the renaissance of paul scholes

Originally Posted by shadowplay

Birmingham
Passes attempted - 100
Passes successful - 97

Wigan Athletic

Passes attempted - 41
Passes successful - 40

Spurs

Passes attempted - 49
Passes successful - 47

nft

Originally Posted by shadowplay

Birmingham
Passes attempted - 100
Passes successful - 97

Wigan Athletic

Passes attempted - 41
Passes successful - 40

Spurs

Passes attempted - 49
Passes successful - 47

Not a big fan of stats in football and until they introduce a 'nous' stat you can never really encapsulate what Scholes is about, but those are mighty fine numbers.

What i like best about him this season is that he's bringing the best out of Anderson as well. 2 more seasons and then he'll be fine to handover over to Ando. He also combined well with fletcher against Spurs, which showed promise towards them having a decent stint together in the middle this year and certainly on current form would be our first choice pairing.

Scholes is playing very well and is a valuable player in this form, however, he has started the last 2 seasons in similar form, only to pick up a knee injury early october and miss 2-3 months, coming back a shadow of the player he was.

If he can avoid the injuries this year he could be the key to our chances of success, particularly in Europe.

I sort-of, wanted him to retire in the summer, mainly so we could bring in a young midfielder to strengthen our options in his stead, I am delighted to see his performances so far, long may they continue.

Majestic today.

It's amazing how well him & Giggs are doing atm. We'll never, ever see there like again.

Stoke City:

Passes attempted: 70
Passes successful: 67

Birmingham
Passes attempted - 100
Passes successful - 97

Wigan Athletic
Passes attempted - 41
Passes successful - 40

Spurs
Passes attempted - 49
Passes successful - 47

Stoke
Passes attempted: 70
Passes successful: 67



in its proper context

So, in total this season in the league he's attempted 260 passes, of which 251 have been successful.

£#%&! me.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

So, in total this season in the league he's attempted 260 passes, of which 251 have been successful.

£#%&! me.

incredible or par for the course or, for scholesy, both?

given time and space, he is a superb player with the ball.

I love scholes. probably after my children and just ahead of mrs jem.
however, his legs have gone and he is a liability who nearly got himself sent off again today.

nobody has been giving scholes time and space. he's fit enough to make time and space is all. stoke couldn't get near him today. neither could palacios or huddlestone against spurs.

Fantastic performance. But for me I wish Fergie would take him off once he's on a yellow. That two handed handball.

Originally Posted by borsuk

nobody has been giving scholes time and space. he's fit enough to make time and space is all. stoke couldn't get near him today. neither could palacios or huddlestone against spurs.

he excels when we have a lot of possession

when we don't the game passes him by

Originally Posted by jem

given time and space, he is a superb player with the ball.

hes an even better player when surrounded, his ability to pick a pass is second to none.

Originally Posted by Billy Baroo

he excels when we have a lot of possession

when we don't the game passes him by

can't agree. in the bernabeu in the cl semi in 07-08 he was our best player by a mile. i just think we're seeing a fit paul scholes, which we haven't for a while. dunk's point about small injuries having a big effect is bang on, i think.

I made the point in the match thread but I think that on the ball, the change of formation back to a 4-4-2 with traditional wingers is helping Scholes. With Nani, Valencia and Giggs all giving us good width it is forcing the opposition midfield to funnel across and be less compact through the middle. In the last 2 years Scholes has been caught on the ball probably more than the rest of his career combined. In that time it has generally been the full backs giving us width and the early ball to the winger has not been on as often as it is now. Midfield has been very tight with little space to manoeuvre.

Against good teams who will keep the ball and force Scholes to defend his deficiencies will still be obvious but as a controller of the game he is still as good as anyone in the world. Fergie is smart enough to adjust tactics in those games, go to a 3 or bring in a replacement. if Scholes gets the same intelligent game management as Giggs then he can have a very effective season for us.

As soon as he gets a yellow I expect him to get sent off though

Originally Posted by borsuk

can't agree. in the bernabeu in the cl semi in 07-08 he was our best player by a mile. i just think we're seeing a fit paul scholes, which we haven't for a while. dunk's point about small injuries having a big effect is bang on, i think.

Ahem, Camp Nou

Originally Posted by wiganste

Ahem, Camp Nou

oh, aye

Originally Posted by borsuk

can't agree. in the bernabeu in the cl semi in 07-08 he was our best player by a mile. i just think we're seeing a fit paul scholes, which we haven't for a while. dunk's point about small injuries having a big effect is bang on, i think.

you're picking out one game, and its not a game i recall him being outstanding in. our back 4 were the best utd players on the night

as Tiberian points out, it may be down to formation but in games where the tempo is super high from the opposition he has been badly over run

he is one of my all time favorites but the truth is we need to be intelligent about who we use him against

i certainly think the emergence of fletcher provides scholes with more time and cover at the moment too