Ryan Giggs is a freak! Considering he was a nimble left-winger for 15 years, he’s become United’s most productive player in terms of his ability to see a pass. Michael Carrick can pass a ball, but in terms of the vision to play a killer pass and the ability to play that pass over a long distance, Giggs is still United’s best player in that department. In some ways Giggs’ performance in midweek helped United keep their season alive. For him to produce that performance at 40, it’s difficult to find new words to describe him.
Looking at United’s wide players, they have often played with Juan Mata, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Shinji Kagawa in wide areas and they are all predominantly more manipulators or crossers of the ball. What Danny Welbeck provides by challenging the space in behind defenders is something unique for United. Quite simply, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie play better when Welbeck is on the pitch. It’s what Ji-Sung Park used to provide. People forget how important Park was in the seasons where Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Rooney were at United. He would make so many runs where he sacrificed himself. Welbeck must have made 25 runs behind the Olympiacos defence in midweek. He is someone who might not have the talent of Mata or Adnan Januzaj but I’ve got an incredible amount of time for him as a player.
Gary Neville was speaking in his fortnightly column for EA SPORTS FIFA 14 Ultimate Team. Read the full column here: http://bit.ly/1fM1xOI