As much as it pains me at times to admit it but Manchester United really do have some talented players and the main bonus from this is that a number of them are English. Although the focus has always been on David Beckham whether it was at United or for England I always felt there was a player in both teams who quite simply was a harder worker, more skilful and all round better player than Beckham. I am of course talking about Paul Scholes a player who keeps himself to himself and gets on with doing what he loves.

He's a born and bread Mancunian being from the Salford area of the city he was born in November 1974 he was a Oldham fan as a kid and still follows the club today. He joined Man Utd as a trainee back in 1991 and finally turned professional just 18 months after signing pro forms. When you look at the youth team he came from, many of them still playing for United today it was obvious to see winning came naturally to them picking up the FA youth cup in 1992 and finishing runners up the season afterwards.

The first opportunity to impress the footballing world came in September 1994 against Ipswich and despite scoring twice on his league debut United lost 2 - 3. It was here that the talent of the player was noticed and due to suspensions and injuries to the United strike force he became a regular in the first team during the 94/95 season. Although United failed to retain the premiership it was obvious that they had discovered a very exciting player.

His England career began in 1997 when he made a scoring debut in a friendly and also grabbed a goal in his first international on home soil at Wembley. Of course he also holds an England record, which I'm sure he'd rather forget being the first English player to be sent off at Wembley. However it's the games like the 3 - 1 win over Poland where he grabbed a Hat trick and left with the match ball, which I feel really shows just how special a player he is.

While his
Manchester United career has gone from strength to strength there's one thing that seems to have remained. He still comes across as a shy, down to earth guy even now almost 10 years after making his United debut. Unlike his former club colleague, he has by and large managed to keep himself out of the headlines and concentrated on doing what he loves. Both he and his wife Claire, along with son Arron Jake and daughter Alicia are by and large rarely in the media spotlight, which may be part of the reason that he doesn't get the recognition he obviously deserves.

Although he started life as a striker it was more when he made the move back into midfield that I felt we really started to see exactly what Scholes could do. For me his best position is just in behind the front line in an attacking position where he can drift between midfield and also make the darting runs late into the box, which have become his trademark. Add to that his wide range of passing and general work ethic and its pretty obvious why Scholes would be the first name down on your team sheet when he's fit.

Having won plenty of championships, cups and personnel awards I'm sure one thing Paul wishes he could have played in was the 99 European Cup final, which he missed through suspension and I'm sure that will be enough drive for him to help United reach another final. Having currently reverted back to an almost strikers role to partner Ruud Van Nistelrooy and no doubt many Man Utd fans hope this will lead them to a 9th premiership title.

I'm sure there will be a few who disagree that Scholes is one of the best midfielders in the world, popping up with important goals and match winning performances. Although now 29 and signed on with Manchester United till the end of the 2005/6 season there are still exciting things to come from the Ginger assassin and hopefully in the England shirt at this seasons European Championships and the next World Cup. An all ro
und quality player.

Appearances: 393
Goals: 106
International Caps: 59
Goals: 13