Mid-Season thoughts on United

Manchester United have clinched another trophy this week to make 2008 as amazing a year if not more as 1999 which witnessed vintage United. Surely the year of the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster will go down in the history books of football as Manchester United’s year and a feat which pundits across the world will use as a benchmark to compare any team’s achievements.
Manchester United are currently 7 points behind the Liverpool, the league leaders, with two games in hand and all their remaining fixtures against the top teams are at Old Trafford. That certainly is a situation which will not worry a United fan unduly and it is something that Sir Alex and United fans would have accepted before the start of the season. However, that is not to be so. There is something missing which is distinctly highlighting the gulf in the ruthlessness of this team to the one that won the double. On paper, this team looks even more menacing than the previous one with the addition of Berbatov and the Da Siva twins. United have earned the tag of being slow starters over the years but they have never taken so long to hit top gear and neither have they been this inconsistent. Many a times this season fans and Sir Alex himself have predicted that United had actually top gear only to be let down by their performance in the next game. To be fair to the players, they have been handed out a really cruel fixture list pitting them against all the top teams, in their respective backyards, very early in the season. They missed players and lost players through injuries at crucial times of the season but with the squad strength that United possesses that can no longer be used as a valid excuse for the lack of momentum. To put it plainly, United have been slow on the pitch this year and the interchanging of positions and the lightning counter attacks are not coming to the fore.

Let me list down the things that United need to address in the winter break :
Berbatov: Untied have an embarrassment of riches in the striking department but they haven’t been able to get the best out of the various strike partnerships. Berbatov has taken time to adjust to United’s style of play and the fans are still waiting to see vintage Berba’s displays. Nevertheless, he already has around 6 assists to his name and his magical flicks and touches always leave the crowd enchanted. Sir Alex needs to find a way to get the best out of the Bulgarian without sacrificing the talents of the other players because right now Berbatov has not done much to become an automatic first starter.
Tevez and the formation: Though the Rooney- Berbatov partnership is being preferred to the rest, Tevez still plays a huge role if United are to win anything. A terrier by nature, the skillful Argentine has the uncanny knack of getting important goals. Will Fergie devise a system to accommodate all the big four players of Rooney, Berbatov, Tevez and Ronaldo?
Rooney and Ronaldo : Sir Alex was just not ready to sell Ronaldo , his most prized asset , not just because of his influence on the pitch but also because United were not equipped to deal with the sale of Ronaldo as Fergie built this great team revolving around Ronaldo’s talents. Any football fan who has been watching United for the 3-4 years would have realized by now that the team has been built to get the best out of Ronny. Two strikers who work their socks off, who move to the middle to collect the ball and who keep drifting off to the wings to provide space to Ronaldo to cut in, two deep lying centre mid fields who got themselves into positions to put forward a ball to Ronaldo running behind the defenders, all these tactics have been well documented over the years. Ronaldo is not being given this kind of freedom this season as Fergie wants the attack to revolve around Berbatov as the focal point. This system invariably gets the best out of Rooney and has been adopted to do just so. Rooney has been outstanding in some of the games so far and every United fan right now just wish he stays healthy for the rest of the season because when on song there is no better player in United who can influence a match as much as he can. The plain truth is Fergie needs to get the best out of Ronaldo without sacrifing Rooney in the centre of the pitch. The solution to this problem will probably go a long way in deciding where United end up this season.
Centre Mid-field: The injury to Hargreaves has been a big blow to United and with Scholes showing signs of his age, suddenly United look a little light weight in the centre of the mid field. Carrick has picked up from where he left off last season and he has been superb in the centre of the mid-field for the last ten games or so bagging four consecutive man of the match performances. Fletcher has complimented him well in the mid-field so far and it remains to be seen if Anderson is beginning to find his touch again after an indifferent start to the season. What Fergie needs to address here is he needs to come out with his best and most balanced mid-field combination and the most capable mid-field to battle it out against teams which play through the centre such as Inter. The plain truth is this has to be done without Scholes in the mix of the things. As much as a world class technician he is and he is still arguably the best passer in the league , he sadly does not have the legs anymore to last for 90 minutes of a tight game.
Right-Back: The only problem or the possible debate has revolved around this position; the rest of the defense picks itself up. I, for one, believe that Fergie has to give Rafael an extended run and should start with him in the big games as well. Clearly the boy is not just the future but also the present.