Looking forward to next season - when it is possible that all of Giggs, Scholes, van der Sar and Ronaldo will be gone (or if not gone, then fringe players at best in the case of the first two) - Man Utd's team should look something like this:
Foster
Brown Ferdinand Vidic Evra
Carrick Hargreaves
Newcomer Rooney Tevez
Berbatov
And I don't think that looks bad at all. It isn't quite that Man Utd will need to find direct replacements for Giggs and Scholes, because they don't really play a 4-4-2 anymore. They will need to bring new players in - but with the money they'll get for Ronaldo, they should be able to do that. The trick will be in finding the players to suit their current 4-5-1 sort of formation - and that will involve working out where some of their current players play best.
Rooney would certainly benefit from playing behind Berbatov, rather than being shoved about the pitch. I think Tevez works well cutting in from the left hand side of an attacking three. And Man Utd need to decide how to use Anderson - because at the moment, he does look no more than a solid player - it seems a shame to push a player who, at Porto, looked very skillful and talented, into a more limited defensive role - yet if Man Utd do see his future in a more attacking role, then I think he should start playing there and working on that side of his game.
If Rooney was to play centrally, and if Anderson was pushed forward, then it is arguable that Man Utd would only need their Ronaldo replacement - and they'd use him alongside Rooney and Tevez, and have Anderson, Nani and Park as back ups (perhaps with Campbell back to cover for Berbatov). I think that looks, potentially, very fluid. On the other hand, if Anderson was kept as a more defensive minded player, then Man Utd would need another player for the attack.
Whatever, there are a few significant decisions to be made, but it isn't as though the team will need to be overhauled - they have the basis already for a very strong attack. In defence, they have some very strong players, but could probably do with some cover at least at right back, and another quality central defender.
And then I think it's a tough decision as to whether Hargreaves and Carrick are good enough to be Man Utd's future central midfield pair. I rate Carrick - I think he certainly could assert himself more at times, and he could perhaps be a bit fitter, but I think he is very good positionally and he does pass the ball very well. But I'm not a fan of Hargreaves. His technique is decent, but I don't think he is a clever player - I think he is no more than a water carrier. To compare Man Utd's midfield with Liverpool's - if you compare Carrick and Hargreaves to Alonso and Mascherano, then I think Hargreaves is the one who is out of place - Carrick can distribute the ball really well in the midfield, can get the play flowing, and he is good positionally from a defensive perspective; but I don't think Hargreaves can mark as well as Mascherano, and I don't think he uses the ball as well either. So I'd be inclined, if Man Utd were to strengthen their central midfield, to find a better partner for Carrick and to use Hargreaves as cover and as a general utility player.
Home
Does your brain really work that slow paki?
