoyed me was Huddlestone clutching his face. What was that all about?

Originally Posted by Zorg

It was indeed, but what annoyed me was Huddlestone clutching his face. What was that all about?

must have been something. he's english, after all, no chance he was simulating.

Originally Posted by Zorg

It was indeed, but what annoyed me was Huddlestone clutching his face. What was that all about?

Bloody cheating foreigners

Scholes has always been my favourite player.

Don't know how long he can keep going for, depends a lot on staying fit.

I remember seeing him make one run in pre-season when he was put through against the keeper and looked £#%&!ed afterwards! . If he can stay fit through the season and put in 25 - 30 good performances it will be fantastic

Originally Posted by Zorg

It was indeed, but what annoyed me was Huddlestone clutching his face. What was that all about?

I think that Scholes may have caught him slightly with his left hand during the tackle. He made a bit much of it though. Really Scholes could have been sent off for the first tackle on Defoe, he used to have decent acceleration over 5 yards, now that is mostly gone he constantly mistimes tackles. Every time he goes to ground I expect a foul to be given.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

I think that Scholes may have caught him slightly with his left hand during the tackle. He made a bit much of it though. Really Scholes could have been sent off for the first tackle on Defoe, he used to have decent acceleration over 5 yards, now that is mostly gone he constantly mistimes tackles. Every time he goes to ground I expect a foul to be given.

Thats %@#$&!s

Scholes has ALWAYS mistimed tackles

Originally Posted by Tiberian

I think that Scholes may have caught him slightly with his left hand during the tackle. He made a bit much of it though. Really Scholes could have been sent off for the first tackle on Defoe, he used to have decent acceleration over 5 yards, now that is mostly gone he constantly mistimes tackles. Every time he goes to ground I expect a foul to be given.

You what?

Originally Posted by Harri Jaffa

Thats %@#$&!s

Scholes has ALWAYS mistimed tackles

Yes, but now I am shocked if he actually times one, 5/6 years ago you did not have to close your eyes every time he went into a tackle. When he comes charging in from behind you just know it is going to be ugly. It why I find it hard to have a lot of sympathy for him for the the Spurs ending off, he has got away with some shockers over the years.

Most of his red cards have been in the last 5 years as well. It has got to the point where is he is booked early in a match I expect him to get sent off, just seems unable to stop himself from diving in, and for such a classy and intelligent player it is a strange, almost endearing, contradiction.