Sir Ryan Giggs

I'm not saying he can't be seen as an option for the remainder of this season given the right circumstances. This being particularly so with Kagawa, Ando and Nani injured or Welbeck deemed wrong for the game.

However if i didn't feel that Giggs should continue his career next season before today and that for both the sake of the club and his reputation, it would be pretty inconsistent to go back on that because of one good cameo appearance today.

We have young players coming through, there'll be new ones bought, others retire, squad evolve.

Alternatively i suppose i could use today's spark amid the embers to perpetuate a decline
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:lol: Planet ZigZag
 
Very happy with his performance today. He made things happen and created. He also didn't give the ball away needlessly which had been the case in most of his games/sub appearances this season. Really added creativity and quality today and I hope he can keep this kind of form for a while.
 
Added a spark to our team when he came on. Think he has a big part to play in the second half of the season he never had a rest this summer due to team GB. Fergie will have got him refreshed and ready for the run in will be a big player for us when needed most imo.
 
I was saying about 10 minutes before the substitution was made that I'd like to see Giggs come on and have a pop down that left wing... so I was pleased to see he come on and do very well... would have been even better if it had happened about 10 minutes earlier I reckon!

Also, imagine if that volley had gone in at the end.... :drool:
 
Good little cameo from giggs today. Used him much better I thought (ie away from CM) and and he looked good going forward and was causing problems for the defenders.

Pity that volley at the end wasn't on target. would have been a great ending to the match.
 
I thought he looked great today, every pass he made (and his combination play with evra) was spot on and he was involved in making some of our most dangerous chances towards the end.
 
I think the circumstances of the game when Giggs gets subbed on makes a huge difference to quality of his' performances. Against Sunderland he was subbed on when we hadn't long conceded a goal and Sunderland were starting to apply the pressure a little bit. We were already starting to get on the back foot so it is difficult for a player like Giggs come on then and to have an impact we need when were effectively under pressure.
Today Giggs was able to impact upon the game in a really positive way because at this point Swansea were just looking to soak up the pressure and escape with a point. Giggs was afforded quite a bit of space and because we were more or less bombarding them he wasn't having to chase the ball and he wasn't being pressed much which is where his deficiencies can be exposed a little. Today he was able to do what Giggs has always done best, and I don't think any of us here will have any issues with him being used in this way in the future.

Spot on. It's what makes the most sense. allow him to use his energy in an attacking fashion and it could reap the right rewards. You know what's crazy?

at 39, he can still lose a defender with a swivel of his hip :drool:
 
I thought he looked great today, every pass he made (and his combination play with evra) was spot on and he was involved in making some of our most dangerous chances towards the end.

Did more in ten minutes than Valencia has done in the last month.
 
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:drool:
 
Those gifs are excellent... the way he sent his defender flying before charging down the wing, and the instinctive 180 turn and pass were absolute class!

We've been seeing more glimpses of that this season than last.
 
excellent when he came on last time around which might just earn him a start against newcastle as well. although i prefer him coming off the bench rather than starting these days.
 
I dont think it earned him a start. It showed how he should be used. Only time he's done well for a whole match is when he was relieved of his defensive duties in midfield (Chelsea COC)
 
People should be flocking here to shower him with praise. He was incredible. He carried our attack for much of that second half and just seemed to be exerting more energy than everyone else.

Even now, his flashes of brilliance can make such a difference to our play.
 
Excellent second half, he really did well, I am really pleased for him. That was probably best performance from united winger in a long time(that second half).
 
Good performance for him. Play him on the wings, next time Fergie.
 
Yep he was OK today.

Making my thread for him to retire looking stupid again.

Start of the season I was happy with Scholes to start in some games and not Giggs now it is the other way around.
 
He was very good. His eye for a killer pass is devastating.

He put in some nice crosses.

Amazing how a player who used to burn past players with crazy skill can now see passes on the field no one else can.

Imagine Bale or Valencia playing after all the pace is gone and just pick out players all game.
 
Hasn't got the legs, which will kill him and us in midfield. But on the wing, his experience and trickery can still do a job for us. Nice to find that out. Maybe he can still play for two more years... As long as Fergie doesn't use that as an excuse not to sign players.
 
Very good second half, a bit shit in the first.
Put in some beautiful crosses, and always has an eye for a killer pass.
 
Respect... thought I was watching the 19 year old Giggsy... seriously how can a guy of 39 years old be that good?!? Amazing!
 
Respect... thought I was watching the 19 year old Giggsy... seriously how can a guy of 39 years old be that good?!? Amazing!

Vintage Giggs today and a joy to watch. Use him sparingly and this is what we'll get. Fergie's right about him playing into his 40s.
 
we need to know how to use him, he showed today why he still has Fergie's faith. was great, especially in the second half. we need to use him on the wing and when scholes is not playing.
 
He doesn't necessarily have to play right out wide though. I really like the positions he took up from about 07-10, where he was nominally on the left but generally tucked in, providing another body in midfield and also able to pop up at inside forward, with Evra doing the bulk of the actual wing work.

Where I've never liked him much is in the hole.
 
He doesn't necessarily have to play right out wide though. I really like the positions he took up from about 07-10, where he was nominally on the left but generally tucked in, providing another body in midfield and also able to pop up at inside forward, with Evra doing the bulk of the actual wing work.

Where I've never liked him much is in the hole.
He's good as the LAM in a 4231 in both offensive and defensive deployments (which is what you've mainly played since 2005), OK in CM but strangely poor centrally.
 
He's good as the LAM in a 4231 in both offensive and defensive deployments (which is what you've mainly played since 2005), OK in CM but strangely poor centrally.

Agreed. But our 433/4231 in those years was generally lopsided, with Evra doing most of the left wing wide work as a kind of wing-back and Giggs or whoever it was tucked inside. I really liked that, it was lopsided yet somehow balanced.

I thought Anderson might be his natural successor in that role but Fergie's never really tried it, maybe because he doesn't rate Anderson's positional play.
 
Agreed. But our 433/4231 in those years was generally lopsided, with Evra doing most of the left wing wide work as a kind of wing-back and Giggs or whoever it was tucked inside. I really liked that, it was lopsided yet somehow balanced.

I thought Anderson might be his natural successor in that role but Fergie's never really tried it, maybe because he doesn't rate Anderson's positional play.

Maybe because Anderson's not actually alive.

And yes, that's the position which makes the most sense for Giggs now. However, you do get situations like Newcastle's second goal where he's not tracking the full back when he's deployed like that.

And wouldn't you think Kagawa would be a good fit in that role?
 
Maybe because Anderson's not actually alive.

And yes, that's the position which makes the most sense for Giggs now. However, you do get situations like Newcastle's second goal where he's not tracking the full back when he's deployed like that.

And wouldn't you think Kagawa would be a good fit in that role?

From what little I've seen of him I don't see why not.

Gaps at the back will always be a problem when we use Evra that way (or probably in any way. but especially when he's given license to concentrate on attack.).
 
Had a decent game today which was good to see. I much prefer him in the position that he payed today. He has less defensive responsibilities and as a result we don't get left expose by his lack of legs getting back like we do when he plays centrally. Hopefully when we use him its in this position every time, as today showed he still clearly has something to offer the team.
 
Had a decent game today which was good to see. I much prefer him in the position that he payed today. He has less defensive responsibilities and as a result we don't get left expose by his lack of legs getting back like we do when he plays centrally. Hopefully when we use him its in this position every time, as today showed he still clearly has something to offer the team.

I don't really think Giggs lacks the legs tbh. Scholes, yes... and Giggs of course isn't as fast as he was.

But most of the time when he plays CM if you look at the ground he covers it's up there with the rest of them.
 
He doesn't necessarily have to play right out wide though. I really like the positions he took up from about 07-10, where he was nominally on the left but generally tucked in, providing another body in midfield and also able to pop up at inside forward, with Evra doing the bulk of the actual wing work.

Where I've never liked him much is in the hole.

Yeah agree wholeheartedly with this post. In this role he is able to float around the pitch a little bit (like he did in the second half). He has the freedom to be on the wing, or cut inside and let Evra do the wing work as you've said.

He is able to be a creative playmaker, without actually being the primary playmaker (playing in the hole) which suits him perfectly.
 
Never in doubt about Giggsy's ability and say he does keep up his excellent form throughout the season, I don't think Sir Alex should take that as a - 'we don't need to invest in a new talent because we have Giggs' - signal. Giggs' class is undoubted but age does play a pivotal role in the fast game of the present day. Irrespective of whether Scholes and Giggs wins us the bloody lot, I think it is just a rational decision for them to bow out in style, especially with how our current team is doing in the league. Absolute Legends of the game.
 
Despite Fergie's best efforts to make him and Scholes look as past it as possible, Giggs actually came out of the game looking quite good... Well done Giggsy.
 
I don't really think Giggs lacks the legs tbh. Scholes, yes... and Giggs of course isn't as fast as he was.

But most of the time when he plays CM if you look at the ground he covers it's up there with the rest of them.
Yes he covers the ground, but I don't get the feeling he tracks back as quickly as a midfielder should be which is an issue. Could just be because of his age that I've gone the lazy approach of coming to that conclusion, but either way I don't feel he has it in him to be sprinting back when that is what we need. What he does give us in the creativity going forward though and when used correctly he can be effective
 
Yes he covers the ground, but I don't get the feeling he tracks back as quickly as a midfielder should be which is an issue. Could just be because of his age that I've gone the lazy approach of coming to that conclusion, but either way I don't feel he has it in him to be sprinting back when that is what we need. What he does give us in the creativity going forward though and when used correctly he can be effective

Yeah agree with this. Giggs has stamina, but doesn't have the ability to buzz around in the middle of the park like say Cleverley, Iniesta, or even a DM like Mascherano would.

He might be able to last longer in a pure 'fitness test' than some of the better CM's but he just isn't suited to a CM role chasing shadows IMO.