Manchester United Analysis

For those people who do not know about Manchester United, allow me to introduce it as the biggest Football Club in the world. This entry is basically an analysis of the current team of Manchester United and what it can potentially achieve in the next season of the English Premier League. Do not expect me to be impartial as I am a fanatic as far as Manchester United is concerned.

Most people know that Manchester United won the EPL title last season. This was a team that the media predicted to finish 4th because it did not have quality backup to the first team, had just sold its most prolific striker for a pittance to Real Madrid and had its top 2 players have a major altercation in the World Cup. Yet it won the premiership by playing some of the most attractive and entertaining football seen in the league for quite some time, it scored the most no. of goals it had scored in quite some time, and showed a level of camaraderie and team spirit unthinkable of post World Cup. Having just won the title, it then goes on to buy a Defensive Midfielder it so desperately needed and 2 of the hottest young players in the world of football. I here present a player by player analysis of the current squad, and in the end compare it with the other teams of the Premiership.

GOALKEEPERS:

Edwin Van Der Sar - Is 36 now but will definitely be first choice Goalkeeper for this season. Made a few errors towards the end of last season, but overall has been pretty solid.Brings stability to the backline and commands his area well.

Tomasz Kuszcaszk - Played a bit role last season. Is a very good shot stopper but is dodgy when it comes to dealing with crosses. Does not inspire confidence in his backline, but given a run in the team I'm sure he's capable of doing well.

Ben Foster - Widely touted as the future England No. 1. Spent 2 seasons on loan at Watford and has been pretty solid for them, but doubts remain on whether he will be able to handle the high pressure situation at Manchester United. Had a few howlers last season, especially the one against Tottenham. Will be given a settling in time to eventually takeover from VDS, but not without competition from Kusczcasck.

DEFENDERS:

Gary Neville - One of the best right backs in the world. Excellent in defence, excellent while attacking. Has been having a few injury problems of late, and seems to be starting to age, but still has at least 2 years in him.

Rio Ferdinand - One of the classiest centre backs of the world. Seems to defend effortlessly. Excellent in defending, has shown a propensity to attack whenever given a chance. Great skills with the ball for a defender and is possibly our most prized possession in defence.

Nemanja Vidic - The perfect foil to Rio Ferdinand. Fearless, uncompromising, strong, ruthless are just some of the adjectives used to describe the man. Is awesome at heading too, which makes him the prime target from corners. Scored a few goals last season, but can easily score a few more from the corners.

Patrice Evra - Really good left back.Excellent while attacking. Is not as good at defending, especially against long balls, but is our first choice left back. Is young and can only get better.

Gabriel Heinze - Had an excellent first season at the club, been injured through most of his second, and was injured at the start of the last season. Because of his injury wasn't able to prepare properly for the season and that showed by some of his early games of the season by which time he had lost his position to Evra. Is a much better defender than Evra but is really poor while attacking. Seems to be on his way out of the team as he can't accept being second choice at the club, with Real Madrid the most probable destination.

Wes Brown - The best backup defender in the Premiership, would probably come in the first team of most of the teams in the League. Prone to losing his concentration at crucial moments, which is why he is backup rather than being in the first team. Good at right back also. His loyalty to the team means he will remain a squad player in the next season as well.

Mikael Silvestre - Past his best. Can play at both left back and centre back, but makes lots of mistakes at each position. Don't know why Sir Alex is sticking with him in the team. Can be easily offloaded to make room for some of the youngsters.

Gerard Pique - I tip him to succeed at the club. Had an excellent loan season at Real Zaragoza where he won rave reviews for his performances. Is versatile and can play at CB, RB as well as DM. The only place which may be available for him is at RB and I'm hoping he plays well enough at that position.

John O'Shea - The most versatile player in the team. Can play at any position anywhere in the field, but is like the Jack of all trades and so is not good enough to consistently hold down any one position. Came useful at the end of the season when the first 4 of the defence were out injured, but unless that happens again next season, I don't see him featuring regularly in the squad even.

MIDFIELDERS:

Paul Scholes - The QuarterBack (in American Football parlance) of the team. He is the playmaker of the team. Every move flows through him. Superb vision, ability and definitely amongst the best players in his role. Had his best season ever last season. Will hopefully be able to continue his great form into the next season as he is vital to the team.

Michael Carrick - Came into the team with the expectations of a huge price tag of 18 million pounds. Took a little while settling in the team but eventually his partnership with Scholes ensured a kind of solidity in the midfield which had been missing for the past few years. Plays mainly as a holding midfielder and so had to curtail his natural play for the good of the team. His real ability showed through in the match against Roma in the Champions League in which he was by far the best player of the team. Will be used in rotation with Scholes and Hargreaves in the Premier League with all 3 of them being used in the Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo - The player of the season last season. Stayed at Manchester United despite being castigated by the English press for the World Cup Incident. Faced huge criticism by opposition fans but was supported by most Manchester United fans and he repaid the trust shown in him by playing some of the best football seen in the League for quite some time. Was definitely the shining beacon of the squad and deserves all the accolades and awards he recieved. Definitely amongst the Top 3 players in the world at the moment, and can definitely get better. The big challenge for him will be to maintain his form at the very least. Huge expectations from him this time around.

Ryan Giggs - Had one of his best seasons but unfortunately age seems to be catching up with him. Can't run up and down the wings anymore and I envisage a much more central role to him in the form of an Attacking Midfielder. Will play regularly in the start but will be phased out by some of the younger players.

Owen Hargreaves - Probably the worst kept secret in the history of football was the desire of Sir Alex Ferguson to bring Hargreaves to Manchester United. Protracted negotiations continued for over a year and have eventually resulted in the arrival of Owen Hargreaves for a reported 17 million pounds. One of the better Defensive Midfielders of world football. Has won a lot with Bayern Munich and will be looking to add to his medals tally at Old Trafford.

Darren Fletcher - Was backup last season, and will have been pushed further down the pecking order due to the new arrivals. Showed some good form last season, but was never consistently in the team to be able to maintain his form. Is good enough for teams out of the Top 4, but will never be a regular here. Nevertheless, is a good backup if he is willing to stay that way.

Nani - Dubbed the new 'Cristiano Ronaldo'. Pacy left winger, lots of tricks and showboating, very similar to Ronaldo in his first season. Will be eased into the team to probably replace Giggs, but will first have to reduce his showboating and start playing for the team more than himself. Can easily become a first team regular if he continues his development.

Anderson - One of the brightest young footballers in the world at the moment. Dubbed the new 'Ronaldinho'. Has a great mind which can see things before others do. Has already earned his first international cap for Brazil at the age of 18 and things are looking really bright for him. Seems to be the perfect replacement for Scholes and will probably be groomed for that position by the man himself. Still at least a year away from coming to terms with the Premier League.

Park Ji Sung - Good winger. Plays with all his heart but this cant cover up for his obvious lack of quality. Has a knack for being at the right place at the right time in front of goal. Been injured for majority of last season but will definitely be a squad player next season to cover for Ronaldo and Giggs.

Kieran Richardson - SELL HIM!!! 'Nuff said.

STRIKERS:

Wayne Rooney - Had an average season but still ended with 23 goals. Likes to play in a free role and not up top like where he was played for a few games towards the end. This is the season for him to turn into the player everybody hopes him to be. I reckon him to fulfil his potential from the next season onwards.

Louis Saha - Injury prone, but when ok, is the perfect foil to Rooney. Will probably remain injured most of the coming season as well, which makes it necessary to look for replacements.

Guiseppe Rossi - One of the brightest young prospects from the academy for quite some time. Plays in a position very similar to Rooney, which makes him very unfortunate because he won't be able to replace Rooney from the team. Had a very good loan spell at Parma. Hopefully will be given a chance in the team to prove himself.

Alan Smith - Again a player who might be good enough for other teams but isn't for United.Will probably be sold, with Everton as potential suitors in a reported 6 million pound deal.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - Past his best by a long way. Will be sparingly used if injuries crop up to major players. Should look to provide his experience to the younger players and help them develop.

Carlos Tevez??? - Although the deal hasn't been confirmed as yet, it is near to confirmation. Again one of the brightest young players in world football, will bring a lot to United. Plays with a lot of heart, extremely intelligent but with a suspect temperament. Is already settled in the Premier League, and if he can play the way he did for West Ham, he can only get much better at Manchester United.

Formations of the team and the other title challengers will be discussed in the next few posts.As far as Manchester United is concerned, if the youngsters who have been brought into the team fulfil the potential that they have in them, this United team will become the greatest team ever in the history of Club football.

GLORY GLORY MAN UTD!!!!