The All-time Red?

Recently the Man Utd fan magazine picked Ryan Giggs as the greatest ever Man U player. It’s a tough call. My dad always said that Edwards was the best he ever saw but his career was tragically short. Giggs has played for 19 great years. Perhaps some comparisons can’t be reduced to a commensurable set of considerations..
Yet, one way to think about it is to compare the two great Utd players that had the longest carers, viz. Giggs and Charlton. As much as I admire Giggs, this is not a comparison that favours him. Charlton was better in every respect except tackling. It’s interesting how the recency effect works. I really don’t think there’s an adequate appreciation of just how good Charlton was. He was lightning fast – but didn’t look it. He was completely two-footed. He could beat defenders. He had a thunderous shot – I’d love to have seen what he could do with the balls they use now - and he was cool in front of goal. He was the best crosser of a ball that I’ve seen, including Beckham. And we haven’t got to his best talents yet. He commanded midfield in a completely unique way. No-one could get the ball off him. He was a master passer using spin, again with either foot, in ways that I don’t think have been surpassed. (The player most comparable in the use of passing was the Spanish Luis Suarez who played in the 60s; not the guy just signed by Liverpool, who, by the way, looks really good from the little I’ve seen of him).
Having opened this line of inquiry, though, I’m now forced to confess that of Charlton, Best and Law I think that he was the least, although not by much. I’ve said in other posts that Best was the finest player that I’ve ever seen and I’m sticking to it. He dribbled better than Charlton, didn’t have as ferocious a shot but was deadlier, was a shade behind Charlton in passing, but was a much better tackler and header. Law is harder to evaluate. He was a better header than almost anyone but ranked behind Best and Charlton in everything else except tackling (he was Best's equal) and the vital area of goalscoring in which he was one of the best compared against anyone. Law was unique in that he was both a great midfielder and pure goalscorer: I really can’t think of anyone like him. Finally, both Best and Law had incredible courage: this isn’t to out down Bobby but to tip the hat to two amazingly brave players.
The only other contenders are Keane and Cantona, both wonderful players in their own right. Cantona, however, was a striker and must be ranked behind Law. Keane played a different role but, again, as much as I admired him I can’t rank him with Law, Best and Charlton. In fact, I think the fan magazine got it right in giving the edge to Giggs over both. Beckham ranks with the next tier of Utd greats – along with Robson, Scholes, Hughes, Stam, van Nistelrooy, Rooney.
Funnily enough my favourite player is none of these: Paddy Crerand. Crerand was the best pure footballer that I've seen and he was tough as nails, too. He would always make a pass no matter what the situation and a gilt-edge pass at that. For a pro footballer he was unvbelievably slow but he made up for his lack of spedd with an incredible vision and unsurpassed ball skills. In one respect he was similar to Giggs: he never gave in to the crowd. Like Giggs he had days when he couldn't find a red shirt but he kept on trying to make the telling pass - just like Giggs has always done. Possession play has its place but its players like Giggs and Crerand create far more moments of magic when their uncanny passes find their marks.