You don't need to be big or fast when you're that clever. And what did England do with all that talent? Shunted him out wide to accommodate Gerrard and Lampard who couldn't figure out who goes and who stays between them for a decade.
Some of my favourite players were short, skilful midfielders who seemed to go on forever. Gordon Strachan, Ray Wilkins and Scholes all carried on until their mid to late 30s and were the difference between winning and losing a match. The job Strachan did at Coventry was incredible.
Criminal. The team should have been built around Scholes, but that's what you get when you employ a manager who will not deviate from 4-4-2
Would've helped if we didn't employ coaches tied to 442. 'Golden generation' absolutely wasted by horrific coaching and management. The players involved in them camps talk about club cliques which obviously hindered things as well. For all of Southgates flaws, his man management and ability to develop the team spirit within the England squads seems to be excellent.
Probably the best midfield in world football over the past 20 years was a three man midfield made up by two tiny lightweight with no great pace players in Iniesta and Xavi
Scholes was a fabulous midfielder. Difficult to argue with the likes of Zidane and Messi saying he was the complete midfielder
And you could argue that midfield doesn't work without Busquets. Most under appreciated position on the pitch, and arguably the most important.
The telepathic link between Scholes and Van Nistelrooy makes me wonder how much better some of our players can be when we bring more quality in.
We did, but Man Utd never took it seriously. Fergie just laughed at the other end of the phone when Reid called him
I’ve done a bit of work on an estate on Oldham. I took some young people to an astroturf nearby maybe 5 years back. Scholes was playing 5 a side with his mates, Unbelievable. He hardly moved and had most goals and almost all the assists. Scoring from his own half regularly in 5 a side goals.
Still Baffles me that a player as good as he gave England the elbow at the age of 29. Never understand when a professional footballer "Retires" from playing for their county. Its one of the 1st things that pops into my head when I hear his name.