Ryan Giggs.....1990 and still going.
By the time you come to read this, Ryan Giggs may or may not have made his 900th competitive appearance for Manchester United.
Therefore, in tribute to the longevity of one of Old Trafford’s greatest ever sons, we thought it might be an idea to cast our expert eye over his Premier League numbers down the years.
The Facts
Here is a season-by-season breakdown of the Welsh international’s top-flight performances for the Red Devils:
| Starts | Sub Apps | Goals | Assists | Yellow Cards | Red Cards | |
| 1992/93 | 40 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1993/94 | 32 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994/95 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| 1995/96 | 30 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996/97 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 1997/98 | 28 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998/99 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999/00 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 2000/01 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001/02 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002/03 | 32 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003/04 | 29 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| 2004/05 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| 2005/06 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| 2006/07 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| 2007/08 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 2008/09 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009/10 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010/11 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| 2011/12 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Overall | 499 | 91 | 107 | 199 | 32 | 0 |
- Ryan Giggs’ next Premier League start will be his 500th in the competition
- Ryan Giggs needs one more assist to reach 200 in the Premier League
- Ryan Giggs has never been shown a red card in the Premier League
Scoring Goals
Ryan Giggs has netted 107 goals in a total of 590 Premier League appearances (one every 5.51 games) and is the only player to have scored in every season since its creation in 1992. The following tables aim to put some meat on the bones of these numbers, so to speak:
Contact
| Left Foot | Header | Right Foot | |
| 1992/93 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 1993/94 | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| 1994/95 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995/96 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| 1996/97 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1997/98 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 1998/99 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999/00 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 2000/01 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2001/02 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 2002/03 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 2003/04 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 2004/05 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005/06 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006/07 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2007/08 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2008/09 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009/10 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010/11 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011/12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Overall | 81 | 12 | 14 |
- His left foot has been responsible for 75.70% of the goals scored in the Premier League by Ryan Giggs
- Amazingly, Ryan Giggs failed to score a goal with his left foot in the 1996/97 top-flight campaign
Range
| Six Yard | Inside Area | Outside Area | |
| 1992/93 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 1993/94 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| 1994/95 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995/96 | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| 1996/97 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1997/98 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 1998/99 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1999/00 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 2000/01 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2001/02 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 2002/03 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 2003/04 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2004/05 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2005/06 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2006/07 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2007/08 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2008/09 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2009/10 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 2010/11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011/12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Overall | 14 | 71 | 22 |
- Ryan Giggs has netted at least one goal from inside the penalty area in every season of Premier League football
- A total of 66.36% of the Premier League goals scored by Ryan Giggs have been netted from inside the penalty area (i.e. excluding those scored from within the six-yard box)
Set-Piece/Open Play
| Open Play | Corner | Free-Kick | Direct Free-Kick | Penalty | |
| 1992/93 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1993/94 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1994/95 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995/96 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996/97 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997/98 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998/99 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999/00 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000/01 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001/02 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002/03 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003/04 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004/05 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005/06 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006/07 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007/08 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008/09 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009/10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2010/11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011/12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Overall | 90 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
- No less than 84.11% of the Premier League goals scored by Ryan Giggs have come in open play
- Ryan Giggs has not scored from a set-piece in nine of the 20 Premier League seasons (including the current one)
- Ryan Giggs has scored seven direct free-kicks in the Premier League
Timing
| 0-15 | 16-30 | 31-45 | 46-60 | 61-75 | 76-90 | |
| 1992/93 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1993/94 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1994/95 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1995/96 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 1996/97 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1997/98 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1998/99 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1999/00 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000/01 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2001/02 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2002/03 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2003/04 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2004/05 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2005/06 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006/07 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2007/08 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2008/09 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009/10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010/11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2011/12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Overall | 15 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 24 |
- Ryan Giggs has netted 50 times in the first half of Premier League matches and 57 times in the second period
- Ryan Giggs has been at his most potent in the final 15 minutes of matches, netting 22.43% of his Premier League goals during this period
Home/Away
| Home | Away | |
| 1992/93 | 5 | 4 |
| 1993/94 | 5 | 8 |
| 1994/95 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995/96 | 6 | 5 |
| 1996/97 | 2 | 1 |
| 1997/98 | 7 | 1 |
| 1998/99 | 2 | 1 |
| 1999/00 | 1 | 5 |
| 2000/01 | 1 | 4 |
| 2001/02 | 0 | 7 |
| 2002/03 | 1 | 7 |
| 2003/04 | 5 | 2 |
| 2004/05 | 3 | 3 |
| 2005/06 | 3 | 0 |
| 2006/07 | 1 | 3 |
| 2007/08 | 1 | 2 |
| 2008/09 | 0 | 2 |
| 2009/10 | 3 | 2 |
| 2010/11 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011/12 | 0 | 1 |
| Overall | 49 | 58 |
- Ryan Giggs has actually scored nine more Premier League goals away from Old Trafford than he has done at the Theatre of Dreams
- Between 1999/00 and 2002/03, Ryan Giggs scored 23 Premier League goals on the road and just three on home soil
Opposition
| Opponent | Goals |
| Tottenham H. | 10 |
| Middlesbrough | 7 |
| Southampton | 7 |
| Everton | 6 |
| Newcastle Utd | 5 |
| Aston Villa | 4 |
| Birmingham C. | 4 |
| Bolton W. | 4 |
| Coventry C. | 4 |
| Fulham | 4 |
| Liverpool | 4 |
| Nottm’ Forest | 4 |
| Charlton Ath | 3 |
| Leeds Utd | 3 |
| Norwich C. | 3 |
| Oldham Ath | 3 |
| Q.P.R. | 3 |
| West Ham Utd | 3 |
| Wimbledon | 3 |
| Arsenal | 2 |
| Barnsley | 2 |
| Blackburn R. | 2 |
| Chelsea | 2 |
| Derby Cty | 2 |
| Sheff Wed | 2 |
| Sunderland | 2 |
| Watford | 2 |
| Bradford C. | 1 |
| Ipswich T. | 1 |
| Man City | 1 |
| Portsmouth | 1 |
| Stoke C. | 1 |
| W.B.A. | 1 |
| Wigan Ath | 1 |
- Ryan Giggs has found the net against 34 different opponents in the Premier League
- Swansea and Wolves are the only current top-flight clubs that Ryan Giggs hasn’t scored against in the Premier League
When Ryan Giggs Finds The Net…..
To finish off, here is a look at how Manchester United have fared in Premier League matches down the years in which Ryan Giggs has scored (the ‘Braces’ column indicates how many times he has struck two goals in a match):
| Won | Drawn | Lost | Braces | |
| 1992/93 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1993/94 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1994/95 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995/96 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1996/97 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997/98 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1998/99 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999/00 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000/01 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001/02 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2002/03 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003/04 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2004/05 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005/06 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2006/07 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007/08 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008/09 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009/10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2010/11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011/12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Overall | 79 | 11 | 6 | 11 |
- Manchester United have won 82.29% of the Premier League matches in which Ryan Giggs has scored
- Ryan Giggs has never netted a Premier League hat-trick
Summary
Ryan Giggs has been a star of the Premier League for 20 years, collecting 12 Premier League titles and establishing himself as an all-time great along the way. The Manchester United No.11 may have lost some of the searing pace that characterised his early career on the left wing, but he has compensated for that by evolving into a composed central midfielder in recent seasons. No player is irreplaceable, but the Welsh wonder surely comes close.