Manchester United – Devils one step away from heaven
By David, BettingExpert.com | Published
Ferguson has spent good money to strengthen the team and is determined to repeat the exploits of last season, this time trying to go one better by clinching the Champions League trophy and possibly avoid being thrown out of a cup by noisy neighbours Manchester City.
Manager: Ferguson
Tactics: 4-4-2
Players In: De Gea, Ashley Young, Welbeck, Phil Jones, Mame Diouf, Macheda
Players Out: Scholes, van der Sar, Hargreaves, Obertan, Brown, O’Shea
Current Probable Formation: Lindegaard, Rafael, Vidic, R. Ferdinand, Evra, Nani, Anderson, Carrick, Ashley Young, Rooney, Hernandez
Ferguson has no affection for cross-town rivals city. A sentiment he has vented on a number of occasions since the takeover of the club by Sheikh Al Mansour. His antipathy has seemed to grow stronger than that for Liverpool, mainly due to the latter having been hampered by all sorts of troubles in the past seasons. No wonder he took the Community Shield encounter so seriously. A feeling he transmitted well enough to his players, who managed to turn tables around on their rivals and come back to win over 90 minutes from two goals down.
Reducing that victory to simple fighting spirit would not make justice to Manchester United and his team. The football the team has been playing since the second part of last season has been excellent. A marked improvement on the days when Ferguson used to insist on playing both Rooney and Berbatov at the same time. The two players are very similar, both needing another quick striker to play in front of them in order to get the best from their skill and vision.
That is why Hernandez became so important for the Red Devils. He is the right player to grab the goals. Although his game is different than that of Cristiano Ronaldo the effect he has on the team is the same. Even when the team play less well than expected he can come up with the goal and clinch the three points that become so important as the race for the Premier League trophy tightens.
Ferguson has in fact opted for recalling three players capable of playing in the same manner as Hernandez, as pure strikers which create space in the box and are capable of finishing the ball in the net with relative ease. Mame Diouf has been recalled from Blackburn, Welbeck from Sunderland and Macheda from Sampdoria. How many of these will remain until he transfer window closes is yet to be seen but I would expect at least one of them to stay, probably Welbeck and Mame Diouf since there is already Owen who can fill up the position of vice-Hernandez.
The defence has been a strong point for the Red Devils last season, with the central duo Ferdinand – Vidic proving the best central pair in the league. Unfortunately they do get injured often, especially the English defender. To make up for this Ferguson has gone all in for Blackburn’s Phil Jones. He should be the number one alternative for the two and a very good one at that. Smalling had done well last season but he is not yet capable of the confidence which Jones has shown so far at these levels. Evans will be the fifth choice only because he will stay put and not grumble if he gets little playing time. He is not a good enough defender for United. Neither was Brown – an absolute catastrophe for the club at times. He was luckily sold to Sunderland just like O’Shea.
The Scottish manager has also sought to get rid of extra players in midfield with Hargreaves allowed to go and Scholes retiring, just like van der Sar. They all served their time at the club and did that with very good displays too. The goalkeeper’s position has already been attributed to David de Gea by observers. I think this simply boils down to the hefty price tag paid by the club for his services. He still lacks experience and although he does have potential I think he will be leaving much sour taste in the mouths of United fans. There were far better choices at more reasonable prices in Italy, namely goalkeeper Marchetti, now transferred from Cagliari to Lazio. It just goes on to show that even big businesses like United do not always get the right advice from their associates. Expect Lindegaard to make an appearance soon enough and possibly displace de Gea for good.
Another costly signing has been Ashley Young. Money well spent this time though. He came cheaper than David de Gea and Phil Jones but should be having the biggest impact on the team. He has pace and dribbling skills which complement very well with United’s fast game. With him, Nani and Valencia the Red Devils can produce real dangers from the flanks. Park can guarantee goals and work rate, with his stealthy movement in the box a crucial skill.
The problem for Man Utd is their central midfield. They have good fighters like Fletcher and Carrick but no player who can really distribute balls with ease to the flanks. Rooney has had to back down to midfield often last season during the 90 minutes in order to take matters in his hands and provide balls for the forwards and wingers himself. Giggs was sometimes tried out there as well by Ferguson in an attempt to fill up the gaping hole. However, the Welshman should not be featuring often this season as age takes its toll.
There were great options on the market for Ferguson to choose from – Parker from relegated West Ham, Modric, Charlie Adam from relegated Blackpool – but the manager has apparently kept insisting on getting Sneijder. The Dutchman is a talented player but he is not the right man to fill that position. He is an alternative to Nani, Ashley Young and Valencia but not to Scholes. The Inter playmaker is just that. He used to play on the wings himself at Ajax and knows little about defending. If given the role in United’s midfield he will be going forward often and create the dangers both with his shooting and passing skills, but he will unbalance the team and allow opponents to slice through the United barriers.
If Ferguson wants to play like Brazil and go all out with the idea of scoring one more than the adversaries then he can sign and play Sneijder but I doubt that he does want that. He may simply have the wrong idea about Sneijder and how he can contribute to the team. If no new face is signed to fill in for last season’s weak point it will be Anderson who takes on the role. He is not a consistent player though and that dissipates his talent.
Predicted finishing position: 2nd
Whether United can manage to get the first place or the second place will depend largely on how far they will go in the Champions League. With a strengthened Liverpool side not involved in European games they will be at a disadvantage battling for the Premier League. They have the goods though last year’s poor away record should be a worrying sign that Ferguson will not to address this season.
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