The time has now come to discuss my supported team, Manchester United. After the disappointment of narrowly missing out on the title, Sir Alex and co will be ever more determined to win it back and challenge for the Champions League trophy too. This young squad is another year older with senior players like Giggs, Scholes and Neville supporting them. Sir Alex wants to emulate the successful young team that he accomplished in the 90's with the Nevilles, Beckham, Butt and Giggs. And this year could be the year where it all fits together. Let me show you how this squad fairs.
Goalkeeper: The No. 1 custodian for this season will continue to be Edwin Van Der Sar without a doubt. Despite his age, he is a strong, commanding and reliable keeper who can give confidence to his four defenders in front. However, I do predict that this could be his last season, and Sir Alex will have his eye out for a suitable successor. Possibly this could be Igor Akinfeev, Gianluigi Buffon or Manuel Neuer. Ferguson will not want to repeat goalkeeper merry-go-round when he had to replace the great Peter Schmeichel and had to go through Mark Bosnich (not United quality), Fabian Barthez (too erratic and eccentric), Massimo Taibi (an embarrassment) and Tim Howard (never recovered from a fatal mistake). Ferguson will bide his time for one more season, and will be satisfied with a safe enough back-up in Kuszczak.
Right-Back: Rafael Da Silva will be a maturer player and will have learnt from his mistake in his sending off against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season. We saw that night that he can terrorise down that wing and possesses plenty of quality. If he can remain a mainstay in the team for the whole season, this could be the start of a career of being the true successor to Gary Neville. Wes Brown, Gary Neville, John O' Shea and Richie De Laet can offer back-up in this position so this area should not be of concern.
Centre-Backs: The strong defensive duo Ferdinand and Vidic would be the ideal pairing for every game. But it seems that age has crept up to Ferdinand as he is troubled by injuries on a regular basis since last season. Jonny Evans has shown to be able to deputise in these times effectively, but he is still very young and can succumb to the odd mistake. Now with the addition of Chris Smalling, this should provide healthy competition for Jonny Evans as a deputy to Ferdinand-Vidic. Smalling has made quite a meteoric rise to prominence as a young and talented defender. Much will be expected of him as many were surprised that Sir Alex chose splash out on a player who plying his trade in the non-league 18 months beforehand. At a height of 6ft 4", he may provide a few goals from set pieces with his towering presence. Yet I am sure Ferguson does regret letting Pique go as he is now developing into becoming a world-class defender.
Left-Back: This position belongs to Evra as he is one of the best left-backs in the world. Fabio and John O' Shea will merely be back-ups for Evra. However, I would like to see Fabio develop like his twin so that we can see both brothers playing in a future United team like the Neville brothers of the 90's.
Central Midfield: The centre of the park had belonged to Keane and Scholes. Now Scholes does remain at United, but we cannot expect his goal scoring rate of past, nor can he play week-in week out. Darren Fletcher moved out of the periphery of the squad and is now considered a regular first team player, but a Scholes-type replacement would complement him in the midfield. Darron Gibson has shown flashes of his potential and his eye for goal, and this season could be the one where he steps up to challenge for a first-team place rather than be a Carling Cup player. Michael Carrick has never fulfilled his potential or played consistently well throughout the whole of last season, whilst Owen Hargreaves continues to spend his United career in the treatment room. Anderson has still yet to live up to his hefty price tag and is plagued by injuries. I feel that Ferguson will be patient for one more season until he will be certain to offload Carrick, Hargreaves and Anderson. If Ferguson manages to snare Mesut Ozil (the perfect Scholes successor) in this transfer window, he would offer the goals and creativity that is needed in this United team.
Right Wing: Antonio Valencia came in last season and fitted in well. He is by no means a Cristiano Ronaldo, but he does the job of getting those vital crosses in. He is still yet to reach the peak of his career and I am sure we will be able to see him flourish even further this season and with more goals. Park Ji Sung and Gabriel Obertan offers healthy competition for this position, but this seems like a safe area for this United side.
Left Wing: Ryan Giggs is a legend. Not just to Man Utd, but to the Premiership. However, he cannot be the wing wizard as he used to be and has now adapted his game to a more central role, rather than out wide. Nani came out of the wilderness in the second half of the season and began to show why Ferguson invested a huge sum in bringing him to Old Trafford at a young age. With experience and maturation, he is playing with more confidence and ability. It may seem now that the left wing position can be his this season, and that he too can provide a goal threat like his former team-mate Ronaldo did. Can Ferguson place his faith with this young Portuguese winger on a regular basis and show that he was right in not signing David Silva?
Strikers: Wayne Rooney will be out to answer his critics, and make up for his lack of goals in the World Cup. He was the club top scorer last season and is likely to be so this season too. However, he may not have to bear the burden of being the main goal scorer with the new signing of Javier Hernandez. I will admit that I was skeptical as to why Ferguson was buying an unknown player from Mexico. But this could prove to be the signing of the season, as Hernandez has shown goal scoring abilities in the World Cup and the pre-season friendlies. With this extra firepower, United can attack with more confidence. Berbatov may have been kept because Ferguson wants to have a senior striker, alongside Michael Owen to mentor his younger strikers. Like in the treble-winning squad, Ferguson had 4 competent strikers at his disposal with the likes of Yorke, Cole, Sheringham and Solskjaer. Now Ferguson has that with these four. He also has Diouf and Wellbeck, but they will be loaned out to gain regular Premiership experience. However, Ferguson will want to keep Macheda as a back-up in the squad and will want him to be a super-sub like Solskjaer. Has Ferguson made the right decision in not splashing out on Karim Benzema? And can those frustrating draws of last season be goal-fests?
Overall, we can see that this squad is young, talented and has strength in depth. Chelsea will be the team to beat in the Premiership, with Arsenal and Man City providing a strong title challenge. Real Madrid and Barcelona will be the toughest foreign opponents in the Champions League this season, and United will have to be that extra bit special to overcome them. This season will be exciting, with plenty of shocks, surprises, goals and tears. And we will get to see glimpse of this at the Community Shield this Sunday. Whoever wins on Sunday, will probably win the Premiership title.
