Eric Cantona: United's best signing?

[Dowdsy McDowds]

...of the Premier League era.

I was watching Premier League years earlier and it was the 95/96 season. The season United won their 3rd title, the season Keegan went batshit, the season Hansen claimed "you can't win anything with kids" and the season Cantona returned after being banned for kicking a Crystal Palace fan.

While the kids proved they had the talent, Cantona was undoubtedly the catalyst of that season for United and a central figure in their regaining of the league and victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup.

He was only at United for a few years, but was such a key figure in getting them on the road to prolonged success that it's quite strange to think what would have been if he hadn't signed with them and given them his spark.

United have made some great signings over the years, such as Solskjaer, Ronaldo, Ferdinand, Rooney, Keane and more recently Chicharito. Solskjaer and Chiharito have been bargain signings and had a great impact on the field and were/are firm fan favourites, Ronaldo was exciting, a flair player and the world's current most expensive footballer.

However only Keane was also signed around the same time as Cantona and was as tenacious, dedicated and consistent as anyone could have hoped for. Where Keane added grit and determination to the midfield, Cantona could practically waltz around the pitch and do things that caused the crowd to gasp in amazement.

So, of the Premier League era, is Cantona still United's best signing?

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Without a doubt. Cantona cost less than £2m and was the catalyst for Manchester United ending their 20+ wait for the league championship, and continued to be be their main man, inspiration and hero until his early retirement in 1997. He is justifiably known as "King Eric".

Alex Ferguson has made a vast number of inspired signings as Man Utd manager, as you have already mentioned, but even players such as Keane, Ronaldo, Solskjaer and has groomed many world class players over the years such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

However, although all these players could go out and win a match for the club, none of them could single-handedly inspire the team the heights that Cantona could. He really was an icon. His return from suspension in the 1995-96 season basically changed the course of the title race. Utd were 12 points behind Newcastle, but ended up winning the title easily. Eric Cantona was the reason for this. He scored the only goal in many 1-0 victories that season, including one against Newcastle, and just seeing his name on the team sheet struck fear into the hearts of the opposing team. He was able to drag his team-mates up another level and he just oozed quality.

He was the maverick that the fans idolised, his team mates looked up to and could do things in games that hardly any other player could. He is rightfully held up with the Utd greats like Best, Law, Charlton and Giggs, and so he should be.

From his iconic upturned collar, the arrogance he had on the field to the way he inspired his team mates, Eric Cantona was more than just a player for Man Utd, he was their leader and the catalyst for their success. He got them to the top, and kept them there.

Great thread, I hope young Man Utd fans realise just how good and important this man was for their club. The £1.2m spent on him is one of the greatest deals in modern football history, and Leeds Utd must be kicking themselves that they let such a talent, albeit a flawed genius, go for such a small fee.

If he was playing today, Cantona would be worth a fortune. Ooooooh Aaaaahhh Cantona!

 

[Барбоса]

No, he is not.

As great a player as he was for the club, there are so many others that rank above him in my estimation. I won't go into detail regarding the oldies like Charlton, Best and Law and what they did for United but the main reason I do not think that Cantona is United's best signing is that he was surpassed in importance by one of his contemporaries - one who cost less, played longer and won more and who Sir Alex Ferguson described as the "Bargain of the Century"

Spoiler

How many times during the 90s did Man Utd play shite and yet win 1-0 because Schmeichel refused to concede a goal (althoughadmittedly, on many occasions it was Cantona that scored the goal)? I think it was 1995-1996 where he and King Eric virtually won the Premiership by themselves.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

While Schmeichel is among one of the greatest signings Manchester United and Ferguson have made, the question was posed regarding the Premier League era which Peter just missed out on. (As in being signed during, as Schmeichel joined in 1991)

I agree what you said regarding the 95/96 season, those 2 were the perfect balance to the team, with Peter's voice carrying into midfield and Cantona being that reassuring presence higher up the pitch. Whenever you have that balance within a team, then you're onto something good. If the players in between are of a high and consistent standard, then that can be a tough team to break down.

Will De Gea and Chicharito be the equivalents? I can't see that happening, but I think that's what makes the United team of the 90s still so special and revered, insofar as the fact that it is extremely rare to get such a great combination at opposite ends of the field who will spur the rest of the team on.

Appreciate the comments though!

 

[Lugar]

Without a doubt the best Premier League signing of any team not just Man U. In just 5 years Le God won 4 titles and 2 FA cups, if not for the 3 foreigners rule in effect at the time would have probably added European titles to that as well. He influenced the young players coming through the system to such an extent that Beckham, Scholes, Butt and the Nevilles went on to dominate for another decade plus. Just to think it came about during a chance phone call between Fergie and Howard Wilkinson when Dion Dublin hed broken his leg.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

While Schmeichel is among one of the greatest signings Manchester United and Ferguson have made, the question was posed regarding the Premier League era which Peter just missed out on. (As in being signed during, as Schmeichel joined in 1991)

I agree what you said regarding the 95/96 season, those 2 were the perfect balance to the team, with Peter's voice carrying into midfield and Cantona being that reassuring presence higher up the pitch. Whenever you have that balance within a team, then you're onto something good. If the players in between are of a high and consistent standard, then that can be a tough team to break down

I would probably agree that Schmeichel was almost as key to Utd's success as Cantona was. He was quite simply the best goalkeeper in the world, and it is astonishing business that Utd spotted him and brought him in for such a low fee. He won a hell of a lot of games for Utd during his spell at the club, as did Cantona.

I could also put a case forward for Roy Keane being one of the clubs best signings during the Premier League years. Yet again, another inspirational driving force behind the team, and one who could motivate his colleagues to up the level of their performances and win matches when the chips were down as well as being a damm good player himself, and worth the British record fee that was paid for him.

With the backbone of the team in Cantona, Schmeichel and Keane, the additional experience of Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Paul Ince and Mark Hughes, and the class of '92 coming through, it is no wonder that Manchester United dominated the early years of the Premier League, and continued that success for many years afterwards.

They have been pure quality throughout the Premier League years, and I have grown to have immense respect for Sir Alex Ferguson and all he has achieved. He is arguably the greatest manager in British football history.

 

[Miko]

They have been pure quality throughout the Premier League years, and I have grown to have immense respect for Sir Alex Ferguson and all he has achieved. He is arguably the greatest manager in British football history.

I'd say Paisley or Clough, guys that didnt just dominate domestically but in Europe as well, Fergie's always struck me as seriously, seriously lucky.

Anyway, of the Premier League era, well I was just about to agree with Barbossa until it was rightly pointed out that Peter came in before the Prem, so yeah, without a doubt, especially when the price factor is considered as well it is Cantona. Just that celebration (you know the one) typifies the kind of player he was, class, fuckin arrogant as well. Brilliant though.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I'd say Paisley or Clough, guys that didnt just dominate domestically but in Europe as well, Fergie's always struck me as seriously, seriously lucky.

Paisley is a contender, but Clough's a bit of a stretch. He had a good period of success but couldn't sustain it.

Fergie is lucky? Come on now, he's been a consistently fantastic manager since his days with Aberdeen where he broke the Old Firm dominance for several years and beat Real Madrid to win the European Cup! If that had been all he had done, then yeh, I could see the argument for him being lucky.

However he then moved south to Manchester, set about putting his stamp on the team under the guidance of Sir Matt Busby and saved his job with a cup run that culminated in them beating Crystal Palace for the FA Cup in 1990. Since then he hasn't looked back and built the team with the careful balance of youth, experience and decent personalities who the Old Trafford faithful adored.

That's not luck, that's confident management and self-belief.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Just that celebration (you know the one) typifies the kind of player he was, class, fuckin arrogant as well. Brilliant though.

[YOUTUBE]WmDTh-hlL8A[/YOUTUBE]

That one?

Pure quality, a wonderful goal from a wonderful player and the celebration just oozes arrogance and style. Cantona knew he had just scored a classic, knew how good he was and the way he just turned to the crowd as if to say "I am the man" just stuck with me. So cool, and perfectly sums up Cantona and what he was all about.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Just that celebration (you know the one) typifies the kind of player he was, class, fuckin arrogant as well. Brilliant though.

Yeh that celebration is about as iconic as his up-turned collar. One of the best moments in football just seeing a guy near the end of his career surrounded by adoring fans and just embracing their cheers like a King, which he was.

In 'Looking For Eric' I think he talks about this goal/celebration too and it's one of my favourite scenes. Whether or not he actually felt as he says he does in the film doesn't really matter to me. If a statue goes up of him I'd love it to be based on that, sums him up perfectly.

God I miss him!

 

[a0161613]

As good as he was, he was the tip of the sword that dominated the Premiership for United in the mid 90's. The bit that did a lot of the damage but was helped so much by the rest of his team and poor opposition.

So yeah, Cantona is not United's best signing of the last 20 years. That would be Cristiano Ronaldo who did everything that Eric did and more before being sold on for a massive profit. Won everything Cantona didn't, including the Champions League and then became one the best flashy players of all time, in a more competitive league with a weaker team.

It kills me to say it but Ronaldo is twice the player Cantona was because he is more arrogant knob than Cantona. I would go so far as to say that Cantona wouldn't be in a Man United best 11 ever, not from my point of view.

 

[Tastycles]

There have essentially been a few different United generations that have won the league. Cantona was only pivotal to the first one. While not counting as signings, Scholes and Giggs were far more important over the history of the Premier League, and arguably Gary Neville too. The answer though, is definitely Cristiano Ronaldo.

In 2003, when Beckham left, United were at a huge turning point. Keane was old, and there was no real talisman. van Nistelrooy was obviously good, but was hardly the sort of player to do anything single handedly, and people like Alan Smith and Wes Brown were first teamers. Over the following three seasons United won two cups, while Arsenal went a year unbeaten, and Chelsea hired Jose Mourinho and bought the Portuguese national side on the way to the league. Meanwhile, Liverpool won the Champions league.

Throughout that period, Ronaldo was able to grow and improve, and as he did so, so did United. He then basically won the league three times in a row on his own, before leaving at an immense profit to the club, which was then re-invested in the players that have just won them the league again.

More importantly than his direct impact though, the success of Ronaldo and Rooney changed United's transfer policy from buying the likes of Alan Smith and Juan Sebastien Veron, to buying young players. All ten of their outfield players in the Champions League final made their debuts before they were 25.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

As good as he was, he was the tip of the sword that dominated the Premiership for United in the mid 90's. The bit that did a lot of the damage but was helped so much by the rest of his team and poor opposition.

So yeah, Cantona is not United's best signing of the last 20 years. That would be Cristiano Ronaldo who did everything that Eric did and more before being sold on for a massive profit. Won everything Cantona didn't, including the Champions League and then became one the best flashy players of all time, in a more competitive league with a weaker team.

It kills me to say it but Ronaldo is twice the player Cantona was because he is more arrogant knob than Cantona. I would go so far as to say that Cantona wouldn't be in a Man United best 11 ever, not from my point of view.

I understand what you're getting at with Ronaldo as he was a key figure in the re-invention of the team after Chelsea threatened dominance, no doubt about that whatsoever. Where I think Cantona edges Ronaldo though is that he was the main elder figure who the young guys like Scholes, Giggs, Butt and Beckham all seemed to look up to and grow in stature in quite a short space of time, Giggs less so as he had been in the team for longer than the others.

Ronaldo was faster, has a fierce shot and amazing dribbling skills, but again Cantona was more of a team conscious player compared to Ronaldo as an out-ball type player which sometimes back-fired massively; Rome 2009 being the best example. Since he's left United, and I apologise for the pun in advance, but they do seem like a more united team now with everyone working hard for each other. Take Valenica in the semi-finals against Chelsea this year for example, he was running back to assist Rafael almost as much as Rafael would run forward to assist Valencia which made them much harder to break down. Ronaldo and to an extent Nani are more attack only minded players who don't seem to cover their full-backs like Park and Valencia.

Both were fantastic servants to United though and worthy bearers of the infamous 7 shirt, but I still believe Cantona is the better signing due to him being integral to the genesis of United's Premier League dominance which then gave the following generations an example to follow and indeed surpass with the Champions League finals.