In the boys playground that is England football, the talk yesterday was of whether the new boy, Joey, would get on with the smart boy, Frank, and whether Stevie would be the new head boy. The chatter even extended to whether the wide boys, Aaron and Kieron, would attack some Spanish passers-by. Yet everyone missed an old boy, Scholesy.
English football has thrown up a few candidates for footballer of the year and no one deserves the award more than Paul Aaron Scholes, the softly spoken big noise of Manchester United's midfield. He is the man for all reasons, a coach's dream, an inspiration to any child with asthma and a welcome antidote to the bling brigade. Old Trafford reverberates to "Paul Scholes he scores goals" but he does so much more. Scholes delivers passes and trophies.
Of course, other candidates present themselves in a season of fluctuating standards of entertainment, such as Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien at Chelsea, even Scholes' club-mates Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo. Others excel elsewhere, including Morten Gamst Pedersen, Joleon Lescott, Kevin Doyle, Dirk Kuyt, Sol Campbell, Jonathan Woodgate, Cesc Fabregas, Gilberto Silva and Obafemi Martins.
Narrowing the field, Ronaldo's attacking verve and refusal to wilt under constant abuse certainly places him on the podium with Drogba and Scholes. In the results-driven world of modern football, some may feel it matters little whether Ronaldo occasionally tumbles, as at the Riverside and White Hart Lane this season, or that Drogba engages in hilarious stand-up spats with opponents like Jens Lehmann. All's fair in love, war and the pursuit of set-pieces.
Scholes does not stoop to such ruses. Unlike Gary Neville and Ronaldo, Scholes could not be found haranguing the referee, Mark Clattenburg, at Spurs on Sunday. He should really have been in Clattenburg's book for a series of lunges, but officials like Scholes because he gives them no grief.
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For a midfielder whose game revolves around timing and composure, Scholes is actually a dreadful tackler, the one overt weakness in his rich armoury. He even holds the dubious distinction of being the only England player sent off at the old Wembley in 223 internationals. It was such a nasty tackle that the Swedish victim, Hakan Mild, demanded English journalists examine the damage, a collection of Scholes' stud-marks in his leg.
Twelve years and five months after his United debut, Scholes is still going strong, shrugging off early breathing difficulties and more recently blurred vision. Along with longevity, the long-range goals (like against Aston Villa this season), the well-timed runs (against Scotland in the play-offs for Euro 2000) and refusal to be a diva or a diver, the reason why Scholes should be cherished is because he has that rare English gift of treating the ball as a friend, not a hot potato.
Game after game, season after season, Scholes gives a masterclass in the use of possession. When England launch themselves into Spain at Old Trafford tomorrow, the ball will move most sweetly between the feet of Fabregas, Xavi and Xabi Alonso. Without Scholes, England too often waste possession.
He learned from Eric Cantona, eventually succeeding the French magician in the United team. The Frenchman's good advice, famously dubbed Norman Wisdom, was never to give the ball away cheaply, always work and train hard, always believe. The difference was in their idols: Cantona revered Sartre, Scholes worshipped Andy Ritchie.
Down to earth, Scholes deserves praising to the heavens. He will have this observer's vote for the writers' Footballer of the Year. Anyway, ask Scholes' peers who they consider the players' player of the year. Fabregas and Thierry Henry will both answer "Paul Scholes".