Scholes : Ferocity : Talent



An article written by Jamie Redknapp for Dailymail:

Accident and Emergency departments in hospitals up and down the country can rest easy. Paul Scholes won't be tackling any more. Scholesy was a ferocious tackler, who left the bruises to prove it, but he was a player with the gift of a beautiful range of passing too. He was the complete midfielder.

Now he is calling it a day. It was fitting that his last appearance was in the company of Xavi and Iniesta as a substitute at Wembley last Saturday night. At his best, Scholes would not have looked out of place in the Barcelona passing machine, trading the ball with them.

His passing and his tackling were only two of his qualities. He was an all-action, highly skilled opponent and team-mate.

Winning 10 league titles is not a bad way to go, is it? He must feel he can't play at his peak any more and we know he's not one to make a fuss. That was his way. It was a pleasure for me to play with him for England, but it wasn't a pleasure to play against him. As his team-mate, you always felt you could trust him with the ball. Give it to him and he would invariably give it back.

I especially remember his two goals for England against Scotland at Hampden Park in the play-off for Euro 2000. The Scottish crowd were hostile, but they left talking about 'the wee man with the ginger hair'

As an opponent, he left a few bruises and stud marks by, as he would put it, 'leaving something on' me. I would look at him after and wonder if he meant it - but I knew he did.

People questioned his tackling, doubted his timing, but he was a terrific tackler who meant to leave his foot in. He wanted you to know he was there, although it brought him almost as many red cards as trophies.

He had many good habits too, like passing to a team-mate and scoring important goals. He seemed to save up his best ones against Liverpool and often late in the game.

As well as his passing, both short range and long range, he would intercept the ball too. He was also a master volleyer.

I was surprised at the timing of his announcement. I mentioned in my column two weeks ago that it might happen, but I still hoped we would get one more season out of the player Rio Ferdinand called 'Sat Nav', because he could always find a team-mate. He's up there with the top midfielders of the Premier League era, along with Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs and Patrick Vieira. I will especially miss his drilled daisycutter passes, where he would open his body and switch the play with phenomenal accuracy.

In Xavi's interview in Sportsmail earlier this season, he said Scholes was a pass master who would have been appreciated more if he were born in Spain. I'm not sure about that. Take it from me, he was appreciated here. I'm sorry he won't be rampaging about central midfield any longer. It has been a joy to watch him.

David Beckham: 'He's always one of those people others talk about. At Real Madrid, the players always said to me 'what's he like?' They respect him.'

Laurent Blanc: 'I tell anyone who asks me - Scholes is the best English player.'

Edgar Davids: 'I'm not the best, Paul Scholes is. Every one of us (midfielders) is just trying to become as good as him.'

Cesc Fabregas: 'He is the one whose level I aspire to. He is the best player in the Premier League.'

Thierry Henry: 'Every time we used to play against Manchester United, we always used to be scared of Paul Scholes. His vision, the way he sees the game, his goals ratio... he has indestructible mental strength and he is a genuine competitor.'

Glenn Hoddle: 'There isn't a player of his mould anywhere else in the world.'

Kevin Keegan: 'He is different to anything else in English football.'

Marcello Lippi: 'Paul Scholes would have been one of my first choices for putting together a great team.'

Wayne Rooney: 'He'll be missed greatly. He's the best I've played with and against. He's only small but it's so difficult to get the ball off him.'

Alan Shearer: 'If you ask footballers to pick out the player they most admire, so many will pick Paul Scholes. He can tackle and his passing and shooting is of the highest level. He's the most consistent and naturally gifted player we've had for a long time.'

Socrates: 'I love to watch Scholes, to see him pass, the boy with the red hair and the red shirt. Good enough for Brazil.'

Terry Venables: 'He's the best one or two-touch passer in the country. He sees the game unlike any other.'

Patrick Vieira: 'The player in the Premiership I admire most? Easy - Scholes.'

Zinedine Zidane: 'Undoubtedly the greatest midfielder of his generation. He's almost untouchable in what he does. He makes the game look easy because he has so much natural ability.'