Giggs turning into Beckham - without the benefits - for Manchester United
Ryan Giggs is a model professional footballer - exceptionally talented but humble, doesn’t go out of his way to seek media attention, fiercely loyal to Manchester United and always giving 100% on the pitch. He has been rewarded for his commitment over the years, and there is a lot of support for Giggsy to play on for Manchester United for another couple of years.
However, Giggs is at the stage of his career where he’s not fast enough to play as a genuine winger but still talented enough to make things happen when the ball is at his feet. This causes a problem for Manchester United and Alex Ferguson, because they now have several players on their hands (Scholes and Neville are the two others) who are talented enough to be in Manchester United’s starting XI but not able to keep up with the pace of the Premier League.
In some ways this is how David Beckham’s career has turned in the last couple of years. He’s still a talented footballer but lacks the pace to affect the game from the wings. This sees him going all over the pitch in search of the ball (as Giggs does) and quite often cutting into central midfield to be more involved in play (as Giggs does these days).
There’s a difference though - Beckham’s presence is a financial boon to any football club, and he still has the killer delivery ball to change the game. Ryan Giggs, without his pace, is just a top-notch dribbler who can be contained by fast, intelligent full-backs. Giggsy is not better than Beckham at free kicks and he’s not going to sell as many shirts, ever. Giggsy has the better ball skills but once the opposition defence knows that they just have to sit back and block passing opportunities, he’s reduced to passing the ball back into central midfield.
Giggsy is turning into Becks - a player that is carried by the team - but doesn’t give Manchester United the same benefits as Becks would give to a club (ability to win a game, financial revenues).
Before you flame me for this, let me assure you that I think Giggsy is a world-class winger, but in the interest of Manchester United we have to be forward-looking and think of what is best for the team. Having Giggsy as a starting certainty is not the way to go forward.
The 2008 Soccerlens Awards: Nominate Your Favourite Football Sites Here
Although i think this article demonstrates interesting and opinionated reading, as a season ticket holder and somone who sees Giggs week in week out, i totally disagree with the comments. Giggs may not be the lightning winger we saw through the 90s, but he still shows genuine pace, and is able to beat players. His speed of thinking also is still evident, when getting into the right positions, take the Fulham game at Craven Cottage last season. Giggs still has enough pace to play in the Premier League, and he still has the edge on plays like Nani due to his all round game. Last season was no fluke. I think he will have just as good a season this year, athough he may not play the same amount of games. Personally, i hope he will be with us over the next 2 seasons, but that is just my opinion!
I agree with you here, as Giggs is getting on and can no longer be considered as a dead cert in the starting lineup. He isn’t half the player he used to be and as for as loyalty towards a player goes, from a fan perspective, you have to put the loyalty of the club first if the player isn’t the performing well at the top level. So don’t flame me for my opinion.
Well it’s really a question of whether there is a replacement for him. Eagles isn’t there yet and quite frankly Nani hasn’t shown enough of the pace and crossing ability he was touted as having when we got him.
DBeech & Oz are pot on- and that’s not cos I loathe to think of United without Giggs. Face facts, he turns games on their feet, he pops up with deft finishes and contributes his fair share of goals, still has pace to beat the usual suspects and most importantly has a football brain on him, a better one than most I’d like to add. And the team isn’t carrying Giggs, the implication in Ahmed Bilal’s article being that primarily, it’s just that there aren’t other options available, certainly not better- Gibson middle of the park or out wide, not ready yet, will be blooded in if there’s crisis of some sorts, Eagles, not there yet, only a matter of time though, Nani and Anderson, as exciting and full of potential that they are, not the finished article dead cert Ryan Giggs replacements. I say Ryan Giggs replacement as a lot of our succes has been down to players like him, in time I’d like for us to talk about looking for the Eagles/Nani/Anderson replacement but as yet we’ve got the original and the best so make do until the kids grow up. And not flaming anyone here for their opinions, say what you like about Ryan Giggs and being past it, the fact of the matter being that we don’t have Park to come on us a surrogate winger and the others just aren’t there yet.
Sod it-the cheek of you lot to be banging on about Giggs being of decreasing benefit to United. The most influential Premierhsip Title in United’s history last season would certainly not have been possible without him, Scholes, Gary Neville- all crucial crucial pieces in the United Jigsaw. About Giggs being past it-I say Pah.
Giggs may have lost the pace of yesteryear and it is not that easy for him to get pass defenders these days but he is still able to carry the team, not the other way round.
So long as he can read the game well, make decent pass and crosses, set the right examples for the new kids on the block, he will always be an asset to Manchester United.
Giggs is still an important member of the squad. I do however agree that he has seen his best days. He is not very consistent these days. He was the worst passer of the ball in Uniteds midfield last year and this year it has been worse. I´m sure it will improve tho.
Silly article. To say Ryan Giggs is not a match winner is a ludicrous comment to make, to say he can not beat players is ludicrous, He was rated the Fourth best player in the Premier League last season.
Players that were rated to have finished below Giggs should hang up their boots then?
To be honest i think i agree with Ahmed, although i think it’s a bit harsh to say that the ‘team carry him’, but he’s been drifting out of the game more and more recently. And i think that’s partly down to the fact that after last year’s performance’s team’s have made sure that Giggs is watched carefully. And now that he’s getting older it’s becoming harder for him to change his game, so really, they know how he’s going to play. But it’s still obvious that he has the ability to win matches, it’s just the rest of the time it sems like he’s not doing very much.
Ahmed, did you actually watch United last season? Most times Giggs played in the centre in a 4231 formation, and he was magnificent there, using his footballing intelligence and incisive passing. His pace is no longer the same - but that’s why we bought Nani and that’s why Fergie often deploys Rooney on the wing. They can dribble and run past people while Giggsy’s vision, along with Scholes, makes the team tick.
All of these players (Neville , Scholes , Giggsy) are now used as player-coaches. Indeed SAF tried Giggs as a coach and was amazed by his performance and his coaching abilities. So, maybe Giggs doesn’t deserve a 1st eleven choice but he is capable of many more things than you and me can see.So, he is useful even if we have Nani.
Scholes is irreplacable.If,only he was faster. Noone will ever hav such an impact in MU’s attacking game.
Neville is still OK. In fact i think he is in the top riht backs in Premiership.
These players teach football and professionalism
I respect Giggs and think he still good.
But I love Scholes. Why do you write “Scholes can’t keep up with the pace of the Premier League”.
Scholes decides the pace at which ManU play. He dictates.
For me Scholes = Makalele + Gravesen + Lot more
You bring Hargreaves at an exorbitant price and give him Scholes job. Hargreaves can’t equal a Scholes, not for 100 years to come.
avijerseyno9, you just showed that you are a Scholes fan tt all. Nobody is indispensible… when Sir Bobby Charlton retired, pple also said nobody can replace him… but did Scholes replace that influence in the team. I am sure he did fine yeah…
Back to the comments, Giggs is still valuable to the team. But I do agree abt the lack of pace. However, I feel that how the manager uses him is more important that how he has changed as a player. So it doesnt matter how much pace and skills he lost; rather how he can help the team now…
Shame then that Giggs hasn’t really been a winger for over a season, he’s been playing in the whole, up top or in central midfield where, on the whole, he’s been very effective. Players like Cantona, Beckham himself, Scholes, Keane, and many others have proved that you don’t need pace to succeed in the prem. Giggs is not just a dribbler, he has vision, an excellent passer and crosser and has won numerous games over the past season.
you have a point, however Giggs always has some kind of effect on a game. besides, why do we need classical winger anyway? do we have some kind of aerial threat i am unaware of?
seroiuly though we need players like ronaldo and giggs to drift infield in order for us to play the way we played last season, besides i have a feeling the evra was brought to compensate for giggs’ lack of pace (it would make no sense to kick out the door heinze otherwise).
so no losses there and giggs should be a starting certainty this season and be challanged for his spot by nani (who’s been brilliant so far) next season and then it would be lights out for my favorite player.
Hang on, didn’t Giggs himself say that he is happy to be a sqaud player this year? How does that make him a starter? I think you should research your topics more thoroughly before publishing a pretty pointless article like this.
Everyone knows Giggs is on his way out, the fans do, Alex Ferguson does (hence the signing of Nani) and so does Ryan himself. He is in no way like Beckham. He has remained loyal to Manchester United, he has accepted the part of squad in the past and will do so again this season by his own admission and finally in his heyday was not just about crossing but pace and skill too, two things that Beckham never had.
People have been writing Giggsy off for the past three seasons, but he’s never let United down - last season (bar the Cup final miss) was arguably his best in the last five - class is permanent and there is still a place for Giggs in any United team!
I think Giggs still have lots to offer United. He firstly need to get his confidence back.
I think that SAF should use him more from the bench as a means of settling the team.
I for one would love to see Giggs break the appearance record. When he does, I feel that United should make a MASSIVE fuss over it, because the the modern game needs this more than anything else a player has to offer any club.
totally agree with this article.. i’ve been trying to point this out for the past months.
giggs is no longer the winger we used to see, running with pace at defenders, making them turn in circles as he skips past them with ease. killer balls and good vision.
now, yes he still has that vision. but the execution is very very poor. he knows what he should be doing but hes legs are too old to get them to do it. his pace has dropped rapidly, he hardly tries to dribble, knowing he’ll get tackled and get angry stares from his teammates.
you could easily see these traits in towards the end of last season, and surely the first few games of this season. even during the friendly against inter milan, he tried to take the ball down the right wing at HIS full speed. and guess what? luis figo, who’s older than him fyi.. chased him without much effort and stole the ball as if he was a natural defender.. if thats not enough, take a look at the game against portsmouth.. trying to out run matty taylor on the wing.. dint even get there and muntari got the ball.
last season for example, when united were trailing blackburn 0-1. ronaldo weaved his way to the byline and played a delightful cut back to giggs on the penalty spot. and yes you guess it.. he blast the ball with full power against the cross bar.
talking about recent games, against spurs.. he could have easily fed eagles near the end of the game but tried to take it on his own, failed. decided to play the pass to eagles, but a really poor ball which got intercepted.
yes, no doubt giggs was an excellent player whom defenders feared. now its different, we’ve to accept the fact sometime sooner rather than later that he’s clearly past his best and it’s time someone takes the place and makes it his. like nani or anderson..
now, about becks. anytime anyday ask a manger who he’d prefer and they’d say becks.. why? he creates something outta nothing just by putting his right foot on the ball. he might not use the pace he has, but that aint stopping him from delivering balls which defenders have to be alert at all times to prevent them from turning into goals. ask rvn, ole, yorke, cole who they’d fancy and they’d tell you the same.
and about the current united side to be honest, i feel anderson should play on the left side like ronaldinho, robinho does. he has the pace and power to beat defenders and has really good crossing accuracy. to play in the center like kaka does needs more creativity and work rate, but we’ll see..