Manchester United: Ranking the Club's Top 10 Strikers of All Time
Somewhere in the Theatre of Dreams there is a trophy cabinet, an epitaph to the continued success of Manchester United Football Club since its inception as Newton Heath in 1878. Look beyond the cabinet, look at what it contains and you see stories, history, success.
For Manchester United would be nothing without the players who have bore the red devil resplendent upon their breast. It is to they that the modern Manchester United owe a debt of gratitude, it is they that have facilitated United’s meteoric rise to the highest echelons of footballing splendour.
So for this piece I find myself navigating a montage of different periods, different times, old mixed with new. It is the ten greatest strikers in the history of MUFC: history remembered.
This is a list entirely based on my own subjective. It is an amalgamation of goals, appearances and my own perception of general talent and contribution to the success of Manchester United. Of course in such a situation you are unlikely to agree with all my selections, I am not omnipotent.
Feel free to raise your own thoughts on the issue, commenting below, healthy debate never hurt anyone and a cheeky like if you agree never goes awry either. Thanks for reading.
10: Andrew Cole 1995-2001
1 of 10
Apps for United: 195 (League)
Goals: 93
Cole’s time at United coincided with the 90’s United renaissance that my young self was brought up in the midst of.
During his time at United, Cole won 5 league titles, two FA cups, two Community Shields and only the second Champions League in the clubs history.
Forming a strong partnership with his “partner in crime” Dwight Yorke, the duo lit up the Premier League during the late 90’s. As if to compound the sense of utter helplessness that defenses must of felt, the tenure of Cole and Yorke coincided with the Manchester United careers of both Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, creating possibly the greatest striking foursome the Premier League has ever seen (although Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez and Berbatov could probably have a case).
Cole left United in 2001 at the relatively young age of 29, for £8 million. A chapter of the greatest period in Manchester United history had been closed. Despite scoring 37 goals in all competitions in his 100 Blackburn appearances Cole never replicated the performances of his United days.
After playing for an impressive 7 clubs in the precluding period after leaving Blackburn in 2004, Cole eventually hung up his boots in 2008 and now works as a coach at League 1’s Huddersfield Town.
9: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 1996-2007
2 of 10
Apps for United: 235
Goals: 91
To Manchester United fans everywhere, Solskjaer will be forever remembered for a toe poked goal on May night in the Nou Camp. Solskjaer scored the goal that made the impossible possible, the man that completed the comeback only Clive Tyldsley saw coming. Oh yes, he will be remembered.
In the midst of the clamour over that goal, however, sometimes Solskjaer’s general contribution to Manchester United is forgotten. Best known as a super-sub, Solskjaer’s selfless contribution to the United cause during his 11 years with the Red Devils should never be forgotten.
One match that seems to define the super-sub mantra was a game against Nottingham Forest when, despite starting the game on the bench, Solskjaer left with the match ball, as his four goals tore Forest apart in United’s 8-1 victory (the highest of the modern era).
It is understandable that Solkjaer’s career will forever be defined by that goal but, to allow this at the detriment of his other 230 appearances and 90 goals, would be criminal. Ole Gunnar Solkjaer should be remembered for what he was, a servant to the Theatre of Dreams, and a damn good one at that.
8: Wayne Rooney 2004-Present
3 of 10
Apps for United: 208
Goals: 98
The only one on the list currently at United, Rooney seems to have been around for an awful long time at only 25 years of age.
Signed by United in 2004 as an impetuous 18 year old, the prodigiously talented Rooney’s career has, it’s fair to say, not been bereft of controversy. The lad, it seems has a penchant for the controversial (who could forget granny-gate).
Despite this though, as a talent few can surpass him, as his goal (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/606330-man-united-21-man-city-has-wayne-rooneys-wonder-goal-won-united-the-league) in this years city derby lays testament.
Along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney created the strike-force that made the rest of the world flee before the United train, culminating in the clubs third Champions League final victory in 2007 (the fact that they owe a debt of gratitude to John Terry’s dodgy balance I wont mention out of respect for John Terry, oh wait, I’ve mentioned it…..)
This season, with United seemingly devoid of the attacking ability they once took for granted, came Rooney’s darkest United day, when he, questioning the clubs ambition, handed in a transfer request.
Even now, despite the fact that the request has since been retracted and Rooney’s performances are starting to resemble that of his pre-injury form at the beginning of last season, some still doubt his commitment to the cause. Me? Well I’m going to wait and see, but for the moment I am just enjoying the Rooney ride.
7: Mark Hughes 1980-86 and 1988-95
4 of 10
Apps for United: 345
Goals: 119
Hughes is alone in this list, in that half-way through his United career he actually left for another club, before realising that the grass was not greener and returning to Old Trafford for an even more successful spell.
Tempted by the brighter lights of Europe in 1986, Hughes had jumped ship to join the Terry Venables campaign at Barcelona alongside fellow Brit ex-pat Gary Lineker. Unlike Lineker though, Hughes failed to adapt to the Catalan style and was subsequently loaned out to Bayern Munich the next season (1987-88), were he re-found his form.
Old Trafford was in Hughes’ blood, however, so it came as little surprise when the merry-go-round completed its circumnavigation of Europe, bringing Hughes home two years after he had left.
This second period, from 1988-95, saw the inception of the Fergie dynasty, as the Scottish magician laid the foundations for the indelible mark he was to weave over the very tapestry of Manchester United. Hughes played his part: After being voted PFA Player of the year in 1988-89, the Welsh Maestro went on to amass 82 goals in his subsequent 256 United appearances.
Hughes' Manchester United career ended in 1995, as the Fergie fledglings (Giggs, Neville, Beckham etc.) careers were beginning. Sold to Chelsea for 1.5 million, Hughes never replicated the heights of his Manchester United career(s). After Chelsea, Hughes’ career wound down with spells at Southampton, Everton and latterly Blackburn Rovers, before his retirement in 2002.
Now a fairly successful Premiership manager with London side Fulham, to fans of Manchester United Hughes will always be one of our own.
6: Dennis Viollet 1953-62
5 of 10
Apps for United: 259
Goals: 159
The granddad of the list, having been a United player during the 50’s and early 60’s, Dennis Viollet, alongside strike partner Tommy Taylor, cast a swathe through Premiership for much of the decade. Viollet himself scored an impressive 159 goals in his 259 appearances for United, before he was surprisingly sold by then United manager Matt Busby to Stoke City for £25,000.
Alongside Bobby Charlton, Viollet was one of the tragically few survivors of the Munich air disaster (strike partner Taylor did not survive).
In the aftermath of the atrocity, Old Trafford and all that sat within her were shaken to their very core. Half a team that had been barely written had now been erased. The rebuilding of the great Manchester United bore harrowing resonance to the memory of the men for whom replacements never should have needed to be sought.
Viollet’s United career endured during this period though and his impressive goal-scoring record continued, albeit without the stalwart he had once known as his strike-partner.
After a relatively successful spell at Stoke, Viollet followed the well-travelled furrow in the 60’s that brought the worlds waning stars to the newly formed MLS in America, where he joined the Baltimore Bays.
Upon retiring in 1968, Viollet later went into management, firstly at English side Crew Alexandra, before moving to the States where he managed numerous teams in different capacities over a fruitful 25 year management career.
Viollet died in of cancer at the age of 65 in 1999, 3 months before his beloved Manchester United completed the treble. The life of another Babe, prematurely extinguished, another entity prematurely taken at the wicked whim of fate. To Dennis Viollet, Tommy Taylor and all the victims of the Munich Disaster and beyond: we remember you, we thank you.
5: Ruud van Nistelrooy 2001-06
6 of 10
Apps for United: 150
Goals: 95
Ruud van Nistelrooy, during his time at United, was often affectionately known as “the man who cant score from outside the box.” Indeed, van Nistelrooy scored a pitiful amount of his 95 United goals from beyond 18 yards (I might be wrong but I think two rings a bell). To just leave the description simply thus, though, would be to do the man a heinous disservice, in and around the box Nistelrooy was worth his weight in gold. He was United’s original goal poacher and oh how we loved him for it.
Bought in 2001, at a hefty outlay of £19 million, which Nistelrooy himself tried to play down claiming "The price is not heavy for me – it lifts me up because it means United have big confidence in me," Van the Man became the figurehead of early 21st century United.
In total, van Nistelrooy scored a staggering 150 goals in his 220 United appearances in all competitions, yet his legacy with United at least will always be unfulfilled.
After alleged in-fighting with both star player Cristiano Ronaldo and a bust up with manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Nistelrooy’s subsequent £24 million move to Real Madrid was inevitable.
At Real, Nistelrooy’s staggering goal return showed no sign of abating and, if anything increased, as 46 goals in 68 appearances pays testament. Even today, six years after leaving United, Van Nistelrooy is still scoring at the highest level for current club Hamburg (a fact that caused Real Madrid’s foiled attempt to re-sign him in January).
That, in essence is why Nistelrooy’s legacy at United will always be incomplete. He could, and perhaps should, if it weren’t for a few ill-advised misnomers, still be a United player. You can keep your Berbatov, I’ll take Ruud thank you very much Mr Ferguson.
4: Dennis Law 1962-73
7 of 10
Apps for United: 309
Goals: 171
Dennis Law stands on a plinth outside Old Trafford, iconised in Bronze, a testament to the attacking triumvirate that bore United to the top of the footballing world during the 60’s. In my opinion, the greatest compliment that you can serve Law is, when standing alongside George Best and Bobby Charlton, that he deserves to be there.
Law signed for United in 1962 for a then British record £155,000 deal from Serie A side Torino. A previously competent career was then catapulted into the pantheons of the greats as Law revelled in the attacking role he was afforded, scoring an incredible 237 goals in 409 United appearances.
In addition, Law became the first and only player from north of the border to win the prestigious European Player of the Year award.
"The King," as United fans came to know him, still holds the club record, by scoring a ridiculous 46 goals in all competitions, including 28 in the league in a single season.
Law further set himself in the hearts of United fans everywhere after he had left the club on a free transfer, joining former club and United rivals, Manchester City. In theory, the move to a bitter rival would be sufficient to ostracise Law completely from all at OT, that coupled with the goal that relegated United in the 1973-74 season, and Law is a virtual pariah.
Yet this is not the case. He refused to celebrate the goal or revel in his former teams misfortune, leaving the pitch with his head bowed. It was to be Law’s last professional game, as he retired at the end of the season.
To remember a true gentleman who gave his all in service of the Manchester United shirt, with the flair and style of a deserved European Player of the year, I don’t think a statue could be more fitting.
3: Cristiano Ronaldo 2003-09
8 of 10
Apps for United: 196
Goals: 84
He came as an impetuous teenager prone to melodrama and temper tantrums in a £12 million pound deal from Sporting Lisbon. He left a slightly less tantrum prone 24 year old at a staggering £68 million profit. In the intervening period, if you put the histrionics and overzealous propensity to fall over aside, he was an inspiration.
The boy from Portugal taught the world what was possible, he showed us what one could do with two legs and one ball, he became the poster boy for a generation. Boys, girls everyone loved him (although it has to be said for the majority these were for contrasting reasons).
Considering that Ronaldo only really had three years for United at the very top of his game, his record is outstanding. World Player of the Year in 2008, World Team of the Year every year for the last five years, 84 goals from 196 league games and over 120 in all competitions; all this from one who started out as a wide midfielder.
But like many other extremely talented individuals, Ronaldo was prone to boredom and so, in at the end of the 08/09 season, after a long courtship egged on by Ronaldo’s statements of intent, Real Madrid got their man. United got their £80 million, and quite possibly the most aesthetically pleasing player in the history of English football was gone.
At Real, Ronaldo has maintained his ludicrous scoring habits, albeit now as a fully fledged striker. Wherever the rest of his quite brilliant career may take him, it was in the Theatre of Dreams that his career was made.
2: Eric Cantona 1992-97
9 of 10
Apps for United: 144
Goals: 64
Eric Cantona is one of the most unique soccer players to ever put on a pair of cleats. The man with the collar upturned, cape like around his neck was the Premier league’s original playboy, a maverick. And the people absolutely loved him.
Cantona is, by many, credited as the man who was the catalyst for the renaissance of Manchester United during the 90’s. So much so, in fact, that in a 2001 poll of United fans to find their “player of the century, Cantona reigned supreme, number one.c
I can’t say that I adhere to that school of thought, well he’s not even number one on this list so that’s obvious, but his contribution to Manchester United cannot be doubted.
In Cantona’s first full season, the inaugural season of the Premier League, Manchester United, largely driven on by the Frenchman, won their first league title since the 1967 season. What followed was an unprecedented period of dominance for United right up to the present day, which has seen them go equal with perennial powerhouse Liverpool as the most successful English club side of all time.
In his five seasons at Old Trafford Cantona scored an impressive 80 goals in all competitions, yet his contribution was more than this. His goals and general ability with the spherical ball reinstated a once great team to the highest echelons of English football. He returned success to cupboards that had long laid bare, and to be honest a footballer cant really do more than that.
1: George Best 1963-74
10 of 10
Apps for United: 361
Goals: 137
A saying that was coined in Manchester during Best’s period at the club sums up the man: “ Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best.” Simple and conclusive, 6 short words that speak a thousand more.
Incredibly, during his long career, George Best turned out for no fewer than 18 clubs, but it was his time at Manchester United that defined the legend.
A mesmerising genius, yet a flawed one; the player that Pele himself called “the best player I have ever seen”, with the ball at his feet had few to match him. Off the field though the situation was different, brief dalliances with numerous women resulted in a reported three children (although only son Callum is recognised as Best’s offspring in the media sphere at least).
Best suffered from an alcohol problem for much of his adult life, but the problem was really compounded upon his leaving Manchester United. Arrests, ill advised media appearances even theft, the signs of the waning star of the Best was there for all to see.
Yet when the time came the shock was no less raw. It was inevitable yet almost unexpected, people had presumed that the bumbling fool that George Best had become would just endure. Yet it was that in 2005, a lifetime of abuse caught up with him as he was admitted to the intensive care unit at Cromwell hospital, London. A month later, apparently at his own request, the British tabloids ran a picture of Best on his death-bed with the message “don’t die like me.”
Five days later on November 25th 2005, treatment on George Best was halted, he died later the same day of multiple organ failure.
Best’s passing tore a visible hole in the heart of the footballing community. His death was most certainly self-inflicted, but this did nothing to lessen the pain of his passing. 100,000 people lined the streets for Best’s last march from his family home Cregagh Road, east Belfast to his final resting place in Roselawn cemetery. Tired of this world, the Best had moved on to pastures new.
It is not how he ended up that Best should be remembered though. Remember Best in his heyday as 1968 European player of the year, poster boy of the swinging 60’s and quite possibly the Best player the world has ever known.
