As Sir Alex Ferguson takes his yearly vacation, he already must have asked David Gill to start drawing up a blueprint for what acquisitions to make for the next season. United’s campaign this season has been completely based on a strong squad with quality as well as quantity. SAF would definitely look to strengthen the squad further, weed out certain deadwood, and some loan deals as well.
So who will come in and who will go out. Let me highlight the areas where I feel United need to strengthen.
1. Goalkeeper:
Edwin van der sar is 40 now. He had a pretty good season setting records along the way but much of that was down to Vidic and Rio ahead of him. I can’t remember him making any match-saving saves but he was good between the sticks. He still is dicey when it comes to collecting crosses and corners but his distribution has been good and he does have the awareness of a top class keeper.
Ben Foster has been tipped to be the No. 1 for both club and country but his chances have been restricted to Cup and easy games in the league. He has been good whenever called upon but has had a lot of injuries as well.
Thomas Kuszczak will leave this season or maybe get loaned out. He has not featured much this season and is clearly behind the above two.
I feel we need a good world class keeper, someone in the mould of Smeichel. Obviously they don’t make keepers like that nowadays. The only keepers who come close are Iker Casillas and Gigi Buffon. Casillas won’t leave Madrid but Buffon would. However, he would definitely come expensive but he has a good 9-10 seasons ahead of him. Seems a fruitful investment.
Outcome: A world class goalkeeper needed.
2. Defence:
No problems in the centre of the defense. Both Vidic and Rio are perfect and Evans is a good understudy. Wes Brown can chip in as the fourth choice central defender.
There are four right-backs and three left-backs. The problem is with the LB position. If Evra gets injured or suspended, then Oshea gets shifted there or Fabio gets a game. So far, Fabio has shown potential but he has not completed a single game for us. And Oshea is versatile, gets the job done but can’t attack at all. Ritchie De Laet has shown potential and I think he will get more first-team chances next season.
Outcome: No buying required but injuries should be kept in check.
3. Wingers:
At present the wingers that we have are: Ronaldo, Park, Giggs, Nani, and Tosic. This will be the last season for Giggs and even then SAF prefers to use him centrally and not on the wings. And he really is not as fast as he was. Ronaldo is quite often used as a striker. So we have Park and Nani as genuine wingers with Tosic to slowly get blooded into the team.
Park we all know is creative and can run up and down his flank whole day. He puts in a shift equal to two players at times. But he is not a goal-scorer and neither that much of a creator. SAF primarily uses him as a defensive winger. Nani is a waste actually. He has honestly not justified his price tag. He creates very little and can only score some really spectacular goals. He does provide a lot of crosses but otherwise has done little. I think he is out of Old Trafford this season.
Hence, we need a genuine winger, someone who can replace Giggs. Tough ask and very few such wingers around. The first name that springs to my mind is Aaron Lennon but then again he is a right-sided winger and we have Ronaldo there. So we need a genuine left-sided winger. Stewart Downing fits the bill perfectly I think. There is also talk of us signing Antonio Valencia but again he is a right-sided player.
Outcome: Left-sided winger needed. Stewart Downing is the only candidate I think.
4. Central Midfield:
Here is where the major problem lies. We have the following midfielders: Carrick, Fletcher, Hargreaves, Anderson, Scholes, Gibson, and Possebon. Lots of midfielders infact.
However, Scholes, Gibson and Possebon will make very few appearances and Scholes may even leave. Hargreaves seems to be perennially injured and might not be fit before January. So that means we have three fit central midfielders with Giggs used as well.
Now, Carrick and Fletcher are typically the defensive midfielders who shield the back four and have done so superbly this season. Fletcher was solely missed in the Champions League final where Xavi and Iniesta were left totally free to do what they do best. Anderson is the only attacking central midfielder that we have. He has shown glimpses of his talent but is nowhere close to Scholes. True he has age on his side but then Scholes showed what he was capable of at quite a young age itself.
More than someone creative, we need someone who has character in the midfield. Someone like Roy Keane or Bryan Robson, someone who would have tackled into Xavi and Iniesta and showed some direction. United looked out of depth in Rome. Had Keane been there he would have hauled up United by their shoe-laces. Sadly Giggs or Carrick are not in that mould.
Outcome: I was hoping United would go for Kaka. He is the perfect attacking midfielder that we needed but it seems Madrid will have snapped him up by the weekend. I don’t see any signings in this area. SAF will allow for Anderson to be developed as our creative and driving force.
5. Strike force:
Our present strike force is composed of the following: Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez, Welbeck, Macheda, and Manucho.
Tevez is definitely leaving. Rooney is automatically the first choice striker and I sincerely hope that SAF stops playing him in that defensive role of a winger. There is no more creative and with exceptional vision in the United team than Rooney and I hope he is allowed to exercise that to the fullest.
The problem is Rooney and Berbatov both are the same. Both like to drop deep, get the ball and create attacks. Neither is in the mould of Andy Cole or Ruud van Nistelrooy that is, neither is a poacher. And we desperately need a poacher. Someone who can score out of nothing. Of the remaining three, I think Manucho fits the bill as a poacher. He is a strong lad and good in the air as well. I expect SAF to give him more first team games. Macheda and Welbeck will also feature prominently.
The biggest lost is that of Tevez. Rooney is susceptible to injury so we need a back up for Berbatov. The immediate name that springs to mind is Karim Benzema but he would come very expensive, upwards of £35 million. But he would be a good acquisition.
Outcome: A striker will definitely come. Benzema seems to be the only option but I would love a shock move for Samuel Eto.
So who will come in and who will go out. Let me highlight the areas where I feel United need to strengthen.
1. Goalkeeper:
Edwin van der sar is 40 now. He had a pretty good season setting records along the way but much of that was down to Vidic and Rio ahead of him. I can’t remember him making any match-saving saves but he was good between the sticks. He still is dicey when it comes to collecting crosses and corners but his distribution has been good and he does have the awareness of a top class keeper.
Ben Foster has been tipped to be the No. 1 for both club and country but his chances have been restricted to Cup and easy games in the league. He has been good whenever called upon but has had a lot of injuries as well.
Thomas Kuszczak will leave this season or maybe get loaned out. He has not featured much this season and is clearly behind the above two.
I feel we need a good world class keeper, someone in the mould of Smeichel. Obviously they don’t make keepers like that nowadays. The only keepers who come close are Iker Casillas and Gigi Buffon. Casillas won’t leave Madrid but Buffon would. However, he would definitely come expensive but he has a good 9-10 seasons ahead of him. Seems a fruitful investment.
Outcome: A world class goalkeeper needed.
2. Defence:
No problems in the centre of the defense. Both Vidic and Rio are perfect and Evans is a good understudy. Wes Brown can chip in as the fourth choice central defender.
There are four right-backs and three left-backs. The problem is with the LB position. If Evra gets injured or suspended, then Oshea gets shifted there or Fabio gets a game. So far, Fabio has shown potential but he has not completed a single game for us. And Oshea is versatile, gets the job done but can’t attack at all. Ritchie De Laet has shown potential and I think he will get more first-team chances next season.
Outcome: No buying required but injuries should be kept in check.
3. Wingers:
At present the wingers that we have are: Ronaldo, Park, Giggs, Nani, and Tosic. This will be the last season for Giggs and even then SAF prefers to use him centrally and not on the wings. And he really is not as fast as he was. Ronaldo is quite often used as a striker. So we have Park and Nani as genuine wingers with Tosic to slowly get blooded into the team.
Park we all know is creative and can run up and down his flank whole day. He puts in a shift equal to two players at times. But he is not a goal-scorer and neither that much of a creator. SAF primarily uses him as a defensive winger. Nani is a waste actually. He has honestly not justified his price tag. He creates very little and can only score some really spectacular goals. He does provide a lot of crosses but otherwise has done little. I think he is out of Old Trafford this season.
Hence, we need a genuine winger, someone who can replace Giggs. Tough ask and very few such wingers around. The first name that springs to my mind is Aaron Lennon but then again he is a right-sided winger and we have Ronaldo there. So we need a genuine left-sided winger. Stewart Downing fits the bill perfectly I think. There is also talk of us signing Antonio Valencia but again he is a right-sided player.
Outcome: Left-sided winger needed. Stewart Downing is the only candidate I think.
4. Central Midfield:
Here is where the major problem lies. We have the following midfielders: Carrick, Fletcher, Hargreaves, Anderson, Scholes, Gibson, and Possebon. Lots of midfielders infact.
However, Scholes, Gibson and Possebon will make very few appearances and Scholes may even leave. Hargreaves seems to be perennially injured and might not be fit before January. So that means we have three fit central midfielders with Giggs used as well.
Now, Carrick and Fletcher are typically the defensive midfielders who shield the back four and have done so superbly this season. Fletcher was solely missed in the Champions League final where Xavi and Iniesta were left totally free to do what they do best. Anderson is the only attacking central midfielder that we have. He has shown glimpses of his talent but is nowhere close to Scholes. True he has age on his side but then Scholes showed what he was capable of at quite a young age itself.
More than someone creative, we need someone who has character in the midfield. Someone like Roy Keane or Bryan Robson, someone who would have tackled into Xavi and Iniesta and showed some direction. United looked out of depth in Rome. Had Keane been there he would have hauled up United by their shoe-laces. Sadly Giggs or Carrick are not in that mould.
Outcome: I was hoping United would go for Kaka. He is the perfect attacking midfielder that we needed but it seems Madrid will have snapped him up by the weekend. I don’t see any signings in this area. SAF will allow for Anderson to be developed as our creative and driving force.
5. Strike force:
Our present strike force is composed of the following: Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez, Welbeck, Macheda, and Manucho.
Tevez is definitely leaving. Rooney is automatically the first choice striker and I sincerely hope that SAF stops playing him in that defensive role of a winger. There is no more creative and with exceptional vision in the United team than Rooney and I hope he is allowed to exercise that to the fullest.
The problem is Rooney and Berbatov both are the same. Both like to drop deep, get the ball and create attacks. Neither is in the mould of Andy Cole or Ruud van Nistelrooy that is, neither is a poacher. And we desperately need a poacher. Someone who can score out of nothing. Of the remaining three, I think Manucho fits the bill as a poacher. He is a strong lad and good in the air as well. I expect SAF to give him more first team games. Macheda and Welbeck will also feature prominently.
The biggest lost is that of Tevez. Rooney is susceptible to injury so we need a back up for Berbatov. The immediate name that springs to mind is Karim Benzema but he would come very expensive, upwards of £35 million. But he would be a good acquisition.
Outcome: A striker will definitely come. Benzema seems to be the only option but I would love a shock move for Samuel Eto.
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