Eric Cantona

[ibroxonian]

I have always been of the opinion that if Leeds hadn't sold him to Man Utd, they would not have had the record of success they enjoyed under Ferguson
He was the catalyst for the team that won his first league title

 

[Beanyrfc79]

I have always been of the opinion that if Leeds hadn't sold him to Man Utd, they would not have had the record of success they enjoyed under Ferguson
He was the catalyst for the team that won his first league title

And if Trevor Francis didn't ask Cantona to do a trial atSheff Wed then he would never have ended up at Leeds, probably denying Leeds that title win snd the following seasons battle of Britain.

 

[Haining84]

Cantona going mental on French TV having a pop at the Vatican and saying he's going to "F**k the pope up his ass"

 

[Clockwork Tangerine]

Clearly you know nothing about football. Guy was an absolute genius.

 

[Smkz23]

This coming Friday (25th) will be 24 years since his kung fu kick v Palace.

 

[Whitecarlos]

He was majestic.

 

[PunkScott]

I think he gets overlooked because Man Utd did better in Europe after he left, so Cole, Yorke, Sheringham etc. get more credit than he does.

There was also a campaign by Nike (I think) that had the caption:
"1966 was a great year for English Football. Cantona was born".

Gazza was born in 1967...we could have tweaked it to work for us.

 

[Lainey Love]

I’ve just turned my collar up in tribute to him.

An absolute genius, flawed or not

 

[Wilbour]

Genius and craziness go hand in hand.
OP is showing his ignorance.

 

[Northampton_Loyalist]

Are we genuinely asking a question revolving around whether Cantona was 'really that good'?

Stunned.

 

[Leedsbear75]

He wasn't the full shilling but by %^*& he was some player. He had skill and the gaul to pull of the amazing. Very good.

He had that good bit of nutter that it made it interesting to watch.

Also, how he's out of football he is still cool as %^*&.

The Gaul. I see what you did there

 

[Robert Prytz]

Fantastic player, vision was miles ahead of most players. A joy to watch at his peak and his unpredictability made him even more interesting.

 

[PunkScott]

At Euro 96 what was France's reasoning behind Cantona and Ginola being left out their squad?

 

[Smkz23]

At Euro 96 what was France's reasoning behind Cantona and Ginola being left out their squad?

Ginola was never a regular with the french team, he only won 17 caps and most were as a sub, Cantona was french captain before his ban for the King fu kick but lost his place due to the ban and was surplanted by the likes of Zidane, Jacquet wanted him to play as the striker but he refused as he wanted to be the playmaker so wasn’t picked.

 

[PunkScott]

Ginola was never a regular with the french team, he only won 17 caps and most were as a sub, Cantona was french captain before his ban for the King fu kick but lost his place due to the ban and was surplanted by the likes of Zidane, Jacquet wanted him to play as the striker but he refused as he wanted to be the playmaker so wasn’t picked.

Cheers. I was 10 at the time, but I can recall someone putting a bet on France because "They must be good if they can leave those 2 out"

Ginola was brilliant for Newcastle at the time.

 

[subversive_bear]

Are we genuinely asking a question revolving around whether Cantona was 'really that good'?

Stunned.

Classic FF mate.

 

[Captain Cutlass]

Cantona going mental on French TV having a pop at the Vatican and saying he's going to "F**k the pope up his ass"

Fan-bloody-tastic!
I'd never seen that before.
I always admired him as a world class footballer and the fact that he was a free thinker and didn't care if he was adored or demonised for his views on life.
The man's a true phenomenon!
Love it!

 

[SenoraCuellar]

An absolute shag of a man. His youtube channel is quality as the kids say.

 

[bristol_bnose2]

What the f88k op? Not that great?

Netball forum is that way.

 

[Mickethius]

Fantastic player.

But over 2 games he wasn’t good enough in the Battle of Britain.

Rangers won home and away.

Cantona was coming to the end of his time at Leeds by then, it had gone sour with Wilkinson, as a footballer he was simply genius at times but never really did it in the biggest games. I was gutted when he left Leeds for the scum but hey ho, dunno if it’s true or not but when asked at a Manchester United supporters club do who the best player he ever played with was he said Gary McAllister. I’d so like it to be true.

Oh and by the way, had the ref allowed our second goal at Ibrox then it would have been a different story

 

[Barrymoped]

For me OP, yes he definitely was!

His goal scoring stats only tell part of the story. He was never a great goal scorer, but scored enough, set up a good few but was an absolute inspiration to his team mates and the support who hero worshipped him.
The fact that 20 years after he retired the Man Utd fans still sing about him despite the unbelievable players they have had since.

 

[thetoptier]

the type of player that elevates the whole team, the crowd and whole club

manu were something like 8th when he signed having helped leeds to the league the previous season

 

[Hurleyreyes]

Anyone questioning if Cantona was that good, should really be thinking if Football is really the sport for them.

 

[Goity]

He was a class act, and crazy with it. The two very often go hand in hand!

Apparently the line between genius and insanity is very very fine!

 

[bluetonic]

Very good player. I doubt SAF would have put up with him if he wasn't, never mind build his team around him.

He was a genuis and an absolute steal for Man Utd at around £1m at the time iirc, he was the catalyst for the Scholes, Beckham etc and Giggs

 

[Fourladshadadream]

Cantona was coming to the end of his time at Leeds by then, it had gone sour with Wilkinson, as a footballer he was simply genius at times but never really did it in the biggest games. I was gutted when he left Leeds for the scum but hey ho, dunno if it’s true or not but when asked at a Manchester United supporters club do who the best player he ever played with was he said Gary McAllister. I’d so like it to be true.

Oh and by the way, had the ref allowed our second goal at Ibrox then it would have been a different story

He had a fantastic game down in Leeds.

Only Goram stopped him from scoring at least a hat trick

I only remember Gary MAC being a great player in his letter yrs.

Never forget the silence when Leeds scored in the 1st minute.
Then you heard the Leeds bench roar it was that quiet.

 

[Parlaneunderrated]

Marco Negri !!!

 

[Mickethius]

He had a fantastic game down in Leeds.

Only Goram stopped him from scoring at least a hat trick

I only remember Gary MAC being a great player in his letter yrs.

Never forget the silence when Leeds scored in the 1st minute.
Then you heard the Leeds bench roar it was that quiet.

The ban on away supporters was ludicrous, I managed to get two rangers fans tickets for ER, they were 3 para lads and we had a mutual friend. Happier times for both clubs, let’s hope that both are on their way back .

Respect.

 

[Ever Ready]

A genius footballer and a very clever guy as well. The whole seagull thing was a metaphor for the journalists hunger for a story.

 

[Beanyrfc79]

Ginola was never a regular with the french team, he only won 17 caps and most were as a sub, Cantona was french captain before his ban for the King fu kick but lost his place due to the ban and was surplanted by the likes of Zidane, Jacquet wanted him to play as the striker but he refused as he wanted to be the playmaker so wasn’t picked.

Ginola was the scapegoat for France failing to qualify for the '94 World Cup.

 

[Smkz23]

Ginola was the scapegoat for France failing to qualify for the '94 World Cup.

He was scapegoated by Gerard Houllier but was still picked by Jacquet after that.

 

[Blue Hotel]

I've a tenner on him to be in charge at Man U at the start of next season. 100/1.

There are stupider bets, he's offered himself for it when José went, and there are rumours that Man U may appoint a 'name' for the business side, with footballing considerations not really in it.

 

[Crown_Defender]

Great player.

As an aside I think some of us have a skewed memory of our night at Elland Road. Goram had a great game and had a couple of good saves from Cantona before he scored. We defended really well but I’m not convinced Bomber ‘had him in his pocket’ tbh.

 

[Fourladshadadream]

Leeds were unbeaten for a long time at ER.

Until we beat them and that’s when they started going downhill.

 

[dh1963]

Think of all the terrific players Man United have had in the last 30 years, and who is the only retired player their fans sing about?

 

[Thommo2006]

At Euro 96 what was France's reasoning behind Cantona and Ginola being left out their squad?

Ginola was punted from the France after they failed to qualify for USA 94. Their final qualifier I think against Bulgaria last minute they had the result they needed to qualify ginola gave the ball away trying something rather than just keeping possession and Bulgaria went and scored and France were out

 

[B33ADHD]

Remember him playing for Leeds, he was outstanding.

 

[Thommo2006]

Read a story by Paul Scholes. The likes of him butt neville were just breaking into the side the squad did an advert and the fee came to the players something like 600 quid each anyway the first team guys asked do you want to split it or just draw a name from the hat and that person gets all the cash. They agreed and someone won. Cantona came in the next day with cheques for all the academy boys with the amount they were due paid from his own pocket

 

[dorian blue]

Best player I’ve seen, simply amazing how good he was.

 

[Elder Duderino]

That's an actual Rolls-Royce of a footballer.

 

[Ticketybloo]

Absolute Nut Job but boy what a player.

 

[Mbt79]

Fantastic footballer, could have done much more, was disappointed when he walked away while still comparatively young.

Was a bit mental, but seemed to very self aware of it and didn't care.

 

[Glasgow Rangers (Sco)]

Great player, but you could argue Man Utd became a better team after he left