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Tom Cleverley has become a fall guy for Manchester United’s poor season, and the hatred directed his way has reached bizarre levels in the last few weeks. A petition was recently filled on the internet calling for Cleverley to be dropped from England’s World Cup squad and was signed by over 18,000 people in the space of few days. I don’t know what’s worse? The fact a petition was even created or the fact over 18,000 people put their name to it?
In today’s world the growth of social media has been so much that opinions can be voiced easily, often without thinking or caring about anything or anyone. There have been many cases of racist incidents which have happened on twitter and highlighted the stupidity and ignorance of many. Although the Cleverley case is not as severe as racism, however, he was abused so much on twitter recently (mostly by his own fans) that he decided to close his account. Added with this petition, the pressure on the United midfielder must be extreme.
The main question is whether he is good enough to be playing for Manchester United and be selected for England on a regular basis. The reaction his recent selection for the friendly against Denmark has received appears so extreme and very harsh to a player who is not known for any sort of wrongdoings off the pitch and very few issues on it. Similar to Steven Gerrard, he is a model professional and one all fans should respect. So, it is because he is a terrible footballer and doesn’t deserve to play for his country or one of the top clubs in the world?
I don’t agree with that either. In fact I believe that Cleverley is a very talented, a player who has a future at Manchester United and who should be part of the England national team setup for years to come.
Two years ago..
Cast your mind couple of years back. Coming into the 2011-12 season, hopes were high that the boy from Basingstoke, fresh from a successful loan spell at Wigan Athletic in the Premier League, could be part of the first XI and was touted as a potential replacement for Paul Scholes. It was the start of the season and United found themselves 2-0 down at half time in the Community Shield game against Manchester City. Sir Alex Ferguson made three changes at the interval. Off went Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick, on came Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Tom Cleverley, who settled into the midfield alongside Anderson.
If you haven’t seen the game, then I invite you to watch that second-half performance from United’s young midfield against the three-man City midfield of Yaya Toure, James Milner and Nigel De Jong. The fluidity and high-tempo, one touch passing initiated by Cleverley and Anderson was a joy to watch. The equalising goal scored by Nani was one of the best team goals I have ever seen and the Englishman was at the centre of it all.
Sir Alex clearly saw something that he liked because Cleverley and Anderson were United’s number one midfield pairing when the Premier League kicked off against West Bromwich Albion a week later. And in those games, before Cleverley got injury, many of us thought we were seeing the future of United’s midfield. The run included 3-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur, 5-0 away to Bolton Wanderers and ofcourse the 8-2 hammering of Arsenal.
Fast-forward two and a half years, and he is in most fans’ bad books, with majority wishing to see him sold in the summer. So, what has changed? How did the future of Manchester United midfield go from hero to zero in such a short space of time? Truth to be told, Cleverley has struggled this season, along with many other of his United teammates. Yet the blame does not go to him, but to his manager David Moyes.
No plan
The important thing of playing in midfield, especially for a player like Cleverley is having a definite plan. United appear lost of ideas and many players appear clueless on the pitch because of it. Compare this to the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund or Juventus. All these sides have a player like Cleverley. Thiago Alcantara, Andres Iniesta, Luka Modric, Ilkay Gundogan and Andrea Pirlo – obviously Cleverley is not as technically sound as any of these – yet their coaches have given them clear set of instructions.
The midfield of these top teams function well because the players know their respective roles. United players clearly do not and the midfield are suffering because of that. Under a better coach or with a clear plan Cleverley would definitely be doing better.
At the same time, Cleverley needs to play alongside another mobile player with good technical ability and not someone like Michael Carrick. Carrick, as talented as he is, does not contribute to a high-tempo, short passing game as this requires power and mobility which are not among his strengths. There is no problem with players passing sideways as long as they immediately move forwards to create some space and collect the ball further up the pitch.
Carrick passes sideways and moves sideways or backwards in order to be always available for his team-mates. This means that he is always on the ball and appears to be crucial to United’s play. In actual fact, Carrick is a luxury player. He may be capable of beautiful lofted passes to the flanks but his slowing of the midfield game really hampers United.
All you have to do is watch when Cleverley has the possession of the ball this season. He looks up to find Carrick around the edge of the United are and the wingers standing behind their markers offering him nowhere to go. So he gives the ball to Carrick and moves forward at which point Carrick has no-one to pass to, so Cleverley is forced to come back to a position that offers Carrick an option. So he takes the ball back from Carrick who stands still or moves sideways and the whole situation begins from base one. The main problem here is Moyes’ tactics and Carrick fits better in it.
The lack of a clear playing style the problem?
Now, talking about why he is being selected for England on a regular basis. It is because Roy Hodgson sees a player who will be part of England for years to come. He is playing for one of the biggest sides in world football and has been playing in the Champions League on a regular basis. This is the level you expect from almost all the players representing the Three Lions. Yet if we look at the English midfielders who played in this recent first leg fixtures of the Champions League, you have just Frank Lampard, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Carrick and Cleverley.
It’s not exactly a long list and something to be proud of. It’s obvious that the best sides from the country should be supplying the national team, as after all they are challenging for the biggest prizes and playing at the highest level. But there are very few English players playing at the highest level of European football and therefore these young players with bright futures like Wilshere, Cleverley and Chamberlain should be part of the setup, almost by default.
Conclusion
I am sure many United fans will remember the kind of stick or hatred Darren Fletcher used to get in his early days, many believing he wasn’t good enough for a club like Manchester United. However many failed to see his importance to the side with so many good players around him and it was only his absence that they saw his worth to the team. How United missed him in both Champions League finals against Barcelona. It’s the same case with Tom Cleverley. When things go wrong people find someone to blame and this season it’s him. He is 2014?s Darren Fletcher.
All I can say is that, the Cleverley that we are seeing this season does not represent the ability of that player but instead it is a player who does not know what he is supposed to do, where he is supposed to be on the pitch and has no confidence at all. So, before you write him off, spare a memory for the 2011/12 season because I think that we saw the future path of that player in those five games. The player that we see today is the sign of him being forced into a system that doesn’t suit his style of play combined with a huge lack of confidence.
It’s not that he is beyond repair, so a change of environment, like Jordan Henderson or Daniel Sturridge, will do good for him. Maybe a summer move to Everton and link up with Roberto Martinez could present him with the perfect chance to prove his doubters wrong. But if United are to get the best out their academy product then Moyes must changes his tactics and give him a definite role in the team.
