Giggs: Tearing United’s Other Midfielders Apart

Throughout Sir Alex’s tenure at Old Trafford we’ve had some wonderful wingers, there’s been Sharpe, Kanchelskis and Giggs, Beckham and Giggs, Ronaldo and Giggs, now there’s just well erm….Giggs.

Over the course of this season we’ve seen United’s three main wingers Nani, Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia go through phases of being the current player most fans have lost patience with. It started with Nani at Everton on the opening fixture who’s performance was that bad it actually caused the entire Premier League season to almost be abolished. Then Ashley Young took time off from ordering Snoop and Chris which vacant to hide the bodies in to remind even Nani just how ‘anonymous’ a winger can really be if he puts his mind to it. Then, like sitting two thirds through an episode of Corrie featuring Dev it suddenly dawned on many fans that when it came to Antonio Valencia we’d been watching an awful performance for quite some time now.

While the constant arguing over which winger is the worst or if any of them have actually done enough to warrant being kept on next season, one man has been quietly showing them how even at the age of 102 it’s possible to influence the game from out wide. Ryan Giggs may often be deployed in the middle of the park, but on the occasions he has been on the wing, he’s shown he can still do a job, which is frankly more than the other three can say. Yes Nani is a match winner and I fully expect him to have a big say in the final furlong of the season, yes Ashley Young deserves a bit more time. Probably. And yes Tony Valencia was once so good that surely it would be a huge gamble not to see if he can rekindle his amazing form from last season in the next campaign, but have any of the aforementioned trio had anything like the season Giggs has? No.

Giggs has shown that even after winning the lot, several times over and playing more games than Peter Odemwinge’s tweets he’s still able to make lung bursting runs- the goal against QPR a few weeks ago proved that when he ran from the edge of his own box to be there to finish it off.

It’s not just the wingers at United who’ve been in Giggs’s shadow this season, other than Michael Carrick which midfielders have enjoyed a better season than the Welshman? Anderson has flattered to deceive- again- and may well have ran out of chances, Tom Cleverley has enjoyed a ‘decent’ campaign but still hasn’t quite proved he’s the man for the job while Shinji Kagawa has been woefully underused- although that’s not really his fault.

Giggs has proven himself to be not just a vital squad member but also a much needed first teamer for some of the big games- would anyone not pick him for the derby or Stamford Bridge? I’d love to heap lots of praise on how wonderful Ryan is but part of me finds it a little embarrassing.

Am I overstating Giggs’s influence this season, or maybe being too harsh on the other midfielders? Or am I actually talking sense for once? Feel free to comment suggest and abuse below:

Giggs has enjoyed a great season as have many other United players, although when it comes to midfield department there’s a few who should be looking at the number eleven with just a slight pang of shame.