Sir Alex Ferguson appointed Liverpool Star as the best player in England and as good as Keane
Sir Alex Ferguson always had an eye on local talent, building his Manchester United dynasty on the back of British and Irish stars like Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand and Roy Keane.
The legendary Scottish manager was well known for not having always seen his eyes with his greatest stars, and was not afraid to give a punishment to some of the biggest names in the game.
Gary Neville recalled a dispute after swore at 83 during their stay together in United: “He inflicted a fine on the wages of a week, beat me after the match.
“Did it again the next day in his office. Then he continued to leave me aside for the next two weeks, put me on the bench. He shouted something for me [in the game] And I knew it. I spent the next 15 minutes of the match to think: “I have finished. I finished.'”
Perhaps the best known case of “Fergie” face one of his own players came in 2005, which led to Keane as captain of the Red Devils.
The midfielder of the Republic of Ireland was in and out of the team since an injury suffered due to a bad tackle of Luis Garcia de Liverpool, and had also challenged the quality of the accommodation of the team during a pre-season camp in Portugal.
And after an explosion criticizing his teammates on MUTV as well as several rows with Ferguson and Deputy Director Carlos Queiroz, Keane left Old Trafford by mutual consent in November 2005.
Ferguson: Gerrard was the best midfielder in the Premier League
Suddenly, United has had a gaping hole in a team that has dominated the Premier League for years, and Sir Alex has since revealed that the only man capable of filling this void at the time was the captain of Liverpool Steven Gerrard.
“If you are looking for the player with whom you would replace Keane, it would be Gerrard, without a doubt. He has become the most influential player in England, bar None. More than (Patrick) Vieira. Not that Vieira lacks anything, but I think Gerrard does more for his team than Vieira, and much more of his game.
“I looked at him a lot. For me, Gerrard is Keane. Wherever the ball is, he seems to be there. He has this engine, desire, determination, whoever loves to have Gerrard in his team.”
It is not a surprise that the Scottish was so grateful to the talents of Gerrard. At a time when United dominated their northwest counterparts at the national level, Gerrard was the only constant spine by their side.
|
Steven Gerrard |
Save vs man utd |
|---|---|
|
Apparitions |
35 |
|
Victories |
13 |
|
Draw |
2 |
|
Losses |
20 |
|
Goals |
9 |
|
Aid |
5 |
|
Yellow cards |
6 |
|
Red boxes |
2 |
The Premier League has seen some of the best field circles in the world over the years, which has led to fierce debates while fans ranked Keane, Gerrard, Vieira, Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard.
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Sir Alex was not the only one full of praise for the Liverpool skipper, with the legendary Jose Mourinho admitting once he tried to sign him both with interazional and while he was in charge of Chelsea.
It is really difficult to understand how “the golden era” of England could not succeed with Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes leading the charge.
