1. Goalkeeper. Peter Schmeichel, was a world class keeper, and one of the best in the game in his prime. Edwin Van Der Sar is however a better goalkeeper, if only just. In fact his spacial awareness and shot stopping are far superior to that of Schmeichel, who whilst we all remmber from kind nostalgia, we always forget that his shotstopping and attempts to win the ball in the air, which often left a lot to be desired. Van Der Sar, if only just.

2. Right Back. First of all your argument is invalid as both Wes Brown and Rafael are wing backs, as opposed to Gary Neville, who is more of a natural full back, different types of players with different uses. To this I’d definitely favour Rafael and Wes Brown, because both the aforementioned players are of the highest caliber whilst Gary Neville well, isn’t. He’s a decent professional who shows great passion, but technically is a consistent yet limited player, he’s often been left embarrassed by left sided players for his lack of pace and United themselves have suffered for this inadequacy over the years. Rafael will go on to be a world class wing back, whereas Wes Brown would have ended Neville’s first team career years ago if not for the injury troubles that have plagued him for years.

3. Left Back. You can’t be serious? No really. Just hilarious. Denis Irwin was an efficient squad player and little more, whilst Patrice Evra is currently the best LB in world football. Irwin could only dream of reaching the levels Evra has in the past three or four years. Seriously, think again.

4. Centre backs. An interesting one, though one with a definitive anwser. It just has to be Vidic and Rio, a partnership which is currently the best in world football. Yes I agree that Jaap Stam was a world class defender at his peak, but he cannot hold a torch to Rio Ferdinand, who has been the best cb in world football for the last 4 or 5 years now. As For Ronny Johnsen, please, efficient at the time, but wouldn’t get near the united lineup now.

5. Wingers. I’ve changed your argument slightly as you were pitting midfielders with completely different roles and characteristics against each other, which makes for an inaccurate comparison. In terms of wingers, United 99 had Giggs and Blomqvist as well as two makeshift wingers in Solskjaer and Jordi Cruyff. whilst our present Unite side has, Nani, Valencia, Obertan and Bebe. Now from the former list, only one winger would get into our current united side, that being of course, Ryan Giggs. even then, he is no match for what Nani will become within the next couple of years, that being one of THE BEST players in the game. Whilst Giggs was and is a world class player, he never quite achieved the levels that Nani, somewhat predictably will go on to achieve, in fact I’d say Nani is already better now than what Giggs was then. And as for the backup, Valencia/Obertan or Blomqvist/solskjaer? No disrespect to those players, but the current crop of players are of a far higher caliber, that distinction being found from decent role players, and world class talent.

6. Middle of the park. This is where the United 99 squad really put up a fight, first off with Paul Scholes, who was and still is an attacking midfield player of the highest calibre. The same can be said of Roy Keane, who was one of the best holding midfield players of his generation, and played an astronomical part in United’s European success of that time. In addition to this, the treble winning side also had useful squad players in the shape of Beckham and Butt, who both had useful qualities, particularly Beckham, who survived in the side for as long as he did largely down to his efficiency from set pieces. however, the current United crop at full strength harness adequate competition, with the likes of Hargreaves, Carrick and Anderson all being players of the highest calibre, not least Anderson, who I believe, much like Nani, will go on to become one of the best players in the world. Whilst somewhat speculative, it is safe to say Scholes as an attacking midfielder never quite achieved that level of ability, whilst Anderson is already knocking on the door now. Physically, technically and with explosive pace, Anderson matches Scholes passing ability whilst also demonstrating immense individual ability. For me It’s Ando, though I understand if people disagree with me for the time being. You’ll see. Whilst Carrick matches all of Beckham’s passing attributes, he also exceeds him through his defensive/interceptive qualities, and his reading of the game. Hargreaves meanwhile cannot match the overall package of Roy Keane, but certainly gives him a run for his money in such a comparison.

7. Strikers.
Well the final contestants are the deadly duo of Yorke and Cole, who whilst being very consistent and offering a variety of playable options up front, cannot hope to hold a torch to the individual qualities of Berbatov, Hernandez, and Owen. That is of course not even mentioning the beast that is Wayne Rooney, who is probably worth 40 Cole/Yorke combinations. One of the best players in the game at present, Rooney would have won the European cup on his own last season, if not for his unfortunate injury against Bayern Munich. We also have Sheringham and Solskjaer to add to the mix, who whilst admittedly were superb footballers, could never compete with the individual qualities of Rooney and Berbatov, their just in a different league. Quite simply a no brainer to finish. Ok, I might trade Owen for Cole, maybe.

anyway that’s a far more realistic perspective of how the two teams would match up. Whilst the treble winning side were compact, with a bulky 4-4-2, it was all about possession football. Nowadays their’s mainly a 4-5-1/4-3-3 being employed, with an emphasis being placed on pace and power, as well as technical ability to simply counter attack teams to death. It’s important to note that the Premier League has come a long way in the last ten years, from being a league with the odd world class player here and there, to a league where you need an entire line up of world class talent to compete, something that is reflected clearly in this debate. Still it’s an interesting comparison, though their is only one clear winner here.

I’m not hearing a great deal to back up the counter argument though.