The Empire Strikes Back
By Giant_Causeway


Despite winning the Premier League and reaching the Champions League final there is still something of a case of 'after the Lord Mayor's show' about Manchester United. After years of persuading reluctant sellers with large offers for Ferdinand, Veron, Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo, Hargreaves, Rooney and Berbatov, they now found themselves on the other end

Rebuilding Alex Ferguson

of the transfer market with the market finally catching up with the prices Ferguson had paid for years. We saw Cristiano Ronaldo head out of the exit door to Real Madrid for a world record fee of £80m and Tevez depart in acrimonious circumstances with Tevez insisting United had the chances to wrap up the loan deal into something permanent long before the end of last season and engaging Ferguson into a war of words.

They have since signed Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan, and Diouf who are all young and hungry players, the hallmarks of an Alex Ferguson signing. He also made a shrewd low risk signing in Michael Owen who signs on a pay as you play deal. His recent bristling at suggestions he could sign the Valencia duo of David Villa and David Silva for a reported £50m only lends credence to the fact that he could be wary of splashing out again following the signing of Dimitar Berbatov last summer. Listen to the pundits, the fans and you’d be hard pressed to find any mention that they are the Premier League champions and had reached the Champions League final. In fact, the focus was all on the exit of Ronaldo and how United can replace him with Ribery, Benzema, Villa or Silva.

What had really stunned Manchester United and their fans was the apparent gulf in class between Barcelona and Manchester United in the Champions League final culminating in recriminations between Ronaldo and Tevez and the rest of the starting XI. They were made to look second rate by a vibrant Barcelona side who had previously struggled to penetrate Hiddink’s tactical creation and physical style. Now Ferguson looks to rebuild yet another side without the services of Ronaldo and Tevez.

However, despite the two notable departures, it is largely the same squad as last season’s with the defence and central midfield options untouched. It is the front and wide options that have changed the landscape at Old Trafford with the 4-4-2 rather then the 4-3-3 that will likely be the preferred option. In spite of the departures of Ronaldo and Tevez, they still look as strong as they have ever done. Yes they’ll miss Ronaldo’s goals but let’s not forget that in the process of Ronaldo grabbing the spotlight, the talented and ever tenacious Wayne Rooney found himself played out of position on the flanks to accommodate the talent of Ronaldo. Now with the path clear for Ferguson to build his attack around the England striker, it is one move that England fans will have been happy for.

Ferguson has rebuilt his side successfully and seen big names depart time and time again. And every time, Ferguson proves no player is bigger then the club with more trophies and more successful sides. Stam, Beckham, Hughes, Ince, Keane, Van Nistelrooy, Veron all came and left but the trophies still keep coming. But he has the added burden of having to produce home grown talent to satisfy UEFA’s policy of home grown players in the squad as well as any further proposed restrictions in the future.

As his disposal he has a mixture of youth and experience with depth in every

Set to Take Over the No1 Shirt? Ben Foster

position. In defence, question marks abound the health of veteran Edwin Van Der Sar but they have an able deputy in Ben Foster who should surely be given the chance to start ahead of Tomas Kuszczak. He’s an excellent shot stopper but has to prove he can win and gain the confidence of his defenders and his manager. He has the tools to progress into a world class goalkeeper but does he have the belief to command his area? With Ferdinand and Vidic set to anchor the back four once again with the assistance of young Jonny Evans they look as solid as any other defence. On the right side, they have an embarrassment of riches with Rafael, Wes Brown and veteran Gary Neville. On the left side they have Patrice Evra and Fabio. Not to mention the ever reliable and versatile John O’Shea who can play anywhere across the back four.

The midfield is arguably Manchester United’s weakest link with the aging Giggs and Scholes set to be peripheral figures whilst Owen Hargreaves continues to frustrate Ferguson in his bid for full fitness. We saw Darren Fletcher become a key man for the Reds (according to Ferguson) with the likes of Carrick, Gibson, Anderson, Scholes and the versatile O’Shea the other central midfield options. But in the absence of Hargreaves, they just lack that recognised anchorman in light of Ferguson’s likely preference for a 4-4-2 this season. Carrick and Fletcher are the two deep lying options who does not quite inspire similar confidence to other marquee players like Essien, Mascherano and Fabregas.

The key man is Anderson. Ferguson splashed out £16-19m (according to various media reports) on the wonder kid from Porto but rather then keep faith in Anderson’s attacking talents, he has looked to attempt remoulding Anderson into a complete midfielder with much more defensive responsibility. Maybe Ferguson is simply trying to educate the player to aid his development but for all his ability he has not simply looked the multi-million pound player he was projected to be. His goal record is disappointing for one so lavishly gifted and blessed, like so many Brazilians with an engine allied with skill and strength. Like Rooney, he looked to have been played away from his favoured positions on the left flank, secondary striker or as the advanced playmaker to a more box-to-box or deep lying role. If Ferguson allows Anderson to blossom he can negate the departure of Ronaldo with the freedom that the Portugese enjoyed. Allied to the fact that foreign players takes time to adjust and we have a very likely improver at just 21 yrs old.

Similarly to the central area Ferguson has plenty of options in the wide areas with Park, Nani (injured), Tosic, Obertan, Giggs and Valencia. On the flanks, Ferguson has kept to wingers in the Ryan Giggs mould and whilst they remain young, the likes of Valencia and Nani will surely look to improve as they mature. Not to mention he also has Anderson as highlighted above who compares favourably with the other wide options.

Upfront, reports of Berbatov stepping up his work rate and intensity can

Vital for United Wayne Rooney

only be good for United. Owen will provide another type of option as well as his goal record. Danny Welbeck provides the youthful insurance though he hasn’t quite looked up to the standard of a big four striker. The key man is Rooney. Whilst he may not have Ronaldo’s fancy step-overs or his dipping free-kicks, he is arguably as talented as the Portugese. What separates the pair is work rate. For Rooney to possibly match Ronaldo he must sacrifice parts of his unselfish nature and work ethics to help himself and in the process, mature as one of the world’s best players.

Overall, the Manchester United squad looks balanced and possesses quality and depth without quite having the sprinkling of stardust surrounding their attacking players that Chelsea has. There are plenty of doubters and fans around who have misgivings regarding Manchester United’s chances for the season. Manchester United are going for a fourth successive Premier League title without Ronaldo whose goals contributed massively to their success. Of course there will be doubts but even without Ronaldo they should still finish in the top two at the very least. Whether they can fend off Chelsea or Liverpool will come down to the smallest details. It could be a refereeing decision. It could be an own goal. It could come down to goal difference. Those small details will tally up over the course of the long season and determine the Champions.

They also have to prove they can retain their remarkable consistency of winning games against the “lesser” sides without the magic of Ronaldo. A hallmark of Liverpool’s failed title bid last season was their failure to win against inferior sides that defend with ten men behind the ball. They also have to contend with a Chelsea side that has publicly made the title rather then the Champions League a priority and looks to have a manager that has proven himself in every aspect of management after the appointments of Grant and Scolari. And there is also the fact that in the “mini big four table” they finished behind Liverpool and Chelsea last season.

But their other title rivals have equally searching questions of their own to answer. For those disbelievers, as the great writer Mark Twain once wrote, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”. That is my gut feeling and I expect Manchester United to match Chelsea and Liverpool win for win and prove there is indeed life after Ronaldo, just like all the other superstars to depart the rainy city of Manchester. Their neighbours Manchester City may have hogged the headlines in recent weeks but come to the real business of football, I fully expect the empire to strike back with Rooney, Anderson and Nani all set to blossom without the restrictive responsibility of having to cover Ronaldo’s offensive movements.