BUTTER WOULDN'T MELT

Danny Murphy's 8^th best footballer, chosen on Talksport last Thursday, is Paul Scholes. Having a November birthday, Paul had all the advantages of being “ahead” of the year group when at school and as he neared 40, he was regarded as a model professional, whose only weakness was his strength; at a mere 5'6” he was known as battling midfielder, who despite his lack of height was fearsome tackler and competitor.

Scholes was booked 99 times and sent off 4 times in the Premier League (making him the 3^rd most booked in PL history) and was the most booked player in the Champions League (32 times).

He said “ if somebody got me early in a game, it was always in the back of my mind to get them back”. Arsene Wegner regarded Scholes as having a “dark side”.

He was born with Irish descent, but he played 66 times for England and 718 times for one club, Manchester United, coming out of a short retirement in January 2012 to help the club one more time when Ryan Giggs made a call. He was not actually a member of the “Class of 92”, but joined with the youthful Reds the following season and soon made his debut for the Red Devils in 1994-5. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008 and scored over a 150 Premier league and cup goals in what was Man Us most successful period.

Many of the great players and pundits rated Scholes as one of the best ever in the PL and it was unfortunate that his ability and influnce was not always recognised by England managers in a period when the England team was apparently stacked full of fabulous midfielders! Not that the results justified that.

An asthmatic with Osgood Schlatter's knee issues, Scholes worked his way through adversity, preferring the shadows of success rather than the limelight. He is truly a modest, family man, who did not indulge in wasteful behaviour but who did have a very dry sense of humour and was popular with his peers.

He, recently, was a part owner of Salford City FC with some of his Class of 92 United pals, though that venture was sold on. Like many of his era, he is indulging in media appearances with contracts linked to BT Sport and ITV and he has a column in the Independent, not bad for somebody who may be regarded as “shy”.