Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and the Top 10 Manchester United EPL Cult Heroes

Manchester United have over 300 million fans worldwide. Old Trafford holds about 76,000 supporters; the Stretford End more than 25,000. Each of these groups is a cult, worshiping the greatest football club in the world.

Each generation produces new heroes. How can you compare Duncan Edwards to Paul Scholes unless like me you saw them both?

Ji Sung Park receives the most fan mail at United—all from Korea where he is their most popular sports personality, but he wouldn't make most people's lists as a cult hero at United. Chicharito is already a cult hero in Mexico and the USA after just one season at United.

Three of the greatest cult heroes of all time are immortalised in brass outside Old Trafford—Best, Charlton and Law—but the Stretford End don't chant their names.

So when deciding on Manchester United cult heroes, do we only include the ones who are still sung about, or the ones who have gone down in history as fans' favourites?

There are so many candidates—different people have different preferences; how do you compare players from different eras? Who decides and what is the basis? Gary Neville played 602 times for United. Does he qualify? Diego Forlan earned cult status and he only played 98 times, taking the best part of two seasons to score a goal.

Nobody will completely agree with the final list, but each of them will be on somebody's list. To make it easier, I've split it into two lists. The present article is about cult heroes of the EPL era. Next week I'll add in the 10 heroes from the previous 114 years.

The list is not in any particular order. But we start here with a man on most people's lists: Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer.

If he was never remembered for anything else, he would be remembered for this moment in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, scoring at the death against Bayern Munich.

But Ole is remembered for much, much more such as when he played his last Premier League match for United against Blackburn—and scored; and his testimonial against Espanyol (scoring three), there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

And yet when Sir Alex first signed Solskjaer from Molde for £1.5 million, beating off competition from Everton and Manchester City, many fans must have thought the manager had lost the plot. He was almost unheard of outside Norway. He had, however, just scored two goals for his country in his first competitive international.

The best way to describe his impact is to compare his first season to that of Javier Hernandez. Ferguson had failed to sign Alan Shearer, but his new acquisition scored 18 Premier League goals in that first season, soon being nicknamed the "Baby Faced Assassin."

In an extraordinary career, sadly cut short by injury, Ole scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for United. He was the greatest "supersub" ever, holding the club record for goals scored coming off the bench with 28.

Given the squad number 20 when he signed, Ole was prepared to accept that he was unlikely to be first choice striker. But this is the type of player Sir Alex really appreciates: someone who thinks only of the team and is prepared to settle for what the boss gives him.

Sir Alex has often remarked on Solskjaer's ability to study the game from the bench, knowing the opposition weaknesses and coming on to exploit them. So it was no surprise when he qualified as an FA Coach, with managerial ambitions.

He seems destined for the top. Having successfully managed United's reserves, he is now running Molde, whom he has led to the top of the Norwegian Elite League in his first season.

Fans will have a myriad of memories of Ole: his winning goal in the ECL Final in 1999; scoring four times from the bench in a 8-1 defeat of Nottingham Forest; and another four against Everton.

He has been immortalised in a song by the Stretford End: "You Are My Solsjkaer"; and the famous "20 Legend" banner.

When you're approaching your 38th birthday and you're still playing for the same club after over 20 years, there are bound to be many memories that the fans will treasure. The goal above may be one of the greatest ever in any English game. Certainly United fans will never forget it.

When Ryan Giggs finally retires, he will join Paul Scholes and Gary Neville as among the greatest one-club players English football has ever seen. His playing statistics and records are impressive.

He is already the only player to score in every one of the first 21 seasons of the Premier League and who would bet against him adding to that extraordinary record this year.

He has played 878 competitive matches for United, scoring 159 goals plus 64 full internationals for his chosen country, Wales. If he'd chosen England, he would surely have surpassed even David Beckham's record.

Despite his recent tabloid notoriety, he remains a fans' favourite, immortalised in the songs "Giggs Will Tear You Apart—Again" and "Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs, Running Down the Wing."

No player has won more trophies in the game. Giggs' tally includes: 12 Premier Leagues, four FA Cups, four League Cups and two UEFA Champions League wins.

He was PFA Young Player of the Year twice; has made the PFA Team of the Year on six occasions; and was PFA Player of the Year in 2009—the same year that he was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

While Ryan has nothing else to prove to United fans, if he remains fit, who would rule him out of contention for the British Olympic Soccer team for 2012 as one of the over-age players? What a way for a hero to bow out.

"Ooh Aah Cantona" and "12 Cantonas." There's no doubt of how high Eric remains in the affections of United supporters. He is even revered by some for his infamous Kung Fu drop-kick on a Crystal Palace fan that got him an eight month FA ban in 1995. Two years later he was United captain.

He was yet another of Sir Alex's astonishing "bargain basement" signings. His arrival in November 1992 for £1.2 million was a shock, not just because he came from United's big rivals, Leeds United, but also that they had let him go.

While the reasons for his departure may remain shrouded in conjecture, he quickly established himself as a fans' favourite at United, with his flair, elan, ball skill and goal-scoring ability, in the air and on the ground.

Before Cantona's signing, United's season had been disappointing, but they went on to win the first ever Premier League title by 10 points, with the new striker scoring nine times in 23 matches.

Eric was not just a goal-scorer. He provided many assists as well and was often unselfish in the interests of the team. He had a commanding presence all over the field. He took over the number seven shirt from the legendary Bryan Robson and wore it with grace and gusto.

He won a total of four Premier League titles and two FA Cups with United and was voted both PFA Players and Football Writers Player of the Year during his short stay.

He retired at the end of the 1996/7 season, aged 30, having taken the team to yet another EPL title. While this was a huge disappointment to the manager and fans, he remains a firm favourite at Old Trafford.

During his playing career for Manchester United he scored 82 goals in 185 appearances, but it wasn't so much what he did as how he did it that made him a cult hero.

Paul Scholes is, to the Ferguson era, what Sir Bobby Charlton was to the Busby years. They will both be forever cult heroes, very much playing the traditional English No. 10 role.

Charlton and Scholes were both great strikers of the football with both feet and consummate headers. They could change the course of a game with one moment of brilliance. Scholes is probably best remembered as the best passer in football in the last 20 years or so—even better than David Beckham.

These quotes sum up why Scholes would be high on any list of all-time cult heroes in the English game, let alone for Manchester United:

"Scholes is undoubtedly the best midfielder of his generation." (Zidane)

"He is the one whose level I aspire to. He is the best player in the Premier League." (Cesc Fabregas)

"I have no hesitation in putting a name to the embodiment of all that I think is best about football, It's Paul Scholes." (Sir Bobby Charlton)

"I can't understand why Scholes has never won the player of the year award. He should have won it long ago. Maybe it's because he doesn't seek the limelight like some of the other 'stars'." (Thierry Henri)

And maybe the latter sums it up. Do you have to be flamboyant, or a character to be a cult hero? Not if you're Paul Scholes. There may never be another player like him. He played 676 times for his only club, Manchester United, scoring 150 goals.

Born in Salford, he must arguably be the greatest 'one-club' man of all time, spending 20 years with the club, 17 of which were in the Premier League.

It is beyond doubt that he would have set the all-time caps record for England if he hadn't retired from international football in 2004. Even at the age of 35, Fabio Capello was still trying to persuade him to come out of retirement and play in the 2010 World Cup Finals.

And the fans still sing "Paul Scholes, He Scores Goals."

"Keano, Keano, Keano." Roy Keane could do anything. He was the complete midfielder and an inspirational captain who led from the front, whether making a last ditch tackle or scoring goals. While he followed Paul Ince and Bryan Robson as midfield destroyers/creators, he was arguably the best of the lot.

You have to be a pretty special player to make a statement like this and still be iconic at Old Trafford:

"Away from home our fans are fantastic, I'd call them hardcore fans. But at home they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don't realise what's going on out on the pitch. I don't think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell football, never mind understand it."

Unfortunately, criticism of Mick McCarthy led to him being sent home from the Irish team and of his fellow players contributed to his leaving United.

Roy was the most successful United captain ever. He was uncompromising on the field, as well as off. "Aggression is what I do. I go to war. You don't contest football matches in a reasonable state of mind"

He sacrificed himself for the team in the ECL semifinal against Juventus, hauling United back from two goals down to win 3-2 and earning himself a yellow card in the process that kept him out of the memorable win over Bayern. It was one of the best performances on a football field in the modern era of European football.

Sir Alex had been after Keane for some time before he finally beat Kenny Dalglish to the punch with a record £3.75m transfer from Nottingham Forest in 1993. He stayed for 13 seasons and 481 appearances, scoring 51 goals.

Although Paul Ince and Bryan Robson were an established partnership when Roy joined the club, he broke in during his first season and in 1997 succeeded Eric Cantona as captain. In total he won 17 major trophies before moving to Celtic in 2005.

Often surrounded by controversy, his uncompromising style won matches for United and the hearts of the fans. In 2005, criticism of his manager and a clear hint that he would move elsewhere ended his Old Trafford career, but not his cult status on the Stretford End.

Wayne Rooney is the most popular of the current crop of "cult heroes" at Old Trafford. Apart from Ryan Giggs, however, he is the only one to make our list.

It is said that Sir Alex first watched him as a 10-year-old, not long after he joined Everton, but it was natural that Wayne would join his boyhood heroes from next door.

Playing his first senior match for Everton at just sixteen and a half, he first grabbed the attention of EPL fans with a last-minute winning goal that ended Arsenal's 30 game unbeaten run and made him the youngest scorer in Premier League history.

In 2004, Sir Alex paid £26 million for the then 18-year-old. He has been worth every penny. His agent had turned down a £12,000 a week offer from Everton and, following Rooney's "Mexican stand-off" with Ferguson and David Gill earlier this year, he now earns probably 20 times as much.

You have to be special to go through that and his tabloid turmoil and still be a fans' favourite. When it was rumoured a year ago that Wayne would consider joining Manchester City, there was an ugly fans revolt by a minority, but the majority were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, provided he was prepared to commit himself for the long term.

This he has now done, signing a new five year contract. In interviews he has not only apologised to the fans, but also intimated that he would like to spend the rest of his career at United. Only this week, his England captain, John Terry gave him another 10 years at the top (by which time he will be 35).

He was an instant hit on his debut, scoring a hat-trick against Fenerbahce and has gone on to score over 150 goals for United in just 326 matches. This is a top striker's record, despite him so often playing in a deeper or wider role.

Wayne would play every second of every match if he could. Like Chicharito, he is one of the first to arrive at training and the last to leave. While selfish as a goal-poacher, he is prepared to play where the manager wants him and is notably unselfish when a colleague is better placed.

Not thought of as bright by non-United fans, he is articulate, considerate and intelligent in his comments. He is surely lined up to succeed Vidic as captain.

Whenever he scores, runs on the pitch or off it, he is greeted with the "Rooney, Rooney" chant. He has been immortalised for his astonishing overhead goal against City last season. He is and will remain a cult hero despite all that has gone before.

In 1996 David Beckham became a folk hero for scoring an amazing goal against Wimbledon from just inside their half. In 2008 he bettered that with a spectacular 70 yard goal for LA Galaxy;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF97BO75YcQ

These aren't the only memories in a first class playing career that has to date spanned 772 games and 138 goals.

He somehow seems to draw more adverse comments from non-United fans than almost any other player except Joey Barton. Whether people resent his lifestyle, think he's "thick" or even merely average as a player, there are a fair few who think he should never have played for England at all, let alone 117 times.

And if he were ever likely to lose the support of United fans, it would either have been after he was sent off for England, playing against Argentina, or when he left United.

We may never know whether the incident of the "flying boot" contributed to his departure or not, but we do know that, Wayne Rooney apart, Sir Alex Ferguson has never let any player get bigger than the club.

Beckham was not only one of "Fergie's Fledglings" but also on the all-conquering squad that won six Premiership titles and the Champions League in a seven year period around the turn of the last century.

He has been described as one of the best passers of a football in the world and, with his trademark free kicks, has won or saved many crucial matches, no less so than the 2-2 draw with Greece that took England to the 2002 World Cup Finals.

He cannot be that bad a player if he's played for Real Madrid and AC Milan as well as United (and the latter in his thirties).

David's parents were fanatical United supporters and he signed schoolboy forms on his 14th birthday, making his debut at 17. He graduated from the United Academy with Scholes, Butt and the Neville brothers.

He has gone on record saying he would never join another EPL club, because his first love is United. This may be tested shortly by QPR.

He is always rapturously welcomed back at Old Trafford, as he was for Gary Neville's testimonial. Now 36, he plans to play another two years at least and is also one who would like to be considered for the 2012 Olympics, as a player or a coach.

Although Bryan Robson only played for United in the Premier League for two seasons, he played for a total of 13 seasons in all, including as captain for eight seasons. His stats of 345 games and 74 goals were very much restricted by a catalogue of injuries, some of which he played through.

He is one of four cult heroes to wear the No. 7 shirt and had very much the same uncompromising, never-say-die attitude of Roy Keane, although he would probably have made a better diplomat.

Arriving five years before Ferguson, from West Bromwich Albion for a then record £1.5 million, he played through a period of transition and turmoil, during which he won 11 major trophies—eight of them under Sir Alex. Although he almost joined Juventus in 1984, he instead signed for another seven years.

He is the sixth most capped England player of all time with 90 caps, including 65 as captain, scoring 26 goals.

Despite his recent troubles, including throat cancer and TV allegations, Robson remains a fan favourite, with his name being chanted at almost every match, despite him leaving 17 years ago.

You either love him or hate him. If you're a United fan, you probably adored him during the six seasons he gave to the club.

On the terraces, the argument raged as to who was better—Ronaldo or George Best? He sometimes even infuriated the supporters with his diving, but on investigation he was once shown to be the most kicked player in the Premier League.

He was first spotted as a "string bean" playing for Sporting Lisbon in a preseason friendly against United in 2003. After that match, the players implored Sir Alex to sign the young Portuguese who had torn the reds to shreds.

Once at United, he built up his weight and strength to become one of the fittest, biggest, strongest players in the world. Although nominally a winger, he should more correctly be classified as a striker. He has a bullet in both feet and is a consummate header of the ball.

He has often been thought of as selfish and even accused of such since his move to Real Madrid. In an extraordinary 2007/8 he scored 42 goals in 49 matches, eclipsed at Real Madrid with 86 goals in 89 matches in just two seasons.

In total for United he scored at a striker's ratio, with 118 goals in 292 games and 50 assists. During that period, he won nine major trophies, including of course the Champions League.

He could make you gasp with his step-overs, feints, mazy dribbles, swerving shots and unstoppable free kicks. It now seems clear that he always dreamed of joining Real Madrid and first agitated for a move during the 2007/8 season. Ferguson asked him for "one more year" in the hope that he would lead him to another Champions League triumph. This seems to have been confirmed by the tactics used in the 2009 final, with Ronaldo used as a lone striker.

Ronaldo will always be a legend at Old Trafford, even though he deserted for their major European rivals. Although he only stayed for six years, he left a multitude of memories and every time he was on the team sheet you knew you would see something special.

There were several other players who could have made our EPL list of United cult heroes, including: Ruud van Nistelrooy; Peter Schmeichel; Edwin van der Saar; Steve Bruce; Gary Pallister; Lee Sharpe; Andre Kanchelskis; Javier Hernandez (too soon); and of course Gary Neville.

Diego Forlan has a cult status all of his own. With his flowing locks, hairband and flamboyant style of play, you could never forget him. When he scored, he would rip off his shirt, flaunting his torso and run round like a banshee. On one occasion, he couldn't even get it back on again.

He had to be something special because, following his signing from Independiente of Argentina for £6.9 million in 2002, he didn't score a goal in his first 27 games for United and only scored 17 in a total of 98 appearances.

While he was disappointing in this respect, it was his work-rate and tireless scoring attempts that first endeared him to fans. He never became dispirited. In the end, apart from his first goal, he became a firm favourite: first by scoring a remarkable late volleyed winner against Chelsea; and then a legend after his two goals confined Liverpool to defeat at Anfield.

It seems extraordinary that Forlan didn't achieve more at Old Trafford because although he has suffered goal droughts elsewhere, he has gone on to become arguably one of the best strikers in the world and was best player at the 2010 World Cup. He also recently helped Uruguay to win the Copa America.

Although he was only at United for four seasons, he helped them win a Premier League title and FA Cup. He is still remembered at many matches with the song 'Diego Woah-Ohh-Ohh.

You cannot please all of the people all of the time. Although few may agree precisely with this chosen Top Ten Cult Heroes from the EPL era, there are many more who would have made an all-time list, inching out the likes of David Beckham, including, of course, Best, Charlton and Law, together with the immortal Duncan Edwards.

That selection is reserved for next week, with the Top Ten from the first 114 years of Manchester United's illustrious history.

If you don't agree with some of the choices here, please indicate your own choice instead.