Our current squad is by no means in trouble.
With a bit of luck here or there we would have seen more success than we did in this past season. Yet saying that there are areas we could strengthen or will need to be strengthened in the coming years.
This summer I think the majority of us will be looking for the club to sign a creative midfielder as it is something we are sorely missing but also some of us are looking for a new striker to help shoulder the burden with Wayne Rooney. These are the two obvious areas but what about defence where Rio’s injuries are starting to pile up or in goal where Van Der Sar could possibly retire at the end of this coming season.
So lets say instead of having money to spend this summer we were given the choice of bringing back a player from the recent past, who would you choose? We have had some quality players in the years gone and when looking at the players that have come and gone it doesn’t become as obvious a choice as Cristiano Ronaldo etc.
Initially I thought of having Eric Cantona playing behind Rooney essentially doing the job Berbatov was signed to (this isn’t a dig at Berbatov). He would unlock defences, lead the team, provide that spark and bit of magic as well as score goals. Ruud Van Nistelrooy would have banged goals in for in this team with the service of Valencia and a younger Paul Scholes wouldn’t have gone a miss either but the fact he is still playing means I can’t select him.
I thought for a while then I remember another piece I had written ages ago and it struck me – Juan Sebastian Veron.
Now many will think I’ve lost it and will just remember the ‘flop’ label but there is a method to the madness.
When we first signed Veron we played a 4-4-2 but now more often than not we can be found with a 3 man midfield and in this set up I think he would have flourished. Veron could pass, score goals as well as set them up and in the 3 man midfield would have been afforded the chance to be a proper playmaker, reading the game, facing the opposition’s goal unlike in the 4-4-2 formation.
The Guardian have also recognised that with this change in tactics at Old Trafford, Veron would have succeeded and claimed had the Argentine joined, aged 26, in 2007 he would have been a success in both the League and Europe as he was the right player that joined United at the wrong time.
There are a number of other players that could improve our team, some will still stick with Ronaldo, some will say Robson or Keane but I think if we had Veron now, it would do our team the world of good.
Which player do you think would improve our team most?
Cantona. It would always be Cantona for me, regardless of who we had in the team. The man was just magical.