EVDS - 2 - his confidence looks totally shot, and I find myself wincing whenever the ball goes near him. He currently looks like an accident waiting to happen.
Kuscszak - 4 - decent enough most of the time, but split one shot in front of him and was at fault for the goal. The best keepers view any ball coming into their area as theirs unless there’s a good reason that it’s not - he’d prefer to stay on his line unless there is no choice. Nothing I’ve seen changes my mind that he’s a very good shot-stopper and a decent reserve, but without the presence or consistency of judgement to be our no. 1 in the long term. Let’s hope Foster gets fit soon…
Evra - 8 - very good game, both defensively and going forward. In particular, he made the goal with his sheer desire to get on the end of Rooney’s through-ball, and cleared up a couple of times at the back too.
Evans - 7 - solid game from the young lad in a presure-cooker scenario. Looked a bit nervy to start with, and I’m yet to be convinced about his ability to compete aerially with big centre-forwards, but it was an encouraging display.
Rio - 8 - a rock amongst the madness, and even had the drive to get into the Chelski area for his chance just before the goal.
Neville - 6 - fine for the most part, but had a twenty minute spell of misery where he could easily have got himself sent off. Offered nothing going forward, and I’m baffled as to why Brown was omitted.
Park - 8 - great display from the little man, up and down the flank all afternoon, took up great positions and had the energy to follow Berba’s shot in just in case. Deserved to be our scorer and deserves a run in the team on his past two performances.
Fletcher - 8 - worked tirelessly, his work-rate really is amazing this season. He has been our most consistent midfielder, and should be one of the first names on the teamsheet at the moment. Closed down, harried, linked, and offered a threat at the other end - and barely committed a foul in a game where you only had to breath on an opponent to give away a free-kick.
Scholes - 7 - quiet but effective, was always there as an outlet and was integral to our fast start. It is obvious, though, that he can’t maintain his performance level over a whole game now and I don’t know how often he’ll start when Carrick is fit again.
Hargreaves - 7 - worked well on the right, and was fine in the centre for a while, but tired badly towards the end. I remain worried that he’ll never be fit for long enough to really get his match fitness up to scratch.
Rooney - 5 - did some very good things (like the through-ball for the goal and setting up Rio) and some bad things (a hospital back-pass to Rio, giving away the free kick for their goal). You can feel his frustration with himself at the moment, and it’s going to take all Fergie’s powers to get him back on track. He needs to remember that, first and foremost, he is a genius in the opponent’s half. Some signs of life in the partnership with Berba.
Berbatov - 6 - was reasonably influential until our goal, then faded as we lost control of the ball and so provided him with next to no service. Doesn’t seem entirely match-fit and doesn’t seem on everyone else’s wavelength yet, but it’s too early to make the sort of judgments some people want to.
Ronaldo (sub) - 6.5 - got involved a lot and engineered a few breaks which could have been devastating if any of our attackers were even remotely in form. Didn’t have time to influence the game much - looking forward to seeing him start again, as he surely well next game.
FERGIE - 8 - making the best of a bad lot. I like the continued reversion to 4-4-2, which is much easier for the players when you’re having to chop and change your line-up constantly. He got the flair/fight balance right in the midfield and attack.
I approved of the Ronaldo substitution, because it acknowledged that to hold out we were going to have to either (a) nick another on the break or (b) stir things up and get the ball back for a while - Ronaldo was the most effective way of doing that. Fergie could desperately have done with that third sub that he had to expend on EVDS/TK, either to replace Neville with Brown or Berba with Tevez - both of those had faded miserably with 20 mins to go, but Fergie could do nothing about it.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
United v Chelsea Player Ratings
Thursday, 18 September 2008
United 0-0 Villareal
Player Ratings
EVDS - 6 - had little to do, but did that comfortably. No real basis for an opinion, and nothing to suggest either that a corner has been turned or that the crisis has deepened. Holding pattern (unlike their keeper who barely held anything all night).
Neville - 6.5 - good to see Gary back with the armband, and his performance was perfectly acceptable. Looked very rusty going forward, particularly his crossing (which used to be such a strength). Not his worst game ever, though - I’m prepared to stick my neck out and say I’d play him against Chelski instead of Evans on the grounds of experience of the big day.
Rio - 7 - As good as ever, including bringing the ball out of defence. Shame about the missed chance early on.
Evans - 6.5 - Looked fine, but didn’t seem to have much of a physical presence. It was the lad’s first proper game so I’m not judging him, but I didn’t see an imposing centre back there - not sure he’s ready for a game like Chelski away yet. Hit the post and had one other decent header from a set play.
Evra - 7 - Little to do defensively, but was very lively going forward and linking up with Nani then Ronaldo. I still worry that he occasionally gets caught too far upfield too often, but then given Villareal’s negative tactics we could easily cope with 3-at-the-back. Wouldn’t like to see Joe Cole in those acres of space behind him, though.
Park - 8 - very lively first half, working hard as usual but also with an added touch of skill (on lovely turn in particular). Made intelligent runs, and should have had two penalties - one in particular was stonewall. Let’s give up on him ever learnnig to shoot properly, though.
Fletcher - 8 - Seems to be doing his best to turn into a box-to-box superman (well, super-Fletcher, anyway). Work rate was great all night, won and retained possession well, and was involved in some of our more intricate passing stuff upfield. Deserves a place against Chelski.
Hargreaves - 7.5 - controlled the midfield well, supporting either full-back when under pressure and using the ball quickly and simply. Sometimes got a bit over-enthusiastic and joined in attacks at the same time as Fletcher, leaving a yawning chasm behind; when you’re playing 4-4-2, one midfielder has to do some sitting to tidy up loose balls and co-ordinate the play.
Nani - 7 - Lively in possession, always looking to take people on and get balls into the box (where he’ll benefit from having Berba to aim at). Encouraging display, but didn’t actually create all that much or have any real shots on target. We’re definitely in Ronaldo season 2 territory - he still needs to learn how to make decent decisions; one particular example when he could have played Rooney in but instead carried the ball and then tried the wrong pass.
Rooney - 7.5 - What a difference. Roamed across the pitch, getting involved both deep and on the shoulder. This is what Rooney was made to do, and it was one of his better games. Put a goal on a plate for Tevez, whose shot was cleared off the line.
Tevez - 7 - Standard performance, but we’re still looking for a cutting edge to match all that industry. Rooney and Tevez currently look a million dollars out of the box, but just don’t get in the area often enough to net a heavy scoring tally. Highlighted why we bought Berba.
Ronaldo - 8 - the whole team was a different proposition when he was on. In his 30-minute cameo, he showed us glimpses of everything he can do except scoring, and god have we missed it. Most interesting, though, is the space that he creates for others - teams are inclined to double or treble up on him, leaving big holes for others to exploit. Great to have him back and I hope he’s fit enough to start against Chelski. Now is not the time for bitterness, now is the time ti kick-start our season.
Anderson - 7 - Lively in midfield, much better than against Liverpool, but like Nani needs to work on his decision-making in the final third. A couple of wild shots in good positions need to be shown to him in slow-motion so he gets the point. I like him as an impact sub at the moment, but the boy could also do with a proper break when we get Carrick back.
Fergie - 8 - back to 4-4-2, thank god. Everyone knew their role and played it, our midfield was much more effective and both Nani and Park ran their fullbacks around the block. I know the flexibility and fluidity of the 4-3-2-1 appeals greatly to Fergie, but when the going is rough he should keep it simple. I’m hoping for the same again against Chelsea, although away against one of the big four usually leads to a three-man central midfield.
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
United v Villareal - Preview
First European game as Champions, and we could certainly do with a boost.
Villareal are not to be underestimated, having finished 2nd in La Liga last season, but (as United have shown plenty of times over the last 15 years) European football is a different kettle of fish. This is particularly true away from home, and it will be a relief to be playing at home for the first time since the draw against Newcastle on the opening weekend of the season - which is something else we need to make amends for.
For Villareal, our former "next big thing" Guiseppe Rossi is missing, although Marcos Senna - who impressed at Euro 08 and nearly signed for us in the Carrick summer - is playing as a defensive shield.
We, of course, have plenty to worry about. Scholes is suspended, Evra may be out with concussion, Carrick has his fractured foot and Berba's knee is too sore (I thought we'd sold Saha?). Ronaldo, Park and Gary Neville have yet to step on the pitch this season proper, and Hargreaves has barely done more. All eyes will be on EVDS to improve on his shaky start to the season, and Anderson needs to quieten the (in my opinion ridiculous) flash-in-the-pan chatter.
So, it's all doom and gloom, right? Nah, I can see a half-full glass here. We're at home, so we can expect an attack-minded line-up, and definitely no Rooney the Right Winger. The boys will be desperate to get back out on the pitch after the Anfield debacle, and should be able to make an example of a relatively inexperienced Villareal team. An early goal would be great to settle us down, but I don't see another shock at OT on the cards.
Of the few players who are fit, I would assume that O'Shea will get the nod at left back, rather than Fergie taking a punt on Jonny Evans or Fabio. Equally, if Hargo isn't fit enough to start I would expect Fletcher, not Possebon, to fill in in midfield. It wouldn't surprise me if another stalwart, Giggsy, starts with a view to being subbed for Ronaldo after 60 mins. Nani on the other wing with Rooney and Tevez up top should complete the line-up.
As for all the talk of Manucho, I imagine he'll get a spot on the bench and maybe a runaround for the last ten minutes. I'm all for new players and seeing what they can do, but I'm going to wait longer than some others before declaring him to be better than Drogba. Does make me look forward to the Carling Cup this year, though!
As a final thought, I wonder whether Fergie will rest Brown or Vida and let Gary Neville have a run at right back today ahead of the Chelsea match? It would seem a bit unfair on anyone to throw them cold into that sort of a pressure match - although if anyone could cope, it'd be our club captain. Would be quite a lift for the fans to be able to cheer him onto the pitch with the armband, so who knows...what do you reckon?
Prediction: 3-1 United.
Monday, 15 September 2008
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Don’t Hate Daniel Levy
Posted at Red Rants on 20 August 2008.
[Ed: This may be a little, shall we say, contrary to general United fan opinion. But sit back and try to wrap your heads around it for a change.]
“God, don’t we all just want Daniel Levy to fuck off? I mean, I can’t see why he doesn’t just accept defeat and sell us Berbatov. He knows he’s going to have to eventually anyway, so he should just get it over with now so we can all get on with our lives. And that tapping-up complaint he filed is a load of shit. By the time he gets his head out of his arse, we’ll be five points off the pace. He is behaving unprofessionally and generally like a cock, and I hate him.”
Do you agree with the above? Then you must be a blinkered United fan like me, because any objective (or for that matter, and other type of) observer should have nothing but praise for Levy’s actions.
Spurs have seemed the most likely entrants into the elite Top 4 Club for the last few years, and barring a dodgy lasagne they would probably have consigned Arsenal to a season in the UEFA Cup. They are now routinely signing some of the best young talent both from the UK and abroad, along with some shrewd purchases of more experienced players. Bale, Woodgate, Hutton, Bentley, Zokora, Bent (admittedly at a hugely inflated price), dos Santos, Modric and, or course, Berbatov have been added to home-grown talent like King, Lennon and Huddlestone. It’s an impressive squad, albeit one whose last eighteen months have been characterised by underachievement.
Until they secure the sacred Champions League place, many of their players will harbour higher ambitions. And the top 4 will see their closest rival as an obvious place to go to pick up Premiership-proven talent, because it should be easier to buy from within the PL than from top continental sides. However, to sustain a challenge for membership of the elite, Spurs need to keep broadly the same squad together for a handful of seasons, so they can grow as a team. At the moment, much to the delight of United and co, they are in danger of becoming a feeder club.
So Levy’s behaviour during this intensely tedious and drawn-out saga is entirely in Spurs’ best interests. In the short term, he will secure an above-market price for a player who has mentally already left the building, funding further investment in the current squad. But more importantly, in the long term he has sent a clear message for the January window and beyond:
“I can’t stop you bidding for our players, but if you want to sign one of our stars then be prepared for us to make the transfer more miserable, disruptive, drawn-out, inconvenient and expensive than you could imagine. If you think you can come over here, tickle our tummies and take the players we scouted and we bedded into the Premiership and do so without a fight, you’re very much mistaken. Now fuck off before I report you to the FA for something.”
And who can blame him. We picked off Carrick two seasons ago, Berba is still (I believe) almost certain to follow; only the da Silva twins will deter us from tracking Hutton and Bale; and we’d probably have tried to sign Lennon already if he could stay fit for more than two games in a row. That sort of interest inevitably leads to cordial relations souring - think of PSV, who provided us with Jaap Stam, Ruud and Park, but have since made it clear that we’re not really welcome anymore, evidenced by our failure to secure players like Arjen Robben.
Robbie Keane, incidentally, is an exception to the rule. For one thing, Liverpool paid way too much for him - he may only be 28, but he is a big gamble for that amount of money. Also, he has been with Spurs through thick and thin since 2002, and nobody at Spurs could deny him a shot at the Champions League before he is too old. It would be comparable to Ole asking us for a transfer a year before his injury - we’d have hated to see him go, but he’d have gone with our blessing.
Berbatov, on the other hand, took four months of his first season to settle in, had a purple patch, immediately started agitating for a move, and then sulked for a while when he didn’t get it. Spurs are treating him with just the same loyalty as he has treated them. So whilst, as a United fan, I subscribe to all the views I started the article with, as a follower of football I think Levy has it spot on.
Oh, and I got all the way through without drawing a comparison with Ronaldo - it would have been too easy.
Friday, 15 August 2008
United On The Edge Of Greatness
Posted at Red Rants on 15 August 2008.
We start this season on the edge of true greatness. Not the fleeting greatness that gets bandied around weekly in the tabloids - proper, timeless greatness. The sort that people who are not born yet will look back on in forty years and rave about.
You can put together “great” teams, you can have “great” players, but what elevates a side into the timeless category is weight of achievement. It’s what makes Ferguson the best British manager ever, and Wenger just a worthy sideshow; it’s what makes Giggs one of the best players of all time, and Gerrard a footnote in comparison. It’s why everyone knows exactly what you mean when you say the Treble, why everyone (however grudgingly) acknowledges that as a seminal footballing achievement; it’s why names like Solskjaer and Sheringham appear alongside Schmeichel and Keane in everyone’s dictionary of footballing legends.
This season we can complete a hat-trick of Premiership titles and retain the European Cup. To do either would put this team into that timeless bracket. To do both would make them the best English club side ever.
The Premiership is harder to win than the top division has ever been. The points tallies required for victory demand relentless excellence over the entire season, starting from game one - the second half of the season push for which we became renowned is not good enough any more. Our main rivals have nearly unlimited money to spend, a squad which regularly sits £25m players on the bench and haven’t lost a match at home for two years. The chasing pack contains two teams who would have been good enough to win the league five years ago, featuring some star players who are coveted by every other club in Europe, including ourselves.
The next tier of clubs are more intimidating than ever before, as a combination of TV money, foreign ownership and the availability of cheap overseas talent allows them to build impressive squads of their own, packed with internationals. Anyone who claims that games against Spurs, Portsmouth, Villa, Everton, Man City or Blackburn will be easy is deluded. Even lower down, we are only too well aware of the surprises teams like Middlesbrough can spring.
We’ve won a hat-trick of titles before, but then we were by far the best team, with more money and more pulling power than anyone else, in leagues with ten teams of comparative deadwood who our reserves could and did beat. Whatever the talk of the “Big Four”, it’s the level of competition that would make this our greatest domestic achievement.
The Champions League has never been retained. Not in its current punishing format, with the leagues followed by a rock-hard knockout phase. The Bayern machine couldn’t do it, the galacticos couldn’t do it, the Treble-winners couldn’t do it. There are so many chances to slip up, so many hurdles to fall at. One bad day can be impossible to recover from. Real and Barca are stronger than last season, and as champions everyone will be gunning for us.
We can do it. We can do both of these things. We can be that team. We have a rock-solid defence, a flexible and resourceful central midfield, the world’s best player, two sensational support strikers, (almost certainly) a hyper-talented new centre forward, a deep and well-rounded squad which is both experienced and hungry, with both old heads and young blood.
But the line is thin. Ronaldo is injured to start with, and surely can’t be as good again. Rooney needs to climb again from his plateau, Berbatov needs to settle quickly to give us enough firepower going forward. Nani may be a season away from turning his talent into end product, and age is catching up with Giggs. Our central midfielders need to discover where the net is, and we have no top class cover for Evra. What if Rio or Vidic gets injured, or van der Saar really can’t last another whole season?
After one of the most boring and frustrating summers on record, we are about to leap headlong into our chance to surpass anything our rivals have ever done in their history. Hold your breath, and hope we smiling next May - if we are, history will smile on us.
Shallow Squad or an Injury Crisis?
Posted at Red Rants on 15 August 2008.
The team we pick to start the first “competitive” game of the season (if you can call the Charity Shield competitive) is going to be pretty threadbare. Prospects aren’t so hot for the Newcastle game either. This has caused a lot of debate here recently about whether our squad leaves us too vulnerable to injury or whether it is an unfortunate run of injuries which we could not have foreseen or provided against.
By the way, I’m going to try out numbering and lettering my paragraphs to make commenting and debating easier. I’m going to touch on a lot of themes here, and so it may help facilitate debate if you can refer simply to paragraph 3a. It may not work, but hey.
1. The squad
First of all, I’m going to set out all the options we have in each position, so that we start this debate by looking objectively at the resources at our disposal.
GK: EVDS, Kuszczak, Foster
RB: Brown, G Neville, O’Shea, Hargreaves, R da Silva, Evans [Simpson is now out on loan, in case you missed that]
CB: Rio, Vidic, Brown, O’Shea, Evans, Silvestre
LB: Evra, Silvestre, O’Shea, Evans, F da Silva
RM / RW: Ronaldo, Nani, Park, Giggs, Hargreaves, Fletcher, Rooney
CM: Scholes, Carrick, Hargreaves, Anderson, Fletcher, Possebon, O’Shea, Giggs
LM / LW: Ronaldo, Nani, Giggs, Park, Evra, Rooney
CF: Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, Campbell, Giggs [Manucho is still awaiting a work permit; Welbeck has been mysteriously absent from pre-season games - anyone with info why please post it below]
In short, we have at least 5 genuine options in each position. Yes, you read it right - five. Not two, as Mourinho once advocated, five. Some better than others, but none would disgrace the shirt. Some overlapping, too, but there are thirty distinct players there, not counting Manucho, Welbeck or any other youngsters like Gibson.
2. The striker
a) Let’s also get the striker issue out of the way right here. Yes, we need another one - it is the only area where we have inadequate cover. Yes, it would have been nice to have wrapped up Berbatov already. But should we have gone out and splurged on a striker, any striker, just so we have someone for the start of the season? Definitely not. And yes, a fast start is desirable and a huge advantage, but we hardly got one last year and we coped.
b) It takes a rare combination of skill, temperament and potential to become a United signing. Being good isn’t good enough - you have to be good in the right ways for the team, just ask Seba Veron. Should we have signed Robbie Keane for £20m, just because we could probably have sewn it up by now? Dean Ashton for £17m? Peter Crouch for £12m? Or should we wait for the right guy at the right price?
c) My answers to those questions are please no, good god no, not for that price and yes, in that order. Also, just because we’re not reading stories in the press doesn’t mean that progress isn’t being made. If you’d just been reported for comments made in the media about Berbatov, you’d be pretty stupid to antagonise the selling club by continuing to make comments in the media about Berbatov. This is how we do business these days - quietly, behind the scenes, and not like Real Madrid.
d) I will admit, though, that our lack of interest in Huntelaar is surprising. But then there are a lot of top clubs on the hunt (sorry) for strikers, and none of them have put a concrete offer in for him - so what do they know that we don’t?
3. The injury list
a) Here’s the list, first up:
Ronaldo (ankle, 2 months)
Rooney (virus, first two games)
Nani (suspension, first two PL games)
Anderson (Olympics, August)
Carrick (virus, probably CS only)
Hargreaves (tendinitis, possibly fit from start)
Park (knee, possibly fit from start)
Saha (sniffly nose, the rest of his life)
That’s a pretty brutal spate of injuries - particularly so because it has focused entirely on our midfield and attack. We would happily trade, for example, Evra for Rooney and Brown for Nani, since we could easily absorb those injuries in the defence but would keep some of our attacking potency.
b) To illustrate further, this is what a comparable injury list would be for our rivals:
Chelsea: Drogba, Anelka, Joe Cole, Mikel, Deco, Essien, Malouda, Shevchenko
Liverpool: Torres, Keane, Babel, Mascherano, Alonso, Benayoun, Kuyt, Voronin
Arsenal: van Persie, Adebayor, Nasri, Rosicky, Fabregas, Diaby, Walcott, Bendtner
c) So to criticise United for not being able to absorb the injuries we have suffered without a drop in performance is to criticise the whole league, and probably every other top club in Europe (I don’t know the Barca, Real, AC Milan or Bayern squads quite well enough to do a similar comparison with them - if you do, please do so in the comments). Those teams would be lucky to put eleven players on the field who could beat Hull, let alone who have every chance of keeping us afloat for a few weeks if needed. We should instead be saying how lucky we are to have a few golden oldies and Tevez to reliably fill the void.
4. Should we have more cover?
However, to take our own squad in isolation and knowing Ronaldo was out for the first two months, would it be optimal for us to have signed more players? The answer to this remains no. There is a roadblock practical reason for this, and an objection in principle.
a) The problem is that you are trying to attract players when they know full well they have no chance of playing if the squad is anywhere near fully fit. This immediately rules out players who are really good right now or likely to become really good in the next year, leaving us with two types of player: youngsters for the future and oldies who might have an Indian summer. We already have the oldies, thanks, barring a miracle loan signing akin to Larsson. Equally, youngsters who are over a season away from being good are probably no better than what we can cobble together internally.
Therefore, the pool of players who will sign for us knowing that they will only get regular first team football if we have an horrific injury crisis and who are good enough to play for us even on a part-time basis is pretty small. The only name I came up with was Eidur Gudjohnsen, but there we go.
There is a third category of players, those who are in it for the money and a quiet life. Step forward, Carlo Cudicini (the best keeper in the Premiership when Cech was bought) and Wayne Bridge (only Evra and Clichy are better). But then is greed and lack of ambition a combination of qualities you want in a United player, even if we could afford them?
b) Whilst I’m here, I want to touch on Aaron Ramsey, who has attracted a lot of inches on this blog. A commonly-held belief is that the reason he went to Arsenal is because Fergie couldn’t be bothered to go and meet him. Whilst this doesn’t look very good (particularly set against fireside games of snooker with a young David Beckham, etc), it is wrong to say that this cost us Ramsey’s signature.
What cost us Ramsey’s signature was that we wanted to buy him and loan him back to Cardiff for a season. Arsenal, on the other hand, wanted to take him straight into the first team squad and offered him a shot at Premier League football. He (understandably, in my view), preferred the latter option. This isn’t speculation or my interpretation of things - this is what Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale said in an interview with the BBC.
So to use this as a stick to beat United and Fergie over the head with seems a bit silly. We didn’t need him for this season, but tried to secure him in the long term - he’s not so wonderfully amazing that he had to be signed immediately like we did with Nani and Anderson. Ramsey was thinking short term - end of.
c) The objection on principle is that I don’t want to return to the era of utility players. You all remember it - Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson, Phil Neville, Quinton Fortune, Diego Forlan all as integral members of the first team squad. Good enough to be in the squad, but not good enough for the first team. Fergie splintered our transfer budget, signing lots of bit part players rather than one big name. Would you have him spend £10-15m of our summer transfer budget on a fourth reserve player, or save it and secure the player we have identified as The One? I’ll leave that one as rhetorical.
5. I’d like to say one more thing before I throw this open for what I imagine and hope will be a fairly heated debate. I’m not a “loyalist”, I’m not supporting United for the sake of it, and I don’t believe the sun shines out of Fergie’s arse. Everything I’ve offered above is, in my opinion, closely reasoned and supported by facts. So if and when you disagree with me in the comments, please try to make your responses the same.
In summary - our team is going to be badly under strength for the first two games of the season. That does not make our squad defective and does not mean we should spend millions of pounds willy nilly on squad players to compensate.
Friday, 1 August 2008
Ten Indicators For United’s 08/09 Season
Posted at Red Rants on 1 August 2008.
Apologies for the extended period of quiet from my side (note, please, that I am not RR, who has done an admirable job of keeping the site going and everyone interested during what has the most boring, repetitive, inconclusive and tedious close season in living memory). When I say that the cricket has been far more interesting than anything to do with football recently, I think I have said all.
In the continuing absence of any concrete developments from the summer, I want to look back on our staggeringly successful last season and draw out some of the reasons why we were so damn good. These apply both to why we’ve gone from being written off in the summer of ‘06 to the best team in Europe, and also what we did even better in 07/08 to achieve such heights. Then I’m going to darken the tone slightly by picking up three things which could scupper our chances.
THE POSITIVES
1. Squad depth
Last season, with the exception of centre forward, we had high class cover right across the board. Not only high class cover, in fact, but a lot more than 11 players who deserved and were fighting for a first team spot. This allowed us to cope with all the injuries thrown our way; but more importantly, to have genuine flexibility to mix and match our team to suit the exact circumstances.
2. Weakness of our rivals
Arsenal had a great first XI, but as soon as form, fitness and fatigue scratched that surface they were gone. So, this summer they have sold two first team regulars…as much as we now (patronisingly) applaud Wenger, he really is a masochist.
Liverpool had two great players (Torres and Gerrard), one fouling centre back who the press often call great (Carragher), an amusingly foul-mouthed midfielder (Mascherano - thanks again for that red card), a few has-beens (Finnan, Hyppia, Riise), a few might-yet-bes (Babel, that kid they play at right back), and some journeymen / donkeys (Crouch, Kuyt, Pennant, Kewell)….sorry, did I get carried away there? What I meant was that they were entirely reliant (as opposed to over-reliant) on two players.
Chelski were unlucky with injuries, but that said the African Nations was a fairly predictable drain on their resources and Mourinho bought badly last summer (Malouda, Alex, Ben Haim & Pizarro, none of whom were good enough for their first team). And the upheaval of Mourinho’s departure was entirely caused by their owner.
The good thing is that what little activity there has been so far this summer has made Arsenal’s plight worse, kept Liverpool broadly the same (although Keane could be a good signing) and left Chelsea up in the air (what if Drogba and Lampard leave next week, just before the season starts?)
3. The fear factor’s back
In the depths of our three-year slump, the most damaging development was that we had lost the fear factor. Teams used to turn up not shaking in fear and hoping to keep it down to 2-0, but genuinely thinking they could win. So they had a go, and against our weakened team came away with points far too often. Last season they were 1-0 down in the coach on the way to the game again, and it showed.
4. Everyone taking responsibility
In previous times, when we have had to bring in John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher, Ji-Sung Park and co they have played like second stringers. Like good, old-fashioned triers, but ones who know they’re not quite cut out to be in the exalted company they are in. But last season, they were. Anderson and Nani played like present day stars, not ones for the future. Wes Brown was an integral part of our stingiest ever defence, including a quite sensational performance in the second leg against Barcelona. Hargreaves rose above his disappointments to be our most consistent player in the last month of the season. Park, too, played like a man possessed for that month. Even Silvestre came back into the first team against Chelski and gave a good impression of a regular left back.
Not only did we have squad depth, but the quality, maturity and attitude was spot on right through the squad.
5. Confidence in the tough games
Often the difference between a good season and a great season is performance in the so-called “six-pointers”. But since that doesn’t extend to the Champions League, let’s just use the less snappy phrase “games against other elite clubs”. Whereas in some previous seasons this has been our weakness, this time round we were superb, with only the last minute penalty against Chelski blotting our copybook (even that in a game where we played a below-par team):
Chelski: W 2, L 1
Arsenal: W 1, D 1
Liverpool: W 2
Barca: W 1, D 1
Roma: W 3, D 1
Overall: P 13, W 9, D 3, L 1.
6. Suitability for Europe
Our squad and style of play is now much more suited to success in Europe. With the very honourable exception of 1999, it doesn’t often wash in Europe to have a flimsy defence and rely on scoring heavily. Most of the top sides, particularly in Italy, are too good to be overwhelmed defensively, so keeping clean sheets is much more important. Equally, we had the players to make the 4-3-2-1 system work properly against better teams, with plenty of players all over the pitch who could provide solid defence and then switch effortlessly into fluent attack (Evra, Carrick, Rooney and Tevez to name but four).
7. Prospects for the future
Well, with the exception of Ronaldo, this squad has the potential to grow together for the next five or so years. In fact, last year’s squad had a somewhat raw feel to it in midfield and attack at times. Tevez took a while to settle in, Anderson stepped up magnificently but failed to score a single goal, Nani’s decision-making looks like Ronaldo’s did four years ago and Hargreaves was out of sorts until April. We can expect a lot more from these players and others this coming season.
THE NEGATIVES
1. No standout assistant manager
It’s no great secret that we’ve always struggled when Fergie hasn’t had a first class coach working with him. Brian Kidd, Steve McClaren and Carlos Queiroz have all been integral parts of our best sides; their ability to devise cutting-edge training routines and support the squad in a complementary was to Fergie were essential. It doesn’t look like we’re going to start the season with a “specialist” assistant, with various of Fergie’s underlings helping out. That makes me nervous.
2. Reduced return from Ronaldo
No secrets here. With Ronaldo out for the start of the season, and questionably motivated thereafter, we need others to stand up and be counted. Big season for Wayne Rooney, and whichever striker we buy (I’m still confident of Berbatov) needs to hit the ground running. We can’t afford another start like last season.
3. We were lucky with injuries last time round
I mean, I know Vidic was injured for most of the last two months, Scholes missed a lot of games before Christmas and Gary Neville didn’t play at all. But we had most of our key players fit most of the time, and we can’t rely on that again. If Rooney missed injures himself on the first day again, for example, we could be in serious trouble by the time he and Ronaldo return. Equally, our defence wasn’t quite the same without Rio and Vidic at its heart. We have a great squad, but injuries could still screw us.
That’s my lot. Any themes you would draw attention to?
Monday, 23 June 2008
Is Manchester United’s Youth System Redundant?
Posted at Red Rants on 23 June 2008.
[Warning - this is a longer than usual post, since this is too big a topic to cover in a few snappy paragraphs. Still, I think it's an important area, so if you have a few minutes then settle in for a read and a think.]
There’s no doubt that we have been spoilt in the past. In the nineties, our youth system produced a quite extraordinary series of top class players. I don’t need to list them, but I will anyway because of the memories they bring back: Sharpe, Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt. All effectively “free”, and all of whom played their best years for United.
But the next generation we all prayed for has never arrived. The only graduates of the youth system since the Golden Generation are Wes Brown, John O’Shea and Darren Fletcher. All have been loyal servants, but hardly the stellar talents we were blessed with before. These days, we hear good things spoken of a young player, maybe glimpse him once or twice in the first team, and then hear he has been sold off to a lesser Premiership side or a Championship team.
I want to look at why that has happened, and whether it means our youth system is now effectively redundant as far as the first team is concerned.
Why are so few youth players making the first team?
There are two main reasons for this:
1. Lack of opportunity
Quite simply, the Premiership is much more competitive than it used to be, and so there are very few chances to blood young players.
Back in the nineties, there was a far larger gap between the top four or five teams and the rest. It was very plausible to play five or six second string players against any team in the bottom half of the table and come away with an easy 2-0 win. We had an easy way of trying out youngsters and seeing if they made the grade. Not only that, but the number of points required to win the league allowed for a bit more margin for error, for a few off days when the rotation didn’t work.
Contrast to the present day. Access to cheap foreign (mainly African and Eastern European) talent and plentiful loans has allowed almost every team in the league to be competitive on their day. Fielding a weakened team, for example, at home to Middlesbrough would be a risky undertaking. Similarly, increasingly high standards are expected at the top of the league - witness Arsenal’s Invincibles and Chelski’s extraordinary unbeaten home record. Each season, records are broken for the standard at the top.
Off days aren’t an acceptable risk any more, they are too high a price to pay for learning about a couple of promising youngsters. You need a big, battle-hardened squad, with two players who could play all season in each position. Playing Wes Brown in the centre of defence instead of Pique in March and April was a classic example of safe not sorry. How will Danny Simpson ever get a run in the right back position when Brown, Neville, O’Shea and Hargreaves can all do a job there?
These days, the best we can hope to do is loan our young players to lesser teams, and see what we can tell from their performances from their loan clubs. This is pretty unreliable, though - what we need to know is not whether a player can nail down a place is a worse team, but whether they have the pedigree to live with the big boys. There’s only one way of finding that out, and that is the baptism of fire.
[The only light at the end of the tunnel here is substitutes. From next season, teams will be allowed to name seven subs - that would allow for a mixture of impact players and youngsters. If we're 2-0 up with twenty mins to go, we can bring on Welbeck and Simpson for some experience. If it's 1-1, call on Nani and Tevez to get a goal. O'Shea, Hargreaves and Foster can shore things up and cover injuries. Previously with only 5 spots available, obviously Welbeck and Simpson are the ones sent to sit in the stands.]
2. The new system
If you want chapter and verse on this, you need to read this fascinating interview with Brian McClair which RR linked to a while back. I really can’t recommend highly enough that you read the whole thing, but for the purposes of this article (and since I can’t improve the journalism there) I’m going to quote three passages from it:
The basic principle of the academy system – that clubs can only recruit boys up to the age of 11 who live within an hour’s travel of their academy base – is one for which Ferguson has a long-standing antipathy.
If the current academy system had been in place in the late 1980s United would not have signed Beckham, who grew up in Essex. McClair does not believe they would have signed the Nevilles either, as they would have been snapped up by Bury at an early age and a prohibitive price put upon them. Scholes, he says, would have been at Oldham Athletic’s academy. Giggs would not have had the chance to leave Manchester City for the club he supported. United might have got Butt; they might not.
McClair: “If you look at that group of players who won the 1992 FA Youth Cup for United, nearly every single one of them played at the highest level because they were the best from Northern Ireland, they were the best from Wales, the best from England, the best from Scotland. You can’t compare anything to the Beckham, Butt, Scholes generation with what happens now. It’s impossible to do that now.”
So is our youth system redundant?
To me, it is not redundant, but it has a very different role. It will never be a regular direct source of first team squad players, never mind first team players. However, it has a number of important functions in the modern era:
1. Panning for gold - What we must now hope for from our youth system is to find one big player every five years, one absolute superstar. A Wayne Rooney, a Cesc Fabregas. Those players are out there somewhere, and we need to give ourselves every chance of being the ones to sign them on. We must keep dipping our sieve in the river for the one time that we find a nugget of gold in our hand.
2. A source of income - selling off unwanted youth team players is a valuable income stream. I’ve gone over all our transfers since the Treble season, and come up with the following stats:
Total revenue from selling youth team players*: £66.7m (£35.7m**)
Total revenue adjusted for inflation***: £85.16m (£42.71m)
* Includes players bought at a young age to be developed for first team, eg Rossi
** Not including revenue from sale of Beckham, Butt and P Neville, who arguably fall outside the scope of this article
*** Assuming transfer price inflation of 10% per season
So from selling players who came through our youth system, if you accept my inflation adjustment, we have paid for Rio, Rooney, Ronaldo, Vidic and Evra. Even if you choose to discount the revenue from Beckham, Butt and Phil Neville (on the basis that they played their best years for us, so we had already had value for them by the time they left), we have paid for Rooney, Ronaldo and Vidic. So what we are effectively operating is a glorified part-exchange system, where we trade in five or six players who are good enough for the Premiership but not good enough for us for one first team regular. Note: I have included full details of how I got to those numbers at the end of the article for those of you who are interested - I thought it would disrupt the flow unnecessarily to include the full list here
By the way, a flipside of the loan system is that it is making it easier than ever for us to get value for our not-quite-good-enough players. For example, Sunderland would pay several million for Jonny Evans, and Stoke would like to pay us a couple of million for Frazier Campbell - before we’d have had to sell them into the Championship for much less. The indirect benefit of developing decent young players is increasing.
3. A finishing school - a major part of our transfer strategy now consists of buying up talented foreign players in their mid-teens and bringing them to Old Trafford to develop. Rossi and Pique were part of that system, and now we have players like the Brazilian twins and the young Italian striker we have just signed. A strong, competitive youth team set-up is obviously very valuable for helping those young signings realise their potential.
I don’t feel our youth system is redundant — far from it — but it’s role has changed significantly since the days of the Golden Generation. What are your views?
Youth team transfers since 1999
07-08
Richardson - £5.5m
Rossi - £6.7m
Pique - £5m
Bardsley - £2m
Shawcross - £1m
Total - £20.2m
06-07
McShane & Steele - exchange for Kuszczak, est £5m
David Jones - £1m
Spector - £0.5m
Total - £6m, adjusted for inflation £6.6m
05-06
P Neville - £3.5m
Total - £3.5m, adjusted for inflation £4.2m
04-05
Butt - £2.5m
Total - £2.5m, adjusted for inflation £3.25m
03-04
Beckham - £25m
Total - £25m, adjusted for inflation £35m
02-03
Rachubka - £0.2
Total - £0.2m, adjusted for inflation £0.3m
01-02
Healy - £1.8m
Greening - £2m
Total - £3.8m, adjusted for inflation £6.08m
00-01
Curtis - £1.5m
Higginbotham - £2m
Notman - £0.25m
Total - £3.75m, adjusted for inflation £6.38m
Mulryne - £0.5m
Cook - £1m
Nevland - £0.25m
Total - £1.75m, adjusted for inflation £3.15m
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
The Wayne Rooney Debate
Posted at Red Rants on 18 June 2008.
In an attempt to move on from the Ronaldo saga, I want to go back to the topic that was getting most “blog inches” (if that’s a phrase) before we descended into the current quagmire. What’s the deal with Wayne Rooney?
I’ve tried to phrase that as openly as possible, because the spectrum of opinion is broad. To some, Rooney is a maestro who had a bad season. To others, he’s a good player who hasn’t quite lived up to his billing or his potential. I know that after a sub-par performance in the CL final, most of you were leaning towards the latter — decent player, great to have him in the side, but not as stand-out amazing as we had hoped. I disagree, and here’s my take on things.
The ultimate team player
Rooney, to me, is team spirit embodied. There are two things that make him enjoy his football — playing in the team, and the team winning. Contrast to Ronaldo, who (whatever he said in post-match interviews) is all about his own performance first, and the team second. He will play wherever he is asked to, for as long as he is asked to, without sulking or whining. The only time you’ll find him sulking is if he is substituted when he still feels he has something to offer the team.
This stat doesn’t show up in any tables. It’s not quantifiable in assists, tackles, metres run, shots on target, or any other stat. It just is — he is prepared to subjugate his own desires and achievements for the good of the team, and has done so from the moment he walked in the door.
That’s why he’ll be at United for life, driving the team forward long after any of our continental imports have moved on. And if you don’t appreciate him for that, especially after the hullaballoo of the last few weeks, then you should damn well start.
Out of position
This is a subset of the above, but the most important one. Let there be no doubt, Rooney’s best position is just off the front man, with a roaming brief. He should be allowed to drop off into midfield to pick up the ball, or move out onto either wing when he sees space, or to push past the front man when he sees an opportunity. Teams should (Fabio Capello take note) be built around him.
But at Old Trafford, for one reason and another, they haven’t been. Last season’s team was as close as I’ve ever seen Fergie go to building the team around a single player — admittedly it was around one of the best players we’ve ever seen playing at the peak of his powers — but it usually doesn’t work like that. Prior to that, Ruud was the key man, and Rooney had to play second fiddle.
Set against that, look at where Rooney played last season:
1. up top, as a lone striker — he’s not tall enough for that role, and does his best work facing goal. Still, he worked hard and made life as tough a possible for defences, in turn creating spaces and gaps for a certain other player.
2. on the left — often he and Tevez alternated, but it was clear that they should be where Ronaldo was not, thereby stretching defences as much as possible.
3. as a wing back — remember the first Barcelona game? I don’t know of many other players of Rooney’s status and talent who would not only accept that role but really take to it.
There was only a short period where he played as part of a traditional front two, and if you buy a season review DVD (which I am currently glorying in) you will remember some of the sublime interplay between Rooney and Tevez through the centre.
Finishing
Another criticism levelled against Rooney is that he doesn’t score enough goals. Well, I agree that his finishing isn’t as lethal as it could be — certainly not good enough to be our main striker. But then who said he was our main striker? He certainly hasn’t been very often yet. Nor does he loiter around the six yard box for tap ins, and he isn’t even in the area for corners.
Rooney should be compared, in the grand scheme of things, to the likes of Cantona and Sheringham. That’s the sort of player he is. Le God never banged in 40 goals in a season, but he scored crucial goals in crucial games, went on hot streaks, and had that aura which generally improved the performance of everyone around him. Sheringham was the ultimate dictator-from-deep, gaining a yard with his brain rather than his pace, and chipping in with occasional but important goals. There are even shades of the strength and combative nature of Mark Hughes, with the same ability to score stunning goals from distance.
I am honestly not exaggerating when I say that Rooney has the best bits of all these legends rolled into one, and so to judge him on the number of goals he has scored alone is laughable. How dare anyone condense the contribution of one of our best team players into an analysis of the most crude stat? Most people here know more about football than that, and should know better.
Loyalty
I’ll keep this short, because I’ve covered it in a previous article. Rooney is even more valuable to us because he will be with us for the rest of his career, unless we choose to sell him. There’s a good reason why British players come at a premium (Carrick for £18m, Rooney for £25m, Rio for £30m) — that’s because if you’re United, you’re buying that guy with a view to keeping him until he retires. I was variously called narrow-minded and a racist back then, but I reckon a few more people see my point now.
Nowhere in the various Ronaldo threads have I seen the comment “don’t worry, we have Rooney”. Well, I’m making it now. Build a team around Rooney, and we won’t regret it.
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Playing Devil’s Advocate on Ronaldo
Posted at Red Rants on 11 Jun 2008.
By that, I mean Ronaldo’s advocate. I don’t view him as the Devil, but some of you do so I thought you’d like the connection.
A lot has been written on this blog alone over the last couple of weeks about the Ronaldo situation, culminating in Red Ranter’s superbly passionate piece. I have stayed out of it in the comments, firstly because of the lack of hard news on the subject and secondly because of the level of emotion running through. In the midst of it all, I don’t think anyone was prepared to step back and think it through more fully.
Maybe you’re still not, and I expect, if not flaming, then some strong contradictory opinions to this post. But what I’m going to do is explain why the Real move is good for Ronaldo, and point out some silver linings for us. Then, just to maximise the controversy, I’m going to give a super-long-term view of the situation that most of you will hate but which I think we should hope for despite ourselves.
The Case for the Move
We have established, I think, that Ronaldo’s first priority is Ronaldo. I also think we always knew that was the case, even if we tried to ignore it. So here are the arguments for why Ronaldo should join Madrid:
1. Last season was the peak. Last season, as we all know, CR scored 42 goals, won every award going, and we won the PL and the CL. Hard to see how it can get much better than that. Say next season Ronaldo scored 25 goals and we win the Premier League but lose in the semis of the CL. Good season, not great. But a huge comedown for CR - and you all know how much the English media love to tear down someone they have built up. Start a line of questions with “was 07/08 a flash in the pan”, and you’ll get the idea.
2. The referees. Referees in England have a permanent downer on Ronaldo. There’s no two ways about that - there will always be four or five blatant free-kicks or penalties a game which are not given to him because of his reputation. Massively frustrating for the fans to watch, but even more so for the player himself. In England, more than in any other league in the world, diving is hated and physicality is applauded and encouraged. It is quite the reverse in Spain, where diving is seen as “cleverness” and players are protected by officials from roughhousing tactics.
3. The playing conditions. Similar to the point above, but in Spain Ronaldo will rarely find a man up his arse whenever he receives the ball. Nor will that many wingers track back to double up on CR with their full back. Far more often than in England, he will have time to take a touch and turn, and when he does that he doesn’t often need support. Also, no winter away games at Blackburn on a mudbath pitch - weather/pitch conditions will favour CR’s game far more often than here.
4. The hero worship. We love (or loved) Ronaldo. We thought he was superb, and adored having him play for us. But nobody at United is bigger than the team - nobody has been allowed to be whilst Fergie is around. You can tell that CR wants the hero worship, the iconic status, the unreconstructed worship from everyone. He will never get that at United, because the adoration has to be spread round a lot of players. Madrid are buying him to be bigger than the team, to be their brand leader - and nobody’s going to be allowed to say a bad word about the most expensive player ever in the world.
5. The money. Say no more. It’s a factor, and love for United (I don’t doubt that he has lots of this, by the way), when balanced against his desire to play for Real, isn’t worth £100k a week after tax to him plus increased endorsements to him.
[End Devil's Advocate mode.] Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the situation any more than the rest of you. The thought of the team running out in August without our number 7 leaves me feeling empty inside. But I understand why it makes sense to him, and that makes me not hate him.
Yep, sorry - I don’t hate him. Can’t - I love watching wingers more than any other type of player (Giggs, Sharpe and Kanchelskis all rate at the top of my list of players I enjoyed watching), and in Ronaldo I’ve had the chance to watch possibly the best there’s ever been in my team’s colours for five years. I loved watching him even when he was mind-blowingly frustrating. I’m just unspeakably disappointed about the situation.
The chasing pack
I’m not going to try to pretend that it can be a good thing if Ronaldo goes. It can’t, and it isn’t. One big factor in damage limitation is getting another year out of Ronaldo to give our youngsters a chance to come through and the management a genuine chance to plan for life without him.
But even if he goes straight away, I don’t think it’s as bad as all that in terms of winning things. Not because we’re going to have £x million to spend on great players, but because you have to look at where the chasing pack is.
Arsenal — have already lost Flamini, will almost certainly lose Hleb and may lose Adebayor. Will not sign any proven, top class talent.
Chelski — will almost certainly lose Drogba, will probably lose Anelka and are going to have all their best players (other than Ballack) relentlessly linked to Mourinho at Inter, probably with good reason. Will bring in expensive and high profile replacements, but you need a coach as good as Mourinho to bind them into a top class side, and given Abramovich’s shoddy treatment of JM and then Grant, they’re not going to get anyone good enough.
Liverpool — may not lose any big players, but they only have two to start with. Clearly have to sell to buy big (especially with their owners in crisis), and are overvaluing their players as a result. £10m for Scott Carson? £15m for Peter Crouch? Don’t be silly. Most high profile signing could be…Gareth Barry.
Barca — likely to have another season in transition with a new coach and some big players leaving.
AC Milan — didn’t qualify for the Champions League.
Inter Milan — who knows what Jose can do? Dark horse for the CL.
Real Madrid — could only be strengthened by Ronaldo, but still likely to underachieve in Europe.
Bayern Munich — wouldn’t dare comment with some knowledgeable Bayern fans around, perhaps they could give us a short assessment of Bayern’s chances next year in Europe.
I could go on. But we have some great players who are likely to get better next year, and as the best side in Europe we can attract exceptional players for whatever money we have to spend. We will go backwards with Ronaldo gone, but no further backwards than anyone else we are competing with.
I want him back again
Here, just to give you one last thing to chew on, is something I haven’t seen anywhere in the comments but I really believe. If he goes to Real, there’s a good chance it will go wrong for him for all the reasons RR mentioned on Saturday. And if that happens, I want him to come straight back to us, having fulfilled his boyhood dream and realised it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Reach back into your memories, and remember Mark Hughes - it can be like that.
By mixing hope and reality, I would like CR to play one more season for us, then go to Real whilst he’s still worth gigabucks, underachieve there for 2 seasons and then come back to aid the post-Fergie rebuilding process. As I said, I can’t hate him, and I don’t want to. We can fall out with Madrid, but let’s not fall out with Cristiano too.
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Nani and Anderson — Managed
Posted at Red Rants on 31 May 2008.
Roy Keane wrote in his autobiography (or at least said to the Ronaldo-hating Eamon Dunphy) that even though Sir Alex Ferguson is not the best coach, he is an incredible manager of men. And he’s proved it again this season with his exceptional handling of Nani and Anderson.
On the face of it, this was a really difficult ask. Both came to us out of the blue, with big price tags and big things to live up to. The press were totally blindsided by the speed of our moves, but when they recovered our new signings were hailed as the “next Ronaldo” and the “next Ronaldinho” respectively. Everyone dug up YouTube videos proving that these guys were the best thing since sliced bread, and some even put them straight into the first XI on general principle. To make matters worse, neither had lived in England before, and neither spoke the language.
Despite all this, Fergie ensured a smooth transition which leaves us now with two genuine stars in our squad, rather than two pissed-off, burned out and frustrated starlets.
Lowered expectations
The first part of this process was to ensure that both the press and the fans expected nothing. Whenever anyone at United was asked about them over the summer and at the start of the season, the response always came back that they were still learning, and only going to be used sparingly off the bench. It was difficult to adjust to English football, the party line went, so give these boys a season to settle in.
They did better than that. Nani was a key part of our attack in the injury-hit goal drought that was the first few matches of the season — without his screamer against Spurs, the wheels might have been off our title bid before we got started. Anderson didn’t impress on his first couple of appearances, but then came on as a sub against Wigan and dominated the game. Before we knew it, he was winning midfield battles against Gerrard and Fabregas.
But the key was that each good performance was seen as a bonus, and treated as such. There was no talk of “he’ll need a few more games like that to justify his transfer fee” or “only what you’d expect from a £17m winger”. Just good stuff, both from the fans and the media.
Quitting whilst ahead
OK, so far so good. We were impressed by most of what we’d seen, and were filing these guys in the list headed “Evra, Vidic, Ronaldo” rather than “Kleberson, Djemba-Djemba, Poborsky”. But with Giggsy underperforming, Carrick sulking and Hargreaves injured, a lot of managers (Wenger included, I think) would have decided to make them first choice starters until further notice.
Instead, Fergie held both back. Nani started only 26 games in all competitions, and Anderson only 25. Compare this to Giggs (33) and Scholes (30), supposedly fading; Carrick (39) and Tevez (39), who had patches of not starting; Rio (51) and Brown (48), the near-ever presents.
He did so differently for each player, as well. Nani was used sporadically throughout the season, whereas Anderson was allowed to play and play through the middle of the season while his confidence was high and his form was good. We saw the best of each — Nani’s trickery, shot from distance and delivery from set-pieces; Anderson’s strength, drive and (frankly) ability to run games — without having their flaws shown up by the continued glare of the spotlight.
We all know how much the English press loves to bring down the people it has just built up, and if either had been forced to play through a patch of bad form in public, you can imagine the mud that would have been slung. Instead, both can look back on the season with a warm glow, knowing they were a real part of, and positive influence on, a great side.
The velvet glove…
You may not read the tabloids (in which case, good for you), but you’re probably aware of the stories surrounding Ronaldo, Anderson and the ladies of the night. You probably do read the sports papers, and you may have noticed the lack of interviews given by Nani and Anderson.
Whilst I’m not saying that Fergie lined up prozzies to make his youngsters feel at home, it is obvious that he has allowed them to settle into Manchester in their own way. He has not sought to keep them under lock and key, something that would almost certainly have provoked discontent, but has done his best to protect them from the glare of the media off the pitch as well as on.
The final cameo
The last second CL final substitution of Anderson for Wes Brown, and the decision to allow both him and Nani to take penalties in the shoot-out, spoke volumes for both the self-confidence that they had developed over the season (not to mention the trust the gaffer was prepared to put in them). It would have been so easy to get the experienced heads to step up (I expected to see Giggsy before then), but what a sensational boost for the two lads to take into next season.
I know this post is unremittingly positive, which can be a bit boring. I’m not sure I’m even being that controversial. Far more fun to nit-pick over Rooney’s performance or Carrick’s value for money. But this superbly thought out, flexible management of two players who will now be an integral part of our team and squad for the next five years must be recognised for the achievement it is.
Friday, 23 May 2008
Some Sober Reflections
Posted at Red Rants on 23 May 2008.
It’s hard to step back and look at the whole final without being tainted by the result. The temptation is to exult the good bits and ignore the bad bits, on the basis that it was all part of a masterplan. It’s also hard to give any new perspective, given the pages and pages of journalism on the subject. But I’m going to try - I’m going to give you two bits of hype that you should believe, and also four hard truths that we need to learn if we are to improve on what seems like perfection.
1. Believe the hype - 4-4-2
There weren’t many pundits who genuinely thought that we’d go in with a 4-4-2. “All about the midfield battle”, they pontificated, talking fluent cliche; “Chelsea are very physical and United will need numbers to combat that”. Having suffered through the Barca games and the loss at the Bridge, plenty of us also expected a 4-3-3 cum 4-5-1 to take the field.
There can be no doubt that we played an orthodox 4-4-2 for the whole first half, and that it worked superbly. Not least because it was a total tactical wrong ‘un, which it took Grant until half time to figure out. Carrick and Scholes were 15 yards deeper than Lampard and Ballack expected, so they had an extra touch or two to dictate the play. Our strongest player homed in on their most vulnerable. Makalele had no floating players to track, and so was comparatively ineffective. Cashley’s incursions were limited by Hargreaves, helping Brown to tuck and and deal with the central threat.
But the extra stroke of genius, what turned it from an interesting ploy into a potentially match-winning gambit, was the use of Hargreaves. When the teams were announced, literally everybody took it as proof that we were playing 4-3-3. Hargo’s been better going forward recently, but nobody has him down as a right winger. He was to be the screen - after all, that’s what he was bought for. So Chelsea would have focussed their last minute team talks on re-inforcing their strategy against 4-3-3, and a slight surprise was turned into a brutal curveball. It took them fully 45 minutes to recover; by that time, we should have had the match wrapped up.
2. Hard truth - Rooney and Tevez aren’t ruthless enough
This doesn’t matter in many matches, but it does in the really huge games. You don’t get many chances, and you have to be able to take a very high percentage of them against the very best teams to stand a chance. Ronaldo, nominally a winger, had one chance and put it away - that’s been the story of his season, what has turned 25 into 42.
I’m afraid Rooney and, in particular, Tevez aren’t doing that. They have each scored a decent number of goals, but not as many as they should have done in a team of this creative potential. In the final, Rooney didn’t have a single shot on goal - extraordinary for your centre-forward, however selfless. Tevez did - he should have scored twice in the first half, and in the second half he wasted a couple of decent positions by trying to beat the best most orange keeper in the world at his near post.
We need that Huntelaar type of figure - the predator who converts the great moves - to maximise our chances of retaining the European Cup.
3. Hard truth - Edwin van der Saar
Just as for Jerzy Dudek, the last penalty hero in a CL final, so it must be for EVDS. He has been struggling of late, with dodgy kicks and the odd flap at a high ball. It was extraordinary to see Fergie instruct his team at Stamford Bridge not to pass back to EVDS, and there were a couple of examples of that in the final where Vida tamely put balls out for throw-ins rather than trying to re-cycle the ball through his keeper. Nor is this fading towards the end of the season a first - it was the same last time round.
I don’t blame him for the slip for the first goal, since he was going for the first deflection and had to change again for the second. But when he slipped in the second half as Essien approached, that could have cost us the game - if Essien’s shot had been on target at all, it would have gone in.
We have a ready-made replacement in Ben Foster, and this is the ideal time to blood him. He has one of the most experienced keepers in the world on the training pitch, and the most secure back four in recent history in front of him.
4. Believe the hype - Nemanja Vidic
People have talked about the contribution of our stingy defence, but Vida was truly massive in this game. I don’t think there’s anyone better (and I’m including England’s Bottling John Terry, or England’s Bawling John Terry*, as you prefer) at dealing with a physical centre-forward. He had Drogba in his pocket for almost the whole night, so that Drogba’s only contributions came when he dropped out into midfield territory (the shot which hit the post) or out wide onto Evra in the air.
Bear in mind that Rio struggled through half of the game with mystery cramp, and you see the true achievement in containing Chelsea’s attacking threat. It’s no accident that Drogba targeted Vida for that girlie-slap - he was taking out his frustrations on the man who had shut him out of the final.
* For those not familiar with the Fiver, Terry is sarcastically nicknamed England’s Brave John Terry (EBJT) for his tedious self-portrayal as the indestructible, tough but ultimately good bloke.
5. Hard truth - substitutions
It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a strong bench, and Fergie needs to remember how to use it. One of the things that Mourinho was best at for Chelsea was recognising before anyone else did that things weren’t working, and acting decisively to change it.
It is only recently that we have had a full bench of geniune first team players to choose from. We were in serious danger of being over-run in the second half, when the 4-4-2 gambit had been recognised and dealt with. If Fergie had really been on top of his game, Scholes would have come off after 60 minutes and been replaced by Anderson, whose energy and combative spirit would have been very welcome as Chelsea began to move through the gears. At the same time, we should have reverted to the more logical 4-3-3, and freed Ronaldo from the responsibility of tracking the marauding Essien. The sentimental use of Ryan Giggs could have been saved for later.
If you want an example of the benefits of decisive subsitutions, look at the Arsenal game where Tevez and Anderson replaced Park and Scholes after 55 mins, and changed the game - we came from behind to win 2-1. More of this, please, Fergie, and less dithering.
6. Hard truth - Ronaldo as penalty-taker
That penalty miss must mark the end of Ronaldo’s stint as United’s first choice penalty taker. Whilst he has scored some high-pressure penalties (again, at Arsenal, for example), he missed three last season. Three is way too many - one is about the acceptable limit.
And think which penalties they were. First, to put the away game at West Ham out of sight - we went on to lose, and those three points would have been invaluable at end of the season. Second, in the first few minutes of the epic Barca tie - the whole tone of the tie would have been different if we had effectively started with a lead. Last, but not least, the one in the final.
Each could have cost us dear, none did. Let’s not push our luck, and give someone else the honour.
Right, that’s it. I’m going back to glorious celebrations, random chanting and myopic idolisation now. If you can step back from the hype, though, let’s hear your thoughts in the comment.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
What if Fergie walks away? (Part II)
Posted at Red Rants on 13 May 2008.
Thanks for all the comments on the first part of this topic. Very interesting and, in a couple of instances, really informative.
As you know, Fergie has made it quite clear that he won’t be retiring at the end of this season, come what may. I’m therefore going to curtail this slightly - I’ll give you my order of preference as it stands today, but my main focus is going to be why CQ shouldn’t get the job, now or any other time.
Cutting to the chase, here’s my list in order of priority:
1. Martin O’Neill
2. Mark Hughes
3. Jose Mourinho
4. Carlos Quieroz
Given the overwhelming view in the comments on part I, the main thing I’m going to do is make the case against Queiroz. I take all your points about him inspiring the loyalty of the Portuguese contingent, having been Ferguson’s mentee for years, ensuring continuity and so forth. But I believe they are outweighed by the following factors:
1. Good assistants don’t make necessarily good managers — I don’t have all day, so I won’t quote you all the examples I can think of. But let’s try Brian Kidd, Steve McClaren, Graeme Souness/Roy Evans and Sammy Lee to start with. And include CQ himself in that list, whose season at Real was a disaster.
Suddenly you’re not the good cop who puts your arm round a young player who has just been screamed at by the boss — you need to do the screaming. You’re not the guy who works with the raw materials on the training ground, you’re the guy watching dispassionately and writing 11 names on the teamsheet. You’re not the guy who reads the papers and thinks “I wish they’d leave the gaffer alone”, you’re the one who the rabid pack of journalists doubting and probing and insulting and mocking every day. You’re the one going to the board meetings, the charity lunches, the mandatory press conferences and the photo ops. You’re the face of Manchester United.
That’s tough. It’s a different job, and he might not be good at it. Indeed, in my view, probably won’t be good at it.
2. You need a certain stature to make the biggest signings — We know what type of players CQ can sign — the up-and-coming Portuguese speaking type. But one thing you will never hear from the mouth of any player we sign if he became manager is the line spouted by almost all of Fergie’s signings, “I couldn’t turn down the chance to come and work with one of the greatest managers in the game”. You would see us losing a lot more of the races for the really top players with CQ as the gaffer.
3. A wide-ranging scouting network is essential — If you’re looking for a player from Portugal or South America, CQ is your man. But what about up-and-coming British/Irish players, or players who are making their mark at English clubs? Fergie knows everyone in the British/Irish game, and gets a lot of phone calls to alert him about a particular talent from guys he’s given guidance and advice to in his time. What about France, Italy and Holland? Someone like Evra is gold dust, and United had been able to build up links with Ruud for a couple of years before we first tried to sign him. What about Eastern Europe? A lot of talented, physical players are coming up through the increasingly competitive leagues over there, and we’d like the next Vidic, please.
4. The next manager needs to manage the whole club — CQ’s current role is first team coach. No doubt in the position he finds out a lot about what’s going on with the younger players and has contact with people. But Fergie runs the whole footballing operation. He employs the U-9 scouts, he hires the under-15 team coach, he interviews the replacement physio, everything. Whoever takes over needs experience of doing that.
So I contend that whilst on the face of it CQ is the safe choice, he is actually a big gamble. And one I don’t think we should take.
To justify the guys I would prefer to CQ:
Martin O’Neill certainly doesn’t fall down on 1, 3 or 4, which combined with the qualifications I set out in part I makes him my first choice. For his first season, the stature of the club should help him out with making the signings, and then he’ll have his own record to be judged on.
Mark Hughes falls down on 2 as well, but has less experience in Europe than O’Neill so comes in second for me. He’s also a much bigger gamble, since it will be his first experience of managing a club where success is expected — a different atmosphere. (Note O’Neill faced that at Celtic).
Mourinho struggles most on number 4. Yes, he may have been Porto-centric in his first phase at Chelsea, but that changed as he went on, and now he has a pretty cosmopolitan network of contacts. And no, his football isn’t as negative as you all think. You forget his first season when, as was pointed out in the comments last time round, Drogba with Cole and Duff supporting from wide, Lampard arriving from midfield and the full-backs bombing on was remarkably effective. Notice any similarities to our current formation?
But for now, thank God, this is all academic. Long may it remain so.
Thursday, 8 May 2008
What if Fergie walks away? (Part I)
Posted at Red Rants on 8 May 2008.
There is a mischievous rumour doing the rounds that Fergie will leave on a high if we win the double. I thought it was worthy of an article, because the “who’s next” guessing game is always fun and hasn’t been played for a while and because I (as usual) have some fairly particular opinions on the point which I want to hear your thoughts on.
First off, let me say that I don’t think it will happen. Anyone who saw Fergie in the centre circle after the West Ham game will be clear that he was in no way saying goodbye to the fans. He has built a great young squad that can only get better — he ain’t walking away now and letting someone else reap the rewards. He’s going to make up for those three years of pain by living with this team as well.
If you want to read more debate on this subject (and you should, because it involves the opinions of Martin Samuel, who is the best football columnist around by a long chalk), have a look at the Times website here.
The ground rules
But football’s a funny old game, and you never know. So let’s look at the possible contenders and the qualifications they would need to take over.
Here’s a list, in no particular order, of the names that spring to mind. I’ll put them in my order of preference at the end of the article.
- Carlos Queiroz
- Martin O’Neill
- Jose Mourinho
- Roy Keane
- Mark Hughes
- generic successful foreign manager (Ancellotti, Scolari, Capello, Hitzfeld, Klinsmann, etc etc)
- Sven
Here also are the things I think the next manager should have:
- experience with a variety of teams, preferably including the Premier League
- experience of winning trophies, preferably as manager
- proven ability to motivate players, both individually and as a unit
- prospective loyalty to Manchester United (in other words not viewing United as a stepping stone to another job, or one job in a shopping list of things to do in a career)
- record of commitment to a club as a whole, including youth team set up and other back room staff
I’m also going to think about possible assistants to each manager, because I think that will be a very important aspect in the success of the transition. If you want any evidence of the importance of the assistant manager, just compare our record in seasons where we have had a genuine assistant (Kidd, McClaren, Queiroz) to the seasons where Fergie has been operating on his own with help from the rest of the back room staff. ‘Nuff said.
The contenders
Carlos Queiroz
Experience and Success - good coaching experience prior to joining United, but disastrous season as manager of Real Madrid.
Motivation - undoubtedly responsible for our Portuguese / Brazilian contingent settling so well and performing to their ability. Failed to gain respect of high-profile Madrid players.
Loyalty - good, as far as we know. Came back to us after Real, which is a good sign. Risky, though — if he became manager and continued to recruit Portuguese / South American players and then left, most of them would be severely unsettled.
Clubman - certainly has a vision for United, and has taken responsibility for bringing in many of the next generation. Also has a strong network of scouts and contacts in “his” areas.
Ideal assistant - needs an English speaker who is United to the core. Bryan Robson would be perfect, since he finally seems to have accepted that the top jobs are not for him. Other less experienced possibilities are Gary Neville (if his injury gets the better of him), Ryan Giggs and Ole Solskjaer.
Martin O’Neill
Experience and Success - wide-ranging. Did a sterling job with Leicester in the Premiership, making them a top ten club with almost no resources; domestically successful with Celtic, and lost a UEFA Cup final to Mourinho’s cheating Porto; has turned Villa around with good prospects for next season.
Motivation - forged a fantastic team spirit at Leicester and Villa, making them punch above their weight both in terms of resources and squad size. Kept his team together well at Celtic.
Loyalty - O’Neill is never going to manage outside these shores, and so United is likely to be his last stop if he does well. No history with us, though.
Clubman - unquestionably looks after the whole club and is capable of building a team over time to a vision. Plays good football when his resources allow.
Ideal assistant - well, if he’ll stay as coach, CQ. That will be the case for all the other contenders. But it wouldn’t surprise anyone if CQ left if he was passed over, so failing him someone young, energetic and United to the core. I’m thinking Giggsy…
Jose Mourinho
Experience and Success - we’ve all had it rammed down our throats — Porto & Chelsea, etc. Impressive trophy cabinet. Guaranteed success, almost, which is important both to the fans and the owners.
Motivation - based on evidence at Chelsea, every bit as good as Fergie — players would run through brick walls for him. On the plus side, if CQ left we have another Portuguese to replace him, which would reduce the risk of an exodus.
Loyalty - Looks like he’s set for a tour of the big European clubs, with a stop off in the Portugal national squad — no way we’re keeping him until he retires.
Clubman - Was never allowed to do anything other than first team affairs at Chelsea, so undecided. Plays dire football, though — remember that comment he made to his players before last season’s FA Cup final? “Do you want to enjoy the game, or enjoy after the game?”. Sorry for being trite, but both please.
Ideal assistant - irrelevant. He’ll bring his own back room staff, although again it would be good to see him retain a United presence, like Steve Clarke at Chelsea.
Roy Keane
Experience and Success - has done as well as anyone could have expected with Sunderland, getting them promoted and then keeping them up despite a rough start. Seen and done it all as a player.
Motivation - unproven with big enough names and egos to rival his own, but everyone at Sunderland seems in awe of him. At least as ruthless as Fergie.
Loyalty - if he was successful enough, you could see him being United manager for ever.
Clubman - again, doing well based on limited evidence.
Ideal assistant - CQ. Needs a first class coach and someone with lots of experience alongside him. I honestly don’t think it would work with anyone else, but I also don’t think CQ would let Keano be brought in over his head, and there would be a risk of the lines of authority being blurred.
Mark Hughes
Experience and Success - Wales and Blackburn. He has made both better than the sum of their parts, which is high praise for any manager - in particular Wales, with a limited player pool and a tough group. If only they hadn’t lost to Azerbaijan, they would have qualified for the Euros despire being in Italy’s group. Short of club European experience as a manager, though.
Motivation - unarguable with both teams. Managed difficult personalities like Robbie Savage, and has subdued big egos like Benni McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz.
Loyalty - like Keano, this would be the peak of his managerial career.
Clubman - has done a good job bringing young players into the Blackburn team. After a rocky start with earned them the name Blackeye Rovers, he seems to be committed to good, attacking football.
Ideal assistant - again CQ would be ideal — see Keano. Otherwise, someone with extensive experience. I’m thinking Brian Kidd…
Sven
This was more in here as a joke, but nobody can question his experience and he did a very good job at City. Still, I’m an England fan and the scars run deep…
Miscellaneous European manager
There will inevitably be some big foreign names linked, but it’s impossible to know who. And this post is long enough without going into detail on all the possible contenders. If someone else wants to in the comments, then be my guest.
In fact, this post has become too long to be continued, so I’m going to stop here and let you debate the contenders as I have presented them. I will then write part 2 of this article in a couple of days, which will give my preferences, try to address any comments made, and talk about how the process is likely to work in practice. Happy ranting.
Thursday, 1 May 2008
The British Element
Posted at Red Rants on 1 May 2008.
This post could create a lot of controversy, so I want to make it clear that I don’t have anything against foreign players per se. Many of the United greats have been from beyond these shores, and I revere them as much as anyone else.
That said, I have always been proud that United has had a core of players from the British Isles (note that’s worded carefully enough to include the Republic of Ireland). United are an English team, who have always placed high value on local talent and team spirit. I need scarcely draw the comparisons with the other big sides:
- Arsenal - are and have been for many years (since the likes of Adams, Dixon, Keown etc began retiring) made up almost exclusively of foreigners.
- Chelsea - bought in a load of players, some English and some not, with a trend towards foreigners (particularly Portuguese, like Carvalho, Ferreira and flops such as Tiago) under Mourinho.
- Liverpool - still value their “local lads” like Carragher and $tevie Mbe, but Benitez has brought in a load of Spanish and Spanish-speaking players (Torres, Alonso, Mascherano, a few random Brazilians, Luis Garcia and others who have now left).
An all-British Isles team
To illustrate, let’s look at the best all-British Isles teams that each of the top 4 can put out. In fact, let’s not bother with Arsenal, because it’s not realistic. And actually, scrap Liverpool too because the only players there are Carragher, Finnan, Gerrard, Pennant and Crouch.
United
Foster; G Neville-Brown-Ferdinand-O’Shea; Fletcher-Carrick-Hargreaves-Giggs; Scholes; Rooney; subs: Simpson, Eagles, Cathcart, Welbeck, Heaton
Now that’s a pretty strong side, and we can even find some subs to put on the bench. I’m actively proud that we can put that team out.
Chelsea
[no keeper]; Bridge-Terry-[no CB]-A Cole; J Cole-Lampard-Sidwell-Wright-Phillips
[none]-Sinclair
Not much cop - even ignoring the gaps, where are the goals coming from?
So, on the one hand, the core of our team is still British Isles-based at present (Neville, Rio, Scholes, Carrick, Rooney). On the other hand, the majority of our recent signings have been Portuguese / Portuguese-speaking, which is Queiroz’s influence. I’m talking here about Nani, Anderson, the twin full backs and Manucho, together with all the links to any decent Porto or Sporting Lisbon player.
I would really like to to carry on trying to buy the best of British where possible alongside the top class foreigners (think Rooney, Rio, Carrick, Foster and Hargreaves), whilst at the same time bringing through our youth players (current alumni Scholes, O’Shea, Brown, Fletcher, Giggs and Neville). Bring in top drawer foreign players, but don’t look overseas for the sake of it, or just because Queiroz finds it easier to coach those who identify with him.
Apart from the “British players for a British league” point, on a practical note we’re likely to get better value in the long run for British Isles players. Players like Ronaldo and Tevez are going to want to go and play in the continent and in their homeland eventually, whereas Rooney and Rio will commit their entire remaining career to United. Think about Keane, Giggs, Scholes, Neville and others who played either all or the vast majority of their careers for us. To anyone who wants to accuse me of being prejudiced against foreigners, bear this in mind. Do you think we’d have been so good for so long without this unbelievable loyalty from our core squad?
The other impact of this view is that I firmly believe that our next manager should be from the British Isles - one who is going to view United as the pinnacle of their managerial career and (if all goes well) be with us for 25 years, not someone who might, for example, be tempted away by the Portugal national side in three years time. United are the top team in the top league in the British Isles, and I think we should always act like it.
End uncharacteristic rant. Try not to flame me too hard.
Well, for what they're worth, here are my views now the dust has settled:
1) Keeper I don’t yet think the time is right to throw EVDS out, but I think he is becoming too error-prone to say he will definitely be our no. 1 for the whole season. I can accept a few errors towards the end of a gruelling season, but to be making them at the start of a campaign after a lot of rest is concerning.
We need to start giving Foster games in lesser fixtures (and in training) to let him build up a rapport with the back four - and also to see if he is good enough. The signs are positive for him, and this needs to be a transition season. I hope, by the way, that Foster not Kuscszak is seen as next in line. TK signed an extended contract today, but I haven’t yet seen enough quality from him to convince.
2) Defending Let’s put this down as an aberration. I don’t think the best defence in the country has gone schoolboy overnight, and I think they were put under a lot of pressure by the midfielders’ inability to obtain and retain possession, particularly in our own half.
3) Central midfield There seems to be a bizarre dichotomy developing here. It seems that Scholes can play naturally with Carrick, and Hargreaves can play naturally with Anderson. Once you mix and match, you seem to end up with a disconnect so that you have two independent midfielders rather than a partnership. I have no idea what Anderson’s role in the first half of the Liverpool game was, in just the same was that I had no idea where Giggs was supposed to be playing in the second half.
I don’t think that three in the middle has worked very often for us, and I don’t think it should continue to be used.
As for Possebon, I’m sure he’ll get games this season, but nobody in their right minds could be advocating him as a starter against Liverpool or Chelsea away.
4) Up front My view is that we should play Berba right up, with three players interchangably playing behind him. 4-2-3-1 should be the order of the day. Ronaldo - Rooney/Tevez - Nani looks the most balanced to me, but I can see the first choice being Ronaldo - Rooney - Tevez.
That being said, we know enough to know that Fergie is not going to do that away from home against big sides. In those instances, though, I’d like to see us reverting to a traditional 4-4-2 rather than a 4-3-2-1. I’m thinking Ronaldo and Nani / Park on the wings, with Rooney / Tevez behind Berbatov.
This isn’t the first time that an embarrassment of riches has caused some temporary disruption (Seba Veron, anyone?) - Fergie needs to develop a clear plan for playing these guys together. Training sessions will obviously help that process.
5) Some starting line-ups
Against Villareal on Wednesday:
EVDS
Brown - Vidic - Rio - Evra
Nani - Hargreaves - Anderson - Park
Rooney - Berbatov
(Ronaldo for Nani/Park and Tevez for Rooney as impact subs)
Against Chelski on Sunday:
EVDS
G Neville - Rio - Brown - Evra
Ronaldo / Park - Hargreaves - Scholes - Nani
Rooney - Berbatov
(Tevez for Rooney and Anderson for Scholes as impact subs)