Two reasons why Sir Alex is finally sleeping peacefully
Manchester United have an excellent record in the first half of the season against their fellow members of the top 4. They beat Chelsea at home, Liverpool away and had the upper hand in a drawn game against Arsenal. While the frontline and defense have performed admirably in these games, the men in the middle have been the real difference makers. They have won every midfield battle enabling their side to control the flow of the game. And this for me has been the biggest positive for the Red Devils from the first half of the season.
The role of the ball-winning midfielder is crucial in modern football. Especially, for attacking sides which often leave their defense exposed. A top-class, unselfish midfielder protecting your back four is a prized possession; the absence of which gives any manager regular sleepless nights. The rise and the fall of Real Madrid with and without Claude Makalele is the perfect example of how valuable these guys are. Most of the successful sides in Europe have had a quality guy in this role. Chelsea with Makalele again, AC Milan with Gattuso, Arsenal and Inter with Patrick Viera and Bayern Munich with Owen Hergreaves.
Roy Keane filled this role admirably for Manchester United during their dominant run in the Premiership. His decline and subsequent exit was largely responsible for United hitting a trough and playing second fiddle to Chelsea and Arsenal. Last year’s squad played glorious attacking football on their way to the title but was far from being a perfect team with glaring inadequacies – like when it came to ball –winning, as cruelly exposed by AC Milan in the Champions League semis. A title encore was highly unlikely without the necessary additions to the squad.
Fergie was acutely aware of the problem at hand and had been fairly active in the transfer market, trying to fill the hole. His targets included Javier Mascherano, Marcos Senna and Owen Hergreaves. Among the lot he was particularly keen on Hergreaves – a player Bayern were equally committed to hold onto. Fergie came close to getting his hands on both Mascherano and Senna, but preferred to bide his time for Hergreaves. Quite clearly, in Fergie’s eyes, the Canadian-born Englishman was the perfect fit for united. His relentless pursuit finally bore fruit at the start of the 2007-08 season. While this purchase was on the lines of the expected for united fans, what sir Alex did next left them gaping at his supposed impulsiveness. On a trip to Portugal to strike a deal for the new ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’ – Nani, he also bought the defensive midfielder Anderson. The Brazilian did not come cheap, was largely an unknown quantity and not expected to figure even on the United bench; with the midfield choc-a-bloc with quality players. He was considered a luxury Sir Alex could do without having already spent quite a fortune bringing in new players.
Anderson did nothing extraordinary in the pre-season to change the status quo in his position in the midfield pecking order. He got a lucky break when first Scholes and then Hergreaves got injured. The Brazilian grabbed the opportunity with both hands and has gone from strength to strength ever since. So much so, that on Hergreaves’ return, Fergie has often played them together. The emergence of the challenger seems to have had a positive influence on Hergreaves and the ex-Bayern man has delivered all the promised goods.
United cannot believe their good-luck. They asked for one ball-winner and got two class performers. This gives them the insurance of a quality replacement incase of injuries and the luxury to give each player enough rest to keep them fresh throughout the season. The duo has ensured that the team has developed a hitherto unknown defensive solidity – a quality critical for the European battles to follow. They break opposition attacks well before it gets to the United defensive third. This spares the defense long spells of duress; ones which mostly lead to a fatal error. The attack is better than ever and treble chants are emanating again.
The role of the ball-winning midfielder is crucial in modern football. Especially, for attacking sides which often leave their defense exposed. A top-class, unselfish midfielder protecting your back four is a prized possession; the absence of which gives any manager regular sleepless nights. The rise and the fall of Real Madrid with and without Claude Makalele is the perfect example of how valuable these guys are. Most of the successful sides in Europe have had a quality guy in this role. Chelsea with Makalele again, AC Milan with Gattuso, Arsenal and Inter with Patrick Viera and Bayern Munich with Owen Hergreaves.
Roy Keane filled this role admirably for Manchester United during their dominant run in the Premiership. His decline and subsequent exit was largely responsible for United hitting a trough and playing second fiddle to Chelsea and Arsenal. Last year’s squad played glorious attacking football on their way to the title but was far from being a perfect team with glaring inadequacies – like when it came to ball –winning, as cruelly exposed by AC Milan in the Champions League semis. A title encore was highly unlikely without the necessary additions to the squad.
Fergie was acutely aware of the problem at hand and had been fairly active in the transfer market, trying to fill the hole. His targets included Javier Mascherano, Marcos Senna and Owen Hergreaves. Among the lot he was particularly keen on Hergreaves – a player Bayern were equally committed to hold onto. Fergie came close to getting his hands on both Mascherano and Senna, but preferred to bide his time for Hergreaves. Quite clearly, in Fergie’s eyes, the Canadian-born Englishman was the perfect fit for united. His relentless pursuit finally bore fruit at the start of the 2007-08 season. While this purchase was on the lines of the expected for united fans, what sir Alex did next left them gaping at his supposed impulsiveness. On a trip to Portugal to strike a deal for the new ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’ – Nani, he also bought the defensive midfielder Anderson. The Brazilian did not come cheap, was largely an unknown quantity and not expected to figure even on the United bench; with the midfield choc-a-bloc with quality players. He was considered a luxury Sir Alex could do without having already spent quite a fortune bringing in new players.
Anderson did nothing extraordinary in the pre-season to change the status quo in his position in the midfield pecking order. He got a lucky break when first Scholes and then Hergreaves got injured. The Brazilian grabbed the opportunity with both hands and has gone from strength to strength ever since. So much so, that on Hergreaves’ return, Fergie has often played them together. The emergence of the challenger seems to have had a positive influence on Hergreaves and the ex-Bayern man has delivered all the promised goods.
United cannot believe their good-luck. They asked for one ball-winner and got two class performers. This gives them the insurance of a quality replacement incase of injuries and the luxury to give each player enough rest to keep them fresh throughout the season. The duo has ensured that the team has developed a hitherto unknown defensive solidity – a quality critical for the European battles to follow. They break opposition attacks well before it gets to the United defensive third. This spares the defense long spells of duress; ones which mostly lead to a fatal error. The attack is better than ever and treble chants are emanating again.
Last season’s clash between United and Milan was billed as an encounter between Kaka and Ronaldo. The intervention of Gennaro Gattuso made it a no-contest in Kaka’s favour. In the 1999 Champions League final, United sorely missed the services of a suspended Roy Keane, escaping with a lucky victory. With the double-whammy of Hergreaves and Anderson, a repeat of either mismatch is highly unlikely Sphere: Related Content
