"Manchester United are the champions of England, the champions of Europe and that makes them the best team in the world. United have had some fabulous teams in the past but this one could be the best ever."
Was Gordon Strachan making his excuses in advance or was he offering a considered judgement when he elevated Fergie's Furies above the Busby Babes in the hours before Celtic's crushing Champions' League defeat at Old Trafford on Tuesday night?
There can be no denying that United 2008 comprise the team of all talents; even without the injured England quartet of Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves, Michael Carrick and Rio Ferdinand, Sir Alex Ferguson could afford to leave Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs on the bench. Easy to do when you have Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo to wreak their special brand of havoc on the hapless Celtic rearguard.
But does this line-up genuinely constitute the greatest United team of all time? How about the 1999 squad assembled around Giggs, Scholes, David Beckham and Roy Keane who won the Champions League, Premiership and FA Cup? The 1968 European Cup winning assembly who contained three European Footballers of the Year in Denis Law, George Best and Bobby Charlton? Or Sir Matt Busby's legendary Red Devils who were on their way to becoming the best side on the planet when they were tragically wiped out in the Munich air disaster?
Let us compare a few of the current players against the talents of those who perished on the runway that snowy night in 1958.
On current form Rio Ferdinand can justifiably lay claim to being the best defender in the world, but what of the great Duncan Edwards of whom Sir Matt's assistant Jimmy Murphy said: "When I used to hear Muhammad Ali proclaim to the world that he was the greatest, I would always smile. The greatest of them all was a footballer named Duncan Edwards."
Is it possible that Edwards was really that good? Greater, perhaps, than Pele or Alfredo di Stefano? Frustratingly, there being little film footage available of him in action, we must depend upon the evidence of eye-witnesses at the time. "He was the best player I've ever seen and the best footballer I ever played with played with," says Sir Bobby Charlton. "I always felt I could compare well with any player - except Duncan. He was such a talent, I always felt inferior to him."
And who [Scholes apart] in the present United midfield could challenge Eddie Colman? Known as "Snakehips" for his uncanny ability to slither round opponents, Colman - just 5ft 7in and 9st 2lbs - was as elusive as a ghost and possessed of a body-swerve the likes of which had never been seen before or since. A mesmerising dribbler (his Puskas-style "drag-back" was a popular show-stopper), Colman could also puncture the most impenetrable of defences with an inspired pass, leading Nobby Stiles to observe: "Colly was my hero of heroes."
Patrice Evra has established himself in the French national team but has there ever been a more accomplished left-back than United and England captain, Roger Byrne? Described by Sir Matt as "an aristocrat, a majestic footballer. Roger was so fast but at the same time controlled in his movement, like Nureyev", Byrne was a deceptive player; he came equipped with a weak left foot (a curious deficiency in a left-back you might think) was relatively poor in the air, and was loathe to tackle, preferring to nick the ball off a winger's toe like a stealthy pickpocket. With his pace and brains, however, Byrne was named by Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney as the opponent they least enjoyed playing against.
Like Ronaldo, outside-left David Pegg attracted the attention of Real Madrid (according to reliable sources, Busby's reaction was of the two-word variety) at a time when the England selectors regarded him as the logical successor to Finney. Graceful yet a devastating finisher, as a crosser of the ball Pegg was an early-day David Beckham as he proved during United's first foray into Europe in 1956 when he created eight goals in the 10-0 rout of Anderlecht in a mesmerising individual performance at Old Trafford.
Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov are rightly idolised by the Old Trafford faithful for their goal-scoring exploits; but when he died at the age of 26, Tommy Taylor had netted 131 goals in 191 games for United and 16 in 19 international appearances for England.
It is often said that Taylor was the most underrated England centre-forward of all-time; not by Matt Busby, however, who appreciated his full value to such an extent that in 1957 the United manager had no hesitation in turning down a world record bid of £65,000 (Dh387,000) offered by Inter Milan. As Munich survivor and 1968 European Cup winner Bill Foulkes put it: "I would rate Tommy as one of the all-time best centre-forwards in the game. And he had yet to realise his full potential."
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15
Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered
UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered
Bahrain – 210 infected, 0 dead, 44 recovered
Kuwait – 104 infected, 0 dead, 5 recovered
Qatar – 337 infected, 0 dead, 4 recovered
Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
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