AuthorMichael Wallace We have our second guest writer this week, with Michael Wallace providing his take on Manchester United’s squad. Michael originally posted his piece over at our mate’s Facebook page. Many of you guys who read our blog often know we are mates with the lads over at Sporting Mad, who run a weekly podcast show and we encourage you guys to go check them out. Michael is a lifelong Man Utd fan from Belfast and this is his take on how Manchester United are shaping up for the coming season. Over to you Michael. A good pre-season tour isn’t a precursor to a good season (I’m looking squarely at you van Gaal!) but with 6 wins from 7 games (albeit 1 on penalties) overall it has been a very successful tour in America along with the other friendlies. It’s been a useful insight to where we’re at for the months ahead, plus it was also beneficial to get a look at some of the squad and fringe players to see who can cut it with the first team so here is my preview of each player for the season ahead:
Goalkeepers David de Gea I’m delighted he will be our number 1 for at least another season and hopefully beyond. He’s the best in the world with nothing to prove but he also showed his worth again in the penalty shootout on tour. Sergio Romero If we’ve the best keeper in the world I think we also have the best sub keeper too! Pleased he signed a new contract and he has continued his great form from last season on the tour. Always reliable when called upon. Joel Pereira Didn’t look as solid as his seniors but didn’t play a lot and wasn’t tested very often. Could well be loaned out. Defenders Chris Smalling Similar to last season with the odd dodgy moment here and there but overall showed his value to the team when playing with either 3 or 4 at the back. We should make sure we keep him and try to get his confidence back to a higher level again. Phil Jones Like Smalling, not averse to some nervy moments but was quite quiet on the tour which is usually a good sign for a CB. Jose seems to favour him but the big question is can he stay fit for a decent spell? Eric Bailly Our best CB and a fantastic signing from Mourinho. Looks set to continue his terrific debut season with consistent, commanding performances at the back throughout pre-season. Marcus Rojo Improved massively last season but will fall behind with his long-term injury keeping him out for months. Will have a lot of catching up to do! Victor Lindelof Often looked very composed on the ball but also had a few dreadful moments too so may take some time to settle in. He’s certainly good competition for the CB’s whether it’s in a 3 or a 4. Daley Blind He’s a decent player but for me, he’s not at the same level as his team mates, certainly not at CB and is only a makeshift LB. If he fails to nail down the LB position he will be looking more and more lost for a position as the quality of the squad develops around him. Luke Shaw Injured for the tour after a very frustrating season. Will be playing catch up once again and will have to dig deep to prove his worth after showing only glimpses of what potential he has to offer. Jose will be running out of patience…again! Tim Fosu-Mensah Had plenty of pre-season minutes on the pitch and this could be his break-through year. Big and strong and looks up to the task but plenty of competition for his positions may see him limited for chances. Antonio Valencia Had a fantastic season (was my Utd POTY) and has cemented his place as first choice RB. Looked solid as usual on tour but was unnecessarily sent off too. No doubt he will maintain his high standard again in the coming season. Matteo Darmian Seems to be preferred as LB rather than RB (mainly due to Valencia) but has proved he is a useful player to keep, especially with Luke Shaw’s injuries and form. Can sometimes be hot and cold but has been consistent enough in pre-season. Axel Tuanzebe Might be a season too early for him and didn’t get as many pre-season minutes on the pitch as others but still looks like a future first team player and could step in if and when needed. Might be loaned out but I would like to see him get a chance in the first team at some point soon. Midfielders Paul Pogba Didn’t cut it for me last season, price tag or not, he only had a few good games, normally when the opposition was poor. However, he does seem to have stepped it up pre-season and looks sharper and more composed. Big year for him coming up and will have a massive influence on how Utd’s season turns out depending on how he plays. Could be our future captain if it goes well for him. Juan Mata Unfortunately picked up a knock and missed most of the tour. I’m sure it will be more of the same again next season, hard-working, often trying (and often failing) to be the spark in the team while popping up with some very important goals. Seems to struggle to last 90 minutes though so may be rotated but he’s still a player you can rely on. Michael Carrick Officially our new captain and got plenty of minutes on the tour but will struggle to hold down a place for the new season. Will probably be happy enough to be rotated but could still play an important role in a long season. Ander Herrera Like Mata picked up an early knock on the tour so will have to catch up but is proving to be more and more of an important player for us. Won our POTY award last season (not my choice but still speaks volumes of the job he does for us) plus he loves Utd and Utd fans love him. Possible future captain too. Henrikh Mkhitaryan Showed real character to come through harsh treatment from Jose early last season and went on to show just how good he is. He carried that form on throughout pre-season with goals and assists and is proving to be a first team player with a real spark who could have a terrific season ahead. He can sometimes be a bit careless but it’s due to the intensity of his game. Marouane Fellaini A villain to many Utd fans but the reality is Jose loves him and he has improved massively under him last season. He had a good pre-season and scored a couple of goals too so will no doubt play a big part again next season. He’s good at the role he is given in the team…however he is also very bad at many other things! Nemanja Matic Another solid signing from Mourinho as he looks to turn us into a team of giants! His size will certainly come in useful but he is very comfortable to just sit right in the centre of the pitch and control the midfield. Might take him some time to adjust but with Prem experience (and 2 league medals in the last 3 years) he should hopefully settle in quickly. Jesse Lingard Got plenty of minutes on the tour and looked lively throughout but for me he still has work to do and must be more consistent. Perisic would be welcome competition to try and push him on a bit but hopefully he can honour his generous new contract with solid performances. Andreas Pereira One of my highlights of pre-season and I hope he gets the chance he deserves this season. Has adapted his game from an attacking midfielder to a defensive one and looks the real deal. Comfortable and creative on the ball while hard-working and aggressive without it, plus he can also hit a mean FK if he is ever given the chance! Scott McTominay A surprise package and certainly impressed when given the chance. He’s another big lad, like many players at Utd now but will be hard for him to break through in CM with so much competition there. May be limited to League Cup games but one to watch out for. Demi Mitchell Didn’t play too much pre-season but still looks a livewire with plenty of pace on the left wing, however he’s not strong enough to break into the first team yet. One to watch if he goes out on loan. Ashley Young Another player with a long-term injury but he may not get a chance now to break back into the team. If so he’ll have to work very hard but I would expect him to be sold in the January transfer window if not before. Forwards Romalu Lukaku The missing piece from last season (ok yes we had Zlatan!) and would have been the player to turn all those (mainly home) draws into wins. He has hit the ground running on tour and I’ve no doubt he will score tonnes of goals for us. Must be more consistent than at Everton but is part of a much better squad and his Prem experience is priceless. Antony Martial Struggled last season to find his explosive form from his debut season but still impressed in pre-season. I’d guess if he struggles again he’ll be a target for clubs to sign but he has the potential to be a huge star for us if he can just knuckle down and get on with it. Possibly make or break season but he has bags of quality, I just hope he shows it throughout. Marcus Rashford Probably our best player on the tour and has the makings of a proper Utd legend in the future. He has grown taller and bulked up and seems to be even quicker than before too! This should be his best season yet coming up and will be terrifying to any opposition up against him. Should also be given a chance to hit FK’s as that’s his secret weapon! So there you have it. It’s the best squad, both in quality and depth, that we’ve had for years right across the pitch and we’ll need it for a very important season ahead. The most noticeable thing for me is just how big, tall and strong we have become under Mourinho which we must use to our advantage across all the tournaments. I also hope Zlatan comes back when he is fit again as he was a hugely influential player for us both on and off the pitch last season. For me, we must focus on the league more than anything this season. We’ve been outside the top 3 every single season since Fergie left (we never finished outside it with him) which is simply not good enough, especially with all the money we have spent and going from 5th to 6th last season was very disappointing. Whether we win the league or not is up for debate, the competition is very strong again but we should definitely be up there challenging for it. It’ll be great to be back in the Champions League again and we’ll have a chance with Jose’s pedigree but it should still be a second priority after slipping so far in the league. With the depth we have, the domestic cups should be a good chance for squad players but Jose usually goes strong for these too and any silverware is always welcome anyway! Performance and style wise, I was happy enough for the majority of last season (although away to City was a real low point) but that was due to the previous 2 or 3 years that were truly dreadful. It certainly wasn’t vintage Utd last season and there is still plenty of room for improvement but it was the home draws that cost us in the league, many of which were winning performances where we just lacked that decisive cutting edge and got sucker punched time and time again. Now Jose has his first year under his belt (while winning 2 major trophies) and since we’re back in the Champions League again there isn’t as much pressure on him from various angles at the club so hopefully he can be a bit more relaxed and the players can enjoy a bit of freedom to play like Utd fans expect them to play. It also looks like he has been experimenting a lot with 3 at the back as well as our usual 4 so i would expect him to mix the formation up a good bit depending on who we're playing and who we have fit. It’s still early days in this new chapter but there’s not long to go now until it all kicks off again. I’m excited and confident for the season ahead, so bring it on! |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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