How good was Bryan Robson in his pomp?

Redlips

Redlips

Well-known member
I am just a little bit too young to remember him in his peak at Man Utd.

I read yesterday he was voted by the ex Man Utd players as the second best player ever to have player for them.

We won the league the season he was player manager.

Imagine if he was fit enough to play in the 97 season and make an impact. If he was at his peak and playing would we have a fa cup under our belts?.

Which current player would you liken him to?
 
I'm definitely too young, but the Bryan Robson documentary captures his ability really well. It's clear he was an absolutely top player. The perfect box-to-box midfielder it seemed to me. Good passing, could score goals, never stop running and could get stuck in too. A better version of the peak Roy Keane I reckon.
 
No doubting he was a great player and a massive influence on the pitch for our promotion team in 94/95.
All action style made him very injury prone and he missed a lot of games through this.
I often have a debate with a United following work mate about him being world class in his prime. I was never sure he made it into the true world class bracket, the level occupied by Maradona , Zico, Socrates, Platini, Gullit, Van Basten etc at the time. He always just fell short of that level for me.

Still a great player and a transformational manager for us.
 
He was about 35 when he came to manage us in 1994 so well past his peak as a player. In 1994/5 he made a difference when he played. We lost once out of about 12 games.

I remember he was England's best player at the 1982 and 1986 World Cup, but by 1986 there was always issues with his injuries. He seemed to miss half a season.
 
Redlips said:
I am just a little bit too young to remember him in his peak at Man Utd.

I read yesterday he was voted by the ex Man Utd players as the second best player ever to have player for them.

We won the league the season he was player manager.

Imagine if he was fit enough to play in the 97 season and make an impact. If he was at his peak and playing would we have a fa cup under our belts?.

Which current player would you liken him to?
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Would recommend his documentary on Prime if you have access to it.

He was very good and carried a pretty average Man Utd team for quite a while.
 
Redwurzel said:
He was about 35 when he came to manage us in 1994 so well past his peak as a player. In 1994/5 he made a difference when he played. We lost once out of about 12 games.

I remember he was England's best player at the 1982 and 1986 World Cup, but by 1986 there was always issues with his injuries. He seemed to miss half a season.
Click to expand...
My recollection of 86 was that he seemed to be trying too hard, then got a shoulder injury which ruled him out for the remainder and England improved once he was out of the team. Happy to be corrected though if I'm misremembering.

Take no issue with your assessment of 82 though. Scored in the first couple of minutes of the opening game which set the tone. An obsession with getting Keegan fit ruined us later on in the tournament. Not the last time that kind of devotion to an unfit star man derailed WC preparation for England.
 
Not the most gifted of players imho, but a great player nonetheless. We could do with some of his determination and grit in the team right now.
 
If you picked a team to represent Earth vs Mars, you'd have to have Robson as defensive m/f, although he did more than that.
The first time I saw him play live was England vs Hungary at Wembley, when he was still playing for WBA. Time and time again he slid into a tackle and came away with the ball. That sort of aggression is too risky now which is why I wouldn't compare him (or Souness) to any current player.
Despite the changes in the game, he carried on for years at Man U with his pain-tolerance and his knack of getting important goals. Some would also say his ability to influence refs.
Some on here will remember his final match, age 40 playing at c/b for probably the first time, but looking like our best player.
 
Redlips said:
I am just a little bit too young to remember him in his peak at Man Utd.

I read yesterday he was voted by the ex Man Utd players as the second best player ever to have player for them.

We won the league the season he was player manager.

Imagine if he was fit enough to play in the 97 season and make an impact. If he was at his peak and playing would we have a fa cup under our belts?.

Which current player would you liken him to?
Click to expand...
James Mcarthur , runs the show when he plays for Palace.
 
He was the definition of the perfect midfielder between about 1982 and 1986, scored important and great goals and liked a tackle, considered as a defender when he was first picked for England. He put so much energy into his game and the term 'whole hearted' was invented for him, which is probably one of the reasons for his serious injuries. Past his best by the time he played for us, but you could see his class in that 94/95 promotion season, his legs had gone so some of the perfectly timed tackles of his 20s were less than perfect. He played hard, but also partied hard in the Atkinson United era, but was professional enough to knuckle down when Fergie came along. Personally didn't rate him as a tactician, which let down his management imho, perhaps with a coach alongside him rather than his drinking buddy Viv we would have achieved so much more? As a current player he had the tennacity of Calvin Phillips, with the energy and skill of Mason Mount.
 
Could pass, tackle, shoot and head the ball tremendously well. Influential on the pitch. Injury prone, whinging entitled vvanker when playing for Man Utd.
P1ss poor manager for us.
I wish Gibbo had employed an actual manager.
 
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