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2011-12 saw Manchester United lose their league title to cross-town rivals Manchester City on goal difference. In one of the most dramatic endings ever to a Premier League season, United had completed a 1-0 win away at Sunderland and were on the verge of celebration when news trickled in of Sergio Aguero’s 94th minute winner at the Etihad Stadium. Sir Alex Ferguson promised to the footballing world that his side would never ever lose a title again in such circumstances.
In this season’s promo, Ferguson addressed the fans asking them to gear up for the new season and assured three things –
1. A possible heart attack
2. Incredible excitement till the last minutes of the game
3. We’re going to win the Championship back
And his team delivered on all three!
Transfer Market
The first battle in the war to reclaim the title came in the transfer market where United went out and bought goals in the form of a £24 million deal that saw Robin Van Persie trade London for Manchester, the red of Arsenal for the red of United. Ferguson and Edwin Van der Sar’s convincing and the “little boy” inside him eventually saw Van Persie reach Old Trafford.
Shinji Kagawa was signed from Borussia Dortmund. The Japanese attacking midfielder had been a mainstay of the Dortmund side for a few years. Alexander Buttner came in from Vitesse Arnhem as the back-up left back and youngsters midfielder Nick Powell and striker Angelo Henriquez were signed from Crewe Alexandra and Universidad de Chile respectively.
For all the talk about RvP, it was Brazilian sensation Lucas Moura and Belgian starlet Eden Hazard that United went after early and were engrossed in for much of the transfer window. They were to lose both battles after Moura signed for PSG and Hazard went to Chelsea. It wasn’t until late July that the Van Persie rumors actually picked up pace.
Dimitar Berbatov ended his troubled stay at Old Trafford with a move to Fulham, veteran Park Ji Sung also moved to London with QPR. French midfielder Paul Pogba though was the one that got away from United when he left on a free transfer to Juventus citing lack of playing opportunities under Ferguson.
Premier League
Manchester United clinched the title when they beat Aston Villa 3-0 at home courtesy of Robin Van Persie’s 2nd hat-trick of the season on April 22. Van Persie continued from where he left off last season; the Dutchman was simply irrepressible early on ensuring Man United got off the blocks quickly. Defensive frailties made for a somewhat tentative start but once that came together, the Red Devils went on a fantastic run where they lost just 1 game in 6 months between October and March, effectively, sealing the title.
Man United won 25 of their first 30 games, leaving room for some leisure in the final stretch.
One of the features of United’s campaign that was truly remarkable this season was the number of points that they salvaged from losing positions – a league best 29 points followed by Tottenham who were second best with 23. Though Van Persie bagged 26 goals, United were in no way a one man team – the league champions had 20 different goal-scorers this season, a new record. United full backs Patrice Evra and Rafael also had vastly improved seasons. Evra was back to his attacking best, though still defensively suspect, and Rafael’s game too improved vastly. It helped United account for the failings of its wingers.
Pitted with Galatasaray, SC Braga and CFR Cluj, a 100% return in their first 4 games saw United clinch qualification early. In the round of 16, Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United went face to face with Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid. After coming away from the Bernabeu with a 1-1 draw, there was to be heartbreak for United in the home leg. Leading 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate, Nani was shown a straight red by Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir for an innocuous looking challenge on Alvaro Arbeloa, an incident that turned the game on its head and saw Real overturn the deficit to win 2-1 on the night and progress. The tie also coincided with Van Persie’s drought period of the season and he missed 2 very good chances at the Bernabeu that could very well have killed the tie after the 1st leg.
United, even if they had got past Real Madrid would have had it tough against the remaining teams, as they didn’t quite have the quality to match up this season.
FA Cup and Carling Cup
Chelsea beat Man United 1-0 in a 5th round replay thanks to a spectacular goal from Demba Ba. The Blues had earned a rematch after fighting back to draw 2-2 in the original fixture at Old Trafford. The result concluded the most disappointing week of the season for United after they went out of the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid just a few days earlier.
League Cup duty was handed over to the backup players. After getting past Newcastle, it was Chelsea once again that ended their campaign in yet another cup competition. United went down 4-3 after extra time in a thoroughly entertaining game at Stamford Bridge.
Top Performers
Robin Van Persie – The Dutchman’s arrival at Old Trafford transformed the club. His goals aside, his presence lifted the morale of the entire team getting them to raise their levels as well. Ferguson even compared his impact to that of Eric Cantona when he arrived on the scene in 1994. 30 goals for the season, 26 of them in the league which gave him the Golden Boot and 15 assists to boot meant Man United after a really long time had a superstar in their ranks especially as Wayne Rooney’s star had been on the wane in recent seasons.
Michael Carrick – Underrated and under-appreciated when United play well, admonished when they do badly, Michael Carrick had one of his best seasons ever at Old Trafford. He had a hand in all things good that the club did as he dictated the tempo of the games from his deep lying midfield role. Criticized in recent seasons for merely passing the ball sideways and not releasing the ball quick enough, Carrick did precisely all of those as his forward passing was a joy to watch. The spike in Carrick’s form can be attributed to the presence of Van Persie and the huge goal threat that he carried.
David De Gea/Rio Ferdinand – Close one, but David De Gea and Rio Ferdinand both deserve a share of the honors. This was a break-out season for De Gea, panned for not being physically up to it for the Premier League, the Spaniard had a wonderful season between the sticks. He was always a superb shot-stopper and made countless saves to help United through some turbulent patches in games. He also improved at set pieces and has cut out the errors firmly grasping the No.1 keeper’s role; easily the best keeper of the season in the league. He had a shots to save ratio of 77% and made just 1 error leading to goal.
Rio Ferdinand provided a measure of calmness and solidity at the back for United. With Nemanja Vidic compromised by injury, Rio along with Jonny Evans were the first choice centre-backs for much of the season. Ferdinand has lost the electric pace which he possessed while he was young, but his reading of the game is second to none. In the big match situations, he stood up to the test for United. A key reason why Ferguson likes to keep him in the line-up is because he’s a ball-playing defender. His ability to initiate attacks from defence with the cross-ball up field to the wingers or to the forward are exemplary and were on full display this season. Evans too had a fantastic season but Rio made 28 appearances over Evans’ 23.
Worst Performers
The Wingers – Nani, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia – The biggest disappointments were United’s 3 wingers. Ranging from average to absolutely abysmal, this was one of the worst showings ever in that department. The 3 of them put together accounted for just 2 goals and 14 assists. The quantitative stats aside, they also displayed a visible lack of creativity and failed to provide any significant cutting edge. Rafael’s and Patrice Evra’s increased contributions as overlapping full-backs bear testimony to this.
Brightest Star
Robin Van Persie – By a country mile!
Blooming Star
Shinji Kagawa – The Japanese international featured prominently early on before suffering an injury that kept him out for a major part of the season. He put in some sensational performances after his return towards the end that showed glimpses of his exceptional talent. Jürgen Klopp in a recent interview said he was sad at how Kagawa had been only a bit-part player this season playing out of position on the left. Kagawa likes to play in the hole behind the main striker and that’s where he is at his best, creating and scoring goals. Ferguson lavished praise on Kagawa saying that he would form a key cog of the team in years to come and the departure of Wayne Rooney, if it does happen, may just leave the canvas open for Kagawa to leave his mark.
End of the road
Paul Scholes – Typically passed by under the radar thanks to Sir Alex’s retirement, the Ginger Prince said farewell for a second time, this time you reckon for good. After coming out of retirement to answer the club’s SOS last season, Scholes felt comfortable in moving on this season convinced that the next batch of players are ready to take over. A superb professional who never admired the limelight, but one of the most loved and respected players around by both fans and peers.
Sir Alex Ferguson – He finally said goodbye. As ‘#ThankYouSirAlex’ did the rounds on Twitter following the announcement of his retirement, Manchester United and football fans alike were grappling with the magnanimity of the situation. A 26 year reign drew to a close in a way that only Fergie could conjure up – a 20th league title snatched back from rivals Man City and a final masterstroke in the signing of Van Persie in the summer that handed his side the advantage.
If Cantona’s arrival heralded the beginning of the Ferguson’s era of dominance, Van Persie marked the final chapter.
Verdict
The 2012-13 batch was definitely a whole lot better than the team that won the league in 2010-11, however this was one of Ferguson’s more functional rather than flamboyant teams. It was a team centred around the passing ability of Michael Carrick and the brilliance up front of Van Persie. As such it was well suited to the daily rigors of the Premier League and they managed to grind out results on a consistent basis.
Ferguson, 26 years in the job knew the formula to success in the league and managed to produce just that by adding some quality to a very industrious team. David Moyes will have to improve the squad with some fresh influx of world-class talent along with a clear out of players who have received more than their fair share of opportunities to build on this, especially for if greater success is to be achieved in Europe.
