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Opinion Pieces, Pre-Season, Premier League
Season Preview 2013-14
by Editor • July 25, 2013 • 3 Comments
After one of the biggest changes in the club’s history, predictions for this season have ranged from a comfortable title defence right the way down to the permanent, irreversible demise of Manchester United. The truth is that it’s incredibly difficult to predict how things will pan out in the absence of Sir Alex Ferguson but there are various clues which suggest things may initially be very difficult.
I’ve been of the opinion for about 18 months now that the current squad is approaching the end of its cycle and needs freshening up. The signing of Robin Van Persie papered over those cracks to great effect, and his acquisition effectively won Ferguson one last title, but it was only a short term measure. Certain players like Vidic, Evra, Giggs, Valencia and Ferdinand have struggled to find consistency and/or fitness and this will be a huge problem for Moyes. They have been vitally important for a long, long time but their influence will only continue to diminish, and that will place huge pressure on some of the younger players – many of whom are unlikely to be ready for that burden yet.
If the team does struggle for the first few months, it’s easy to imagine the likes of Cleverley, Welbeck, Smalling and Rafael becoming slightly overwhelmed with the immense pressure on their shoulders, and that would be an almighty shame because they all deserve the chance to work towards having long, successful careers at United. Phil Jones in particular is potentially a future captain, but it’s likely he’ll have to make a rapid progression from “youthful squad player” to “indispensible first team player” this season, and it’ll be interesting to see how he responds to that.
Another important issue for Moyes to consider will be how to make use of Wayne Rooney. I have little doubt that Rooney will approach or exceed 20 goals and probably get just as many assists if he plays behind Van Persie this season, but the last couple of years have already demonstrated that Rooney’s presence in deeper areas compromises the fluency of the team overall, even though his individual stats look positive. He is sloppy and lethargic in tight areas, and the lack of intricacy in his game generally leads him to plump for the uncultured, often-detrimental long pass out to the wing rather than a more incisive short pass infield. I will make one firm prediction with absolute confidence: If Rooney plays in the number 10 role all season, he will get a lot of goals and assists but his restrictive overall influence from that role will leave the team well out of the title race even by Christmas, and potentially even struggling to achieve a Champions League place. Nimble, intelligent Number 10s have finally begun to dominate the Premier League and demonstrate the importance of the role, so it’s like that Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea will be much quicker to find a real sense of fluency to their game. While United do have Kagawa, it is hard to see how he will ever be able to genuinely find his feet with Rooney at the club.
It cannot be stressed enough how difficult this job is going to be for David Moyes, especially in his first year. It’s an almost-paradoxical situation: he is taking over the reigning champions and most successful ever English club, and yet he will inherit an imbalanced squad which is in drastic need of major surgery. The early signs are that he’ll provide the current squad with the opportunity to prove themselves to him, and although I don’t think the results will be spectacular on the pitch, I think this is the wise approach to take. It’ll be far more beneficial for him to work closely with the squad for 6-12 months and analyse in full what actions need to be taken, rather than making any rushed, panicked decisions. That may result in a compromise of his own long term tactical plans, as this creaking squad would most likely respond very poorly to any major changes in playing style.
The aging, declining squad will most likely struggle to re-discover past glories, and I fear the side will start to look increasingly pedestrian in the short term. It’s important that the supporters recognise just how difficult Moyes’ job is going to be, and more importantly, try to understand that it’s not even worth judging him definitively until he starts to build a team under his own identity from 2014 onwards. In the long term, I am convinced Moyes has the capability and vision to build a great team but it’s entirely possible there’ll be 6-18 months of dark (in relative terms) times at the club. One positive to take from this new era is Moyes’ interest in big name players (Fabregas,Thiago, potentially Fellaini) and the potential that has to really establish a “big club mentality”. While United have often been associated with signing younger, more raw talents, it would only take one or two major signings over the next year or so to drastically change the perception of United in the transfer market, and their ability to make major signings
