Ryan Giggs Is The Best Premier League Player Ever - Manchester United Boss Alex Ferguson

The evergreen Welshman's achievements have put him at No.1, argues Fergie…

Manchester United manager Alex ferguson believes Ryan Giggs is the best player in Premier League history. The 36-year-old Welshman continues to play an influential role for the Red Devils this season, despite his advanced years.




"We have had a lot of top-class players in this league – and some have probably made more of an impact than Ryan – but nobody can boast the same sort of longevity and consistency," Ferguson said, according to Press Association.




"He was there when the league started and he is still there now. I think you would have to say Ryan is the best."




And it is the Welshman's versatility and professionalism that particularly impress his manager.




"We have played him out wide in a few games recently because he is fresh at the moment," Ferguson added.





"It's the beginning of the season so he has got plenty of running in him and he can do a lot of damage in the wide position.





"But I think you will find as the season progresses he will move back into the middle of the park where he can dictate the games."

Better late than never

Do you know any United fans who persist in leaving games at Old Trafford early? Surely by now they would have learnt their lesson.



Yes, an early dart has its advantages. You can avoid the bad traffic that’s inevitable when 75,000 people all leave at once. And the tram is nowhere near as crowded. But early leavers this season would have missed the incredible drama at the end of the Manchester derby and another chunk of heart-stopping action against Sunderland on Saturday.




One of Sir Alex’s great legacies at United will be late goals. Somehow, he infuses into his players a determination to keep going – a refusal to accept defeat. Let’s be honest though, United were poor by their very high standards on Saturday. Have you ever seen so many passes go astray? There was no fluency or thrust about United’s play. And yet, despite all those deficiencies on the day, United still emerged with a point from a game they probably should have lost. It’s not just luck – it happens far too often for that.




Steve Bruce knows that all too well. His two late headers against Sheffield Wednesday in ‘93 probably began the legend of late goals at Old Trafford. In the tunnel after the game on Saturday, Brucie looked dejected. Before the game he would have gladly accepted a point. But he left his old stomping ground unhappy at not getting all three and finally getting one over on his old boss.




Perhaps timekeeping duties should be taken away from referees. They’ve already got enough on their plates. On Saturday, a minimum of four minutes were added on at the end. During those four minutes United scored a goal so surely at least another 30 seconds or so should be added on. How much additional time did Mr Wiley allow for the United equaliser? 2 seconds. How on earth did he work that out?

Sir Alex admires Rooney's drive

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Wayne Rooney is driven to score goals regardless of trying to fill the gap left by Cristiano Ronaldo.

The boss tells the new issue of Inside United: “I don’t think he looks at it that way (replacing Ronaldo's goals). Wayne always wants to do well and play well.

“The boy’s got a real hunger and drive. He has so much energy that sometimes he overdoes it in the sense that he wants to use it all; he’ll drop into midfield or go outside left. But he’s young, and young players sometimes want to spend all their energy on the pitch.

"If he concentrates like he did (in the match) at Wigan and spends more time in the central areas rather than the wide positions then he will get goals. There’s no doubt about that.”

Sir Alex picks out a volley against Newcastle in April 2005 at Old Trafford as his favourite Rooney goal so far, now that the striker has scored more than 100 for the Reds.

“His volley against Newcastle takes some beating," says Sir Alex. "It came totally out of the blue. He should have had a foul a minute before and the referee didn’t give it, so the anger in him was so high that he tried to burst the ball!”

Although Rooney has notched his first century for the Reds, Sir Alex is not sure he will overtake Sir Bobby Charlton’s club record.

“It’ll be very tough. Sir Bobby’s record is 249, so at this stage of Wayne’s career he’ll have to do very well to get anywhere near it.”

Gill feels insulted by Le Havre's Pogba slur

Manchester United chief executive David Gill has criticised Le Havre for their public condemnation of his club's transfer tactics over the signing of teenage star Paul Pogba.

Gill said that the Premier League champions will not allow themselves to be insulted by the Ligue 2 club over claims which he insists are completely unfounded and false.

"It's not intimidation but they can't insult us," Gill said at a meeting of the European Clubs Association. "We are not intimidating Le Havre, we have no intention of intimidating Le Havre, they can take whatever action they fell appropriate.

"We have done everything by the book, we are confident in that, they can take whatever action, we won't be insulted by Le Havre.

"It's an insult by Le Havre to suggest that Manchester United and employees of Manchester United have paid the parents and bought the player's parents a house.

"We will not accept the good name of Manchester United being trawled around Websites and the press saying we have done these things we are not allowed to do.

"If they want to take action, they can take action, we will defend our case in the football bodies, we are very comfortable about doing that."

Le Havre this week claimed United had offered the player's parents a number of inducements to get the player to sign for them. And United hit back by threatening legal action of their own should they continue to make such claims.

"Manchester United has written to Le Havre to put it on notice that action will be taken if such allegations are repeated in relation to the transfer of Paul Pogba," United said in a statement.

Reds suffer Nani blow

Nani may miss the start of the Barclays Premier League campaign after sustaining a shoulder injury in United's Community Shield defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.




The winger, who scored and impressed on the left wing, was forced off in the second half after landing awkwardly following a tackle from John Terry. The Portuguese will have a scan on Monday morning to discover the full extent of the injury.




It comes at the most inconvenient time for Nani, who had hoped to cement his position as the heir to Cristiano Ronaldo's position as winger-in-chief at Old Trafford.

He'd made a good start in putting in his application with a stunning long-range goal after ten minutes of the entertaining Community Shield clash on Sunday.




Nani is added to an injury list that also includes Nemanja Vidic (calf), Wes Brown (thigh), Edwin van der Sar (hand) and Gary Neville (groin) ahead of the new league season.

Carlo Ancelotti Acknowledges Manchester United's Threat To Chelsea

They may have beaten them to win the Community Shield, but the Blues boss remains convinced that the Red Devils will be his side's main rivals this season.

Chelsea beat Manchester United on penalties at Wembley today after a 2-2 draw in the Community Shield, giving them an early boost as they look to reclaim the title from the Old Trafford giants.



However, Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti is attaching little significance to today's result, and thinks that Sir Alex Ferguson's men will still prove to be his side's main rivals over the course of the coming campaign.



"Manchester (United) will be the most important opponent in the Premiership because they are a great team and have great experience," Ancelotti told The Guardian.



The Italian does feel that his side can improve further, but was impressed with plenty that he saw from his players in today's Wembley outing.




"Naturally, we still have to improve because we've changed a little bit the play of the team," he added.




"But I like the players' mental attitude and the organisation of the club, and I think we are ready to start a very important season for us."

Player Ratings: Chelsea 2-2 Manchester United (4-1 pens)

The Blues denied United a third successive Community Shield, with yet another being decided on penalties. Goal.com's Sulmaan Ahmad rates the players.

CHELSEA




Petr Cech - 7 - Guilty of poor positioning and letting Nani's good shot look a little too great as United took the lead, but made three good saves from Park, Berbatov and particularly Fletcher thereafter, to keep Chelsea in the game.


Branislav Ivanovic - 5- Was run ragged, particularly in the early stages, by a combination of Nani, Evra and even Rooney. Certainly had his work cut out, and when the ball broke for him at the other end from a corner, he couldn't quite get past the man on the line.


Ricardo Carvalho - 8 - Was a solid, if not occasionally cynical figure, at the back and was in the right place at the right time with a cool head - in every sense of the word - to draw Chelsea level just when they needed it.


John Terry - 7 - Made a series of strong last-ditch challenges and looked a man fully focused on the season ahead, with the weeks of Manchester City transfer speculation firmly behind him.


Ashley Cole - 6 - Wasn't always at his best with the ball at his feet going forward, but manned his flank well enough to avoid United getting too much joy.


Jon Obi Mikel - 5 - Overrun from early on, struggled to contain United's fast-moving forward runners. As time went on, he got better adjusted to getting his foot on the ball and easing the pressure on Chelsea, but he's not quite looking like Makelele just yet.


Michael Essien - 7 - Energetic as ever and looked to be first to every ball. As the game progressed, he certainly played a vital part in closing down United's passing game and ensuring Chelsea were the stronger side in the second half.


Florent Malouda - 6 - Had a big miss on the volley and was otherwise tidy, without being particularly impressive in possession. Never really able to penetrate the United defense either on a run or with a cross.


Frank Lampard - 7 - Shadowed by Fletcher in the early stages but grew into the game in the second period, kept his head to score the goal that put Chelsea in front and also scored in the penalty shootout, albeit not with one of his best efforts.


Nicolas Anelka - 7 - Showed good movement and energy, not to mention a willingness to shoot and shoot well. Perhaps deserved more for his efforts.


Didier Drogba - 6 - Was his usual physical presence up front and showed glimpses of his powerful shooting ability and clattered into Ben Foster which led to Chelsea's first. Good penalty as well - and the cliched question is: would he have done the same in Moscow?


Substitutes

Jose Bosingwa - 7 - Showed in the second half why he is a better right-back than Ivanovic. His pace and more natural positional sense made him a lot more difficult to beat.

Michael Ballack - 6 - Didn't do a whole lot after coming on, other than cause controversy. First for going to ground a little too easily and winning a foul, then for bodychecking Patrice Evra and not being disciplined for his trouble, as Chelsea went down the other end and scored. Put away his penalty, of course.

Deco - n/a.

Salomon Kalou - 7 - Didn't do a lot in open play, but scored the winning penalty in sensational style.






MANCHESTER UNITED


Ben Foster - 5 - Shaky all round. Perhaps could have claimed under threat from Drogba and almost certainly should have done better to prevent Lampard putting Chelsea in the lead.


John O'Shea - 7 - Showed good touch early on and confidence up and down his flank.


Jonny Evans - 7 - Looks like carrying on his impressive form from last season into this one. Very solid and dealt with the threat of Drogba quite well.


Rio Ferdinand - 7 - A bit off the pace, but didn't let it show too often in what was generally a comfortable performance.


Patrice Evra - 7 - The center of attention. He was outstanding for the majority of the game, and was controversially fouled after which he was down and out and Chelsea went on to score. Played an eventual part in United losing the encounter with his penalty in the shootout, which made Gareth Southgate's look like vintage Zidane.


Ji-sung Park - 5 - Quite simply lacked finesse when it mattered. He missed a chance under difficult circumstances early on, but from then on, as United played their deft touches going forward, far too many of his were misplaced.


Michael Carrick - 6 - Not bad, but not good enough. There will be a vast amount of onus placed on Carrick's shoulder's to be United's heartbeat from center midfield all season, and while he enjoyed a fruitful and fairly carefree opening 25 minutes, when Chelsea began to squeeze, he struggled to make an impact.


Darren Fletcher - 7 - Tracked Lampard well early on and had a good shot of his own when at his most confident. A solid outing.


Nani - 7 - Certainly did his best Cristiano Ronaldo impression on the afternoon, full of running, skill, goal-threat and, for good measure, a sweetly struck opening goal from outside the area. He did, though, let Carvalho go to head home the equalizer.


Dimitar Berbatov - 7 - Showed great touch and more work rate than he is often credited with, but never quite hit top gear or got into the box to really make his classy touches count in front of goal.


Wayne Rooney - 8 - Already looks a little more like the Rooney of which every England fan has been dreaming. A relentless forward free role, always classy in possession and perhaps his only flaw was a lack of a consistent goal threat. Just to prove a point, then, he showed quite incredible composure to latch onto a Giggs throughball and stick a left-footed effort past Petr Cech at the death to take the game to penalties.


Substitutes


Luis Antonio Valencia - 6 - The new signing looked short of pace and ideas. Certainly had the work rate to put in a solid shift down the right flank, but not a lot more beyond that.


Ryan Giggs - 7 - Played a delightful through ball for Rooney, from which he equalized, but disappointed with an abysmal penalty at the beginning of the shootout.


Michael Owen - 6 - Certainly eager - maybe a little too eager - to prove himself in his first competitive game for United. A couple of inches away from potentially heading home from a Giggs set-piece, though.


Paul Scholes - 6 - Some good distribution, as always, in his brief cameo.


Fabio da Silva - 7 - Looked full of running and smart in possession, though not overly involved during his short appearance.