A look at how the players of Manchester United Football Club performed during the 2013/14 season...
Well I for one did not see that
coming. I thought the transition would be seamless, one Scot to
another, United still competing at the top, nothing would change. How
wrong I was. It turns out that we're actually a bit shit and Fergie
won last year's title all by himself. That's what the media would
have you believe anyway, and of course Poor Wee Davey was only too
happy to perpetuate the myth. Moyes spent much of his tenure at the
club telling everyone what a “massive job” he had on his hands
and how huge investment was needed to supplement the squad he'd
inherited. A squad that had won the Premier League title just a few
months previous.
There is no doubt that many in that
squad underperformed in the season just gone and you could argue, as
many have, that they “let Moyes down”. Personally I think they
saw the Poor Wee Davey for what he was: a man hopelessly out of his
depth, and the problems began from there. But what about playing for
the badge you say, these men should be honoured to represent
Manchester United and that alone should ensure they perform to their
very best every week. That's a bit fanciful though isn't it? Sure,
they all understand that United is a big club with high expectations,
but at the end of the day it's a job to them. And, in any job, if
your boss doesn't know what's he doing then you have problems.
But that boss is gone now, and
suddenly the future looks bright again. Before we can look to the
future though we must assess the past and see if these players will
be part of our future. I'm starting to confuse myself now so here's
the ratings and that....
DAVID
DE GEA
Our player of the season, our
beautiful Spanish Llama. He looks like a Llama, yes he does. But what
a keeper he's become, the best in the Premier League and one of the
best in Europe. And all this despite playing behind a different
back-four every week. It didn't phase Dave though and while all
around him was going to pot he continued to perform admirably. He was
once just a shot-stopper, a fancy-dan of a keeper, a weakling. But
now he's a custodian, marshalling his penalty area with calm
assurity, barking out orders as he goes.
Remember
the kerfuffle when he first joined, how the media jumped upon every
error he made? The fact he's barely mentioned in the press nowadays
tells you all you need to know about his progression. Even when he
made his one mistake of the season against Sunderland no-one
grumbled, because we knew he'd atoned for that error a hundred times
over beforehand. The only sour point for Dave is his continued
exclusion from the Spanish national team. The injury to Valdes looks
like giving him his chance to go to Brazil, but only as third-choice.
Oh shit, I just realised Llamas come from South America, Dave will
see his brethren and long to be among them, what odds a move to
Palmeiras in the summer?
Rating:
8 (out of ten)
Should
he stay or should he go?
STAY.
Obviously he should stay, and
preferably forever. But one day Barcelona and Real Madrid will come
calling, and hearts may be broken.
ANDERS LINDEGAARD
Didn't get much of a look-in under
Moyes really did he? A couple of League Cup games and Newcastle away
in the League. He's probably still recovering from the shellacking he
took in Fergie's last game at West Brom to be honest. Nevertheless
he's arguably the best back-up keeper we've ever had and should
anything ever befall the magnificent Llama we can rely on Lindegaard
to fill in for a game or two. But no more than that.
Rating: n/a
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY.
It all comes down to his ambition
really. If he's happy enough to sit on the bench through the best
years of his career then all well and good. But if he wants to head
off to a mid-to-lower table side and become a regular starter then
he'll go with our blessings.
RAFAEL DA SILVA
You won't find a bigger Rafael fan
than me (go on try, I bet you can't) but even I have to admit he's
been bobbins this season. He's always been prone to the occasional
lapse of concentration, it's part of his make-up. But the last twelve
months have been just one long lapse of concentration. He's become a
liability, someone not to be trusted, an accident waiting to happen.
However unlike others in the squad he hasn't gone into hiding, if
anything he's tried too hard, tried desperately to rectify his wrongs
and in the process just made things worse.
So what's gone wrong? He was one of
our best players in Fergie's last season after all. I blame Moyes.
There I said it. I blame Moyes for lots of things, it's a bit of a
theme where I'm concerned. I don't know what he did or what he said
to Rafael but he fucked him up, he probably called him Fabio one day
and the little mite never really recovered. Maybe that's why he sold
the more Egyptian-looking twin, cos he “cudnae tell um apirt”.
Stupid Scottish cunt.
Rating: 4
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY.
Of course he should stay. All this
talk of us investing a new right-back to go along with our entirely
reassembled back-four is nonsense. Rafael is the future of this club
and will go on to make 500+ appearances for us.
PATRICE EVRA
He turns 33 in a few days did you
know that? Reason I ask is because you may have thought he was nearer
63 having watched him perform this season. Every half-hearted attempt
to close someone down, every lazy run back from an attacking sortie,
all were explained away by his age. “Ah his legs have gone”,
“he's not able to do it any more”, “Evra's fucked.” He's only
33 for Christ's sake! His body is still able but to me his mind is
elsewhere. That's not to say he doesn't care, but the edge has gone
from his game. That extra 5-10% needed to perform at the very
top-level has disappeared and with it has gone the Patrice Evra we
once knew and loved.
His nadir was the game in Munich: he
scored an absolute worldie and then proceeded to be at fault for all
three of Bayern's goals. Cheers for that Pat. At that point in the
season many United fans had begun to question his place in the side,
the reason it had taken so long was because Alexander Buttner was the
only available alternative. Evra has been a fantastic servant for the
club but the writing has been on the wall for some time now and those
in power will surely take heed this summer.
Rating:
3
Should he stay or should he go?
GO.
There won't be any hard feelings
where Pat is concerned but his time at United is up. Monaco seems the
likeliest destination.
RIO
FERDINAND
Rio has recently stated that he has
no plans to retire just yet, and that puts him in a delicate
situation. Is he good enough to remain at United for another year?
And will he be happy to play a marginal role if he does so? He's not
the player he was but his fall from grace hasn't been as dramatic as
that of Evra or Nemanja Vidic. Indeed it's a testament to Rio's
natural ability that he's managed to stay at the top-level for this
long. Because physically his powers are now very much on the wane;
that deceptively fast gait has become more strained as yet another
lightning quick striker zips by him, and he's no longer the
commanding presence he once was.
Whether he stays or not will be down
to the new manager but if Van Gaal's predecessor was queried on the
topic his advice would be to get rid. It was no secret that Ferdinand
and Moyes didn't see eye to eye, and having a senior pro as
influential as Rio in opposition certainly didn't help the Scot's
cause. There's no suggestion that Rio undermined Moyes or spread
discontent throughout the dressing-room but he was never on side
that's for sure. Ferdinand has been a joy to watch over the past ten
years or more, but if he contributed, in any way, to Moyes' sacking
then he's even more of a United legend than I had at first thought.
Rating: 5
Should he stay or should he go?
GO
It's a difficult one this because I
feel Rio might have another year in him if used sparingly. But on the
other hand there's nothing worse than seeing the once-great lapse
into mediocrity. So on that basis he should probably return to West
Ham for an emotional swansong.
NEMANJA VIDIC
Much was made of Vidic's decision to
announce his move to Inter Milan in the middle of the season. It was
the kind of thing that would never happen under Fergie we said, and
it wouldn't have, not a chance. Can you imagine how red Sir Alex's
face would have gotten as he strode into the dressing-room and took
the hulking Serbian to task? Even the mighty Vidic would have cowered
in terror, vowing to repent his sins or forever burn in hell. But
that would have been it for him at United. He'd have been banished to
the youth team, no drawn-out, emotional farewell for Nemanja. But
under Moyes? A glowing tribute and a permanent place in the starting
XI to boot.
And what we got was a player already
dreaming of life in Italy, a player just seeing out his time with
nary a passing interest in on-field affairs. Occasionally the beast
was roused from its slumber and we remembered the Vidic of old, but
that just made it all the more galling, why couldn't he play like
that all the time? Oh yeah 'cos he's leaving at the end of the season
and really isn't arsed any more. But however sour the taste of his
departure his contribution to the cause can never be forgotten.
Fuckin' hell it feels like I'm doing the obituaries page here, sign
of the times at United I suppose.
Rating: 4
Should he stay or should he go?
GO
Already gone, and he'll probably be
the best defender in Serie A next season.
PHIL JONES
There was a point during the season
when things were really going against United, yeah I know, go figure,
right? But during this particular spell, around late Autumn I think
it was, there was one or two players who stood up and fought for the
cause. One of them was Wayne Rooney, a senior player and probably
next season's captain, the other was Phil Jones. I really like Phil,
he's gutsy, ballsy, committed, and most importantly he seems to
understand what it means to play for United. He gets it and that's
enough for me. Okay so he's not going to be the next Duncan Edwards
and his second touch is invariably an injury but he's shown enough in
his fledging United career to convince me he's got a big part to play
in our future.
And he's still only 22, it feels
like he's been around forever. He's just completed his third season
at United, and during that time he's played mostly at right-back,
occasionally at centre-half and – when we've been in a bind – in
centre-midfield. And yet supporters complain that he's not progressed
into the dominating presence in the centre of our defence that they
thought he'd become. Well maybe if he got a run of games in his
favoured position it might help, eh? And how about if he had the same
defensive partner from one game to the next? That would probably help
too I'd imagine. But now that Vidic, and possibly Ferdinand, is
leaving Jones will get more opportunities to prove the doubters
wrong. Although at this moment in time his best position is probably
right-back, which incidentally is where he's played the majority of
his football since joining United. Funny that.
Rating:
6
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
Part of the new breed and a local
lad to boot, he's going nowhere.
JONNY EVANS
Evans was once the young kid on the
block, the understudy to the gnarled old giants at the heart of our
defence. But his apprenticeship is over now, by the start of next
season he may be the oldest centre-half on the club's books. That's
quite a worrying thought isn't it? There's no doubting Evans' ability
as a defender but I've always viewed him as a sidekick, the one happy
to leave the real work to a Vidic or a Ferdinand while he “learns
the ropes”. He's got nowhere to hide from this point forth though
and a player of his experience needs to lead from the front in this
new, reinvigorated United.
In the season just gone he was lucky
enough to miss large portions of it through injury, and as such his
reputation didn't suffer like those of his defensive counterparts.
And even when he did play he didn't cock things up like the rest of
them. Hold on, maybe that's what went wrong? It's been staring us in
the face this whole time and no-one's thought to say it! We missed
Jonny Evans. His absence from the side cost us. If he'd been fit we'd
have qualified for the Champions League, fuck it we might have even
been challenging for the title. Oh no wait, we would still have had
Poor Wee Davy in charge. I lost the run of meself there for a minute.
Rating: 6
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
Like it or not Jonny Evans is
probably the best centre-half we've got right now. The only question
we should be asking is; who'll partner him in the heart of our
defence next season?
CHRIS SMALLING
That night in Greece was one of the
most humbling nights in the club's history, and none were more
humbled than Chris Smalling. His performance was a lesson in how not
to play football. There were many possible reasons for his
ineptitude: he had his feet on back-to-front, he was wearing
Wellington Boots, the pitch was slippy. But the most obvious reason
was this: he's not a right-back. I'm not sure how he's ended up
playing there so much, I think Fergie tried him there once against
some mid-table guff and Big Chris did a half-decent job. And ever
since there's been a misguided belief that he can fill that role
whenever called upon. He can't. Because he's a centre-back.
And much like Phil Jones he's rarely
been given a prolonged run in his favoured position. The odd game
here and there, enough for us to get a glimpse of the future, before
the old guard are recalled for the proper games. But unlike Jones,
Smalling has often excelled when played in the middle, not always,
but enough to suggest he can fill the void when the time comes. And
yet the prospect of an Evans/Smalling centre-back pairing for next
season makes me slightly uneasy. They have the right blend; Evans,
reads the game well, calm under pressure, and Smalling, a brilliant
athlete, strong physical presence. But are they ready? Best add a
centre-back to your shopping list Louis, just in case.
Rating: 5
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
Just so long as he never plays at
right-back again, ever.
ALEXANDER BUTTNER
He's a game lad is Alex, if he
wasn't a professional footballer he'd probably spend his days
scrapping with lads twice his size in the car-park of his local
Tesco. I can imagine him being first in for any 22-man brawl, wind
milling like a lunatic, you need players like that in your team. Just
one problem though: Buttner isn't very good at the ole' association
football, shame really. He can do a job when called upon and he did
so to decent effect against Bayern in the home leg, but there's never
been any question of him being the long-term successor to Evra.
And if you're in any doubt about
Buttner's talents (or lack thereof) cast your mind back to December
and West Ham's goal in a rare home win for United. A simple ball
played over the top for Carlton Cole and the big striker was away,
through on goal. But hold on, he's at least twenty yards offside! Our
back-line have all pushed up. Oh wait, they haven't. The two
centre-backs and the right-back have, but see that fella there,
standing on the left flank all by himself, that's Alexander Buttner.
Game lad is Alex.
Rating: 5
Should he stay or should he go?
GO
He hasn't really improved during his
time at the club and can no longer just be considered 'raw'. Not
United standard I'm afraid.
MICHAEL CARRICK
Even when he was playing at his
absolute best Michael Carrick seemed to go about his duties
unnoticed, someone would say “didn't Carrick play well today?”
and everyone would nod in agreement as if the thought had only just
occurred to them. But whatever he was doing it seemed to be working
as title after title was won with a midfield consisting of Carrick
and one other. He had his critics but his brand of no-frills,
keep-it-simple midfield play brought results and last season he
finally got the recognition he deserved. Suddenly everyone was saying
how well he'd played, he was the heart of our team, the one that made
us tick, it was hard to believe he wasn't Scholes.
Fast-forward twelve months and
Carrick's stock has never been lower. He still appears to be doing
the things that he's always done but now the team aren't performing
like they used to. Our strikers aren't scoring, our defence is porous
and Carrick, well Carrick is just shuffling back and forth playing
the odd pass here and there, 'cos that's what he does. But this was
an opportunity for him to lead from the front, utilise all that
experience, guide some of the younger lads through the tough times.
He did none of those things. He just did what he's always done: left
it to the big names, to Rooney, to Van Persie, to Mata, they'll get
us out of this mess, don't ask me to do it I'm just a midfielder.
Rating: 4
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
But hopefully his place in the team
will no longer be the certainty it once was.
MAROUANE FELLAINI
It was a bit of an underwhelming
signing but we welcomed the arrival of a player known for relishing
the physical side of the game. We'd been sorely lacking a player who
liked to get stuck in, someone who could put the fear of God into
opponents alá Keane or Robson. And Fellaini does like to stuck in,
but usually about ten minutes after the ball is gone. He's an awful
footballer and I struggle to comprehend how he's made it as a
professional. My theory is that on the first day of school he towered
over all the other kids and, being the biggest, he was picked first
and instantly made captain of the Under-6's football team. And he's
never really stopped growing and never stopped being picked first,
there was a time when a young kid at Liege threatened to match his
height but Fellaini just grew an afro. Job done.
His role at Everton involved him
playing off the front, being used as a battering ram to soften up
centre-halves with his incredibly sharp elbows. But when he came to
United Moyes told us he'd play as a holding midfielder, 'cos we're a
proper club and employing a battering ram just ain't the United way.
However Poor Wee Davy didn't stop to think that maybe he'd initially
used Fellaini as a battering ram because he was no good at anything
else. He can't pass the ball to any great effect, he's slow, he's
clumsy, can't shoot and he's not actually that good in the air!! But
hey, his chest control is a thing of beauty.
Rating: 2
Should he stay or should he go?
GO
Get fuckin' rid.
TOM CLEVERLEY
Contrary to popular belief Tom
Cleverley is not that bad a player. Okay so he's never going to be a
mainstay in the heart of our midfield or have songs comparing him to
Paul Scholes sung from the Stretford End, but he's a long-way from
the awfulness of say a Fellaini or a Buttner. And yet he's had all
sorts of abuse hurled in his direction this season, as if the
crumbling of the empire was entirely down to his insipid midfield
performances. People looked at his safety-first,
rabbit-in-the-headlights displays and wondered how such a limited
player could get into our team. But what they conveniently chose to
forget was that Cleverley had never been anything more than a
'water-carrier' in the first place. Do you remember that phrase?
Spoken by the great Eric Cantona in reference to his French
international team-mate Didier Deschamps.
Obviously Cleverley is not in the
class of Deschamps but he is of that mould: a neat and tidy midfield
player who keeps things ticking over by receiving and distributing
possession with a minimum of fuss. Usually a player like that works
alongside a more exalted talent, Deschamps had Zidane and Petit to
keep him company, Cleverley has Carrick and Fellaini. Put TC23
alongside players more suited to his game and he'll be far more
effective. He's not totally blameless, none of them are, but
expecting him to do things outside of his remit is a little unfair.
Rating: 5
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
Expect to see a different Tom
Cleverley under the stewardship of Van Gaal.
DARREN FLETCHER
It reads like a Hollywood script: a
buccaneering athlete cut down in his prime by a mysterious,
debilitating illness, doctors tell him to forget about ever playing
again but the doughty young sports star refuses to give in. Several
comebacks end in tears and it really does look like it's all over for
our hero. Until, incredibly, four years after being diagnosed he
comes back, and this time he stays back. So how does the story end?
Does he recapture his youth, defying all logic in the process, and
lead his team to the grandest prize? Or does it all end in glorious
failure? Well, neither of those really. He just kinda flits about the
pitch aimlessly, like a fly trying to get out a window.
It's a testament to his courage and
resolve that Darren Fletcher is back playing football again, but all
the sentiment in the world can't disguise the fact that he's a mere
shadow of the player he was. At his best he was a driving force, a
whirlwind of energy and determination, but that side of his game has
gone now. It lays somewhere between one of his many stool samples and
the surgeon's slab. All that's left is the poise and the steady
technique which so complemented his relentless vigour during his
pomp. And sadly it's not enough.
Rating: 5
Should he stay or should he go?
GO
I hope Fletch returns to the club in
a coaching capacity at some stage but as a player he can no longer
cut it at this level.
ANTONIO VALENCIA
Remember when Valencia used to cross
the ball for one of our strikers to head the ball into the net? God
them were the days weren't they? Simpler times. Times when all you
had to do was drop your shoulder, get to the byline and knock the
ball into the box. It's all different now, very different indeed.
Nowadays Antonio Valencia is most likely to be seen in or around the
halfway line carefully shuttling the ball back to Rafael or whatever
poor soul is sharing duties with the Ecuadorian on the right-hand
side of our team. Beating his full-back? Those days are long gone.
Now he just squares up to him, dithers for a bit and then twats the
ball as hard as he can in the general direction of the six-yard box.
Wing play at its best.
Antonio has served us well and at
one point his cult status was in danger of turning into something
approaching icon levels. But then he got that really bad injury,
recovered, and was handed the number seven shirt as his reward. He's
never been the same since. Even a return to the previously held
number twenty-five couldn't halt his slide into mediocrity and this
season we had the added bonus of watching him flounder at right-back,
as if his performances on the wing weren't bad enough. I like
Valencia, I really do, but if the club are really being taken in a
new direction, with a new style of play, then I can't see where he
fits in.
Rating: 4
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
Between him, Nani and Young one of
them has to stay, it may as well be Valencia.
ASHLEY YOUNG
I honestly don't know where to start
with this one, Young isn't the worst player in our squad but he's by
far the most uninspiring, the most bland, the most vanilla. Seeing
his name on the team-sheet kills me in a way that not even Fellaini's
does. He just doesn't do anything, wingers are supposed to be
exciting players capable of rousing even the most sleepy of
audiences, but not much chance of that with Ash, he's far too busy
cutting inside and laying the ball off to one of our midfielders.
Occasionally he'll rip a shot towards goal and the net will ripple,
almost surprised as we are. But for every thirty-yard thunderbolt
there's a couple of hundred meandering runs, a thousand or more
passes inside and at least a million wayward crosses from deep.
Thing is he was never a United
player, from the very moment he signed we all looked at each in
bemusement, “the fuck we buying him for”? His purchase ranks
among Fergie's most baffling, you could almost forgive the likes of
Bebe, Djemba-Djemba and Bellion, they were risks that didn't come
off. But Young was a player he would have seen on countless
occasions, a Premier League regular who found his level at Aston
Villa and should have stayed there. I can't quite recall how much he
cost but it was somewhere between fifteen and twenty million, what
chance of recouping even half of that for him now?
Rating: 3
Should he stay or should he go?
GO
I don't care where he goes or what
it takes, just sell him. Please.
NANI
“The Anfield Cryer” started just
nine games all season and as a result he now seems to be back in the
good books of many a Red. Simply by not being part of the whole sorry
charade Nani's reputation has grown and once more he's seen as the
answer to all of our problems. I've even heard some say that he will
flourish in Van Gaal's attacking 4-3-3 system, the big Dutchman
getting the best out of the notoriously inconsistent Portuguese.
Personally, I'm not having it. Nani has been at United for seven
years, and is he any better now than when he first joined? His time
is up and a change would be good for both parties, Juve are allegedly
sniffing round and if an offer in excess of £10m was received United
would be mad to turn it down.
Rating: 5
Should he stay or should he go?
GO
He'll be a big success wherever he
goes but will always be remembered as a player who never quite
fulfilled his potential at United.
ADNAN JANUZAJ
Now this is more like it, one of the
few bright spots in the endless stream of shit that was MUFC during
2013/14. Moyes didn't get many things right but his promotion of
Januzaj to the first-team squad was one of them. Not only is Adnan
the most exciting youngster at the club since Ronaldo joined from
Sporting, he's also the best academy prospect since the much feted
'Class of '92'. He really is the “boy who can do anything”. You
often see young players with all the tools to be a success in the
game, but rarely do you see ones with the confidence and self-belief
to match their talents. And that's what I love about Adnan, he's not
intimidated by the big stage, he believes he belongs there, and he
plays like it too.
After an early blossoming around
late Autumn he underwent his first mini-crisis as a professional
which reached its nadir in the home defeat against Liverpool. For the
first time he looked like an eighteen-year old playing with men, a
child who wasn't ready for the rough and tumble. He was taken out of
the fray for a while and we began to wonder if that early-season
promise was an illusion, maybe he wasn't as good as we'd thought?
Nonsense! He was soon back in the side and wowing us all with his
swaggering wing wizardry. This kid can be as good as anything out
there and if selected for Belgium's World Cup squad he may yet shine
on the biggest stage of all.
Rating: 7
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
The club need to install one of
those clauses which means he can only be sold if a £500m bid comes
in. And even then that's a bargain.
RYAN GIGGS
He might have ended the season in
the manager's chair but he began it just like he did every other
year: as a player and raring to go. But – and here's another thing
Moyes got right (that's two now) – Giggsy didn't really feature
much as he entered his 41st year on Planet Earth. There
were European cameos against Leverkusen and Munich but for the most
part he was relegated to the sidelines in favour of younger, but not
necessarily, better players. It seems unlikely he'll play on for
another season and the more pressing concern for many is whether
he'll be part of Van Gaal's back-room staff. It would be churlish of
Louis to dispense with Giggs' and you can only hope that he remains
in the club in some capacity.
Rating: 5
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
Not as a player but certainly as a
member of the coaching staff.
SHINJI KAGAWA
United fans fall into two
categories: those who think Shinji Kagawa is a genius, criminally
underused by both Fergie and Moyes, and those who wonder what all the
fuss is about. I'm part of the former category. But maybe it's time
to face facts, maybe it's just not going to work out for him. We
constantly talk about his form at Dortmund and how he was one of the
best players in the Bundesliga during that time, but that was during
one of the greatest periods of that club's history, a perfect storm
unlikely ever to be repeated. Kagawa has only shown glimpses of that
form since his move two years ago and he's rarely sustained it over
90 minutes, never mind a succession of games.
And this season it looked like more
of the same, ineffectual displays lit up by occasional moments of
inspiration before being hooked for someone more workmanlike and
dependable. The arrival of Mata looked like being bad news for Kagawa
too, another player to vie for that cherished number ten spot. But
then they started a game together and something magical happened, it
was like watching two long-lost family members reunite. They slipped
seamlessly into gear, the same gear, and suddenly our entire attack
was enlivened like never before. Admittedly these synergistic
displays only came against the lesser lights of the division but it
was a sight to behold and offered hope for the future. One more year
for Shinji?
Rating: 5
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
I really hope he stays, and I really
hope he 'comes good', but a part of me fears Kagawa will eventually
go the same way as that other enigmatic midfield maestro, Juan Seba
Veron.
JUAN MATA
Have you ever read Mata's blog?
Here's a link to it, such a lovely bloke, as classy off the pitch as
he is on it. But why did Moyes buy him? At first I thought he'd fill
the problematic left-wing position, but after a couple of games it
was clear he wasn't a winger but a number ten. Rooney is a number
ten, as is Shinji Kagawa. So why buy Mata? To appease the fans? To
rid Old Trafford of the doom and gloom which surrounded it over the
winter months? Possibly. It certainly can't have been to fill a void
in the team, Moyes' attempt to shoe-horn the Spaniard into the
starting eleven on a weekly basis proved that.
But it's someone else's problem now,
where do you play them all? Van Persie is Van Gaal's man so he'll
occupy the number nine spot, if Kagawa is lucky he may bag a place on
the left beside him. Which leaves Rooney and Mata, both number tens,
both too good to leave out. Something surely has to give. For what
it's worth I think Mata is the better player in that particular role,
he offers more creativity, more guile. We might not have seen much of
it during his first few months at the club but given an extended run
in his favoured position he is good enough to have the entire team
built around him.
Rating: 6
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
He's only just got here!
WAYNE ROONEY
So I've just said that Mata is a
better number ten than Rooney, so I must want Rooney out then? Not
quite. As his career has progressed Rooney has become more suited to
a role at the spearhead of our attack than in the deep-lying position
in which he invariably lines up. The dream ticket would be the
Scouser up front with Mata in behind, which would leave Van Persie as
the odd one out. Never gonna happen is it? Which begs the question:
are we going to endure another summer of will he/won't he debate
regarding Rooney's future? I sincerely hope not. It's become boring
beyond belief at this stage.
I actually wanted him to go last
summer, I was sick and tired of the fucker and would gladly have seen
him shipped out - so long as it wasn't to one of our rivals. In the
end he stayed and rewarded us with a season of improved performances
and renewed commitment to the cause. He's on course to break Bobby
Charlton's goalscoring record and, although he's a bit of a
slapped-arse, I hope he does so with no little haste. Doing so will
mean he's continuing his onion-baggery in the colours of MUFC, and
that can only be a good thing for all concerned.
Rating: 7
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
But if he went I certainly wouldn't
lament his loss.
ROBIN VAN PERSIE
The problems started with the
ripping up of his specialised training regime, and they just
continued from there. In Fergie's last year we saw the birth of a
true United icon, a striker to compare with anything that had gone
before, a legend in the making. But it had only been made possible by
handling him with kid-gloves, nurturing him in much the same way a
certain fiery Frenchman was almost twenty years previous. All that
went out the window with the arrival of Moyes. The first thing Dave
did was to put a stop to Van Persie's specialised training methods,
he would be run into the ground just the like rest of them, and from
there the relationship never really recovered.
Predictably the Dutchman spent a
fair bit of time on the sidelines during Moyes' tenure but it was
what happened during his time on the pitch that was telling. We'd
heard about Van Persie's suspect temperament from his days at Arsenal
but we'd never really seen it for ourselves. So it was quite a shock
to witness the once untouchable front-man skulk and sulk his way
through several big games. He wasn't interested, he wasn't interested
in playing for the manager, for the club or for the fans. Now I hate
Moyes as much as the next man but there is no excuse for some of the
performances put in by Van Persie during the latter days of the
Scot's reign. Maybe he was carrying an injury and wasn't fully fit I
don't know, but his behaviour was that of an unruly teen not an
experienced, big-name star.
And in all likelihood we'll see a
return to the Van Persie was got under Fergie next season. With his
buddy in charge all will be well in Robin's world, and us fans will
forgive all once he gets back to his best. But there is a broader
issue here, one that no-one seems to be mentioning: Van Persie and
Rooney don't play particularly well together. Yes you can point to
that goal against Aston Villa or the Dutchman's hat-trick against
Olympiakos, but those were isolated incidents, for the most part
these two are like ships in the night and seem entirely unsuited to
one another's game. So who's gonna go, or at the very least, who's
gonna end up warming the bench? I'll leave that to your imagination.
Rating: 4
Should he stay or should he go?
GO
He won't though will he?
DANNY WELBECK
There can't be too many strikers
around Europe that quintupled their goals tally from the previous
year this season but Danny did. Okay so he only got two goals last
season but still it was quite an improvement on his part. Much of
this was down to him mostly playing as a striker rather than in the
wide roles he was used in by Fergie. And nine goals in just fourteen
Premier League starts proves that, given the opportunities, he can
provide the fire-power when the likes of Rooney and Van Persie are
missing. But stats can be misleading and much of Welbeck's success in
front of goal came against weaker opposition.
A more accurate barometer of where
he is as a player right now came in the two legs against Bayern. As
in the previous year in the games against Madrid, Welbeck was one of
our best players. He plays the role of lone front-man to great effect
and torments defenders with his clever movement and tireless running,
something that none of our others strikers can do to the same level.
The only problem is that during those games against the German side
United had one gilt-edged chance to score, one chance that could have
altered the destiny of the tie, and it fell to Welbeck. You'd never
back him in a situation like that and true to form he fluffed his
lines. But rather than focus on his limitations as a finisher I
prefer to look at the strengths in his game, of which there are many.
Rating: 6
Should he stay or should he go?
STAY
With his raw aggression and
running-power he offers something different to the genteel talents of
Van Persie and Rooney.
JAVIER HERNANDEZ
The Pea hardly got a look in all
season, just twelve starts in all competitions. And even when called
from the bench it was usually only in the death knells of a game, ten
minutes to pull us out of the fire Javier on you go. It was no
surprise that his form dipped but Hernandez is a fighter and even in
those brief forays into the first team we were reminded why we love
the little Mexican. But he's destined to be the odd man out and we
may now have reached the point where it's not enough for him to spend
the majority of his time on the bench. Put him in any side outside
the top six, give him a regular starting-berth and he'll get you
twenty goals, easily. But even that level might be beneath him, he's
good enough to play for a top Italian side or anything in La Liga
outside of the top three. It'll be sad if, and when, he does go but
for the sake of his career he needs to look at his options and decide
what's best for him, because no-one else is going to do it.
Rating: 5
Should he stay or should he go?
GO
We'll all shed a tear when he bids
us goodbye but the knowledge that he's happy will make it a bit more
bearable.
So by my reckoning that's ten
players we should get rid of, quite fanciful on my part isn't it? But
some will surely go; players like Evra and Nani will have no shortage
of suitors, others like Fellaini and Young will probably grow old
here. The bottom line is that a complete overhaul is required,
there's too much deadwood in the squad and it needs to be cleared out
sooner rather than later. However once you take away all that dross
there's still the nucleus of an excellent team; a top keeper, some
terrific young defenders, two of the world's best strikers and, in
Mata, someone who has been voted player of the year twice at one of
our main contenders. But the real excitement comes from what's
happening in our youth system, Januzaj has already wowed us with his
talent and will only improve, and now James Wilson looks ready to
make the step up too. This kid is the real deal and you just have to
hope Van Gaal promotes him to the first-team, and keeps him there.
But there will be incomings, a
left-back is an absolute must and the central midfield issue will
surely now be addressed. Various names are flying around the media –
Shaw, Kroos, Carvalho, Reus - but until the new boss is in place
it's all just talk. I'm presuming that boss will be Louis Van Gaal
(I'm gonna look a right fool if it's not) and if he is to be one to
take over from Moyes he comes with a CV unmatched in world football.
Many of us would have liked to see Jurgen Klopp at United but once he
ruled himself out LVG always looked the favourite. He'll bring a
no-nonsense attitude and an attractive brand of football, two things
badly needed at United. The only concern is his preoccupation with
the World Cup and how that will affect preparations of next season,
and also how it will affect our ability to sign players. Will the
club have to wait until after the World Cup or will players be happy
to join even without meeting the man they'll be playing for?
Above all else we have to hope the
mistakes of last summer aren't repeated. Because if they are we'll
find ourselves in a similar position this time next year. Over to you
Woodward.
