George Best vs Ryan Giggs

Inspired by my boss I thought I'd throw this one out to the v2 community.

My gaffer told me today that he got into a heated debate with a fellow diner the other night over who was the better player for Man Utd. Apparently the fellow diner got so agitated by my boss' favouritism of Giggs that he refused to buy him another drink for the remainder of the evening. Mature stuff I know but anyway...

Who do you think was the better player and had the bigger impact for the club?

Obviously it's a difficult one as I'm sure a lot of us were not even born when Best was in his pomp but there is more than enough information and snippets for us to go by. Best was highly regarded by his peers - worldwide - and considered an absolute genius on a football field and if it were not for his rather lavish lifestyle off the pitch he would have undoubtedly achieved a whole lot more in a Utd shirt. Talk to anybody that was fortunate to have seen him live and they will do nothing by wax lyrical about the man. His collection of medals pales into insignificance compared to Giggs' but he did win the European footballer of the year award, one thing Giggs has never won.

Giggs is the most decorated footballer in the history of English football and it's highly unlikely his collection of gongs will ever be surpassed. 20+ years playing regular first team football for one of the biggest clubs in the world is some going. Probably the highest accolade you can give when it comes to Giggs is that he has managed to maintain a place in numerous re-built Utd sides by reinventing himself as a player. If you had first seen Giggs take to a football field, say, five years ago then it would be like looking at a completely different player if you were to look back at the one from the 90's up until the early 2000's .

My boss' argument is that if you were to throw a then Best into a modern Utd side he'd bomb simply because of his lifestyle, ill discipline and general fitness but I disagree. You unleash that natural talent and god given ability onto today's carpet like pitches and he'd possibly be an even greater player than the one he was in the late 60's. Imagine the salary he would command in today's game?!!

I don't know whether I am being over nostalgic but I would probably go with Best. I'm not sure we will be hyping Giggs as much 40 years down the line as a lot of us are still doing with Best now. Perhaps it's a tie I really don't know. Over to you.

Cheers guys.

Best is probably technically the better player, with a lot more natural skill, but Giggs' real strength is has been his ability to adapt and to stay on top for 20 years, which actually draws comparisons with the managerial style of Ferguson. Giggs has had to adapt with the time and his own limitations. The same way Ferguson has had to adapt to the changing times and clearly has tuned down his temper now that he's at the age where he is at the risk of a heart attack etc.

So I think it depends what you're after, if you want short-term brilliance or long-term reliability.

This is kinda like the the Maradonna vs messi debate.

I have no doubt that talent wise and technically Best and Maradonna were better. The latter duo, however, may surpass them in achievements.



emancipator

I would plump for Best. From what I have seen from days gone by, he glided on pitches not even fit for park rugby!

I think the impact Best had was phenominal. When you see past players who played in the same team and against him just gush over how good he really was. It was a shame his peak was decimated by off the field problems. I remember reading that he learnt to play by a tennis ball against the wall. Just fairytale stuff.

Giggs on the over hand is similar to Charlton in his day. A truly wonderful player, but not as gifted as Best. Giggs has had flashes of brilliance, but over a longer period of time compared to Best.

Overall contribution would have to be Ryan Giggs but ability wise it's George Best every single day. In Best we are talking about a player who is favourably compared to Maradona and Pele, he's definitely in the top 5/6 attacking players of all time which Giggs for his sustained level of top notch performance simply is not.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:Overall contribution would have to be Ryan Giggs but ability wise it's George Best every single day. In Best we are talking about a player who is favourably compared to Maradona and Pele, he's definitely in the top 5/6 attacking players of all time which Giggs for his sustained level of top notch performance simply is not.

I think that's slightly over rating best to be fair by putting him in the top 5 attacking players of all time. Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Messi, Ronaldo and Zidane were/ are a class above Best.

Giggs for all his longevity is over rated by many in terms of his natural talents (He doesn't close to having the ability of Paul Scholes). But I'd agree talent wise Best > Giggs. But obviously from achievements through to longevity Giggs > Best.

Class above not a chance especially Messi, Cruyff, Ronaldo and Zidane.