Paul Scholes- The Legend

I remember when I first saw Scholes play, it was in the 95/96 season against Chelsea. I wanted to see Giggs and Cantona, but Scholes really stole the show;  scoring two well taken goals in a 4-1 win. If you look closely you can probably see me celerbrating behind the goal (I will never forget the amount of abuse I got from Chelsea fans, I was only 10 for fucks sake!)  But from then on Scholes was one of my favourite United players. He could do it all. It was like he had a sniper rifle in his boots,decapitating defences with his accurate through balls. He wasn't particularly tall but he had great heading ability. He wasn't particularly quick either, but he timed his runs into the box with stealth. Give him a chance in the 18 yard box and he would usually take it, he really was the silent assassin. 

To me it always felt like Scholes was really underrated. Maybe it's because he was so shy and quiet and kept himself to himself. He rarely gave interviews, I've only seen a couple myself. But when I read some articles with foreign players and managers, they always mention Scholes as one of the best English midfielders. Zidane said he was one of his hardest opponents. Xavi, Iniesta and Fabgreas have been quoted saying how much they admire Scholes. Apparently after the final on the Saturday just gone, FIVE Barca players were all trying to get his shirt. (Iniesta ended up with it). That really does say a lot!  It just makes you think though......if he was 'Scholesinho' and was from Brazil maybe he would have got more praise. But all United fans recognise the genius that Scholes was and we certainly saw the best of him. England saw some glimpses of his skill; probably his best moment when he scored a hat trick against Poland. But the England team never used him to his full potential. How are you going to play the most creative player you have on the left side of midfield?  I really don't blame him for retiring after Euro 2004. It was United gain anyway, he gave 7 more years of great service giving fans loads of great memories. 

Over the years many great players have come and gone at United. Charlton, Best, Robson, Cantona, Beckham and Ronaldo. Scholes will be added to that list. It's nearly impossible to replace such players. All teams evolve and move on, and this team will do exactly that. It's really sad to see Scholes retire, he probably could have played on another season but he just thought it was right. He's retired on his terms and in doing so he's one of the greats.