Solskjær retires

[Microdot]

The question one has to ask.......In all those years, why was Ole never Sir Al's first choice?

one answer could be that during much of that time, Utd had the best pairing up front the premiership has ever seen (please lets not get the numpties trying to argue this aint true) in Yorke and Cole.
after this, Utd signed the most prolific striker in prem history. then Ole got injured a few months later (after securing Beckham's place in the team).
given the competition for places at Utd before, during and after this time, and almost 2 full seasons out through injury. I think he played alot of games.
SAF always said Ole had a unique gift of being able to know what to do to effect a game after watching it from the bench, given the results Ole used to get, I think few would disagree.

and I never said he was the best striker to have played in the prem, I said possibly the best finisher. and I'll stand by that.

anyway, at least we're actually getting some intelligent discussion about the great man now, though I bet we've not seen the last of the ABU numpties in this thread.

[Eddowion]

one answer could be that during much of that time, Utd had the best pairing up front the premiership has ever seen (please lets not get the numpties trying to argue this aint true) in Yorke and Cole.

I agree completely........but.........Yorke & Cole are two of the names you removed from my list???????
Anelka, Klinsmann and Drogba aside.......all the names in my list were taken from the Premier League hall of fame of top goalscorers.

What's an ABU numpty?

[Numeric]

What's an ABU numpty?

ABU stands for Anyone But United

[Numeric]

ABU's are the bitter b**stards that can't stand United because they are jealous of their success...

[Microdot]

I agree completely........but.........Yorke & Cole are two of the names you removed from my list???????

Yorke and Cole together were greater than the sum of their parts and had other things going for them that kept them in the team...Cole's pace, work rate and ability to get into scoring positions, and Yorke's overall contribution to the team and particularly to Andy Cole's play. I reckon Cole often got the nod over Ole because he linked up so well with Yorke. Yorke was chosen over Ole because he was pretty much the best player in Europe that season (possible exception of Keane).
Ole was a better finisher than both Yorke and Cole imo.

[Eddowion]

Yorke and Cole together were greater than the sum of their parts and had other things going for them that kept them in the team...Cole's pace, work rate and ability to get into scoring positions, and Yorke's overall contribution to the team and particularly to Andy Cole's play. I reckon Cole often got the nod over Ole because he linked up so well with Yorke. Yorke was chosen over Ole because he was pretty much the best player in Europe that season (possible exception of Keane).
Ole was a better finisher than both Yorke and Cole imo.

Makes sense, I'll go along with that.

[Eddowion]

ABU's are the bitter b**stards that can't stand United because they are jealous of their success...

Then they're not football fans, they're just a fan of their own club.

[Microdot]

dude who wrote this article appears to understand the point I've been trying to make:-

http://www.sportingo.com/football/do...fans/1001,4742

esp. this bit:-

"There will be many players who come and go in the top leagues all around the world who have as much ability as the baby-faced assassin, but there will be few to match his professionalism, dogged determination, his finishing touch and perhaps most of all, his unmatched passion for the game, a passion that he shares with each and every football fan."

[french_og]

What was his goals to games started ratio like??

[Microdot]

What was his goals to games started ratio like??

In The Prem, Ole started 151 games and scored 92 goals.


comparitive stats:-
RVN - 137 prem starts, 95 goals.
Shearer - 427 prem starts, 270 goals.
Owen - 208 prem starts, 127 goals (so far)
Henry - 235 prem starts, 174 goals.

slightly misleading as Ole made so many appearances from the bench (though most of those will have been for 20 mins at the most as SAF rarely makes a sub before the 70min mark).

I reckon if you could find the stats for the ratio of minutes on the pitch against goals scored, Ole would probably be about 2nd or 3rd best.
I'm pretty certain RVN would be 1st whichever way you spin it.

the stat that would tell the real story (tried finding it but no joy) would be the chance conversion ratio.
my guess is Ole would 1st or thereabouts.

[Insomnia]

In The Prem, Ole started 151 games and scored 92 goals.


comparitive stats:-
RVN - 137 prem starts, 95 goals.
Shearer - 427 prem starts, 270 goals.
Owen - 208 prem starts, 127 goals (so far)
Henry - 235 prem starts, 174 goals.

.

Intresting stats there, hopefully Van Persie will challenge Henry's goals/per starts at Arsenal...

Will be very hard to beat anyway, reminds me of just how good the guy was for us...

[Microdot]

Intresting stats there, hopefully Van Persie will challenge Henry's goals/per starts at Arsenal...

Will be very hard to beat anyway, reminds me of just how good the guy was for us...

no doubt. VP's deffo good enough to match him though imo.

[Insomnia]

no doubt. VP's deffo good enough to match him though imo.

He's got 36 goals in 113 appearances but not sure if they've all been from the start of the matches but still he's class no doubt about that...

[Microdot]

He's got 36 goals in 113 appearances but not sure if they've all been from the start of the matches but still he's class no doubt about that...

shit, thought he'd have better stats than that, like you say though, alot of those apps might be off the bench.
goals per min (on the pitch) would prolly make for much more telling stats.

[phantomdj]

Robbie Fowler was the most natural goalscorer the premiership ever saw. Those seasons before he broke his leg were truly unbelievable.

Ole was great. definitely a super sub. clearly had no ambition when he was willing to sit on the bench for so long, year after year. Liverpool were close to buying him at one point and he scared a lot of defenders.

he is a legend for utd winning them the CL when they were crap against bayern who clearly deserved to win it after knocking out Kiev who were flying that year and the fact that they were all over utd in that final.

i respect ole for his talent and not running to the media about not getting games - whether this is because he lacked ambition or he was justy a gentleman professional i don't know.

[Microdot]

he is a legend for utd winning them the CL when they were crap against bayern who clearly deserved to win it after knocking out Kiev who were flying that year and the fact that they were all over utd in that final.

over the 90 minutes, Bayern were the better team, no doubt.
Over the entire tournament, Utd were clearly the best team and fully deserved to win it. They were unbeaten throughout the tournament and knocked out Barcelona, Inter Milan and Juventus on their way to the final.
and don't forget Munich were only kept in the tournament by some last minute crowd surfing from Schmeichel in the group stage.

[kai]

Deffo - and final would have been a very different game if Keane and Scholes hadn't been suspended - dont think the Germans would have bossed midfield anywhere nr the same way they did in that game.

[phantomdj]

Deffo - and final would have been a very different game if Keane and Scholes hadn't been suspended - dont think the Germans would have bossed midfield anywhere nr the same way they did in that game.

kiev were the ultimate team that year.....

drawing 3-3 with them at their ground was a massive achievement... and bayern had their usual home hoodoo for other teams and got through....

how many games did man utd actually win? not many... draws and winning on goal difference if i remember rightly....

the two teams of the tournament were bayern and kiev no doubt.

to say keano and scholes would have changed it for the better is no certainty at all.

anyway history shows you won it, so that counts, but i dont agree you 'deserved' it.

[phantomdj]

BAYERN KNOCKED OUT BARCA BEATING THEM TWICE, NOT YOU! YOU ONLY BEAT MIGHTY BRONDY TWICE!


1. FC Bayern Munich 11 6
2. Manchester United F.C. 10 6
3. FC Barcelona 8 6
4. Brøndby IF 3 6

Matchday One
Brøndby IF 2–1 Bayern Munich
Manchester United 3–3 Barcelona
Matchday Two
Bayern Munich 2–2 Manchester United
Barcelona 2–0 Brøndby IF
Matchday Three
Bayern Munich 1–0 Barcelona
Brøndby IF 2–6 Manchester United
Matchday Four
Barcelona 1–2 Bayern Munich
Manchester United 5–0 Brøndby IF
Matchday Five
Bayern Munich 2–0 Brøndby IF
Barcelona 3–3 Manchester United
Matchday Six
Brøndby IF 0–2 Barcelona
Manchester United 1–1 Bayern Munich

QUARTERS!
Real Madrid 1-3 FC Dynamo Kyiv 1-1 0-2
Manchester United F.C. 3-1 Internazionale Milano F.C. 2-0 1-1
Juventus F.C. 3-2 Olympiacos 2-1 1-1
FC Bayern Munich 6-0 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2-0 4-0

SEMI!
Manchester United F.C. 4-3 Juventus F.C. 1-1 3-2
FC Dynamo Kyiv 3-4 FC Bayern Munich 3-3 0-1



SO THEN YOU DESERVED IT AND WERE THE BETTER TEAM? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!

YOU BEAT BRONDBY TWICE - WOOHOO.
HOME GAME VIA INTER (NOTHING SPECIAL)
BEAT JUVE (GREAT COME BACK)
BEAT BAYERN - VERY VERY LUCKY.


Bayern had a great tournament and to knock out Kiev who were flying (they beat Real also) was awesome....

Take off your man utd gigs and admit it is a strange tournament when you can draw more games than win, yet get a trophy after playing crap.

[kai]

Course - the other way to look at it is we played ATTACKING football throughout and managed to go unbeaten despite playing Munich 3 times, Barcelona twice Inter Milan twice and Juventus twice, and managed to put out the top two Italian teams of the time in the Quarters and Semis. The only side we faced that wasn't one of Europes elite clubs was Brondby and yet we went unbeaten.

Not many teams that win the Champions League can say that.


Admittedly saying the final would have been different with Keano and Scholes is hypothetical - but in the group games we outplayed Munich in both games and they were lucky to get draws, as I remember it anyway, so there is some supporting evidence there. Actually, I tell a lie - we outplayed them at home, and the game in Germany was very even - regardless, they didn't outplay us like they did in the final when we were at full strength in midfield.

And anyway - f*ck it - glad we did get outplayed in the final - was worth suffering for 90 minutes for the elation of those last two!



Agree the '99 Kiev team was an outstanding team though.