We'd probably still lose on pens!! (U.K. Football Team)

Member Name: mattydalton

Product:	U.K. Football Team
Date:	17/12/03 (306 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Giggsy, Keano, Shearer

Disadvantages: Couldn't think of anyone better than Campbell, Never gonna happen

AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!! Now I have some idea what Sven and company feel like!!! What a nightmare this has been! Having read lookaroundcafe2's op on the greatest ever XI, I decided to have a bash at my idea of what a UK and Ireland team may look like. Simple I thought. Oh, how I was wrong. I suddenly realised that our wealth of talent wasn't so wealthy. Certain positions just yearned for a certain Brazilian, or an inspirational Italian. Oh dear, I'll have to make do with home talent. Right ten, onto the team......

1. Shay Given.

This was quite a tough decision. Recent greats like David Seaman or Nigel Martyn are now a touch old for this kind of responsibility. Chris Kirkland and Paul Robinson are, in my opinion, ever so slightly too young and inexperienced. There is no doubting that their talents are outstanding, but this role needed a Mr Consistency. Someone who had tasted regular international football at the highest level, and also performed well regularly at club level, both domestically and continentally. Those criteria considered, there was only one choice, Newcastle's Irishman Shay Given.

Having made over 250 appearances for Newcastle over the past 6 years, Shay most definitely has the experience required for this role. He has experienced both good and bad times, which is always helpful when in times of need. This experience makes sure the heads don't go down, something which happens all too often with England. Shay has the experience to not let this happen.

Shay started out at Blackburn, under Kenny Dalglish. He was just a young lad in those days, and first team football was rare due to the excellent form displayed by Tim Flowers in his peak years. When Kenny Dalglish joined Newcastle, Shay was tempted to go with him for if he wanted international football he had to be playing at club level regularly. His performances were first noticed when on loan to Sunderland during the 95/96 season. He kept goal f

or Sunderland 17 times, and amazingly kept a clean sheet 11 times. These performances won Sunderland promotion to the Premiership that season. Upon joining Newcastle, not all was plain sailing. After fighting off his competitors for the position, Shay was emerging as a very talented man indeed. Having played in the 98 FA Cup Final, Shay was gutted to miss the following years final, having being displaced by Steve Harper. He missed the start of the next season, but went on to recapture his place midway through the season and kept it to the end. The following year, Shay performed magnificently for Newcastle. These performances earned Shay supporters player of the season. Shay then lost his place in the first team due to injury, again replaced by Steve Harper, a close friend of Shay. After recovering from injury, Shay was left out of the first team twice, due to Harper being in good form. Shay slapped in a hasty transfer request, which was turned down. Steve Harper was subsequently injured in training and Shay was restored to the first team. The following season Shay remained between the sticks and had what was arguably his best season yet in the 01/02 season, playing in every match for Newcastle.

Shortly before the World Cup, in which Shay played well, he was to sign a new five year contract with the Magpies. In his time with Newcastle, he has experienced both relegation dogfights and championship challenges, qualities vital for the job. The summer of 2002 saw Shay experience something else vital for the job. The World Cup. The Republic of Ireland went through turmoil immediately before the great competition when Roy Keane was sent home. A massive row between McCarthy and Keane literally exploded, with both parties verbally abusing each other in public places. Despite this unrest, they went on to perform well and reached the second round having qualified from group E. This group contained Saudi Arabia, Cameroon and the team that went on to finish runner
s up,
Germany. The first game saw Ireland draw 1-1 with Cameroon. Cameroon opened the scoring in the 36th minute, through Patrick Mboma, before Matt Holland levelled the scores 16 minutes later in the 52nd. The next game was the toughy, Germany. Given played well in a match that finished 1-1, Miroslav Klose scoring for the Germans, Robbie Keane for the Irish. The hard work had now been done, the Saudis were next. A win here would see the Irish qualify for the second round. The match finished 3-0 to the Irish with Robbie Keane opening the scoring in the 7th minute. Gary Breen added one in the 61st minute, and then Damien Duff finished the match off in the 87th minute. The Irish were drawn Spain in the second round, and another good performance saw them battle to a 1-1 draw. The match went to penalties and the Spanish turned out 3-2 winners. Shay has earned 50 caps so far, making this man perfectly qualified in the experience department.

2. Steve Finnan

This is where I cried for that Brazilian. Oh, how I needed Mr Cafu for this role! I was desperately seeking an attacking full back, gifted both technically and tactically, whilst possessing good defensive qualities. I whittled the list of prospective UK and Ireland XI right backs down to two men. It was a toss up between Gary Neville and Steve Finnan. Firstly I hate Man Utd, so Gary already had a disadvantage. He liked to get forward though, and is immensely experienced for his age, having played regularly at both club and international level for many seasons now. He possesses great defensive qualities too, but he still plays for Man Utd!!! Secondly, I am a Liverpool fan so Steve Finnan had an even greater advantage. Like his rival, Steve likes to get forward from defence, and also has vast experience at club and international level. Ok, so Fulham and Eire are easier teams to get into, but it is still playing at the same level of competition. After much deliberation, I decided to go with Steve.
Not only i
s he a Liverpool player now, but his performances for Fulham and Eire really impressed me. He had performed consistently for Fulham since promotion and despite starting the 2002 World Cup second fiddle to Gary Kelly, he played his way into the next match, having come on as a sub. He kept his place and performed to a high level on three more occasions. This quality, determination in the face of adversity, is something needed at this level. To acquire a place in this team, you need to have experienced good and bad. Gary Neville has never experienced a relegation dog fight like Steve has, although he has experienced disappointment at international level with England in the European Championships of 2000.

Steve Finnan's versatility to play as both an attacking full back and in midfield is a big advantage he has over Neville. Although Neville himself is versatile in that he can play both centre and right back, the central berths were already taken and there was an abundance of replacements. This was Neville's only required position, and he just doesn't cut it for me. Finnan's ability to play in midfield helps him in his attacking full back capacity immensely. He is better equipped to attack than Neville, his dribbling is superior, along with his crossing ability.

Having performed regularly for Fulham on over 200 occasions, the bigger clubs in the Premiership were beginning to be tempted by the talents of Finnan. Ironically, Gary Neville's club, Man Utd, were beaten off by Liverpool in the race for his signature. Just think, if Ferguson had succeeded, Gary Neville may have been playing reserve football now!! Like Ferguson, Houllier had been a long time admirer of Steve Finnan, and the Frenchman acquired Finnan for £3.5 million this passing summer.

3. Ashley Cole

Now this was a tough choice. I narrowed the list down to two men once again. I had a choice of Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge. I was a bit dis
appointed at fi
rst, as I have maintained that I wanted experienced players in this team. But the I realised that Ashley Cole was more experienced than I had first thought. He has played 3 or 4 seasons in the Champions League for Arsenal, as well as obtaining regular first team league football. Cole replaced Nigel Winterburn as left back, when Winterburn left to play for West Ham. Ashley Cole arrived at Arsenal as part of the Highbury Centre of Excellence. At the start of his Arsenal career, Cole fancied himself as a striker. However, Ashley was restricted to just a handful of first team appearances, making his debut in 1999 against Middlesborough. As luck would have it, Silvinho sustained an injury in the 00/01 season Ashley Cole was the man who stepped in, semi-retrained into the full back berth. This gave Cole the chance of a good run of matches, and he performed well to retain his place. Wenger must have been delighted. By sheer fortune, he had discovered what has become a gem of a player, and one that can only get better. Some people say his defensive abilities, as well as his temperament, let him down sometimes. I would have agreed if you had asked me this time last season, but the combination of regular football at both club and international level have seen his game come on in leaps and bounds. His temperament is still a bit of a problem though. He can still be seen to make reckless challenges, but his ability to play football more than makes up for that.

Let's get this bit out of the way now. Ashley Cole is sheer class. Going forward, he obviously benefits from starting out as a striker displaying a vast array of impressive flicks and skills regularly. His dribbling ability is also excellent, and his crossing is getting better. Tackling wise, I'd say this is where Ashley Cole has improved the most. At the beginning of his career, Ashley Cole was very reckless and his tackling was diabolical at times, thus resulting in several red cards
in a short career s
o far. His positional play was also something that left a lot to be desired at international level sometimes. These areas of his game have really improved in his game, and I would qualify him able to be called a "complete" attacking full back. His other strong qualities include determination and pace. You will rarely see Cole's head go down in a match, fighting (sometimes literally) to the end. Back to the subject of experience, I realised that Cole has featured in three FA Cup Finals consecutively for Arsenal, and for three or four seasons has been first choice left back for Wenger. During this time, he has also played on several occasions for Arsenal in the Champions League. Despite Arsenal's bad luck in this competition until recently, Cole has been one of the consistent performers for the club. This quality is another thing that gets him his place as my attacking left back.

Internationally, Ashley Cole is not lacking in experience either. Having been first choice left back under Sven for a while now, he has made over 20 appearances for his country, featuring in every match for England in the World Cup until they were defeated in the quarter finals by Brazil. Cole was one of the performers in this competition too, despite several disappointing performances from others.

4. Roy Keane

When I considered who my tough tackling defensive midfielder would be, I had a choice of a few. Firstly, there was Steven Gerrard. He is an awesome player already with what can only be a great career ahead of him if he can stay clear of injury. Along with injury proneness, his inconsistence form keeps him from being included in my team. Nicky Butt was the next choice. That was simple really. If he can't displace Keane from the Man Utd line up, then who am I to argue? So that was it, Keano had his place. Every criteria had been met, and he surpassed the competition by a mile. Keane has known adversity, controversy
and success at Man Utd t
hat a single player rarely experiences. Having won countless championships and cups, both domestically and continentally, Keane has more than enough experience at club level for me. Having played top flight for about ten seasons now, Keane initially struggled to acquire Premiership football. At the start of his career he wrote to all the top flight clubs offering his services. He was thought to small to play however and was to return to Ireland to play for Cobh Ramblers. During his time there, he also found a job where he could lug great big beer barrels about. This action is testament to Keane's personality. His determination is second to none. He was spotted by Nottm Forest at the age of 18 and subsequently joined Man Utd for £3.75m, where he has achieved great success.

I will not write too much about Keane, as it may stop you reading my opinion about the great man. For a complete run-down on his career, please read my other op.

5. Rio Ferdinand

Rio started his footballing career, believe it or not, as a centre forward and it is rumoured that he would regularly score 30 goals a season. This, of course, wasn't for West Ham, it was for a lowly little team called Bloomfields, his junior team. At the age of fourteen, he signed for West Ham as a schoolboy, and impressed Harry Redknapp enough to secure himself a professional contract at the age of 17. Rio was already used to winning silverware, as he had helped West Ham's youth team win the SE Counties League, with a record points haul in the 95/96 season. On 5 May 1996, Rio made his first senior appearance for West Ham, coming on off the bench against Sheffield Wednesday. Harry Redknapp decided to loan Rio out the following season for a couple of months, partly to get him fit to play for Westh Ham, and partly to give him some experience of competitive league football. He was loaned to Bournemouth and made 9 appearances in his short stint there. He ret
urned ready for first team foo
tball at West Ham and duly slotted into the line up.

On 26th November 2000, Rio broke a record. He became the most expensive defender ever when Leeds paid a whopping £18 million. Now, I have to be honest, I thought Leeds were completely off their heads, but looking back now, that was a bargain. Having made almost 160 appearances for West Ham, he was uprooting from London, to move over 200 miles north to Leeds. Within five months, Rio was playing in the Champions League Semi Finals. How far he had come in such a short space of time. The next season was not quite so rosy. Leeds struggled to match the form which had surpassed expectations. Although there was less success on the pitch, Rio's progression into a world class player was never hindered, so much so that there was already speculation linking him with a move away from Leeds to Man Utd, not exactly Leeds' best friends. The transfer, reported before the World Cup, took place after the World Cup had finished in the summer of 2002, where Rio had proved to all what a player he was. Sir Alex Ferguson duly took out the chequebook and paid Leeds £30 million. That was a £12 million profit for Leeds after less than two years, a sound investment when you look at it now. This returned Rio to holding a world record again. When Juventus paid Parma £22 million for Lilian Thuram, it shattered Rio's record by £4 million, but Rio shattered that by a whopping £8 million.

Rio's first season with the Red Devils was not exactly all to plan. Rio was the victim of injury and a momentary loss of form, with which regained he proved just how masterful he was, converting a somewhat shodddy defence into Fort Knox, thus steering Man Utd to their fifteenth League win. Only three to go until they equal Liverpool's grand haul. Rio has already made over 200 appearances with Bournemouth, West Ham, Leeds and Man Utd, including a fair amount of Champions League appearances.
Internationally, Rio has made the c
entre back berth his own with a string of performances that don't even give anyone else a look in. Having now made almost 40 appearances for his country, Rio has experienced football at every level, succeeding at every step.

There is one black mark on Rio's file however, with the charge of choosing to miss a drugs test still hanging over him. I felt though that you are innocent until proven guilty, so I will include Rio, even if he is a druggie(allegedly) hehehe.

6. Sol Campbell

Firstly, I want to get it off my chest that I am not a Sol Campbell fan. I feel he overcomplicates simple matters sometimes, and quite frankly can be clumsy at times. He has cocked up a couple of times for England, and it is not something you expect to see from a world class centre back. So why did I pick him? Because, sadly, we haven't got anybody better to partner Rio than Sol. Now don't get me wrong, I realise that Sol is a very good player, but he is not quite reliable enough sometimes. He is one of the players who I would like to wear his heart on his sleeve, but I realise that this is a silly suggestion for Sol, as not only would it make a bloody mess, but he would die without his heart inside him. So, the choices then... Sol dead or Sol nearly good enough. Well I think dead people can't play international football, and probably wouldn't be much use anyway, so I'll make do with him as he is. Anyway, I've rambled enough, let's get back onto the right subject.

Sol is an immense presence in any defence, primarily for his strength and power. I think sometimes he could be more determined, but all in all, he does the job. Having progressed through the Spurs youth system, Sol was a bit of a utility player, accustomed to playing in several positions. He played centre back, left back, and even up front. He finally decided he was best as a centre back and has never looked back. After
several seasons at Spurs, the London un
der-achievers, Sol decided he actually wanted to win some trophies in his career, so when his contract expired he left to join Arsenal on a Bosman free. Spurs fans called him Judas, but I still called him Sol Campbell. Silly Spurs fans, forgetting his name so soon after his departure. This was the best thing he could have done, other than join his other admirers, Liverpool. However Sol was greedy, so Arsenal it was on a stupid amount of money. Since then, Arsenal have joined Man Utd in dominating the English game, and not just down to luck, but a combination of players with the desire to win, the ability to win, and the teamwork to keep their heads up even in bad times. This is one good quality Sol has. You very rarely see Sol's head go down.

Sol has made over 300 appearances for Spurs and almost 150 appearances since joining Arsenal. With all this experience, you would expect him to be the wrong side of 30, but you're wrong. He won't be 30 until next September, so here is a man capable of captaincy for the team despite being a player I don't particularly like. Maybe captaincy would bring him out of himself, make him more of a battler. Who knows? Having made nearly 60 appearances for his country, he meets all the criteria regarding experience to slot perfectly into my team.

7. David Beckham

"England have a free kick here right at the death. The Greeks are setting up their wall... Up steps David Beckham.." Well we know the rest don't we. He scored, England went to the World Cup. That is what makes Beckham Beckham. He will win you matches that you don't deserve to win, God knows he did it enough times for Man Utd. Even if he isn't scoring these free kicks, or even the penalties he now customarily takes, he is creating chances in one way or another. It may be a terrific 70 yard cross field pass, or a cheeky back heel, or maybe even a corner. It may be the way
he chases back 60 yards from a forward positi
on to win the ball back, and start the counter attack.

Once upon a time, however, there was a different David Beckham. I'm talking pre World Cup 1998. He was a much lazier player. He rarely tracked back, and when he did it was half heartedly. He had little grasp of the tactical side of a game and was prone to the odd hissy fit, one of which we were due to see. The whole of that game, the Argies riled him (how are the Falklands by the way), and Beckham reacted. You see, Beckham, for all his ability, had got himself known as a hot head, something which will keep you out of international sides, e.g. Alpay. Well, he did pay didn't he (excuse the pun). This was a pivotal moment for Beckham. The backlash ensuing was nearly unbearable. This was the moment to either make or break the young inexperienced Beckham. He stood up to be counted, and duly was as he sorted his attitude out on the pitch. In that single moment, Beckham's whole game changed. He had something to prove, and boy did he prove it.

Anyway back to club football. The 95/96 season saw Alan Hansen tell us "you can't win anything with kids", only to be proved terribly wrong. Not only can you win things with kids, but they won the double that year. The following year saw Beckham scoring "that goal", the goal that everyone has seen a million times, each time slightly more captivating, how the hell did he do that? A lot of people said it was a fluke, I don't. His passing and crossing was at such a level, even then, that I really believe that is where he aimed. He gets all his passes where he wants them and this was merely a pass into an unguarded goal. The man has a brain dedicated to that foot. Admittedly, the one in his head doesn't seem to know much about speech, but the one in his foot certainly knows a bit about football. Beckham went on to make about 400 appearances for the Red Devils, another vastl
y experienced player also the right side of 30.
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8. Damien Duff

Paul Scholes, Kieron Dyer, Frank Lampard... The list goes on. Damien Duff this season has been one of the major catalysts to pushing Chelsea to where they are in footballing standards. Through to the second round of the Champions League, and in strong contendership for not only the Premiership, but also expressing the desire for a clean sweep in taking both the Carling and FA Cups. His mazy dribbles and outstanding long shots, as well as his intricate through balls are the fundamental parts of Duff's game. He possesses the pace to trouble most defenders, the skills to match. He tears defences apart at a canter, just ask any Premiership defender, and I'm sure they would rather face someone else.

Damien Duff began his career at Blackburn, and with Jason Wilcox packed off to Leeds, he became first choice left winger. He made over 200 appearances for the north west club, before catching the eyes of several of the big guns, including Liverpool and Man Utd. They were put off however by the £17 million release clause which Blackburn were sticking to. Liverpool purchased Kewell for a bargain £5m and Man Utd bought Cristiano Ronaldo for £10 million. It looked like Duff was staying put. The Abramovich entered the world of English football. After rejecting three bids in a week, Blackburn were forced to sell when Abramovich matched the minimum fee release clause and the rest is history. Personally, I think Duff has been Chelsea's best purchase thus far, surpassing fellow greats such as Crespo, Mutu and Makelele. Mutu and Duff have gelled instantly and form a frightening partnership for any team in the world.

Let's go back 18 months now to the World Cup of 2002. Roy Keane had gone spare, McCarthy had got tough and the Irish campaign looked in tatters. They claimed they never needed him though, but who knows what would have happened against the Spanish
had Keano played. Anyway, back to the subject. Duff took it up
on himself to become a miracle worker with a football and set the world alight with some breathtaking displays. Defenders shuddered as he gained possession of the ball, strikers relished what wizardry they were about to be part of. You see, Duff is one of the inspirational players of modern football. A George Best, or a John Barnes. You give him the ball and his feet will do the rest. His subliminal dribbling and lightning quick pace are a terrifying combination for any opposition, but couple this with the footballing brain of a Paul Gascoigne and what do you have? I'll tell you what you have. Damien Duff. If there is one man capable of equalling Zidane as the midfield maestro, this is him.

9. Michael Owen

Nearly 300 matches and over 150 goals. Add onto that over 50 international caps and you've got yourself a striker who is probably about 30 years old. That's the sort of thing you would expect anyway. But Michael Owen goes totally against all expectation. Having only turned 24 on the 14th of this month, Michael still has half a career ahead of him, yet has achieved more than most people hope for in a full career. He has took over the reign as King of the Kop from Robbie Fowler in true Liverpool style, Players of his ability were often sighted during the seventies and eighties, but the 90s saw something terrible. Liverpool self-destructed. Poor players were brought in, the better players became complacent and just as it looked like Souness had destroyed us completely, along came a batch of super players. Along with Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Danny Murphy, Michael Owens emergence has seen Liverpools fortunes change completely. His goals have proved vital in the past few seasons, pushing us closer and closer to the much coveted Premiership title.

Michael began his career at Liverpool in the youth team. He played his way into first team football, and with
several pundits claiming he was too young to command a regular fir
st team place, that is just what he did. His first season reaped 21 goals, silencing his critics completely, with maybe the odd twisted Manc still denying his obvious talents. The following season he went two better, hauling in a magnificent 23 goals in for the Reds. Somewhere in the middle of all this came World Cup 98 in France. Picture this scene. Michael Owen picks up the ball just inside the Argentinian half and what does he do? I'm presuming you know your football so you should already know, but just in case you don't, he dribbled past two players and fired in one of the best World Cup goals witnessed by me certainly. Michael Owen, already righteously feared by many, had made his mark. He had arrived.

Subsequently, Owen has been the victim of several niggling hamstring injuries, but hopefully the bad times are behind us, and as soon as he regains fitness in the new year, there should be no looking back. Put simply, Owen is to football what ice cream is to strawberries. They were made for each other. Before playing for Liverpool, Michael broke every goalscoring record Ian Rush had ever set while playing at schoolboy level. This was a sign of the prowess of this young man, whose terrific pace and astounding eye for goal make him every defenders nightmare. Admittedly, his first touch isn't perfect he rarely wins headers, but when he does he seems to be getting more on target these days, having recently trained intensively on this section of his game. Michael has recently broke another of Ian Rush's records, having scored 20 goals in European competition. If Michael can stay clear of any major injuries, there is no reason why he can't go on to break every record. What you have got to remember about this man is his age. Alan Shearer made 63 appearances for England scoring on 37 occasions. Michael has earned 53 caps scoring 23 goals. Alan Shearer never really got st
arted until after about 35 games, with most of his games coming after th
is. Just imagine how many goals Owen will score if his peak years are to come, and I believe they are.

10. Alan Shearer

Now before you say it, I know he has retired from international football but it's my team so I make the rules. I searched desperately for the man to play alongside Michael Owen and considered several including Alan Smith, Craig Bellamy, Wayne Rooney, James Beattie and Robbie Keane. Taking into consideration the wingers I have, I thought it best to have a striker who would get on the end of these. Smith's temperament lets him down too often, Bellamy can't compete for the crosses, Rooney for me is too young just yet, despite some encouraging performances already for England, and James Beattie just isn't quite what I was looking for, despite possessing good aerial skills. I was looking for the type of player who would create his own chances through sheer determination. I wanted someone who would wear his heart on his sleeve, not in the way I wanted Sol Campbell to though. This man is the best England has seen for many years. Admittedly, if you take away all those penalties from Shearer, his record wouldn't look quite as great as it does, but it would still be great all the same. During the mid 90s, this man score over 30 Premiership goals per season, 3 seasons running. He was the first to 100 Premiership goals, and holds the record for most Premiership goals so far. This man is just one step ahead of any other English striker. His sheer presence on the pitch inspires others. He is the hero we have so often needed in recent times.

Instead of Heskey falling over when the ball comes near him, we could have Shearer holding play up while the support arrived. Instead of Heskey being beaten to the header by a smaller player, yet again I hasten to add, we could have Shearer thumping it into the top corner and turning away raising his arm
in customary Shearer style. The way he holds people off the ball, along wit
h his strength, determination and work rate are exactly what you need in a winning team. Alongside Owen and Beckham we would have the three perfect ambassadors for our nations football. What better role models than these three amigos.

Anyway, I've spouted my mouth off about Shearers great record, lets give you some stats to back it up. With Southampton, Shearer started quite slowly, scoring 43 goals in 158 starts for the southerners, before Blackburn paid them £3.3 million pounds for his services. What a snip!! Well, most of us would think that a more than reasonable price for him, but Sir Alex Ferguson disagreed and let Blackburn have him. What a mistake that proved to be. 163 starts later, with 130 goals under his belt for Blackburn, and Fergie must have been kicking himself. Imagine how much success he would have had with him spear heading his front line. Anyway, Shearer was to move once more in his distinctive career, joining Newcastle for £15 million. In his first season he scored 25 times in 31 games in the league, and was seemingly worth his world record price tag. In 285 starts, Shearer has scored 161 times. He has been the striker of his generation, living purely to score goals. He has one blemish on his record, a red card he received whilst playing for Newcastle. A solitary blemish on an otherwise perfect career.

11. Ryan Giggs

He made his club debut at only 17 and his international debut at the tender age of 18. Since making these respective debuts, only injury has kept him from both sides in a very distinctive career. Giggs seems to have been around forever already, yet only turned 30 last month. Since making his debut in 1990, Giggs has kept his place in the team that has dominated the 90s. His blistering acceleration made him impossible to defend when he got the ball. I once heard him described as a Porsche and the defender described as a
Mini, when he latched onto a long ball having been a good 15 yards behind the defe
nder to star with only a 40 yard run. Quite simply, his pace was astounding, and his acceleration even better. An injury prone player, Giggs has seen his international career stunted, or as some others see it he has stunted it himself.

Giggs started out at Manchester City's school of excellence at the age of 14, and when he was informed they would be releasing him at the end of the season, understandably he was a bit upset. That sadness didn't last long though, as Fergie soon came knocking at his door offering a contract. Giggsy jumped at the opportunity and has never looked back. His debut came three years later against Man City, and yes you've guessed it, he scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win for the Reds. Talk about a kick in the face, eh City? Giggs won the Young Player of the Year Award twice, the only player to have achieved this feat to date. Giggs is just the attacking option a team like this needs, and at 30 years of age, many believe he is yet to hit his peak. Well, we'll have to see on that one, but he is more than worthy of a place in this line up.

In a 13 year career so far, Ryan has made almost 600 appearances for Man Utd, scoring in excess of 120 goals, and he has also scored on eight occasions for his country during his spell so far. He has made about 50 appearances or Wales now, not bad considering he dodges duty by saying he's injured. After finally shaking off his string of injuries, Giggs has regained fitness fully, playing nearly all of last seasons matches. Despite a big dip in form last season, including "that miss" against Arsenal, when just about every Liverpool fan cheered, Giggs has regained his form to put paid to any rumours his days might have been up. If he is right about his best days being ahead of him, we are surely in for a treat.

Well, there you have it, what do you think? Di
d I hit the nail on the head, or have I lost the plot? Please feel free to tell me, I eagerly await your comments....

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