Another management lesson from Sir Alex Ferguson

Top of the league with games in hand, unbeaten, through to the Champions League knockout stages and the fourth round of the FA cup. All done at an economical and unspectacular rate; there have been no real shows of class (except the annihilation of an admittedly poor Blackburn side) and more than enough bumps in the ride, especially away from home. The worrying part for all other fans is what will happen when United finally hit their stride and start to show the form of Champions.

Sir Alex Ferguson can afford to sit back in January and watch the teams below him try and either salvage a season or desperately try and maintain a challenge. It is his view that his squad is at a perfect level, “I’m happy with the squad size. I just hope now that we can hit a consistent vein of form.” He argues that he has moulded his squad to possess the balance of youth and experience that he believes is key to winning the title. He explains, “It’s been our plan for years to have that spread of ages here, so that when the older players retire we have the people with the right experience and ability to replace them.”

United have spent the last few years blooding the youngsters that are now beginning to make a mark on the first team. The likes of Fabio, Rafael, Jonny Evans, Macheda and the on-loan Welbeck have all garnered a degree of first team experience in their apprenticeship at the highest level. They have earned the trust of their manager and proven their worth at a level progressively higher than reserve team football.

It is a process that Ferguson has utilized for years, firstly with Beckham, Scholes, Giggs and Neville and then with John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher and, to an extent, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

The club finds itself in the position that Chelsea could only dream of; with a plethora of first team ready youngsters. Chelsea lost Juliano Belletti, Deco, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Ricardo Carvalho, with the intention of replacing them with academy products. It’s a plan that seems to have failed dramatically as players such as Jeffrey Bruma, Gael Kakuta and Fabio Borini just haven’t had the game time that their United counterparts have had. They simply are not ready for first team football at this level. They have not been permitted the opportunity to acclimatize to the pace and power of the Premier League, due to Abramovich’s hasty decision to cull the first team squad. Hence the distinct lack of trust shown by Carlo Ancelotti, who has preferred the limited Paulo Ferreira at centre back when injuries have damaged Chelsea’s defence. Missing out on the chance to give Bruma a crash course in Premier League defending. Of Chelsea’s academy alumni only Josh McEachran has shown that he has the talent and ability to make the transition from hot prospect to first team regular.

Whilst Ferguson can preach about the balance of his squad, the point has to be made that where there is balance in terms of player’s ages and first team readiness, there is also a distinct lack of world-class talent in his squad. This squad is a pale imitation of the quality of Ferguson’s previous squads, (disregarding the Djemba-Djemba generation) the Scot still hasn’t really replaced the mercurial talents of Ronaldo, although Nani has certainly stepped up to the plate. Whilst the Michael Owen experiment can surely be classed as a failure due to a combination of injuries and a certain Wayne Rooney. The quality of United’s central midfield still provides furious debate, despite winning the title for three years in a row, United still possess arguably the weakest central midfield of the current top five. There is no goal-scoring magician of the ilk of Rafael Van Der Vaart, no box-to-box powerhouse in the mould of Yaya Toure or Michael Essien and no one with the creative ubiquity of Cesc Fabregas. The squad also lacks the quality of cover that previous United squads have found so plentiful, with recent United Benches giving little hope for redemption if and when its needed.

Whilst the youngsters are ready for first team football, there is no one standing out enough to replace Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs (Rafael displaced Gary Neville the moment he stepped onto the pitch). So Ferguson will surely have to open his wallet soon and start finding quality in the transfer market rather than preaching about the lack of value. United’s recent success has been hinged on the performances of individual players, firstly the goals that Ronaldo provided and then last season only the brilliance of Wayne Rooney kept them in the title race.

This year has seen a different story, with Nani, Javier Hernandez, Ji-Sung Park and Premier League top scorer Dimitar Berbatov all chipping in with regular and crucial goals. Ferguson has managed his squad terrifically well thus far and as the second half of the season takes shape, United traditionally hit top form and the season could end with Ferguson finally fulfilling his opening pledge to United fans.