Solid as a rock (Jaap Stam)

Member Name: Sparky101

Product:	Jaap Stam
Date:	28/10/00 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great pace and strength

Disadvantages: Currently injured

No one knew much about Jaap Stam before he came to United, least of all me. He had an excellent World Cup in 98 but looked very dodgy when he first came to United. Anelka skinned him on more than one occasion during the Charity Shield. Many, including myself questioned the £10.5 million price tag Fergie paid for the Dutch defender. However Fergie very rarely gets it wrong in the transfer market and was proved right again with Stam. After 3 or 4 months he began to find his feet in the Premiership and looked the class act that we now know he is.

His best qualities are his strength and pace. You never see attackers take him on and beat him. He very rarely makes mistakes and the fact that United have looked dodgy at the back this season while Stam's been injured just goes to show how important he is to the side.

Some describe Stam as the best defender in the world. I'm not convinced about that, there are a lot of quality defenders around but he's certainly right up there.

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