Manchester United Football Club News

• Nickname:Red Devils
• Founded:1878
• Manager:Sir Alex Ferguson

• Ground:Old Trafford
• Capacity:68,174

Scholes a United great - Fergie

22 Apr 2009 - 07:53:40

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Sir Alex Ferguson believes Paul Scholes will join a pantheon of Manchester United legends when he makes his 600th appearance for the club against Portsmouth.

Scholes, 34, has been a fixture in the United first team since 1994 and Ferguson believes the Salford-born midfielder should be regarded as one of the club's greatest ever players.

The former England midfielder will join an elite group of three others - Ryan Giggs, Sir Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes - to have made at least 600 appearances for the Red Devils should he feature against Pompey.

"At United, you can go back to the Best, Law and Charlton era," said Ferguson. "Before that you have Duncan Edwards.

"You are talking a wide panorama of players. But in my time he would be in the top six or seven without a doubt.

"His contribution and quality have been great, even without the fantastic goals he has scored.

"When he came on against Everton on Sunday, his first touch was better than anyone else's had been in the whole previous hour.

"He has that wonderful velvet touch on the ball. When he gets it, it goes stone dead.

"It is wonderful to see that amidst all the mayhem that can happen in a football match.

"It's fantastic, considering Scholesy's probably had three or four longish term injuries during his career.

"He had the eye problem, he's had two knee operations that kept him out for three months at a time, so he's probably missed over a year of football in that time.

"He would probably be closer to 700 now had he not had those injuries."