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SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND – MAY 13: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson looks dejected after the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Manchester United at the Stadium of Light on May 13, 2012 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Many consider last season as a disappointment for Manchester United, given the fact that they were knocked out of the Champions League group stage, exited after 3rd Round of the Carling Cup and the 4th Round of the F.A. Cup as well. And they even let an 8 point advantage over local rivals Manchester City slip away with just 6 games remaining. But what people fail to see is that Manchester United, who were considered underdogs for most part of the season, managed to stretch the title race down to the final minute.
What people also overlook is the fact that Manchester United had to play without many key players like Vidic, Fletcher, Smalling, Anderson, Cleverley, Valencia etc, who were sidelined due to injury for long periods. This gave Ferguson a chance to throw in the younger, inexperienced players onto the big stage, and thus we also saw the introduction of youngsters such as Danny Welbeck, David De Gea and Phil Jones, who now have gained valuable match experience which will only help them in the coming season. Taking into account all these factors, Manchester United have performed reasonably well last season and I’m sure Ferguson will be quite happy with what the team has achieved.
The nail-biting finish to last season has certainly set the tone for the new campaign. So let us have a look at how the team has shaped up during last season and whether it’ll be able to step up this season and win the title.
David De Gea, Anders Lindegaard
Players in-None
Players out-Ben Amos-Hull City (Loan), Tomasz Kuszczak- Brighton
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – JULY 29: David de Gea of Spain misses a save.
Many critics had their say when David De Gea had a terrible start to the Premier League in his debut season. But after a nervy start to his Manchester United career, De Gea ended the season on a high, his best performance coming in the 3-2 defeat to Athletic Bilbao. Not so surprisingly, he had the best shots-to-save ratio (77.9%) in the Premier League, which speaks volumes of his talent and ability.
Anders Lindegaard, who was initially considered as backup to De Gea, found himself as the first choice keeper in December, when De Gea was struggling to cope with the physical nature of the Premier League. He performed exceptionally well and went on to keep 5 successive clean sheets in the League. Unfortunately, he damaged his ankle ligaments in January and was ruled out for 4-5 weeks, thus allowing De Gea to cement his place in the side.
Both Lindegaard and De Gea played in the pre-season friendly matches and it seems that Sir Alex is still unsure of whom to play in the starting line-up for the Premier League. But irrespective of who plays, Sir Alex will be happy that he has two quality goal keepers to choose from and this is certainly what United were looking for after the retirement of Edwin Van Der Sar.
Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic, Chris Smalling, Rafael, Micheal Keane, Tyler Blackett, Scott Wooton, Marnick Vermijl.
Players in- None
Players out- Fabio-QPR (Loan), Ritchie De Laet-Leicester City
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – JANUARY 09: Namanja Vidic of Manchester United during the red carpet arrivals for the FIFA Ballon d
Manchester United conceded 33 goals last season as compared to 37 in the 2010-11 season. There has certainly been an improvement in the team defensively and United achieved this without their inspirational captain and arguably one of the best centre-backs in the world at present, Nemanja Vidic. His return will not only strengthen the defence but his presence will also inspire and motivate the team as well.
But injuries still haunt the Manchester United camp with Chris Smalling out for three months and Phil Jones and Jonny Evans set to miss the start of the season. So, Micheal Carrick, who has played at centre-back before and in the pre-season tour as well, will be used to provide cover to Vidic and Ferdinand. Patrice Evra was certainly not in his best form last season and his defensive frailties caused United a lot of problems. Also, as Evra tends to drop into a central position more often while defending, it forces the left midfield player to drop deeper into his own half to pick up the opposition right winger. Thus United are left with one man short on the counter attack as well. Though United are still linked with Leighton Baines, it doesn’t seem likely that he will move to Old Trafford this season. Ferguson lacks options for the left-back position as Fabio also has been sent out on loan to QPR. But the academy players like Micheal Keane and Tyler Blackett can also be given some much needed exposure to Premier League football.
Coming to the right back position, Rafael seems to be the natural choice in the absence of Smalling and Jones. But he will certainly be exhausted after his exertions at the Olympics with Brazil. Valencia has been playing at right back in the pre-season tour and he might as well start the Premier League at the back alongside Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra. Valencia links up really well with Nani down the right flank, as was evident in the friendly against Barcelona and would offer a really good option as a change in tactics, in case the team is trailing in a particular match.
Phil Jones and Chris Smalling are highly talented, strong central defenders and Ferguson will certainly try and replace Ferdinand with either one of them once they are fit enough. The likes of Keane, Blackett, Wooton and Vermijl are still young and the pre-season tour would be a good learning experience for them. Though they can only expect to play cup matches this season, Ferguson won’t mind calling up anyone of them to have a taste of Premier League action.
Thus, the defence looks solid with the return of Vidic and will be boosted once the likes Smalling and Jones return from injury.
Luis Nani, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Bebe, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Micheal Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Anderson, Tom Cleverley, Nick Powell, Shinji Kagawa, Jesse Lingard, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Robbie Brady
Players in- Shinji Kagawa, Nick Powell
Players out- Park Ji Sung-QPR, Paul Pogba- Juventus
SHANGHAI, CHINA – JULY 25: Shinji Kagawa of Manchester United (L) challenges with Fan Lingjiang of Shanghai Shenhua during the Friendly Match between Shanghai Shenhua and Manchester United at Shanghai Stadium on July 25, 2012 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Hong Wu/Getty Images)
With Cleverley, Fletcher and Anderson injured for majority of the season, United faced a lot of problems in midfield during the first half of the campaign. But to the delight of all Manchester United fans, Paul Scholes returned from retirement in January and it sparked a run of 12 consecutive Premier League victories for United. So, Ferguson is likely to stick with the same midfield partnership of Scholes and Carrick as both complement each other very well. Carrick provides the necessary defensive cover while Scholes pulls the strings from midfield. Though he might not be as agile and fast as he was before, but his range of passing and accurate distribution, especially the diagonal ball out to the wings, more than compensates for that. Cleverley and Anderson were terrific at the start of last season before getting bogged down by injuries. But they are fit now and both will be expecting to play when Scholes/Carrick would need some rest.
Nani, Young, Valencia and Giggs are the wingers that Ferguson has at his disposal. On current form, Nani and Valencia look to be the first choice wingers but Young could start if Ferguson opts for Valencia at right back. One advantage that Young offers is his versatility to play on either wings or behind the striker. This makes it difficult for the opposition to mark him and allows United to alter tactics easily during the match. Though Giggs is no longer the ‘daring, dashing’ winger who terrorized defences at will, he has a calming influence on the team and is one of the sharpest passers around. Certainly a valuable player who can be relied upon whenever the need arises, Giggs will definitely play an important role this season as well.
Last season, Rooney had to drop in midfield regularly as United lacked a creative midfielder, someone who could play that perfect through ball to the striker and also bring the wide players into play more often. To address that problem, Ferguson has now bought Kagawa who can either play behind the striker or if necessary, on the flanks as well. Kagawa’s inclusion would mean Rooney can play as a centre-forward where he is at his lethal best.
The academy products, Lingard, Tunnicliffe and Brady, were impressive on the DHL tour but then again, the F.A and the Carling Cup seems to be the only senior team involvement they can get this season.
Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez, Federico Macheda.
Players in- None
Players out- Micheal Owen
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND – MAY 13: Wayne Rooney of Manchester United looks on during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Manchester United at Stadium of Light on May 13, 2012 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
As discussed earlier, the inclusion of Kagawa would mean Rooney playing upfront and the last time he played as a lone striker (season 2009-10), he finished the season with 26 league goals. He can be devastating in that position and Ferguson will definitely consider this option in the coming season.
But if Rooney does stick to his ‘behind-the-striker’ role, it would mean Danny Welbeck or Javier Hernandez playing upfront, similar to last season. Both scored important goals for the club and were very impressive whenever either of them were given a chance. But Welbeck’s partnership with Rooney was outstanding last season. They understand each other very well and Ferguson will have to think twice before breaking this formidable combination.
Berbatov is expecting to leave in this transfer window as it was clear that he is fallen down the pecking order. So, his role will be limited to Carling or F.A. Cup matches or perhaps Ferguson could also use his experience in the Champions League matches. Macheda’s involvement would also be limited to the cup and reserve team fixtures. He is still a raw product and would certainly benefit from a loan spell, something which helped Danny Welbeck who had a season long loan spell with Sunderland prior to last season.
Thus, Manchester United looks all set for the start of the 2012-13 Premier League campaign and one can safely expect them to challenge for the League title and snatch it back from Manchester City. The 20th League Title beckons Old Trafford this season and Ferguson will do everything in his power to avoid a repeat of last season’s mistakes.
