Strange role
It has been more than four years since Ryan Giggs left football. Last Saturday he made a television appearance as he walked onto the Etihad pitch. Salford City played Manchester City in the FA Cup and Giggs was assisting manager Karl Robinson, as he has been doing for the past three months.
He is a co-owner of Salford, along with several members of the former “Class of 92” at Manchester United, and the League Two club’s director of football. But Giggs has been on the bench for a number of games since October. One of Robinson’s assistants, Simon Wiles, left to take charge of United’s Under-15s. Then Alex Bruce, another assistant, suffered a family tragedy when his four-month-old nephew died, missing the game at Crewe on 19 October.
“Karl would really be left on his own,” Giggs told The Athletic, “So I said, ‘Okay, I’ll go into the technical area with you.’ It was just me and Karl, the physio, the goalkeeping coach and the sports scientist. I liked that. Karl liked that. And we saved a bit of money, not having to hire another coach.”
Salford drew 1-1 at Crewe and in the 16 games since, with Bruce, Robinson and Giggs back, they have lost just twice. Six straight wins took Salford to third place in the Fourth Division, their highest position in the club's history. And they reached the third round of the FA Cup for the first time. Around 5,500 fans travelled with the team to the Etihad and the 8-0 defeat was unlikely to have bothered them too much.
Sad story of the past
There were no fans in attendance the last time Giggs appeared on television at a football match. COVID-19 lockdown regulations meant that Wales, then managed by Giggs, lost 3-0 to England at an empty Wembley in October 2020. A month later, Giggs was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend, Kate Greville. He denied any wrongdoing but resigned. Giggs helped Wales qualify for Euro 2020 but Rob Page was in charge of the team for the postponed finals a year later.
The jury at Giggs's first trial in August 2022 at Manchester Crown Court failed to reach a verdict on claims - all denied by Giggs - that he headbutted Greville, was controlling and attacked her sister, Emma. But the prosecution's case that he had committed "a series of abusive acts, both physical and mental, against a woman he claimed to love" exposed Giggs' private life in a very public way. Even his defence team admitted he was "a rabbit in the headlights" on the witness stand.
In July 2023, Giggs was formally cleared of all charges after prosecutors told the court they would not pursue the case because Greville did not want to give any more evidence. She said she felt “exhausted” and “violated” by the process. Giggs’ legal team said he was “extremely relieved” by the decision and that “many lies” had been told about him.
Little has been heard of Giggs since then. What Robinson calls "one of the greatest players ever" is remembered for his 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups and four League Cups, as well as the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Player of the Year and BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Present and future
Sitting in his office at United's Littleton Road training ground, where Salford are based this season as part of a deal struck by Giggs, the 51-year-old spoke for the first time but was reluctant to go into detail. "It's a difficult time for everyone," he said, "but at the moment I'm focused and enjoying being in the dugout and trying to get Salford into League One. When we sit here now, I'm focused on Salford, looking forward to the future and not looking back. You never know what's going to happen in the future. I only control what I can control. It happened that I came on the bench (with Salford)... Whether I stay or not, that's up to Karl, but I'm enjoying it."
The case, however, still affects how Giggs is perceived. The Premier League launched a Hall of Fame in 2021, with inductees chosen by a combination of panel and public vote. But Giggs has never been nominated despite winning a record number of trophies and being named in the PFA Team of the Year six times.
“When you start playing football, things like the Hall of Fame are not something you think about,” Giggs said. “You think about playing as many games as possible. I was lucky enough to play for the team I love, to win trophies. The Hall of Fame didn’t exist when I was playing and it won’t exist when I’m done. I don’t know what the criteria are, but for me, if it does, great. If it doesn’t, you know, I’m still happy with how my career has gone.”
Chance with Robinson
Robinson, who takes charge in January 2024, admitted the arrangement was odd. “He’s not my assistant, he’s still the boss,” he said. “My best friend asked, ‘What’s it like to be the manager and have the boss sitting next to you?’ I said, ‘I don’t know, actually.’ At the end of a game, I like to think I know why we lost and I don’t have to explain to people. The owners know everything about the game. I don’t think anyone is pulling any strings. It’s the easiest time for me.”
Giggs met Robinson when he was in charge of MK Dons and oversaw a 4-0 League Cup win over Van Gaal's United in August 2014. Giggs, then United's No 2, went straight into the MK dressing room to talk to Robinson, something Van Gaal was not comfortable with. Now Giggs and Robinson talk all the time, with Bruce - son of former United captain Steve - a key part of the coaching trio. "Karl is great on the pitch, so he gets more coaching opportunities... I don't do anything on the pitch because I'm the director of football. But then, on match days, I'm in the coaching area. I didn't realise how much I missed it," Giggs added.
Giggs stands alongside Robinson at pre-training meetings to address the team, but lets his coach do the talking. During matches, the same arrangement is in place. Robinson says it is the “clarity” that makes this unusual coaching arrangement work.
Long term plan
When Giggs took over as director of football in February last year, improving training conditions was an immediate focus. And he has done it! But Salford have bigger issues to address, such as investment in the club, after Peter Lim, who owned 50% when he took over in 2014, left. Lim has largely financed Salford, but Gary Neville bought a stake five months ago, with his brother Phil, Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Nicky Butt all shareholders.
“We always said from the beginning that it was a 10-year plan,” Giggs said. “We’ve done a lot of good work, we’ve started a foundation. Ultimately we want a model of five or six young players from Salford, from Greater Manchester, representing Salford. That will take time. And it will need partners – like-minded partners.”
Making smart recruitment choices – “real value for money,” as Giggs puts it – has also played a key role. Giggs does what he needs to do, and it’s a far cry from where he spent most of his football career.
