New EPL Season Warm-Up
After the gloom and doom of the World Cup exit and Manchester United surrendering the title to Chelsea last season, my antenna of hope is now beginning to pick up positive signals - from Old Trafford, at least. England, who cares? I would want to duck the issue like the way Ashley Cole stumbled away from Fabio Capello’s inviting hand in the Community Shield final.
Well, many of my fellow fans were worried about the lack of new signings made by Manchester United, but after the emphatic victory over Chelsea in the Community Shield, I believe some of you might have given your frustrations a much needed break.
I still think Manchester United are strapped for cash despite Sir Alex and Gill repeatedly claiming to have funds available, and I don’t think they will sign any big names in this transfer slot. But on the other side, I reckon we have enough resources already to mount a credible title challenge this year, and possibly win it. I would want to showcase the Community Shield victory as proof.
Though it is still early days, and it is foolhardy to bet United will win the title this year, nevertheless the victory has in fact suggested our players are much sharper than when they opened their title defense same time last year.
United were caught short in their pursuit of Chelsea towards the end of last season when Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Federico Macheda were all injured, leaving Dimitar Berbatov as our only fit striker. Lack of options up front, as well as a chronic injury list in defense midway through the season, cost United the title. But with Rooney and Berbatov looking sharp against Chelsea, Owen and Macheda fit again, United could not be in better shape.
New signing Javier Hernandez has impressed me greatly, and his partnership with Berbatov is something I'm eagerly awaiting to see. The pair has seemed to be a match made in heaven all through the pre-season, and it would be interesting to see how they fare in the real test. Chris Smalling did not have a great start, but to his defense, Evra and Vidic also took a while to hit form with United.
This pre-season so far has been pretty uneventful for Manchester United fans, except for some happy results in friendlies in the United States and Ireland. The spot light has been mostly on neighbors and rivals City thanks to their spending spree once again. Money cannot guarantee success immediately, but I see them eventually winning the title in the near future if they continue to do reckless spending. Having said that, I don’t see any close danger to United this season from City. As Sir Alex put it, they have not got a single world class player in their squad. David Silva, Yaya Toure and Boateng are good players, but not yet world class. By looking at their current squad, which is unwisely huge - I presume Manchini will have a tough time in keeping egos at bay, I don’t see them winning anything this year.
In the United States, Sir Alex also outlined how his eventual successor at Old Trafford should be like. Martin O'Neill, a candidate touted as a future replacement for the great man, has dramatically quit Aston Villa five days before the season starts. I have always been a big fan of this guy from his days at Leicester where he did a more than decent job in transforming the club from a lowly second-division team to one that regularly feature in the top ten in the EPL. I used to love the sight of him jumping up and down the sideline at Celtic and Villa, but recent news has suggested his flaws in man-management. Some members of Villa Park staff questioned O’Neill’s loyalty to certain players, and O'Neill reportedly had a huge bust-up with Nigel Reo-Coker, he allegedly grabbed Reo-Coker's throat after the player told O'Neill to "F*** off". Okay, now off from the potential successor list, I guess.
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Well, many of my fellow fans were worried about the lack of new signings made by Manchester United, but after the emphatic victory over Chelsea in the Community Shield, I believe some of you might have given your frustrations a much needed break.
I still think Manchester United are strapped for cash despite Sir Alex and Gill repeatedly claiming to have funds available, and I don’t think they will sign any big names in this transfer slot. But on the other side, I reckon we have enough resources already to mount a credible title challenge this year, and possibly win it. I would want to showcase the Community Shield victory as proof.
Though it is still early days, and it is foolhardy to bet United will win the title this year, nevertheless the victory has in fact suggested our players are much sharper than when they opened their title defense same time last year.
United were caught short in their pursuit of Chelsea towards the end of last season when Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Federico Macheda were all injured, leaving Dimitar Berbatov as our only fit striker. Lack of options up front, as well as a chronic injury list in defense midway through the season, cost United the title. But with Rooney and Berbatov looking sharp against Chelsea, Owen and Macheda fit again, United could not be in better shape.
This pre-season so far has been pretty uneventful for Manchester United fans, except for some happy results in friendlies in the United States and Ireland. The spot light has been mostly on neighbors and rivals City thanks to their spending spree once again. Money cannot guarantee success immediately, but I see them eventually winning the title in the near future if they continue to do reckless spending. Having said that, I don’t see any close danger to United this season from City. As Sir Alex put it, they have not got a single world class player in their squad. David Silva, Yaya Toure and Boateng are good players, but not yet world class. By looking at their current squad, which is unwisely huge - I presume Manchini will have a tough time in keeping egos at bay, I don’t see them winning anything this year.
