Charlton names his greatest United 11

LONDON: British football legend Bobby Charlton has named his greatest ever Manchester United team in his autobiography being serialised in the Times newspaper.

Charlton picked a best 11 from the 1950s to the present day but found no place for himself in the side.

There was also no place for current stars such as Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

But United legends such as George Best, Eric Cantona (pic) and Peter Schmeichel, as well as current captain Gary Neville, did make the cut.

“There is one place that is automatic. It is the one that belongs to Schmeichel,” says Charlton.


“He gave United the greatest gift at any goalkeeper’s disposal. He sent waves of confidence through the team. He even became an arm of the attack, moving the ball to Ryan Giggs or Andrei Kanchelskis in one easy, powerful motion that turned defence into assault so quickly.

“He also, as Cantona did in his prime, embraced the meaning of the club and is still frequently to be seen around Old Trafford, revelling in the aura of the place.”

Charlton’s defence comprised Neville, Denis Irwin, Gary Pallister and the normally combative midfielder Nobby Stiles.

“Nobby is in because no teams were ever more reassured, or so driven, than those of United and England before such great matches as the semi-finals and final of the European Cup in 1968 and the World Cup two years earlier,” adds Charlton. “I felt the force and strength of Nobby as though he was a band of steel running through everything we did.”

The midfield has Duncan Edwards, who died tragically in the Munich air disaster of 1958, Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Best.

“Bryan Robson is in midfield for the sheer quality of his competitive character; the other skills – the tackling, the goal-scoring, the inspiration – were all bonuses which carry him in alongside Roy Keane. Between them, they would squeeze the will out of the opposition,” says the current United director.

Up front he chose Cantona alongside his great friend and former team-mate Denis Law.

“Cantona goes in because maybe no one ever seized a time, and an opportunity, at the end of a previously flawed career quite so perfectly as when he set the young Lions of Old Trafford on their way,” says Charlton before adding nostalgically: “Some accounts, which were closed long ago, just cannot be forgotten – or surpassed. It is why Duncan Edwards, George Best and Denis Law walk into my team.” – AFP