Tweet
from a Manu blog.
Before the season started I genuinely felt that United had a chance of challenging for the title but even I have been surprised just how well the team have performed this year.
Despite United's fine form in the last three months of last season many commentators and journalists had written the team off. The loss of Ruud van Nistelrooy was used as a stick to beat Fergie with, this despite the better form displayed with Louis Saha in the team. Ruud is arguably the greatest goalscorer in the club's history and it is understandable that his sale would raise question marks about the manager's sanity. Other concerns centred around the depth of the squad, particularly in midfield, and whilst the purchase of Michael Carrick was a step in the right direction the failure to recruit a top class holding midfield player worried many United fans. At the back Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra were used as examples of the increasing number of poor acquisitions made by Sir Alex and up front there seemed little cover for Rooney and Saha. United therefore entered the season with more questions than answers.
Whilst United were supposedly in crisis Chelsea, Arsenal and, bizarrely, Liverpool were all being tipped to challenge for top spot. It didn't take a rocket scientist to pick out Mourinho's side as title favourites but the other two appeared to have glaring inadequacies. Arsenal's young squad has many talented individuals but little genuine strength in depth. Arsene Wenger now appears to have become side-tracked with buying lightweight, technically gifted players, who can pass you to death on a bright sunny day at the Emirates but a wet, windy day at Bramall Lane takes them out of their element. As with last season, Gunners fans must spend most matchdays desperately shouting "shooooooooooottttttt" at their tv screens. Liverpool, as is recent tradition, have one or two exceptional individuals and a large squad full of above average players. Above average players do not bring titles. As for Chelsea, the introduction of Shevchenko and Ballack looked like a serious statement of intent, whilst Khalid Boulahrouz had impressed at the World Cup for Holland.
Five months into the season and Arsenal and Liverpool have performed largely as predicted and are facing strong challenges for the third and fourth Champion's League places from the likes of Bolton and Portsmouth. Incredibly it is United who top the table by six points from a Chelsea side who are suddenly the ones facing questions about the size and quality of their squad. The three signings above have been quite frankly abysmal, more as a result of Mourinho's tactics than their own abilities, and it the team appear heavily reliant on Terry and Drogba to get results (the loss of the former over the Christmas period saw an incredible slump in results).
At Old Trafford things have gone better than anyone could really have imagined. With largely the same squad as last term the Red Devils have taken the Premiership by storm and in the process played the sort of football that has been the hallmark of Fergie's most successful sides. The key figure in this resurgence has been Cristiano Ronaldo, who has risen above the boos to become the most devastating attacker in the Premiership and possibly the best winger in world football. With Ryan Giggs enjoying an Indian summer, Paul Scholes finally back to his imperious best and Saha and the fitful Rooney forging an impressive partnership up front, few teams have been able to cope with the movement and speed of United's attacking play. Wayne Rooney has so far failed to reach the heights of last season but, even playing at 80%, is still a cut above most Premiership defenders. The incredible return of the legend that is Ole Solskaer and the short term signing of Henrik Larson mean that United now have plenty of attacking options and goals throughout the squad.
Elsewhere Michael Carrick has taken time to adjust to a new club and role in the midfield but is finally starting to look up to the task.
Before the season started I genuinely felt that United had a chance of challenging for the title but even I have been surprised just how well the team have performed this year.
Despite United's fine form in the last three months of last season many commentators and journalists had written the team off. The loss of Ruud van Nistelrooy was used as a stick to beat Fergie with, this despite the better form displayed with Louis Saha in the team. Ruud is arguably the greatest goalscorer in the club's history and it is understandable that his sale would raise question marks about the manager's sanity. Other concerns centred around the depth of the squad, particularly in midfield, and whilst the purchase of Michael Carrick was a step in the right direction the failure to recruit a top class holding midfield player worried many United fans. At the back Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra were used as examples of the increasing number of poor acquisitions made by Sir Alex and up front there seemed little cover for Rooney and Saha. United therefore entered the season with more questions than answers.
Whilst United were supposedly in crisis Chelsea, Arsenal and, bizarrely, Liverpool were all being tipped to challenge for top spot. It didn't take a rocket scientist to pick out Mourinho's side as title favourites but the other two appeared to have glaring inadequacies. Arsenal's young squad has many talented individuals but little genuine strength in depth. Arsene Wenger now appears to have become side-tracked with buying lightweight, technically gifted players, who can pass you to death on a bright sunny day at the Emirates but a wet, windy day at Bramall Lane takes them out of their element. As with last season, Gunners fans must spend most matchdays desperately shouting "shooooooooooottttttt" at their tv screens. Liverpool, as is recent tradition, have one or two exceptional individuals and a large squad full of above average players. Above average players do not bring titles. As for Chelsea, the introduction of Shevchenko and Ballack looked like a serious statement of intent, whilst Khalid Boulahrouz had impressed at the World Cup for Holland.
Five months into the season and Arsenal and Liverpool have performed largely as predicted and are facing strong challenges for the third and fourth Champion's League places from the likes of Bolton and Portsmouth. Incredibly it is United who top the table by six points from a Chelsea side who are suddenly the ones facing questions about the size and quality of their squad. The three signings above have been quite frankly abysmal, more as a result of Mourinho's tactics than their own abilities, and it the team appear heavily reliant on Terry and Drogba to get results (the loss of the former over the Christmas period saw an incredible slump in results).
At Old Trafford things have gone better than anyone could really have imagined. With largely the same squad as last term the Red Devils have taken the Premiership by storm and in the process played the sort of football that has been the hallmark of Fergie's most successful sides. The key figure in this resurgence has been Cristiano Ronaldo, who has risen above the boos to become the most devastating attacker in the Premiership and possibly the best winger in world football. With Ryan Giggs enjoying an Indian summer, Paul Scholes finally back to his imperious best and Saha and the fitful Rooney forging an impressive partnership up front, few teams have been able to cope with the movement and speed of United's attacking play. Wayne Rooney has so far failed to reach the heights of last season but, even playing at 80%, is still a cut above most Premiership defenders. The incredible return of the legend that is Ole Solskaer and the short term signing of Henrik Larson mean that United now have plenty of attacking options and goals throughout the squad.
Elsewhere Michael Carrick has taken time to adjust to a new club and role in the midfield but is finally starting to look up to the task.
Comment