A summer filled with transfer chaos, turmoil and exciting young players stepping up to the plate, Manchester United fans failed to see replacement in the one area that's been adressed time and time again. A promising Spanish goalkeeper, a rugged and rough young Englisman and a flamboyant and exciting Englan international all came in, but as the transfer window closed there was no sight of the holy grail, there was no sight of a central midfielder.
When Paul Scholes announced his retirement after the record-breaking 2010/2011-season it was the sign of new things to come. A season that saw the legendary careers of Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes come to an end laid down the gauntlet for Sir Alex Ferguson to, some may say finally, throw his weight around in the transfer market and sign someone in the category of "world class". A leader, a champion, a man on integrity. A player that would strike fear in the opponent's hearts as soon as they saw his name on the teamsheet. Who would've thought that big name targets such as Wesley Sneijder and Samir Nasri would turn into the midfield compaionship of Anderson and Tom Cleverley?
After four games of football, some may call Sir Alex Ferguson a genius, yet again. Manchester United have scored 18 goals in just four league matches and are ruling on top of the Barclay's Permier League. Much of the credit must be given to that companionship in midfield. Tom Cleverley has finally stepped up to the plate and has terrorized the likes of Yaya Touré and Rafael van der Vaart in midfield. With his skill, his passing abillity, and hos movement, Manchester United have found a new dimension in midfield. With Anderson next to him, flair has been added as well as raw power and abillity to get forward. Together they give the midfield something which it has been lacking for years; energy. No more slow-paced football, no more "give the ball to Ronaldo"-type football. No more relying on one player to the trick. As of right now, our midfield has been in a class of it's own. Yet, every United fan has to admit that it has not yet been up for the biggest of tests, knocking away a Luka Modric-less Tottenham side and an Arsenal-side pillaged and robbed for top-tier talent. One may wonder what will happen as soon as Manchester City is on the other side of the pitch, regardless of what happend during the Community Shield earlier this summer. Will the integrity of Anderson and Cleverley prove enough to stop the likes of Nasri, Silva and Yaya Touré yet again? I think not.
Indeed our future, but a good enough present?
As some of you may know, I suspect most of you don't, I'm a huge admirer of South-American football. I've been watching the Argentine Primera ever since I first saw glimpses of it on this show called "FIFA Football Mundial" which used to air on Eurosport here in Norway. What has impressed me the most about South-American football is the way they have developed so much disclipned talent during recent years. They have gone from dribbling, fun-loving, flamboyant divers, to tough, hard-edged, no-nonsened and ruthless brutality in some ends of the pitch. This leads me to the man I hoped and prayed for Sir Alex Ferguson to sign all summer long, but ended up in Italy; Arturo Vidal.
He may look like a slick pretty-boy with his mohawk and his facial hair lined up nicely, but trust me, Vidal is as tough as they come. During his final season at Leverkusen, he polowed through midfields like a shovel through snow. He was a force by himself, not afraid of putting his feet in where it hurts the most. If you combine all of this with him being an excellent passer of the ball, a tireless worker on both ends of the pitch and a penalty-specialist, you can't really ask for anything more in a box-to-box midfielder. I believe that in Vidal, United could re-discover that integrity and the ruthlessness we once had in Roy Keane forexample. Well, perhaps not as ruthless, but you get the idea. Vidal's abillity to play in various positions would give Sir Alex a chance to mix things up as well. Vidal is one of the most flexible players in the world, having showed his abillity to play at both fullbacks, as a central defender and as a winger. Something which was discovered at an early stage by ex-Chile manager Marcelo Bielsa who used Vidal all over the pitch, depending on who he was playing. Forexample, if Chile met Argentina, he'd have Vidal as a defensive midfielder, picking of Messi's movements, forcing him to play the ball, and then follow Messi's runs. As I mentioned earlier, Vidal went to Italy and Juventus for a ridiculous fee of €12.5m. To make matters worse, Vidal came on as a substitute for Juventus in their first game of the season against Parma, scored a beautiful volley, and ruled the midfield like a king. Parma barely made it over the halfway line when Vidal was playing.
Arturo Vidal - never heard a bid from Old Trafford
I don't believe United's main problem is the creativity in the midfield, as I tried to explain with Arturo Vidal. We have plenty of flamboyance and energy. We still lack a destructive force, a bully. Someone, as I said, strikes fear in the enemies' heart when they see him on the teamsheet. There's no leader in our midfield as of right now, no one who will take control or play over abillity against the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool. The biggest concern for some is that we have no midfielder who can out-create the midfield of Barcelona, who we're bound to meet again at some stage. We don't need to out-create Barcelona, we need to out-play Barcelona. Outplaying the world's best team requiers being able to break down the world's best team. You hear how Xavi, Iniesta and Messi all speak of their respect for United. There's respect there, but there's no one to emphasise why those players should respect United, why we are labeled one of the world's best teams. An attacking line of Young, Nani, Chicharito and Rooney will only take you so far, a midfield of energy, ruthlessness and power is what we need. Some may say we never replaced Ronaldo, some may say we never replaced Tévez, I say we never replaced Roy Keane. He was loved by many, hated by more, but respected by all. He embodied the Manchester United midfield, he ate, slept and lived the midfield. He loved the challenge of breaking down a Patrick Vieira or a Dennis Wise. Where's our ruthless agression gone?
All right, some of you will instantly point to Darren Fletcher or Phil Jones, and I agree. In the case of Phil Jones, I still believe he's too young. He's been solid thus far, but for a man still learning the game, that's a role that can break his career much quicker than it can make it. As of right now, Jones is safe at the back with experienced and cooled heads such as Rio Ferdinand. Darren Fletcher a few seasons ago was out of this world. Agressive, quick, good passer, not afraid to get stuck in. But he's showing he may only have been a one-hit-wonder himself. There's no guarantee when you're using Fletcher. Most of all, I don't think the name "Darren Fletcher" scares any midfielder at this stage. A player that was on his way to greatness, Fletcher has kinda faded away ever since he was sent off in that second leg of the Champions League against Arsenal. A part of Fletcher was left on the field that night at the Emirates, a part of Manchester United's ruthlessness was again lost and the hunt for a new midfield terroriser, a general leading his troops into battle, a man of integrity and pure power has again begun. And until Manchester United finds that type of player, I believe, we will still be wandering in wilderness and left in the shadows of the Catalan giants, or even worse, surpassed by our noisy neighbours. The search is still ongoing, and it's still our weakest link. "Operation: Midfield" is still not solved.
Sign of ruthlessness - Roy Keane had Pavel Nedved and Edgar Davids running scared
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