Manchester United: The final success of a dynasty

Ryan Giggs of Manchester United clashes with Ramires and Oscar of Chelsea before Rafael Da Silva is sent off during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford on May 5, 2013 in Manchester

In the two domestic cups, United fell to Chelsea twice, a roller-coaster 5-4 loss at Stamford Bridge saw them dismissed from the League Cup back in October before the FA Cup proved a troublesome hurdle with United, who fielded rotated teams, requiring a replay to overcome West Ham before Reading and Fulham were dispatched with little discomfort.In the quarter finals, United were looking comfortable at 2-0 up before recklessly abandoning a lead at Old Trafford, Demba Ba striking in the replay back at Stamford Bridge to send United crashing out.

Focus came back to domestic issues and the matter of winning back the Premier League which saw a pivotal weekend on the tenth of February, Ferguson altering plans to rotate his squad for the visit of Everton after City’s 3-1 defeat in Southampton the day before. Everton were duly beaten 2-0 and the gap was extended to 12 points, becoming 15 when United reacted to City’s 2-0 loss at Goodison Park in mid-March by edging a 1-0 win over Reading.

15 points clear with nine games to go, there was little chance of a repeat of the dramatic collapse that caused United’s loss of the title in the season before and although Manchester City won the return derby at Old Trafford, the title was wrapped up with just four games to spare with a 3-0 beating of Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Nemanja Vidic’s return from injury had helped tighten up the defence as they kept 10 clean sheets after Christmas to help see the job out.

The improved attack ultimately proved the difference between the two Manchester teams, City’s struggle in-front of goal saw them score 27 goals less then the 96 they managed in their title winning year, United managed just 3 less than they did the year before. Van Persie’s arrival, ahead of City who were also in the chase for the Dutchman, was massively pivotal as he hit 26 league goals to become top-scorer.

Although they won just 3 of their last 8 games, the title was secured and in the end it was a procession by a margin of 10 points over rivals City in runners-up. After a 20th title and a 13th individually, Ferguson stunned the world of football by announcing his retirement days after the loss to Chelsea at Old Trafford.

As the eulogies poured in to celebrate the passing of peerless dynasty, it became clear the desperation Ferguson held to wrestle the Championship back from City. He achieved that and saw fit to hand the reigns over to David Moyes, Everton’s long-serving coach who cherishes the value of respect and loyalty as much as his fellow Scotsman.

Moyes inherits a squad that Ferguson has forged with his own brilliant eye for excellence. David De Gea is growing into a brilliant goalkeeper, Rio Ferdinand remains evergreen whilst Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones harbour enough talent underneath an experienced, but ageing, back two. Rafael had a great season at right-back and has a bright future ahead whilst Patrice Evra, growing into a leader at left-back, showed improvement from indications of decline.

It is a well-equipped back-bone to a team that relies on Michael Carrick, arguably United’s player of the season, Tom Cleverley and Anderson to provide creativity in midfield. Shinji Kagawa’s debut season was slightly underwhelming though he showed signs of his brilliance towards the end of the year, notably with a hat-trick against Norwich. Moyes will also have at his disposal the incredibly versatile Rooney, who has popped up in centre-midfield at times in this campaign, at his disposal should the striker renege on his reported desire to leave Old Trafford.

It was slightly strange however, to see Ferguson’s final year of success achieved with consistent use of a narrow 4-2-3-1. The Scot has built a reputation for fielding teams with flying wingers over the years but this campaign has saw Luis Valencia and Nani, who Ferguson uncharacteristically blamed personally for the League Cup exit to Chelsea, struggling badly for form.

Ashley Young meanwhile was hampered badly with injury. Moyes will seek to restore the form of his wide players whilst he will also recruit the services of the promising Wilfried Zaha as he completes his move from Crystal Palace in the summer.

It was the typically ruthless assault on success that embodied Ferguson’s final year in charge of Manchester United and perhaps fittingly, it was the year that his extraordinary will to win became so glaringly obvious. The form they showed in steamrollering their way to a 20th championship with just 3 defeats in 30 games before the run-in was relentlessly brilliant and it secured Ferguson’s ultimate aim, to go out on the high of a league win.

Moyes has huge boots to fill, but everything is seemingly in place to launch a quest for the future and a 21st league win.