With Manchester United back from the US, M.E.N. Sport's James Robson looks at how they approach the new term.
THE POSITIVES
New kids on the block
Fergie keeps talking up his latest generation of fledglings – but can Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda really make the step up from promising starlets to established regulars?
In the cases of Cleverley and Welbeck, why not? And if not now, when? Both have had successful loan spells at Wigan and Sunderland respectively and, after gaining much-needed first-team experience in the Premier League, the time has come for them to prove they have futures at Old Trafford.
Ferguson rates both highly and both must be given their chance. Last year Jack Wilshere returned to Arsenal after a loan spell at Bolton that turned out to be the making of him. Now a pivotal figure for club and country, the hope is that Cleverley and Welbeck will respond in the same manner as the Arsenal midfielder.
As for Macheda, he started the US tour in outstanding fashion, scoring two goals in the opening game against New England Revolution. But still aged only 19 and with so much competition up front, the Italian hitman could find himself out on loan again following his disastrous time at Sampdoria.
A move to a Premier League side seems more likely to gain more first team experience.
Has Michael got g-Owen?
The 31-year-old has been handed a new one-year contract – but can he expect to be anything other than a bit part player?
Owen faces the same challenge as every other United striker – and that’s to displace Javier Hernandez as Wayne Rooney’s partner.
The former Liverpool and England striker looked certain to be shown the door this summer and seemed as surprised as anyone else when offered a one-year extension.
Ferguson clearly feels that having lost veterans Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar, John O’Shea, Wes Brown and Gary Neville, he needed to retain experience.
Owen has that in abundance and with so many youngsters injected into the squad – including 19-year-old Phil Jones and 20-year-old David de Gea – Owen’s knowhow will be invaluable.
Crucially, he is not the type to rock the boat and admitted that he’d rather be a bit part in a winning team than a regular in a struggling side. He could yet prove a vital squad member.
Are the new boys up to it?
Fergie has spent £50m on Phil Jones, Ashley Young and David de Gea. Would those players have made a difference in the Champions League final against Barcelona and will they help United close the gap on Pep Guardiola’s brilliant side?
Ferguson insisted he could rise to the challenge of the European champions after the chastening 3-1 defeat at Wembley.
He knew he needed something of an overhaul despite winning that 19th title. And he deserves credit for looking long-term in his transfer policy.
The manager will probably have departed when Jones and De Gea reach their full potential – but they will be expected to make a difference now.
In Young he has signed one of the most exciting English players around. Pace, ability to attack on either side and a scorer as well as creator of goals, he will add much-needed flair to a team that looked workmanlike at times last year.
De Gea will be entrusted with the No 1 shirt and given the chance to establish himself as United’s first choice for the next decade, while Jones will provide valuable cover for Rio Ferdinand.
In the three signings Ferguson has made, he clearly believes youth and home-grown talent can topple Barca – it might just be that it won’t be this season though.
Beating Barca – at last!
United finally got the better of Barca in the last game of their US tour, but should we read much into that 2-1 win?
The simple answer is no. But just as City took pleasure in their Dublin Cup success, any win over their Champions League conquerors should be gratefully received.
United finished their US tour with a 100 per cent record and a morale-boosting win over the European champions.
Barca were without many of their superstars like Lionel Messi and Xavi, but victory was a reminder the Catalans are not unbeatable. Ask yourself this – how much worse would it have been if United had lost yet again to Pep Guardiola’s team?
Ultimately, it was meaningless but Ferguson will be much happier bouncing into the new campaign on the back of an unbeaten pre-season programme, which is exactly why he will want to settle scores with City in the Community Shield on Sunday.
THE NEGATIVES
The sorcerer’s apprentice
The season is less than two weeks away and United are still to sign a recognised replacement for Paul Scholes. Can they do that before the start of the campaign?
They don’t have to do it before the start of the season, with the transfer window not closing until the end of the month. But the need to find the man to fill Scholes’ boots is every bit as important now as it was at the end of the season.
At the start of the summer Ferguson identified two men capable of succeeding the ginger magician – Wesley Sneijder and Samir Nasri.
Upon arrival in the US, he as good as ruled United out of the chase for Nasri, claiming he thought Arsenal’s French international would go elsewhere or stay at the Emirates.
Attentions then turned to Sneijder – a long-term target – but the Dutchman’s £35m price tag and wages of more than £200,000-a-week were always going to be stumbling blocks.
The Inter Milan playmaker has refused to rule himself out of a move to United, but Ferguson’s pursuit has turned into one of the more enduring transfer sagas of the summer.
Sneijder headed out to Beijing with Inter on Monday, appearing to suggest that no agreement was imminent.
United had been linked with Roma striker Mirko Vucinic, but he has joined Juventus.
The search goes on.
Hernandez headache
Javier Hernandez has been ruled out of the start of the season due to concussion received during training in the US. How will United cope without him?
Ferguson claims the Mexican would have been rested anyway because of a heavy summer schedule with his country.
He proved himself a vital part of United’s plans last season, but Ferguson has an embarrassment of riches up front. Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda can all play alongside Rooney, while there is also the option of a front three with Ashley Young and Nani playing either side of a lone front man.
Is Fletcher fighting fit?
Darren Fletcher’s mystery virus ruled him out of the latter part of last season. Can he finally shake his problems and be United’s enforcer once more?
The Scotland midfielder was undoubtedly missed in the second half of the season. Once again United had to cope without his bite when trying to get to grips with Barca’s midfield in the Champions League final.
He was left behind from the US tour to undergo a specialised training schedule and believes he has put the virus behind him.
A special diet has helped him regain the weight he lost while he was ill and he hopes to be part of Ferguson’s first XI for the opening match of the season.
Do the positives outweigh the negatives? Have your say.
Manchester United: Ready or not?
August 02, 2011
Comments
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NOT... at the moment in my opinion. We are still weak in central midfield especially in the creative area, ideally I would like to see us go for both a creative force along side an aggressive one Sneijder and Diarra would be to great additions, with Nani, Young, Valencia and Park available on the wings and Pogba and Morrison coming through our midfield would start to look very interesting.
Let's see what happens in the coming weeks.
Another robson shocker... the urgency isn't for a midfielder - it's for a new journalist to do the united stories as this guy just gets progressively worse.
How will we replace 60 game a season Paul Scholes?
How will we cope without Hernandez, especially in light of Michael Owen's decent pre-season?
You've answered your own questions man, get a grip... the questions that need answering are about whether the keepers will be decent enough in the prem, whether the current midfield crop are all fully fit and ready to go and whether Mick Phelan will finally abait with wearing shorts when he really shouldn't...
The people on these forums provide the groundwork for 95% of Robson's articles yet he flies off at irrelevant tangents.... sort it out before the season starts.
The greatest positives have been omitted - Rooney and Evra settled and focussed from the start of the season. Valencia, Rio, Park and Fletcher will hopefully be available for a greater part of this season. Nani, the DaSilvas, Welbeck, Cleverley, Anderson, Smalling, Evans all a year older/more experienced.
If we were champions by 9 points last season despite all of the problems, what chance have the others got this year?
THE POSITIVES
New kids on the block
Can Cleverley, Welbeck and Macheda make it at United? the answer is yes. Cleverley is a fantastic talent and has always played great for United whether it was the academy/reserves or on pre-season, Tom is a true talent and not only that but he has been a success on loan with other clubs and now it is his time, anyone who has ever seen Tom play knows what a player he is and no-one should doubt his ability to become a United great. Macheda is a great young talent and will get better at United, we all know what a special talent he is and given the time and games he will develop into a truly great star here at United. Welbeck has played for United and proved he is good enough and I for one believe he will get better over time and with some more experience from his loan spell he has improved a lot and now he is truly ready for Manchester United.
Has Michael got g-Owen?
I believe Michael Owen still haves something to offer and we will see this season how he does in his 3rd year with the club.
Are the new boys up to it?
We have made some really good signings in De Gea, Jones and Young, some people might knock it but they claimed last year we bought "rubbish" and yet we won the League and came close to winning the Champions League before Barca got the better of us. De Gea has looked good in the games he's played so far as has Jones and Young, fact is we have made more good young signings for the club and the future is looking very good with the players we have, the players we bought and the kids coming though the youth system.
Beating Barca – at last!
United defeated Barca in the pre-season in a very good game, yes nothing should be read from it but the same goes for every other clubs pre-season results. Fact remains that we beat a very strong Barcelona side that had Iniesta, Villa, Keita, Valdes, Pedro, Alcantara, Abidal and Busquets in a great game and deserved to win, Cleverley was amazing as was Nani and Barca clearly couldn't handle either one, whiles some like to mention who Barcelona had missing such a Messi, Xaxi, Puyol and Pique whiles new signing Alexis Sanchez is yet to play for Barca but they ignore the fact we had No Chicharito, Fletcher, Valencia, Scholes and Van Der Sar are both retired, Rooney only playing half the game and Park, Berbatov and Carrick never got off the bench, fact is both sides where missing a number of key players and yet put on a great match and the right team won. The squad is now on a high heading into our final pre-season fixture before the season kicks off with city in the C/Shield and we should look forward to another great season for Manchester United and another shot at winning the Champions League and retaining OUR Premier League title.
THE NEGATIVES
The sorcerer’s apprentice
There are no negatives as far as I am concern, so what if we don’t sign a player to replace Scholes, we have the talent in Cleverley and Anderson.
Hernandez headache
Chicharito might have sustained a concussion in pr-season training and will miss a couple of weeks but he will be back some time in September and will be better than every with a season in England behind him. Some have suggested that the opposing teams has now sussed him out but Hernandez is not the kind of player you can suss out and mark, fact is he will be unstoppable this year and I believe we will see more than 30 goals from him this season for United.
Is Fletcher fighting fit?
I believe Fletcher is fit again, yes that mysterious virus causing Fletcher to miss the last few months of last season did cause some problems in the midfield but we had the talent to work past that and now Fletcher will be a big star again this season for United. His enforcer style play is very good for our midfield and he is good at what he does so with him back fit, the new recruits, the youth and the experienced heads in the team we are looking at another great season for Manchester United.
No not ready at all!
I would like to know what Fergie intends to do with all the strikers we have on our books, I can see Diouf being sold because he didn't pull up any trees whilst out on loan last season and if there are any truth in the rumours that PSG have offered £18m for Berbatov I would bite their hands off because it makes great business sense - a 30 year old in the last year of his contract? It would have to be done otherwise how will Fergie give Welbeck the chances he has spoken of and what would be the point in re-signing Owen for another season?
Interesting times...
The psoitives certainly outweigh the negatives. We're champions and have a very good squad of players. We have top class players in most positions but the centre of the park is the one glaring place where we dont have top class players. We need 1, probably 2 players there, a creative force and someone with bite and agression who can win the ball back and drive us on a bit when we need it
The Sneijder story is starting to look like it's got some truth in it now - if he genuinely wants to come (and only if he really wants to come, as opposed to us being a way out of somewhere else) then I'd happily take him. Agree with RedG above that we also need an aggressive force and if Newcastle really are stupid enough to let one of the best English midfielders in he country walk away on a free then I'd have a car heading for the North East already. With those two on board, then we'd be ready.
Any journo using the phrase "replacement for Scholes" are not worthwile reading.
If United want to win the Champions league they have to sell Carrick and Rio they played so much better against Barcelona without them.
Fergie has earmarked two players of class who at the same time will keep our three wayward players under control.
Bellamy and Barton should fit the bill well
Things are looking fantastic for us with just one piece of the jigsaw missing and that will be resolved very shortly.
On the whole the new signings look fantastic rooney ,nani and co looking in great shape anderson looks sharper along with owen very positive outlook for the coming season.
You can see fergies thinking he is going to leave a team that will dominate for a number of years after he has retired to all those looking to dethrone us you are going to have to be out of this world.
A decent summary there James. Replacement for Scholes bit was a little unnecessary given him being increasingly sidelined for a few years but the editor no doubt insisted on its inclusion;)
Winning the Champions League as always will need luck as well as skill to be on our side. Barca's midfield aside I thought our attack lacked a little guile and Hernandez spurned a few opportunities through being off-side, so Young could add something - maybe even Welbeck and Cleverly could if they continue their improvement.
Cleverley could be the answer in midfield. He looks to be a quality player, time for him to establish himself.
I disagree though that Fergie has an embarrassment of riches up front. We could do with quality cover for Roo and Little Pea. Berbatov has had his chances but not performed. Being a flat track bully against Blackburn is not good enough. Also not sure that Wellbeck or Macheda can cut it. Again, both have had opportunities but not performed. And let's not mention Mickey 'hamstring' Owen please.
Anderson is the key to this season for me. If he steps up to be the big game box to box midfielder we all know he can be then it will be fun to watch. Much as I love Ryan Giggs the less we see of him the better things will be going. Cleverly and maybe Joey Barton should play AM in the easier games and Fletcher and Carrick should alternate according to tactics at DM with Jones maybe getting a chance in the early cup games.
Across the back and on the wings we have no worries but with Chicharito missing the start of the season I am not so embarrassed about the riches up front. Rooney can't play every game and the other four all have their own problems. I hope we can keep Berba to play in the hole when Rooney is rested but £18m from PSG must be tempting.
I would love to see us play a front 4 of Young, Rooney, Nani and Valencia sometimes. That would be really scary.
don't bite my head off but i would snap joey barton up.think about it for a second,he's 28 this will be his last shot at the big time,so he'll play his socks off,his last chance to get into the england set up,so he'll play his socks off and to rub city's nose in it he'll play his socks off.don't worry about him being disruptive,saf,rio,wassa and vidic will sort that out.he was in a weak dressing room at city where he ruled the roost that won't be the case with us where there's too many strong characters to keep him in line,and for free we've got nowt to lose.get him plus another signing and we're done and dusted for the season.
Anyone else reminded of wide eyed spaced out cult members when they read I Am God's posts? Its like someone shouting banalities in your ear all day. If Utd announced they had just signed that guy who got sacked from Hearts for grooming on the internet I Am God would almost certainly pronounce it as a magnificent capture.
MIDFIELDER please!
We are ready mate. End of.
Please this is a no news,please report when there is news,we know whats going on from other news and media and we will not beleive untill the player/s are sat beside fergie in a utd shirt.
Can we have a better football utd news reporter.
Scholes got his first match at age 19, but had to wait until he was 23, in the season 97/98, before he was a key player on our midfield. Anderson got his first match at age 19, this year he will be the same age as when Scholes established him as a key player. We can already see some change in the young brazilian, he is now creating more goals, both for him self, and for others. He has a great work rate. And SAF praises him as our future, as he did with ginger in the late 90's. The futere is bright!!
If Anderson steps up to be the big game box to box midfielder we all know he can be then we are ready. He may not be the new Paul Scholes but he could be the new Bryan Robson. I'd like to see us pick up Joey Barton to join Cleverly as back up AM.
At DM Fletcher and Carrick may not set the world on fire but we have won plenty with them so far. Maybe Jones will get a chance in the early cup games.
Across the back and on the wings we have no worries but with Chicharito missing the start of the season I am not so embarassed about the riches up front. Rooney can't play every game and the other four each have their issues. I hope we can keep Berba to play in the hole when Rooney is rested but £18m from PSG must be tempting.
I would love to see us try a front four of Young, Rooney, Nani and Valencia. That would be scary.
I hope reports that Juventus have made an offer for Nani are untrue. Nani is clearly much less effective on the left and we have bought Young for that reason. Nani is a highly skilful player on the right and offers flair and creativity. He is getting better with each season and it would be a shame to sell him now. It's true we have Valencia, but to chase top honours you need a decent squad. The negatives listed above make this a stark fact.
I hope we are not following in the footsteps of Chelsea and Man City, i.e. merely buying established world class players. We should rely upon the men (and boys) we have in midfield - success built on local players and players coming in at a young age is so much sweeter (as we have experienced in the past). We are rock solid in defence, on the wings and in attack. We can thus allow to be a bit patient with our midfielders. Keep the red flags flying high!
We should not follow in the footsteps of Chelsea and Man City, i.e. merely buying established world class players. Success build on local players and players coming in at a young age is so much sweeter. We are rock solid in defence, on the wings and in attack. We can thus allow to be a bit patient in midfield and still be able to retain the title. Keep the ref flags flying high!
What we really need is a Rolls Royce midfielder. Someone who's not a flashy person or a flashy player but has great talent. He has to have great mental concentration. He must read the game so well. Someone who is a dream for any attacking midfielder to play with.
Luckily, it seems that we're sorted.