Showing posts with label Ryan Giggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Giggs. Show all posts
Giggs: Owen can break Charlton's England record
Ryan Giggs has tipped Michael Owen to break Sir Bobby Charlton's England goal-scoring record.
Giggs eclipsed one of Charlton's landmark feats himself a year ago when he overtook his mark of 759 Manchester United appearances. Now up to 805 and still going strong, Giggs has been impressed by the speed with which Owen has integrated himself into the Old Trafford dressing room.
With four goals on the Far East tour and the prospect of more to come as United return to Europe for the four-team Audi Cup later this week, it would seem Owen is bound to come to England boss Fabio Capello's attention eventually.
Capello has consistently ignored Owen since the early games of his reign, claiming the sharp-shooter was simply not fit enough to be in contention for a place in his squad.
However, while he admits England's fortunes are none of his business, Giggs does not think it would take Owen long to score the nine goals he needs to equal Charlton's milestone of 49.
''He has it in him to do it,'' said the veteran Welshman. ''It has been a difficult record to overhaul because obviously it has stood for so long.
''But when you analyse Michael's career and look at the number of times he has played for England and the goals he has got, if he plays another 15 times he would probably do it.''
The first opportunity could come in Holland on August 12, four days before United begin the defence of their Premier League title against Birmingham.
Whether Capello can form an opinion on Owen from pre-season matches is open to debate but with another friendly against Slovenia immediately before the September 9 World Cup qualifier with Croatia, there are other opportunities, with others to follow that if the Three Lions beat Slaven Bilic's men to book their place at South Africa 2010.
And Owen could well be involved given he looks like a different player to the one who struggled so badly at Newcastle last term.
''Michael has said himself he was a bit surprised when United came in for him,'' observed Giggs. ''He has been at Newcastle and they have had a lot of trouble over the last couple of seasons, so to come into a side like Manchester United has obviously given him a new lease of life. He knows with the chances we do make, he will put them away.''
In fact, United have not had a goal poacher like Owen since Ruud van Nistelrooy left in controversial circumstances three years ago.
''Michael is a predator, which is something we don't presently have,'' said Giggs. ''We have had players like that over the years. Ruud is an obvious one. Andy Cole was another. They come alive in the box.
''From what I have seen over the years, the thing about Michael is that if he misses a chance it doesn't bother him one little bit. Some players go into their shell. It doesn't bother him at all.
''He knows he is going to get another chance. Ruud had the same mentality. All top goalscorers have it.
''They know they are going to get chances, so if they miss one, they just think, 'So what?'.''
If Owen can stay fit and keep hitting the target, United will not be far away from landing a record fourth successive championship, and going one clear of Liverpool in the overall standings on 19.
Giggs certainly feels his club are in better shape than many felt when Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez quit in quick succession.
''The squad is good. We have lost Cristiano and Carlos but we have other players coming through,'' said Giggs, reeling off the names of Nemanja Vidic and Antonio Valencia - who will both link up with their team-mates in Germany - and England Under-19 forward Danny Welbeck as additions to the party that has been on duty in Asia.
''We also have Owen Hargreaves to come back, which will be like having a new signing, so I still think this is a title-winning squad.''
Ryan Giggs tips Michael Owen to be Manchester United's new Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ryan Giggs believes Michael Owen provides Manchester United with the kind of out-and-out striker they have not had since Ruud van Nistelrooy left for Real Madrid and is confident the former Newcastle United player will improve the balance and potency of the team's attack.
Although Giggs acknowledges that the real tests for Owen are yet to come, he is encouraged by the four goals the forward scored in as many games during United's tour of east Asia.
This week's Audi Cup in Munich, in which United face Boca Juniors and either Bayern Munich or Milan, should give a fairer indication of how one of Sir Alex Ferguson's most unexpected signings will begin the campaign. Only in Seoul – the one game in which he did not find the net – did Owen encounter serious opposition. Nevertheless, Giggs is convinced the 29-year-old can improve United's attack.
"I don't think there was any real scepticism among the players about his arrival. The manager explained that he provides something we haven't got," said Giggs. "Kiko [Federico Macheda] is probably the most like Michael in the sense that he is an out-and-out goalscorer but he is still very young. Wayne and Dimitar Berbatov do things outside the box.
"Michael is a pure predator and that is something we have not really had since Ruud left. Before that we had Andy Cole and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but our chances-to-conversion rate was not so good last season and Michael should improve that. He is a poacher who scores all types of goals. They all come from inside the box – that's where he does his work and that is where he comes alive."
In his five years at Old Trafford, Van Nistelrooy never once found the net from outside the area and Giggs detects other similarities. "The good thing about Michael over the years is that if he misses a chance, it doesn't bother him one bit. That's what great goalscorers do – they are always convinced they will get another chance. Ruud had that same mentality too."
Should Owen start the season in this kind of form, even the cold-eyed Fabio Capello, who began his reign as England manager sceptical about a man who has scored 40 times at international level, might just bring him back. Owen has not played since Capello's last defeat – a 1–0 friendly reverse against France in March 2008 – but is still prepared to back himself to overcome Sir Bobby Charlton's tally of 49 goals.
"I am sure if he is playing and scoring for United, the rest will come," said Giggs. "But looking at his goals-to-games ratio, if he gets another 15 internationals, then he will probably overtake Sir Bobby."
Ryan Giggs is confident Manchester United will be unaffected by the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.
Ronaldo
and Tevez have both left Old Trafford this summer, whilst Sir Alex Ferguson has, thus far, opted against splashing a huge amount of cash, with Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan the only significant new arrivals.But Giggs is more than happy with how the United squad are shaping up ahead of the new Premier League season.
"Since I came into the team the likes of Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Eric Cantona, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane and David Beckham have left the club," he said.
"But that is what the manager is so good at - reshaping and re-energising the team.
"Carlos and Cristiano were great players but we move on. As players it's like ships in the night. You just get on with it."
Ryan Giggs on how Sir Alex Ferguson will rebuild Manchester United after Cristiano Ronaldo
Ryan Giggs has challenged his Manchester United team-mates to shake off the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo.Veteran midfielder Giggs, 35, who is entering his 20th full season with United, has seen a succession of big names come and go at Old Trafford during his glittering career.
United have lost key men like Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Roy Keane in the past, but each time Sir Alex Ferguson has reinvented his side to keep them at the top.
And although Ronaldo was an equally influential figure – with 67 goals in his final two seasons before joining Real Madrid for £80million – Giggs said United can cope without him.
"A lot more is made of it outside the club than on the inside," said Giggs.
"You get used to it being at a big club like United. There are always going to be stars and great players retiring or leaving, but what makes the club special is that, whoever leaves, we just move on and try to improve.
"Obviously without Ronaldo you realise we no longer have a great player in our team, but then we’ve coped before when this sort of thing has happened.
"Since I came into the team the likes of Robson, Mark Hughes, Cantona, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Keane and Beckham have left.
"So many great players have left the club, but that’s what the manager is so good at – reshaping and re-energising the team. Cristiano and Carlos Tevez were great players for us but we move on.
"We don’t dwell on it. As players we’re like ships in the night. You just get on with it."
With Ronaldo’s departure, Giggs expects the Red Devils to revert to a more traditional 4-4-2 formation, now they no longer need to accommodate their former No.7’s unique threat.
"The team has adapted well to whatever system we have played, whether it’s 4-4-2 or three in midfield," he said.
"The players that have come in over the last five or six years have just got used to playing any system the manager picks.
"We’ve got that flexibility in the squad. With Antonio Valencia coming in, it might be a bit more of a rigid 4-4-2 system, but we’ll have to see."
Giggs admitted he was shocked by the signing of Michael Owen, but claimed Fergie may have pulled off another masterstroke by bringing in the England striker for nothing.
Owen has scored twice in the opening two games of United’s pre-season tour of the Far East and Giggs said the 29-year-old had shown he is still a superb goalscorer.
"I don’t think I ever thought we’d see Michael in a United shirt but he’s shown over the two games here what he’s all about," said Giggs. "He’s a goalscorer. It’s as simple as that.
"You always admire a player who bursts on to the scene at 17 or 18, like he did, and carries on scoring throughout his career for the clubs he’s played for and his country. Goalscorers like Michael just seem to have an instinct they’re born with."
Although Giggs is only contracted until the end of next season, he has not decided when he will retire, having successfully reinvented himself as a central midfielder after years on the wing.
With Fergie rationing his appearances, Giggs has been able to prolong his remarkable career and was rewarded last season with the PFA Player of the Year award.
"I’m just looking forward to the new season," he said. "Despite the disappointment of losing the Champions League Final, we still had a great season.
"This time we’ll be looking to defend the Premier League title for the fourth year running."
United arrive in Seoul today for the Korean leg of their Far East tour ahead of Friday’s third pre-season game against FC Seoul.
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