This summer Manchester Unitedspent quickly and decisively. It looked like the behaviour of a club that knew exactly what they needed to improve and then they would be ready, even better than before, uncatchable. But is this true? Based on their performance in the Community Shield, here are some dramatically premature conclusions.
Watching Manchester United against Manchester City on Sunday, 3 things were apparent. The first is that Ashley Young will be a success this season. Of course it is incredibly early to make assertions like this but Young already links up well with Rooney and looked like one of the leaders in the team despite the fact he has only just arrived. He was energetic, lively and looks raring to go.
The second observation was the weakness of United’s central midfield. The starting pairing of Anderson and Carrick were underwhelming and when you look at the rest of their squad there is not much to stir excitement. Giggs, Fletcher, Gibson and Cleverley, (who came on and showed attacking intent and potential) does not seem a list to strike fear into the heart of the opposition, the ongoing pursuit of Wesley Sneijder looks far more important now. Whilst Young may alleviate some of the creative burden, United were far too dependent on Nani and Rooney last season and Sneijder’s ability would be a significant improvement.
Third was the absence of Edwin Van der Sar. David De Gea has big boots to fill and while no-one at United would expect him to have the authority, presence or understanding that Van der Sar developed with his back four over six years, on Sunday, the young Spaniard looked like a man feeling sorry for himself even though the second Manchester City goal looked distinctly saveable. With United lacking an abundance of creativity, the last thing they need is to start conceding goals.
With Van der Sar and Scholes leaving the club, it was always going to be difficult to find able replacements that can maintain the quality of the squad. Whilst it is undoubtedly too early to draw conclusions on the quality of their signings, it does seem apparent that there is plenty of room for Wesley Sneijder in this team and the hole in midfield did not seem so obvious last year. Without him, and with De Gea needing time to grow into Van der Sar’s role, United will be more vulnerable this year.
Written by Philip Wroe for FootballFancast.com.
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you are quite spot on….i have said, i dont know much about football, but man-u need a creative midfielder.saf is really gambling and i’v began giving up on man-u because of saf’s obstinacy and reluctance to see the problem. he has buried his head in the sand.the community shield march said it all about the midfield for a keen observer and unless he works on his midfield he should forget about winning the champions league. this is a layman’s opinion in football mr fergie cant depend only on the only creative player-cleverly. what if he’s injured? i wish you listened saf. it will be foolhardy and mediocre at this point for man-u to only want to win the premier league and not the champions leagu.a creative midfielder is the key and currently man u dont have one. saf should learn from the dynamism that the new players have brought in his team and bring in a creative midfielder.that is the only remaing piece of the jigsaw puzzle for a team that wants to be world number one. if not, man u will always play second fiddle to barcelona!
Indeed Ashley Young i too bellieve will have awounderfull season since he has been in the premier league for atime so it is not new to him.