One of the key components to Manchester United’s success is the strength we have in depth.
Whilst we largely have a good, strong squad there are some players some fans feel aren’t even deserving of gracing the bench, whilst there are others who do not match the quality that is portrayed weekly on the pitch but are valuable when called upon.
This summer United have moved to rearrange our house by getting new faces in ASAP, with 3 new signings made before the transfer window actually opened. But with new faces coming in there will inevitably be some going/linked with moves so here is my look at some of these players.
Dimitar Berbatov
He has effectively become a squad player since the emergence of Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez.
Some have argued that they he has been treated unfairly by Ferguson but his inconsistent scoring sees him on the verge of leaving Manchester United. For two seasons with the Red Devils, he scored 14 and 12 goals respectively having 43 games to score them in.
Many could vouch, myself included, that many of those wouldn’t have been starts so this statistic has been some what tainted however him not being selected for Champions League Final shows what the other strikers bring that he doesn’t have: A consistent goal threat.
He showed absolute class against Liverpool and Blackburn but not many people remember that between those games, where collectively he scored 8 goals, and a spell of 10 games where he failed to find the back of the net.
That typifies Berbatov, on his day he looks like a world beater but when he is having a bad day he cannot grind anything out for himself and sometimes not even the team.
Because of his new found squad status, I would like to see him moved on for the simple fact that Welbeck & Macheda will be coming back and the former has deserved his chance after successful loan spell at Sunderland.
As I completed this article, it was being rumoured that both PSG and Valencia are considering a move for Berbatov, so if a bid is accepted it may appear that Sir Alex has a similar pattern of thinking about the Bulgarian.
Darron Gibson
After Essien scored that swirling effort against Arsenal to save a point for Chelsea, whenever he gets within range, Chelsea fans can be heard shouting “Shoot!!!!”
One does wonder whether Gibson has this effect on constant replay in his head.
He has scored some great goals for Manchester United but at least other players who too have scored great goals like Rooney and Nani can back it up with quality approach play whereas what I have seen of him leaves me unconvinced.
He can play a killer final ball but he has the same problem with a lot of the squad players I am going to discuss: consistency.
I may appear harsh but he is a player I held in high esteem following his spell in the reserve so I feel like he has thrown it back in our faces by producing constant poor or average performances.
Even though he doesn’t show it, his passing range is good but his timid play doesn’t bring anything to the table. Rio Ferdinand said that in his first training session that he had a chance to play it forward but played it safe and sideways. Immediately on his back, Roy Keane shouted at him that this is the top level and that playing it safe isn’t go to be good enough here.
It appears Gibson may be on his way to Sunderland and I for one won’t be too sad at seeing him go.
Wes Brown
He used to have braids.
He used to be a prominent member of our defence.
And it seems that he used to be a United player.
Several clubs have been circling him despite his performances having dipped dramatically since the highs of 2008 and to coincide with this he has fallen out favour massively at Old Trafford.
I do not have anything to complain about Brown concerning his ability as he has shown that he is quality but it just seems to be on the wane.
He used to be United’s best right-back but now he seems to be on the way out with Rafael and Fabio Da Silva coming and taking the top two places and I feel his departure is best for both parties.
Click here for our look at the rest of the players on my list
NO you conts don’t.
huh?
I don’t agree that we should let Berbatov leave. His a class player. Simply because Welbeck did well on his loan move does not mean that we should sacrifice the EPL top scorer to give him a first team spot. He should usurp Berbatov if he really is good enough.
Like berba too, but sell him and take money to put towards a great CM. Let welbeck owen and macheda fight it out for 3rd striker. improving MF with young and a great CM would outweigh the positives of berba too me..
Would like to see Berba stay, he is a fantastic talent. Don’t think Welbeck is any where near as good.
Shame about Wes, he’s been around forever and is a good defender but needs to play regularly if you want the best out of him.
Brown can go as we now have Jones, but i would still keep Evans as he can cover the whole defence and i still rate him despite a few poor showings last season.
Gibson can leave as i cringe when i see his name in the team sheet he reminds me of lampard and i cant stand that talentless prat, a hard shot and thats about it.
i would give Cleverly his shot, replacing Gibsons place in the squad from last season.
Berba is a tough one as he can be awesome but the next minute your screaming why/how at the top of your voice.
i would keep him unless we can find a better option out there that would add variety to out strikers. there are lots of great players but i feel we should an a bit of height, someone that can bully defences and hold up the ball when needed.
I agree that these three should be leaving. Berbatov is class but he is not consistent. We have Hernandez, Rooney, Welbeck, Macheda and Owen for next season. We need Welbeck and Macheda to step up next season for us.
Also hopefully in signing Young and possibly Nasri, and the return of Cleverley, we are adding more goals to the midfield.
I will be sad to see berba leave, but more so to see John O’Shea leave. He’s been a loyal servant for us and a great squad player. It seems like a Phil Nevile moment when Fergie can’t bare to keep leaving him out of the team. He knows at Sunderland O’Shea can play every game and maybe even captain them. He is also 30 now and Fergie must want him playing.
Good luck to Gibson, he can do well at Sunderland but Man Utd was perhaps too big. Brown lost the plot after 2008 and has no future with us.
Add Kuszchak and Obertan to the list as well. Hopefully Berbatov, Brown, Gibson, O’Shea, Kuszchak and Obertan will raise us just over £30 million.
If we can get Nasri for £20 million, it will take our spending to £70 million. Offset £30 million and its a good transfer window for us. We might be able to add one more player even. That is probably being greedy.
There is no good reason to let Berba go now. Take out penalties and he was the top scorer in the EPL by a long long way so it is insane to suggest he doesnt provide a consistent goal threat. The idea of replacing him with Macheda is stupid. Barring two performances against Villa from the bench he has consisteently looked nowhere near United quality.
I would also suggest sending Welbeck out on loan for another year. Despite being a huge fan of welbeck i dont think he did enough yet to show himself to be a better player than Berbatov. A full season on loan with fewer injuries might allow him to realise his potential and then become Berbatovs natural replacement in a season or two. For now there is no point in placing so much trust in a young player that has yet to prove that he can stay fit consistently. Let him go out on loan and score 15 goals then the decision will be obvious. As someone who has watched his progress since he was a young kid i would love to see him do it. The talent is there without question
this article is part joke part stating the obvious.
sorry if thats a bit harsh but, honestly.
I think we should buy to midfielders: Jack Rodwell as a DM and he a english player, and Samir Nasri he’s stil young and hungry for succes
macheda was a good player its bad that he did not get enough opportunity to show his abillity…………….