The weakest Man Utd team for a decade?

Over the summer I have reflected on the events of last season. The signing of Michael Owen by Manchester United bought a sharp intake of breath to the football community in England and drew the Man Utd situation into the focus of my attentions. I began to pour over what was left of the squad after the departures of Tevez and Ronaldo. Sir Alex has already made it clear that he will not make any more signings before the start of the season due to what he has described as “...a serious lack of value for money in the market at this time.”

So what do Man Utd have left in the vacuum of Ronnie and Carlos? Clearly, for any team to lose two players of their quality would have a serious impact. In terms of attacking options you have Rooney. Without question a world class talent but does not register enough goals playing from the wide positions he is employed in. Last season he registered 12 Premier League goals. Dimitar Berbatov, the £30 million man! From signing on the 1^st of September last year he registered only 9 in the league in a season where he showed glimpses of the quality that earned him his big money move from White Hart Lane but too often would go missing for long periods in a game prompting varying degrees of criticism from far and wide.

Welbeck and Macheda are the young and coming stars of the future although you feel that this season may be one season too soon for either and they will be predominantly used as reinforcements from the bench. The same goes for the new signing Gabriel Obertan. One for the future he offers another attacking option but will come on from the bench in the majority of games he is involved in. Macheda did come on towards the end of last season and score some crucial goals to earn united valuable points on the title run in. It is the view of this column however, that he will be a bench-warmer in the new season.

So, we come to Mickey as he was affectionately called in the Kop during his formative years at arch rivals Liverpool. A season at Real Madrid was then followed by 4 years to forget at Newcastle United where he was dogged by injury and only registered 30 goals in all competitions.This is why his move to Manchester has come with such gasps of disbelief. Forums and web comment have largely labelled the decision of Fergie to sign him, even on a free, as madness. 10 goals and then he will break down with injury for the rest of the season seems to be the general consensus.

So, a distinct lack of goals up front? Ronaldo scored 18 and Tevez 5 in the last campaign so if all goes as it did last season even the most optimistic appraisal would put Man Utd’s attackers having to find roughly an extra 13 goals this season to equal their goal scoring exploits of last season if you say Owen will contribute 10. Ironically, this situation puts them in direct contrast with the embarrassment of striking options available on the Blue half of the city at Eastlands.

Looking through the rest of the squad list when compared to previous teams, nothing really matches up to Keane, Lee Sharpe, Kanchelskis, Paul Parker, Schmeichel of course and Cantona. The midfield area does seem exceptionally weak compared to previous Man Utd teams and was an area exploited by Barcelona in the Champions League final and also by a Liverpool team who, at Old Trafford outscored the home team by 4 goals to 1!

But, as I was about to agree with so much of what I had read I stopped to think. I looked over the squad list again and began to cast my mind back. Not to previous Man Utd teams but to the previous victories and achievements of Sir Alex Ferguson. This is a man who has always backed himself and his own judgement. He has been at the top for too long to leave himself short. In a profession where preparation and prior planning is everything he is the master. Over the years his judgement still continues to be questioned despite his successes. For me, this squad will be just as difficult to overcome as any other because Sir Alex is at the helm.

I looked again at the squad list with fresh eyes. In the goalkeeping department Van der Sar is world class. Foster is in reserve and is a future England number one. The defence remains solid as ever and unchanged from last season with Ferdinand at the helm. Vidic was exposed on a couple of occasions last season but generally was strong and impeccable and also contributed 4 goals. Evra is a French international and although ran hot and cold last season is as good as the best on his day. Supplemented by Neville, Rafael, Evans and O’Shea, there is a wealth of experience to draw on.

This is the same defence that conceded only 24 goals in 38 games last campaign. The only thing that has changed is that they all have another season of winning experience under their belts.

In terms of midfield, the return of Owen Hargreaves will be like the signing of a new player as he was missed for the majority of last season. Carrick continues to improve under the watchful eye of the little master Scholes. Giggs adds the necessary experience to guide an improving Nani, Fletcher and Anderson. Combined with new boy Valencia and the gathering reputation and goal scoring of Ji-Sung Park, the midfield is well placed to improve and consolidate on last season.

This brings us back to the strikers.

Owen will be the key.

If he can play off Berbatov the way he has played off Heskey and Crouch for England he could form a formidable partnership with the Bulgarian. It could also act as a catalyst to free Berbatov from so much attention and allow him to express himself further.

Indeed, it seems that the entire fulcrum of the team will undoubtedly revolve around the knees and hamstrings of Michael Owen.

It seems like a massive gamble when put in those terms but I have a feeling that Fergie will ensure that the medical team manage Owen like no other player they have ever had before. If Owen can get back to his best, he will be worth at least 15 goals and 5-10 assists this term. If he can free Berbatov to play the Bulgarian might live up to the tag his manager gave him of the next Eric Cantona. If that were to come to fruition then this Man Utd team would have improved even with the departure of Tevez and Ronaldo! And that is something that only the genius of Fergie could ever achieve……..