Manchester United

Manchester United have had a mixed start to the season by their own high standards and many people have been speculating as to what the problems are with the squad and who will be brought in to fix it. For what it is worth, here is my assessment of the current squad and my feelings on the team’s prospects for the season. I am a Manchester United fan so if any of this seems bias or optimistic then I apologise. I will try and be objective and give ...
...can deny that on paper Manchester United have a squad to challenge with the best teams in the world. They have players with fantastic reputations in all the right places and while it is not a squad of superstars like Chelsea or Real Madrid, it has more than it’s share of world class players mixed with good squad players.

Over recent seasons Sir Alex has gone about building a young squad of players with a view to dominating the English ... more

Manchester United have had a mixed start to the season by their own high standards and many people have been speculating as to what the problems are with the squad and who will be brought in to fix it. For what it is worth, here is my assessment of the current squad and my feelings on the team’s prospects for the season. I am a Manchester United fan so if any of this seems bias or optimistic then I apologise. I will try and be objective and give a balanced view of the squad and the prospects for the season.

** The Squad Overview **

I don’t think anyone can deny that on paper Manchester United have a squad to challenge with the best teams in the world. They have players with fantastic reputations in all the right places and while it is not a squad of superstars like Chelsea or Real Madrid, it has more than it’s share of world class players mixed with good squad players.

Over recent seasons Sir Alex has gone about building a young squad of players with a view to dominating the English game (and probably Europe) for the next 10 years. Some of his signings have been inspired, some not so great. As far as I am concerned that is always a gamble that you take when signing youngsters. Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world and it must be daunting for any young player to go there. Some have embraced the challenge and fulfilled their potential, some have not, but this is not a problem specific to Manchester United. All teams make signings that don’t seem to pay off; it has become part of football. Sir Alex has been criticised over recent years for a larger than average number of his signings, with the likes of Kleberson, Veron, Djemba Djemba and Bellion all coming in for criticism.

Despite this criticism I think United have a good squad and while there is always room for improvement I don’t think there is a lot wrong with current squad of players at United. Maybe a couple of players could do with being moved on but generally I would be pretty happy with the current squad.

** My Starting XI **

I don’t see the players training day in day out so I can’t criticise Sir Alex’s team selection, but this is the starting line up I would like to see (assuming everyone is fit):

GK: Howard

DR: G Neville
DL: Heinze
DC: Ferdinand
DC: Brown

MR: Ronaldo
ML: Giggs
MC: Keane
MC: Scholes

FC: Rooney
FC: Van Nistelrooy

** Goalkeepers **

This has proved to be something of a problem position for Sir Alex since the departure of Peter Schmeichel. There are currently three goalkeepers in the first team squad and so far this season there hasn’t been an obvious first choice. Tim Howard started the season with the number 1 shirt but after a couple of mistakes and a couple of poor performances by the team he was dropped in favour of Roy Carroll. Roy Carroll has been at the club for around 4 years and has always been seen as a deputy to the first choice keeper. Since getting his chance in the first team Carroll has been consistent and reliable and at the time of writing, justifies his place in the first team. Ricardo is the third goalkeeper in the squad and has never really pushed for a first team place since joining the club.

As can be inferred from my starting line up above, I am still a big fan of Tim Howard and I think long term he will be the number 1 choice for Sir Alex. In terms of goalkeepers, Howard is still young and has made a big step up in class moving from the American league to the Premiership. His inexperience at this level has been exposed on a couple of occasions but I don’t think you can solely blame Howard for the poor start to the season that the team had. I am confident that there is a lot more to come from Tim Howard and he will go on to be a great goalkeeper for the club.

Roy Carroll has been a good servant for the club and has come in and done well this season. He seems good enough to create real competition for Howard and I hope he signs a new contract to stay at the club. The problem for United is that he is probably good enough to be first choice at another club in the Premiership and I am not sure that long term he will get enough first team football to keep him happy here.

There has been a lot of speculation about Sir Alex looking for a new goalkeeper since the start of the season. I am not sure how much truth there is in these claims but I think there are more pressing signings that need to be made before looking at the goalkeeping situation. Goalkeeper’s mistakes are nearly always high profile ones and they will always come in for stick because of it. If I were Sir Alex, I would stick with what I have got and concentrate on getting Carroll to sign a new contract with the club.

** Defence **

There can be no denying that the defence would have been cause for concern at the start of the season. Rio Ferdinand is a big player for United and with him suspended United seemed vulnerable at the back. Rio is back now and Sir Alex brought in reinforcements over the summer to prevent such shortfalls in the future. I hadn’t heard a lot about Heinze before he arrived at the club but have been really impressed with him so far.

I believe that Sir Alex now has the players in the squad to develop a stable back four and I think that is what he will try and do this season. The back four tend to work as a unit and it will take a little time for an understanding to develop between them but I think the players currently at the club have the qualities to form a good understanding.

For me most of the back four picks itself. Gary Neville is one of the best right backs in the country and has been in superb form this season. Rio is a world-class centre back and when he’s fit I think he has to play. As much as anything Rio will organise the back four, something that has been missing from the United defence in recent years. Heinze has been superb at left back; especially considering his preferred position is at centre back.

The only question I would have is who should partner Rio in the middle. Silvestre has been the first choice so far this season and he does give a nice balance to the back four. Personally, I am not convinced about Silvestre. Sometimes he can be superb, other times be looks a liability. The alternative from the current squad is Wes Brown. I would rather see Brown partner Rio in the long term but that is a bit of a gamble given Brown’s injury background. Ideally you don’t want to be changing your back four so an injury prone centre back is not what you are looking for. If he can stay fit then Brown would get my nod in the centre with Rio.

The cover for the defence is pretty good. Brown/Silvestre are both experienced players who could fit in easily. O’Shea has been used in most positions across the back four and is becoming an experienced player. Phil Neville has played at full back for club and country too and can be used as cover.

I am a firm believer in finding a settled back four and sticking with it and I think Sir Alex now has the players to do that. Since Rio’s return United have looked a lot more comfortable in defence than they did at the start of the season. They still have some worrying moments but with time I feel confident these will be kept to a minimum.

** Midfield **

The midfield has come in for some stern criticism this season for a variety of reasons. Keane has been described as a spent force and the midfield has been described as lacking creativity. I don’t believe either of these statements can be justified.

Roy Keane is one of the most experienced members of the squad and is still the most influential player in the team when he is on his game. I don’t think Keane has been at his best this season but is still a fantastic player and a driving influence for the club. Most importantly though is that Sir Alex does not have a replacement for Keane yet. All the great teams have a player in the middle of the field to hold everything together. Vieira does it for Arsenal, Gerrard for Liverpool and Keane does it for United. There is no denying that Keane is coming to the end of his career at this level but at this moment in time United do not have another player who can come in and do what Roy does.

Djemba Djemba and Kleberson have both been brought in with a view to replacing Keane long term but I don’t think either are up to the task. For me there are only two players around at the moment who can do that job for United and I can’t see either one of them signing for us. Vieira and Gerrard are both outstanding players but I can’t see either considering a move to Manchester United. This position in the team is something that Sir Alex needs to address before the start of next season and is something that he is more than aware of.

As for creativity I don’t think United have too many problems. Giggs is still an outstanding winger and with Ronaldo on the opposite flank United have two exciting wingers in their team. Both are more than capable of beating defenders and creating chances. Something that has been lacking since the departure of Beckham has been the delivery into the penalty area. Ronaldo in particular has been guilty of putting some terrible crosses into the box but I think this is something that will improve. Ronaldo is still young and has a lot to learn.

Scholes has had a quite start to the season but he is a world-class player and is looking like returning to his best in recent games. Liam Miller has arrived from Celtic over the summer and looks to have settled well into the United team. He has been used out wide on the right with limited success but I think he looks a good player and if given a chance in the middle of the park could prove to be a very good player.

Kleberson and Djemba Djemba have given mixed performances again this season and don’t look to be making the grade. Each has shown flashes of the form that persuaded Sir Alex to buy them but neither has been able to reproduce that form with any regularity. I wouldn’t be sorry to see the back of either of them, although I do still hold out some hope of Kleberson settling into the team and proving his worth.

Darren Fletcher has been in and out of the team again this season. He is another player who has been asked to play wide on the right but would prefer to be in the middle. For me Fletcher needs to bulk up a little bit before he can be considered a long-term first team player. He looks to have all the football qualities necessary but seems to lack a bit of bulk.

** Strikers **

After the signings of Smith and Rooney over the summer, Manchester United has one of the most exciting attacking line-ups in the country. For one reason or another, despite this wealth of talent the team have found it difficult to score goals. I don’t think this is going to be a long-term problem for the club and once Sir Alex decides on his first choice pairing (probably Ruud and Rooney) the goals will come.

In my opinion Ruud Van Nistelrooy is one of the best goal scorers in the world. His record speaks for itself and it is painfully obvious of much he means to United when he is not playing. Rooney showed over the summer what a talent he is and if he can start reproducing that form week in week out United have a frightening partnership in them. Smith did brilliantly at the start of the season when he was the only fit striker and will always have a place in the squad.

I am not so sure about Saha but he is definitely a player you wouldn’t mind having on the bench and if he is happy not to be playing first team football every week then that competition for places can only be a good thing for the club.

** The Tactics **

Over the last couple of years Sir Alex has been forced to play with a single striker leading the line and supporting him from midfield. This was caused by United only really have Ruud available and that I think Sir Alex thought it was the way to win in Europe again. Scholes and Giggs have both been asked to play behind the striker in recent seasons to varying degrees of success. This season Sir Alex has brought in Smith and Rooney, which provides him with more options.

Rooney has a natural tendency to drop off the front and find space in between the defence and midfield and has been very effective at doing that. This tendency allows Sir Alex to play with two strikers and still play his preferred formation of 4-4-1-1. If Rooney and Ruud can develop their understanding then this has the prospect of being a very potent tactic and with Scholes in midfield who is naturally attacking then United should be defensively sound and still have plenty going forward.

** The Manager **

There can be no doubting Sir Alex’s record while he has been at Manchester United. He is one of the most successful managers in history and despite some criticism in recent years continues to win trophies. I still think Sir Alex is the right man for Manchester United and think he is building a team to dominate the English game again. I can’t imagine Sir Alex walking away from United until he has finished building this team unless he has any health problems.

In terms of long term replacements for Sir Alex I wouldn’t like to speculate but I would say that I would like to see Roy Keane stay at the club in some coaching/managerial sense. He has been Sir Alex’s general on the field for the last 10 years and I think he would make a good manager when he stops playing. I would like to see Sir Alex groom Keane as his replacement ready for when the time comes.

** Season Prospects **

Having looked at the squad it is now time for me to stick my neck out and make some predictions for the season.

* Premiership *

Football pundits always say “don’t write off Manchester United”. Well that is exactly what I am going to do. As much as it pains me to say it I don’t think they can win the league now this season. I know it is still early and there is a lot of football to be played but I think the teams ahead of them just have too much class to let the lead they have slip.

When we beat Arsenal the at Old Trafford I felt sure that we would use it as a kick start for our season and start to show some championship form. We haven’t done that and went onto drop 5 points in the next two games. That is not championship form and I think it is now too late to mount a serious challenge for the league. I hope I am wrong but I think we should concentrate on getting into the champions league for next season and then turn our attention to other competitions.

* FA Cup *

The FA Cup hasn’t started yet for the premiership sides but I think that this is probably United’s best chance of silverware this season. They won it last year and a lot of the younger players will be aware of what it takes to win the competition.

I think if we are going to win anything this season it will be this cup.

* League Cup *

Sir Alex has always used this competition to give experience to fringe and youth players. This season has been no exception and the teams that have played have had good results so far in the competition. It will be interesting to see if Sir Alex sticks with the youth policy in the later rounds. I think he probably will and because of this I don’t think United will win this cup. Arsenal’s youngsters have been outstanding so far and Chelsea have enough star players to play a different team in this competition. I think it will be between these two teams for this cup.

* Champions League *

The Champions League has been strange so far this season. There have been a lot of unusual results thrown up so far. The teams that you would expect to be cruising into the knockout phases are struggling. United have not played well so far in the competition and still haven’t been beaten. They have been poor on the road but have managed to grind out results.

For me this is a good sign. Call me an optimist but we are well placed in the group to qualify for the knock out phase. If the team continues to improve as the season progresses then I can’t see any team that United should fear. Chelsea have shown fantastic form in the competition too so far and would hope to be competing for this trophy come the end of the season. Could we have an all English final?

** The Kids **

Manchester United have always had a good record of developing youth players. Looking at some of the players that have played in the League Cup this season there appears to be some exciting young prospects pushing for a first team place. Spector has already played in the first team this season and seems sure to be pushing for a first team place in the near future. Pique was signed from Barcelona over the summer and has done well when given a chance. There have been a couple of other youth players that have been given a chance so far this season and it is to be hoped that these kids can take their chance and boost the first team squad.

** Future Signings **

If there is any aspect of the Manchester United squad that I think could do with improving it would be the midfield. The prospect of having signed Robben would have been fantastic and given the midfield the strength in depth that I think is lacking at the moment. I think the club could do with investing in one or two new midfielder just to add some real depth to the squad. A long-term replacement for Keane should be one of those signings and I think another flair player should be the other.

Here are some names of the players I would like to see playing for United next season who I think would boost the first team squad:
Steven Gerrard
Patrick Vieira
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Joaquin
Vicente
Baraja

** Overall **

You certainly can’t deny that at the moment something is not quite right at the club. They have had an erratic start to the season and would expect to improve drastically before the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea run away from them. However, all is not doom and gloom at the club either. There is a good young group of players at the club and when they get it right (and they will get it right) they will once again be a force to be feared throughout Europe. They have been unlucky in some games this season where they have deserved to win and only come away with a draw (e.g. against Man City). On another day they would have won comfortably and the table would be looking completely different. The truth is though that on the day they weren’t good enough to win those games and those are points lost. The team needs to look to the future now and get their ruthless streak back. The season is not over yet and all is not lost but now is the time to do something about it and make this season a success.

Thanks for reading 

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