Former Man United star disputes Gary Neville’s ‘greatest team’ claim

Paul Ince has argued against Gary Neville’s claim that the 2007/08 Manchester United team was the best in the club’s history, suggesting that only two players would “definitely” make it into the side he was a part of.

The Red Devils won both the Premier League and Champions League in 2008, with Neville captaining the side to those triumphs.

That team is widely regarded as one of the best in the Premier League era, along with the likes of the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ in 2003/04 and the Manchester City ‘Centurions’ in 2017/18.

However, in an interview with the Evening Standard, relayed on the Metro, Ince states that a number of his former teammates were better than the class of 2008 and says Neville is “way off the mark” in his judgement.

He said: “I disagree with that. If you take out Ronaldo and Rooney – Gary Neville was one of the best right-backs in the world.

“I’m not going to say (Patrice) Evra was a better left-back than Denis Irwin, that’s for sure.

“Pallister was similar to Rio (Ferdinand) in the way they play. We know how great Brucey was for Man United.

“The midfield wouldn’t touch our midfield in 94 and then you’ve got obviously Ronaldo and Rooney who were world-class, but Cantona was world-class.

 

 

“When I look at that overall 2008 team, in my opinion there is probably only Rooney and Ronaldo, definitely, I’d have in my team.

“People forget how good Denis Irwin was. Football has changed, it gets quicker and [with] social media and radio with fans ringing in, players get more highlighted than in our time.

“If you watch Denis Irwin play, two-footed, took free-kicks, scored penalties, I don’t see many left-backs doing that. I didn’t see Evra doing that.

“I’ve got to disagree with Gary Neville there, I think he was way off the mark.”

Ince played 191 games for the Old Trafford club between 1989 and 1995, winning two First Division titles, two FA Cups, a League Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and three Community Shields.

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