I've argued before on here that purely as a player, Cantona is overrated. But in terms of the impact he had on the club and the young players you had coming through, I can't think of a better signing in the PL.
It's all been said before but the professionalism and winning mentality that he brought Utd was probably the foundation of your era of dominance.
comment by Szoboss (U6997)
posted 41 seconds ago
I've argued before on here that purely as a player, Cantona is overrated. But in terms of the impact he had on the club and the young players you had coming through, I can't think of a better signing in the PL.
It's all been said before but the professionalism and winning mentality that he brought Utd was probably the foundation of your era of dominance.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think most folk feel the same. The greatest signing is not necessarily the greatest player - it can be more about the impact a player had on the club etc, you can't necessarily see it in individual stats etc, it's more subjective than that. Ronaldo, Henry etc, all great signings, but Cantona was truly unique
I have to agree, Robb. Cantona was more to Utd and SAF than any player, he was the catalyst that transformed us from contenders to champions. He was the main figure amongst other experienced players who inspired and guided the class of 92 from fledglings to champions.
Eric was enigmatic, he was magical, he was unpredictable, he was volatile. He was always on the cusp of the sublime to madness that SAF knew about but he recognised more than anyone else it was a risk worth taking. The rest was history!
comment by Robbing Hoody - I taught Szoboszlai how to cushion half volleys (U6374)
posted 47 minutes ago
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by Robbing Hoody - I taught Szoboszlai how to cushion half volleys (U6374)
posted 11 minutes ago
Ronaldo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nah. Cantona was more important to the club. His signing got us over the line to get that first title after a long spell in the wilderness. He was a talisman and his presence took the pressure off the kids, whilst giving them someone to look up to. Winning that title and becoming regular winners just as the PL era took off was massive for the club in terms of the revenue it brought in; allowing us to invest in the squad and continue strengthening.
There is an argument that Ronaldo was the better player (during his time at United), but Cantona was 100% the better signing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah I mean I kind of get it but from the outside it’s Ronaldo for me.
2008 alone he was the leagues top scorer and the CL top scorer and Utd won both.
You can see from that overrated thread a while ago, just about everyone out side of Man Utd thinks Cantona, while an exceptional player, is thought of a bang overrated and in response you get lots of stuff said using words like ‘galvanised’ without much tangible at all.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Klopp of players, Robbing?
comment by scholayScholes (U13961)
posted 32 minutes ago
Cristiano Ronaldo for me.
League and champions league. We probably should've won another treble, to this day I don't know how we lost to that Portsmouth side. 42 Goals in that time ridiculous.
What happened after he left, only Ferguson to blame. He could've used that money and replaced him with stellar players that would've challenged Barcelona more so in my opinion, but we went into that second final with likes of Giggs in midfield.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronaldo, despite not being quite at his peak, was probably the better player during that period. But with or without Ronaldo we would still have been successful. Cantona for me was the signing that was the catalyst for that first league title and the success and riches that came after. Without Cantona we might not have won anywhere near as many titles.
You see to me Cantona wasn't overrated as a player. When I went to watch him he could do things that most others couldn't in the team and it wasn't like the rest of them were pub players was it? We had an incredible team.
When he got the ball the stadium just stood up most of the time. We knew something great was probably going to happen. The next player that had that aura at the club was probably Ronaldo.
Erik was special on the pitch and obviously had a huge impact for us club wise too.
Ronaldo to real madrid.
whilst there he won La liga titles, champions leagues, 5 ballon d'ors, reals all time top scorer and then Real Madrid sold him on for a profit when he was on the slide.
kinda perfect transfer !
Its defo Cantona. No other player has had an impact on a club like he has. Henry is up there but he won 2 leagues. As others have pointed out cantona swept up and was the overriding reason as to why utd did just that.
Ronaldos been mentioned, obviously an incredible player who added to utds illustrious history however cantona (aside from fergie) is the biggest reason why that history 1992 onwards is what it is.
Hmm… tough question, I wouldn’t say Eric was the best, but he was the most important in our Prem history.
We’ve signed a lot a great players, but the Best, Imo I’d say it’s Keane, then Van der Sarr.
Pre prem but the signings of Bruce and Pallister and linking them up was massive.
But Eric was huge for Utd. Ronaldo did win the CL and was sold for around £68m profit so that wasn't bad either!
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 15 minutes ago
You see to me Cantona wasn't overrated as a player. When I went to watch him he could do things that most others couldn't in the team and it wasn't like the rest of them were pub players was it? We had an incredible team.
When he got the ball the stadium just stood up most of the time. We knew something great was probably going to happen. The next player that had that aura at the club was probably Ronaldo.
Erik was special on the pitch and obviously had a huge impact for us club wise too.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeh he was an incredible player. For me, Cantona, Zola and Bergkamp were all a bit special. That creative number 10 that was capable of magic. Each club's fans will feel that they had the better player. The truth is that there was very little between them and we were lucky to get to see them all play in the PL.
comment by Barefoot (U19770)
posted 1 minute ago
Pre prem but the signings of Bruce and Pallister and linking them up was massive.
But Eric was huge for Utd. Ronaldo did win the CL and was sold for around £68m profit so that wasn't bad either!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
and was named the best player in the world 5 times, and was madrids top goalscorer ever.
not even close for me.
they bought him he became the best player in the world whilst there, smashed all sorts of records and left them for a huge profit.
Cantona doesnt even come close to that he had 1 balon dor nomination compared to ronaldos 9 (5 of which he won) Ronaldo won more best player in the world awards than cantona won best player in england , no comparison IMO
if its specifically for Man Utd signings
then yeah I think its between Cantona and Keane, from which I think Keane was a bigger influence on the team than cantona was.
comment by whodunnit (U22710)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by Barefoot (U19770)
posted 1 minute ago
Pre prem but the signings of Bruce and Pallister and linking them up was massive.
But Eric was huge for Utd. Ronaldo did win the CL and was sold for around £68m profit so that wasn't bad either!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
and was named the best player in the world 5 times, and was madrids top goalscorer ever.
not even close for me.
they bought him he became the best player in the world whilst there, smashed all sorts of records and left them for a huge profit.
Cantona doesnt even come close to that he had 1 balon dor nomination compared to ronaldos 9 (5 of which he won) Ronaldo won more best player in the world awards than cantona won best player in england , no comparison IMO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think op was talking about United signings.
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by whodunnit (U22710)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by Barefoot (U19770)
posted 1 minute ago
Pre prem but the signings of Bruce and Pallister and linking them up was massive.
But Eric was huge for Utd. Ronaldo did win the CL and was sold for around £68m profit so that wasn't bad either!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
and was named the best player in the world 5 times, and was madrids top goalscorer ever.
not even close for me.
they bought him he became the best player in the world whilst there, smashed all sorts of records and left them for a huge profit.
Cantona doesnt even come close to that he had 1 balon dor nomination compared to ronaldos 9 (5 of which he won) Ronaldo won more best player in the world awards than cantona won best player in england , no comparison IMO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think op was talking about United signings.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
yeah apologies I figured that out after typing it and then gave a different opinion.
Cantona - Lifted everyone at the club
Keane - A born winner and leader
Yorke - Added goals.and brought the best out of Cole
Barthez.- Brought to show Treble winners there is more to win.
Rio.- Brilliant
Vidic - 1 of.our best ever and a steal ay £8m
Rooney - Young, British, super talented, goals.galore.
There are so many, it's hard to name 1, but yeah, ypu could say Cantona got us into winning ways.
Barthez was a bit dodgy from memory
Is this helping to make yourself feel better ?
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 2 hours, 33 minutes ago
comment by #LiquidGenius (U20571)
posted 8 minutes ago
Best signing ever is surely Messi or Pele?
Signed for nothing and literally set the records for most goals scored for a club.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Messi doesn't count as a signing when they had him as a 14 year old.
Best player ever for me though but that's not what the question was.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Define ‘signing’.
For me, Eric was the best United *transfer* in my lifetime; but one could argue that Giggs was the best *signing*, particularly given the fact that he could easily have ended up at City.
Hard to argue with Cantona..... Amazing player
comment by The Mainoo Man (U23147)
posted 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
Cantona - Lifted everyone at the club
Keane - A born winner and leader
Yorke - Added goals.and brought the best out of Cole
Barthez.- Brought to show Treble winners there is more to win.
Rio.- Brilliant
Vidic - 1 of.our best ever and a steal ay £8m
Rooney - Young, British, super talented, goals.galore.
There are so many, it's hard to name 1, but yeah, ypu could say Cantona got us into winning ways.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Surely not Barthez . Never was a big fan of his.
Barthez was pure banter but that’s about it. Slightly ahead of Ben Foster maybe but nowhere near Schmeical, VDS or DDG imo.
Not old enough to remember the period prior to Cantona's signing, in fact my one of my first memories was his goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup final (my first being the final against Everton the season prior).
Sign in if you want to comment
Was Cantona the best signing ever?
Page 2 of 3
posted on 22/5/24
Carrick
posted on 22/5/24
I've argued before on here that purely as a player, Cantona is overrated. But in terms of the impact he had on the club and the young players you had coming through, I can't think of a better signing in the PL.
It's all been said before but the professionalism and winning mentality that he brought Utd was probably the foundation of your era of dominance.
posted on 22/5/24
comment by Szoboss (U6997)
posted 41 seconds ago
I've argued before on here that purely as a player, Cantona is overrated. But in terms of the impact he had on the club and the young players you had coming through, I can't think of a better signing in the PL.
It's all been said before but the professionalism and winning mentality that he brought Utd was probably the foundation of your era of dominance.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think most folk feel the same. The greatest signing is not necessarily the greatest player - it can be more about the impact a player had on the club etc, you can't necessarily see it in individual stats etc, it's more subjective than that. Ronaldo, Henry etc, all great signings, but Cantona was truly unique
posted on 22/5/24
I have to agree, Robb. Cantona was more to Utd and SAF than any player, he was the catalyst that transformed us from contenders to champions. He was the main figure amongst other experienced players who inspired and guided the class of 92 from fledglings to champions.
Eric was enigmatic, he was magical, he was unpredictable, he was volatile. He was always on the cusp of the sublime to madness that SAF knew about but he recognised more than anyone else it was a risk worth taking. The rest was history!
posted on 22/5/24
comment by Robbing Hoody - I taught Szoboszlai how to cushion half volleys (U6374)
posted 47 minutes ago
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by Robbing Hoody - I taught Szoboszlai how to cushion half volleys (U6374)
posted 11 minutes ago
Ronaldo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nah. Cantona was more important to the club. His signing got us over the line to get that first title after a long spell in the wilderness. He was a talisman and his presence took the pressure off the kids, whilst giving them someone to look up to. Winning that title and becoming regular winners just as the PL era took off was massive for the club in terms of the revenue it brought in; allowing us to invest in the squad and continue strengthening.
There is an argument that Ronaldo was the better player (during his time at United), but Cantona was 100% the better signing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah I mean I kind of get it but from the outside it’s Ronaldo for me.
2008 alone he was the leagues top scorer and the CL top scorer and Utd won both.
You can see from that overrated thread a while ago, just about everyone out side of Man Utd thinks Cantona, while an exceptional player, is thought of a bang overrated and in response you get lots of stuff said using words like ‘galvanised’ without much tangible at all.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Klopp of players, Robbing?
posted on 22/5/24
comment by scholayScholes (U13961)
posted 32 minutes ago
Cristiano Ronaldo for me.
League and champions league. We probably should've won another treble, to this day I don't know how we lost to that Portsmouth side. 42 Goals in that time ridiculous.
What happened after he left, only Ferguson to blame. He could've used that money and replaced him with stellar players that would've challenged Barcelona more so in my opinion, but we went into that second final with likes of Giggs in midfield.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronaldo, despite not being quite at his peak, was probably the better player during that period. But with or without Ronaldo we would still have been successful. Cantona for me was the signing that was the catalyst for that first league title and the success and riches that came after. Without Cantona we might not have won anywhere near as many titles.
posted on 22/5/24
You see to me Cantona wasn't overrated as a player. When I went to watch him he could do things that most others couldn't in the team and it wasn't like the rest of them were pub players was it? We had an incredible team.
When he got the ball the stadium just stood up most of the time. We knew something great was probably going to happen. The next player that had that aura at the club was probably Ronaldo.
Erik was special on the pitch and obviously had a huge impact for us club wise too.
posted on 22/5/24
Eric*
posted on 22/5/24
Ronaldo to real madrid.
whilst there he won La liga titles, champions leagues, 5 ballon d'ors, reals all time top scorer and then Real Madrid sold him on for a profit when he was on the slide.
kinda perfect transfer !
posted on 22/5/24
Its defo Cantona. No other player has had an impact on a club like he has. Henry is up there but he won 2 leagues. As others have pointed out cantona swept up and was the overriding reason as to why utd did just that.
Ronaldos been mentioned, obviously an incredible player who added to utds illustrious history however cantona (aside from fergie) is the biggest reason why that history 1992 onwards is what it is.
posted on 22/5/24
Hmm… tough question, I wouldn’t say Eric was the best, but he was the most important in our Prem history.
We’ve signed a lot a great players, but the Best, Imo I’d say it’s Keane, then Van der Sarr.
posted on 22/5/24
Pre prem but the signings of Bruce and Pallister and linking them up was massive.
But Eric was huge for Utd. Ronaldo did win the CL and was sold for around £68m profit so that wasn't bad either!
posted on 22/5/24
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 15 minutes ago
You see to me Cantona wasn't overrated as a player. When I went to watch him he could do things that most others couldn't in the team and it wasn't like the rest of them were pub players was it? We had an incredible team.
When he got the ball the stadium just stood up most of the time. We knew something great was probably going to happen. The next player that had that aura at the club was probably Ronaldo.
Erik was special on the pitch and obviously had a huge impact for us club wise too.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeh he was an incredible player. For me, Cantona, Zola and Bergkamp were all a bit special. That creative number 10 that was capable of magic. Each club's fans will feel that they had the better player. The truth is that there was very little between them and we were lucky to get to see them all play in the PL.
posted on 22/5/24
comment by Barefoot (U19770)
posted 1 minute ago
Pre prem but the signings of Bruce and Pallister and linking them up was massive.
But Eric was huge for Utd. Ronaldo did win the CL and was sold for around £68m profit so that wasn't bad either!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
and was named the best player in the world 5 times, and was madrids top goalscorer ever.
not even close for me.
they bought him he became the best player in the world whilst there, smashed all sorts of records and left them for a huge profit.
Cantona doesnt even come close to that he had 1 balon dor nomination compared to ronaldos 9 (5 of which he won) Ronaldo won more best player in the world awards than cantona won best player in england , no comparison IMO
posted on 22/5/24
if its specifically for Man Utd signings
then yeah I think its between Cantona and Keane, from which I think Keane was a bigger influence on the team than cantona was.
posted on 22/5/24
comment by whodunnit (U22710)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by Barefoot (U19770)
posted 1 minute ago
Pre prem but the signings of Bruce and Pallister and linking them up was massive.
But Eric was huge for Utd. Ronaldo did win the CL and was sold for around £68m profit so that wasn't bad either!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
and was named the best player in the world 5 times, and was madrids top goalscorer ever.
not even close for me.
they bought him he became the best player in the world whilst there, smashed all sorts of records and left them for a huge profit.
Cantona doesnt even come close to that he had 1 balon dor nomination compared to ronaldos 9 (5 of which he won) Ronaldo won more best player in the world awards than cantona won best player in england , no comparison IMO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think op was talking about United signings.
posted on 22/5/24
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by whodunnit (U22710)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by Barefoot (U19770)
posted 1 minute ago
Pre prem but the signings of Bruce and Pallister and linking them up was massive.
But Eric was huge for Utd. Ronaldo did win the CL and was sold for around £68m profit so that wasn't bad either!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
and was named the best player in the world 5 times, and was madrids top goalscorer ever.
not even close for me.
they bought him he became the best player in the world whilst there, smashed all sorts of records and left them for a huge profit.
Cantona doesnt even come close to that he had 1 balon dor nomination compared to ronaldos 9 (5 of which he won) Ronaldo won more best player in the world awards than cantona won best player in england , no comparison IMO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think op was talking about United signings.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
yeah apologies I figured that out after typing it and then gave a different opinion.
posted on 22/5/24
Cantona - Lifted everyone at the club
Keane - A born winner and leader
Yorke - Added goals.and brought the best out of Cole
Barthez.- Brought to show Treble winners there is more to win.
Rio.- Brilliant
Vidic - 1 of.our best ever and a steal ay £8m
Rooney - Young, British, super talented, goals.galore.
There are so many, it's hard to name 1, but yeah, ypu could say Cantona got us into winning ways.
posted on 22/5/24
Barthez was a bit dodgy from memory
posted on 22/5/24
Is this helping to make yourself feel better ?
posted on 22/5/24
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 2 hours, 33 minutes ago
comment by #LiquidGenius (U20571)
posted 8 minutes ago
Best signing ever is surely Messi or Pele?
Signed for nothing and literally set the records for most goals scored for a club.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Messi doesn't count as a signing when they had him as a 14 year old.
Best player ever for me though but that's not what the question was.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Define ‘signing’.
For me, Eric was the best United *transfer* in my lifetime; but one could argue that Giggs was the best *signing*, particularly given the fact that he could easily have ended up at City.
posted on 22/5/24
Hard to argue with Cantona..... Amazing player
posted on 22/5/24
comment by The Mainoo Man (U23147)
posted 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
Cantona - Lifted everyone at the club
Keane - A born winner and leader
Yorke - Added goals.and brought the best out of Cole
Barthez.- Brought to show Treble winners there is more to win.
Rio.- Brilliant
Vidic - 1 of.our best ever and a steal ay £8m
Rooney - Young, British, super talented, goals.galore.
There are so many, it's hard to name 1, but yeah, ypu could say Cantona got us into winning ways.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Surely not Barthez . Never was a big fan of his.
posted on 22/5/24
Barthez was pure banter but that’s about it. Slightly ahead of Ben Foster maybe but nowhere near Schmeical, VDS or DDG imo.
posted on 22/5/24
Not old enough to remember the period prior to Cantona's signing, in fact my one of my first memories was his goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup final (my first being the final against Everton the season prior).
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