Paul Scholes - Loyalty pays off for both sides

In the past few days we have seen Paul Scholes receiving plenty of adulation from football fans after two outstanding performances against Chelsea and Newcastle United in the red shirt of Manchester United.

And it’s certainly well deserved as the Premier League’s quiet man continues to churn out top-class performances at the age of 35 and looks set to have a solid season with last year’s Premier League runners-up.

Four-years-ago, Scholes’ career looked like it was declining after a number of injuries hampered his performances, and he wasn’t a regular on the Sir Alex Ferguson’s team sheet.

However, now, as his manager pointed out, he’s had his first season in a long time last year where he remained injury free and that has helped him regain the level of performance that we saw from him in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In fact, some would say Scholes is a better player nowadays. Having had to curb his box-to-box style of his younger days, the Salford born midfielder now let’s the younger legs do the running as he picks out pass after pass with consummate ease.

Analysts, fans and opposition players seem flabbergasted that at his age he can still do it but it’s for the same reason the like of Paulo Maldini could keep going for so long at the top level – a loyalty to one club.

When Scholes was struggling with injuries a few seasons ago, it would have been easy for Ferguson to decide his midfielder’s days were up at the club and sold him on to a lesser club.

But the United boss never even thought of doing such as thing, as he was in debt to Scholes and he had to repay the faith the ginger haired number 18 displayed for Manchester United over the years.

Scholes’ head has never been turned by big-name clubs on the continent and he’s never been tempted to ‘face a new challenge’ as all these top stars seem to say when they sign on the line of a contract double their previous salary.

No, Scholes has stuck with the club he grew up supporting and his challenge has always been to help United win trophies and represent his country before his international retirement, there aren’t many more challenges bigger than that.

If the 35-year-old moved to another club five or six-years-ago, it is unlikely he would be still playing at the top level as other manager’s may have grown impatient with him when he continued to pick up niggling injuries and he could have found himself constantly out of favour.

Ferguson repaid his loyalty by sticking with him and is now reaping the benefits of having Scholes returning to top form as £18million man Owen Hargreaves struggles to get back to fitness.

It’s not been a risk for Sir Alex, he knew Scholes still had the burning desire in him and he knows the ability is still there from the midfielder.

But when you know a player inside out, when you grow a professional relationship with him and when he has helped bring you success in the past, you’ll always give him opportunities.

Staying with the same club also means less moving about, a solid base and not having to constantly adapt your playing style to suit different teams. Scholes knows how Ferguson works and he knows how United play better than most.

The same can be said for Scholes’ team-mate Ryan Giggs too as his loyalty to United has meant he is still being utilised at the top level but you also have to look at how the pair have dealt with the glitz and glamour of a professional footballer’s life – they shunned it and lived a normal life, well as normal as it gets for top class sportsmen.

There’s never been a story of Scholes urinating in the streets of Manchester at 5am or bedding an £800 hooker on a trip away. He’s a family man, and a better footballer for it.

Keeping himself out of the spotlight has helped him live a low profile life with less stress so he can just enjoy his football. And he certainly seems to be having fun on the pitch at the moment.

It is a shame that his interviews are as rare as a well-timed tackle from him, because he has spoken to Sky Sports after his last two games and it just proves how much of an intelligent football man he is.

But it’s all proof that young players living the high life and signing more contracts and sponsorship deals than Nike itself, won’t be around at the top level as long as Paul Scholes and if they are, certainly not putting in performances of his calibre. It’s just a shame he can’t tackle!