Which Manchester United Legend Would Fans Like to Reboot to Boost Current Team?

Manchester United are having an OK time at the moment. Not great, certainly, but having won the EFL Cup and still being in contention for Champions League qualification and the Europa League, their situation is passable.

Their fans expect better. The last five years of Sir Alex Ferguson's reign saw him win three Premier League titles, miss out on the other two by a point and on goal difference respectively and reach three Champions League finals. For manager Jose Mourinho's time at the club to be considered a success, he does not have to match those feats, but he has to get a lot closer than has happened so far.

Part of the reason United are not quite where they would like to be is that the squad is a work in progress. With Bastian Schweinsteiger's departure, five of former manager Louis van Gaal's 12 signings have already left the club. Squad building is much harder when managers regularly change, as their requirements are different.

With this in mind, we decided to ask Twitter which great of the Sir Alex era they would add to improve the squad.

The parameters were simple: Pick three Premier League-era United greats who are retired and include an option for "someone else," encouraging people to reply with the player they would choose who did not make the list.

It is not easy to select just three United greats, but the logic by which these people were chosen to be the primary options is as follows.

Eric Cantona—a talismanic figure who catalysed United's transformation from also-rans into domestic dominators. He would bring goals and assists in abundance, but more than that, he could galvanise the current crop in the way he did the Class of '92, lifting United to new heights in the process.

Roy Keane—the greatest leader of the Premier League era for any club. The fierce embodiment of the will to win and a player incapable of accepting mediocrity, Keane's presence would give the squad a steel and determination that is missing.

Ruud van Nistelrooy—United's biggest problem this season has been chance conversion. Ruud van Nistelrooy is probably the best chance converter in United's modern history.

Narrowly missing out on inclusion in the default selections were Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes—more on them later.

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Which retired Manchester United legend would most benefit the current team? (In their prime of course!)

— Paul (@UtdRantcast) March 21, 2017"

After 11,189 votes, the results were in. And it was a landslide. Over 5,000 people, 48 per cent of the total respondents, voted for Keane, with Van Nistelrooy on 31 per cent and Cantona netting just 18 per cent. There was some vindication for the chosen options in the fact only 5 per cent of people voted for "someone else."

So why did Keane win by so much?

Well, that is one explanation. It seems likely that at some point the two would clash, though if they could get on the same page, they could produce some remarkable results.

Truthfully, though, it was Keane's leadership abilities that were most often cited in explaining his selection. He represented something special in that regard, someone who led both by example and inspiration. He was fiercely honest—arguably to a fault—but never likely to ask anything of someone he was not prepared to give himself.

He stood as the guardian of "the United way," campaigning relentlessly for only excellence to be acceptable. Anything less than wholehearted effort was not an option. It did not always work, and he overstepped the mark more than once, but his overall contribution to United was positive.

There were a couple of contrary views offered.

That's a point worth bearing in mind. Keane's first order of business would have to be a refresher course on what gets a yellow card in 2017 that would not have before he retired in 2006.

This is an interesting counterargument to the notion that United do not have leaders. They have Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whom Chris Smalling described as "our main man" after the EFL Cup final. But leaders in the making is an interesting category. Ander Herrera counts, and Paul Pogba's ability means he could be a leader by example in the future, but many of those who voted clearly felt leadership was needed.

While Keane's presence would be a massive lift, Van Nistelrooy's chance-conversion ability would be a boon. Ibrahimovic has scored plenty this season, but it is hard to shake the feeling that the Dutch goal machine would have even bigger numbers.

United have drawn 10 games this season. If they had turned just three of those stalemates into wins, they would be one point behind Tottenham Hotspur in second with two games in hand. Frankly, it would not have taken a much better chance-conversion rate to turn more than three of those draws into wins. If Ibrahimovic had been peak Van Nistelrooy, United might have been legitimate title contenders this season.

This is not to lay all the blame for United's position at the Swede's door. He has earned his side at least as many points as he has cost them and made a vital contribution to the silverware they have already added to their trophy cabinet this season.

A word now for some of the write-in options.

Ferdinand at his peak would be an enormous help to the United back four. There is plenty of talent among the Red Devils' central defenders, but they lack a player who can confidently marshal them, who is the definitive senior man.

He would have been on the list of choices but for the fact United's defence has done a decent job this season. Only Chelsea and Spurs have conceded fewer goals in the league. While there have been costly wobbles at the back, the problem has been at the other end.

Scholes was also a popular write-in choice. United have not had too much of a problem with creating chances or ball retention this season, so while the brilliant United legend would be an asset to the team, he does not represent what they need most.

Peak Ryan Giggs would offer a different kind of threat down the left flank of United's attack. Anthony Martial is doing a decent Giggs impression, though.

Given United's left-back issues, Denis Irwin would be a decent addition to the squad.

David Beckham's set-piece delivery, keen eye for a goal and superb crossing would have complemented Ibrahimovic brilliantly. The two linked well at Paris Saint-Germain when Beckham was well past his prime. At his 1999 best, he would be devastating in Mourinho's side.

While this view will always garner sympathy with United fans of a certain age, democracy has probably got this one right. Van Nistelrooy might improve Ibrahimovic's hit rate, but it seems likely that Keane's presence would also boost the number of goals scored by helping the rest of the squad improve.

Keane set standards and helped players reach them. If the peak version of Roy Keane returned to United's side, they would instantly become a dangerous proposition.

Quotations obtained firsthand where not otherwise stated.