The Transformation of Manchester United

On 22 April 2013, Wayne Rooney produced a perfect long pass to Robin van Persie, who thumped an unstoppable volley past Aston Villa goalkeeper, making it 2-0 in 13th minute. It was labelled as ‘the goal of the century’ by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Van Persie went on to complete his first half hat-trick. The win gave Manchester United their 20th league title.

Sir Alex, when questioned about the then recent criticism that his club was no longer ‘vintage Manchester United,’ was quoted as saying “It must bear comparison. I’m trying to think of a player who has scored a goal like that [of Van Persie’s]. Rafa [da Silva] will end up being compared to [Gary] Neville, [Phil] Jones, [Rio] Ferdinand and [Nemanja] Vidic. They are comparable to all the defenders we have had. I’m not saying they are better but great players are great players. Nostalgia does play tricks.”

He also believed that the current generation of young players would carry Manchester United through many years, stating: “I think we have a nucleus of players who are young enough and we expect them to improve. It’s not asking too much of players to improve.”

When David Moyes arrived, he faced many failures in the transfer market, which led him to rely on these ‘nucleus of players’ Sir Alex was so confident about. In Sir Alex’s mind, this was it. Even if he did not put it in words, he believed this was the Manchester United side for years.

Two years on, Manchester United under Louis van Gaal bear no resemblance to SAF’s squad. If David de Gea stays at Old Trafford, him and Wayne Rooney will be the only players the squad of 2012-13 who will play a significant part in United’s title challenge this year.

David de Gea is one of the few players who actually lived up to the expectations of Sir Alex. He has improved, and to such an extent, that he is under Real Madrid’s radar. The goalkeeping situation at Manchester is highly complicated, with both the current keepers unstable, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Red Devils field a new goalie next season.

Defence was a major concern for van Gaal last season. When he arrived, players who were leaders on and off the pitch had already departed. There was no Patrice Evra or Nemanja Vidic. His mistrust in Rafale da Silva, and persisting injuries to Luke Shaw meant he had to play Antonio Valencia at right-back, and the versatile-but-essentially-a-midfielder Daley Blind at left back. This is the same Valencia who once established himself as one of the best wingers in the league under Alex Ferguson. Now, though, with arrival of Matteo Darmian, it is more likely that we will see less of the 29 year old this season.

Once cited as replacements for Vidic and Ferdinand, Jones, Smalling and Evans are perfect examples of failing to make it large. The trio have been consistently hampered by injury, never allowing a regular center back partnership to develop. They made a few costly mistakes, one being the red card Smalling recieved in the first Manchester derby of last season. Even though they have signed new contracts, (Evans might be on his way out at the time of writing) it is high time for them to prove their worth. Manchester United are already linked with likes of Otamendi and Sergio Ramos, and with Marcous Rojo already in the squad, it may well be end of the duo, who were so highly regarded by Sir Alex.

Wayne Rooney has often rescued United from their midfield’s below par performances. And it is no surprise that van Gaal has invested heavily in it last season. When van Gaal arrived, he was aware of Alex Ferguson’s admiration for Ander Harrera, since he played a pivotal role in dismantling his side during their meeting against Athletico Bilbao in Europa League. So after signing the Spaniard last season, and bringing in his warrior from the World Cup, Daley Blind, it felt like he had done enough. The likes of Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini were bought by Moyes to fill in for fading Steven Fletcher and Paul Scholes, but they really thrived under the Dutchman.

Even after all this, Rooney was still seen in the mid-field. This window has seen a complete transformation though. Van Gaal has signed both the short and long term replacements for Micheal Carrick, who will be turning 34 later this month. They will now field their first German player, Bastian Schweinsteiger, who arguably is one of the best in that position. On the other hand Morgan Schneiderlin will bring much needed energy and a deep understanding of the English game.

A name one can easily forget is Tom Cleverly. From being a future United great, he is now at a completely different club altogether. Cleverly serves as a reminder that SAF too was human and made mistakes.

Van Gaal wanted to inject speed in attack, so he bought Angel di Maria. The most expensive United signing started brightly, but fitness and form issues led to him falling behind the pecking order and being replaced by Ashley Young.

Memphis Depay will replace Young now, who never was consistent enough to retain his place. Depay and di Maria( if he stays) will be key for United’s attack.

Other members of this nucleus of Sir Alex were Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez. Welbeck, an academy product, was cited as the future of United. But van Gaal felt he was surplus to United’s requirments, and was sold to title rivals Arsenal. And with him went another piece of Fergie’s dream team.

Javier Hernandez, the super-sub of Fergie’s era faced the same treatment, and was loaned to Madrid, a club where he again struggled for first team action.

What followed was truely unfortunate though. Radamel Falcao failed terribly and Robin van Persie, the hero of the 2012-13 season was plagued by injuries. There were times when teenager James Wilson played as the main striker.

Both Falcao and van Persie have departed, and now Rooney can play as a striker. If United sign one more world class striker and a rock solid centre back, all the woes of last season will be forgotten.

An interesting factor about van Gaal’s signings has been the mix of youth and experience. They have signed emerging players like Luke Shaw and Depay, players in their prime like Ander Herera and Blind, and someone like Schweinsteiger, who maybe past his best, but brings the winning mentality of a champion.

By the end of the transfer window, United should have a world class and well balanced squad, and no matter how different it will be from squad Sir Alex Ferguson left us, if it matches his winning ways, we all can handle tricks played by nostalgia.