In this most unpredictable of seasons Manchester United’s final game played both to form and quality. Barcelona’s superiority, especially in the centre of the park, was hardly surprising given United’s failure to upgrade central midfield last summer. Indeed, the Reds progression to Premier League champions, by a substantial margin to boot, and the Champions League final was surely an over-achievement driven by Sir Alex Ferguson’s enduring brilliance. Ferguson rejects the inference, but United has surely regressed since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez in summer 2009, along with ageing limbs and injuries to other key players.
Yet, the Scot’s ability to draw more from his squad than the logical sum of its parts means there is much to celebrate this season not least the unexpected and remarkable 19th domestic title, achieved against the backdrop of an outstanding home record where Ferguson’s men dropped just two points.
Old Trafford’s impenetrable fortress witnessed victories over key rivals Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, confirming United’s domestic superiority. Moreover, the Reds also played some of the division’s best football at Old Trafford, hammering Birmingham City and Blackburn, while scoring 49 goals in the process.
Away from home United’s patchy form brought just five Premier League victories, including a barren period from August to late October when Ferguson’s men finally beat Stoke City 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium. That the record is the worst of any domestic champions since the mid-1970s is irrelevant of course but a weakness that Ferguson will surely want to address over the summer. After all, relegated Blackpool won as many games away from home as United.
More worrying perhaps was the sometimes dire performances on the road, where the side’s lack of imagination came to the fore. Ferguson’s lack of a genuine defensive midfielder seemed to count against United, despite the now famed determination. Defeats at Liverpool, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea, and Arsenal during the run-in could have severely damaged United’s chances.
The Reds’ weaknesses during a period of transition have not been exposed by domestic rivals, leading to the accusation that United is the least worst winner this season. Chelsea’s aging squad and bizarre mid-season transfer splurge worked against Carlo Ancelotti’s ambitions. The Italian has paid with his job but the suspicion remains that club policy is largely driven by a fickle owner, who will hire yet another new manager this summer.
Arsenal’s problems in central defence, midfield and at goalkeeper were a direct result of manager Arsène Wenger’s negligence in last summer’s transfer market; a problem that the Frenchman has finally acknowledged. It is perhaps too late to keep star players Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabragas beyond the summer window.
United’s eventual failure in the domestic cups owe much to Ferguson’s experimentation and the FA’s willingness to create policy on-the-fly. The Red’s 4-0 defeat during at snowstorm at West Ham United in November did Gabriel Obertan, Bebe and Darron Gibson no favours. It proved the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Hammers.
Meanwhile, United’s run to the FA Cup semi-final, including victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford, affording supporters another day out at Wembley. It is hardly a novel experience, of course, but one spoiled by the FA’s bizarre disciplinary processes. Rooney claims he will “never get over” the two match ban handed down for swearing.
It is in Europe that United has truly exceeded expectations, despite the humbling defeat to Barça at Wembley. Save for Saturday’s 3-1 loss, United remained undefeated in Europe, with Ferguson’s men retaining a record of clean sheets away from Old Trafford up to Saturday’s fixture. Negative tactics have helped but Ferguson has certainly found a way to win away from home in European competition.
It has also been a season in which Ferguson has faced many off-the-field challenges. Rooney’s October revolution, coming so soon after newspaper allegations that player slept with prostitutes brought the media’s full glare to Old Trafford’s doorsteps. The incident marked a new low in Ferguson’s relationship with the media, which has at times descended into all out war.
Rooney’s improved spring form has bought forgiveness from supporters but few will need reminding of the fickle nature of player loyalty, whatever that means in the modern game.
The season has also seen the successful integration Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling and Fabio da Silva into the United squad. The Mexican’s impact has been significant, with 20 goals scored in an outstanding first season in England. Meanwhile, Smalling has demonstrated composure and a genuine physical presence during 33 matches for the first team. By the season’s end Fabio had supplanted Rafael in the first team, although 2011/12 was also a season of progression for United’s number 21.
This progress bodes well for the future, although Ferguson must surely be mindful of the weaknesses in United’s squad, so brutally exposed by Barcelona. Multiple retirements – Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes – and Owen Hargreaves’ release means that the summer market will dictate whether United must run to progress or simply stand still next season.
Sir Alex Ferguson – in the face of squad degradation, off-the-field trouble, an FA suspension and a hamstrung budget Ferguson has certainly over-achieved. Spoilt perhaps but the United faithful demands the best. This is certainly not the best side of Ferguson’s 25-year tenure at Old Trafford. Yet a superb Premier League title, FA Cup semi-final and Champions League final is better reward than most pundits and many fans could have predicted. Ferguson is United’s greatest asset, even if he continues to defy logic by supporting the Glazer regime at every turn. Momentarily jeered by the Old Trafford crowd for thanking the Glazers during his post-season address. 9/10
Edwin van der Sar – 46 appearances, 0 goals – van der Sar’s consistency is matched by the great Dutchman’s enduring excellence. There is little doubt the former Ajax star could carry on in a United shirt but age and family priorities have prompted retirement at the age of 40. Yet to the end, van der Sar has ensured defensive confidence rarely matched by United’s ‘keepers since Peter Schmeichel’s retirement 12 years ago. A great season to cap off a fine United career. 8/10
Tomasz Kuszczak – 10, 0 – there are few that will shed a tear for the Pole when he leaves Old Trafford this summer. Kuszczak’s inability to provided any consistency in four years at the club ended with a hapless performance against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. 4/10
John O’Shea – 32, 0 – United’s utility player rarely excites but his consistency – consistently average critics might argue – adds something to Ferguson’s options. O’Shea has been superseded by the da Silva brothers but will continue to provide useful cover in the coming years. 5/10
Rafael da Silva – 28, 0 – despite losing his place in the United side, first O’Shea in the autumn and then his brother Fabio in the spring, the Brazilian youngster has made encouraging progression this season. Fewer rash tackles and better defensive positioning mark a step up in class from the former Fluminese right-back. Missed out on the Champions League final. 6/10
Fabio da Silva – 25, 2 – Fabio’s United career has been disrupted both by injury and his brother’s role in the United side. But a late season injury-free run in the United side has provided compelling evidence of the defender’s potential class. Is likely to fight his brother for a place in the United side next season. 5/10
Patrice Evra – 48, 1 – a disappointing season by Evra’s very high standards, arguably the worst of his five and a half year United career. The Frenchman’s enduring class still manifests but Evra has increasingly been caught out of position defensively and, anecdotally at least, seems to offer less going forward. United supporters will hope that the World Cup hangover has subsided by August. 6/10
Rio Ferdinand – 29, 0 – the Londoner is hugely important to United but for the third season running injury has decimated a campaign. Ferdinand’s class during the run-in was central to United’s Premier League success but it is not without reason that Ferguson considered moving the defender on last summer. An injury-free pre-season is essential should the 32-year-old not find his position under threat. 6/10
Nemanja Vidic – 47, 5 – perhaps a surprise choice as Ferguson’s new captain last summer but what a decision it has proven to be. The Serbian’s lead-by-example style has brought the most consistently outstanding season from the giant central defender. How Ferguson must be grateful for tying the 28-year-old down to a new four-year contract last August. 9/10
Jonny Evans – 21, 0 – a disappointing campaign from the Northern Irishman who has far more to offer than this. Evans has been consistently poor against the high ball and physical opponents this season, and seemingly lacked confidence for much of the season. Returned to the side only to see Red for a crude tackle on Bolton’s Stuart Holden. Needs to man up over the summer. 4/10
Chris Smalling –33, 0 – an excellent début season from the £10 million former Fulham defender. Smalling’s composure, physical presence and growing maturity mark the player as a future star. Of course, the 20-year-old still needs to learn the game, evidenced by his sometimes poor positional play. 6/10
Wes Brown – 15, 0 – there seems little chance of Brown forcing his way back into Ferguson’s plans, with the smart money still on a transfer out of the club this summer. Naturally gifted but rarely fit, Brown cut a peripheral figure at Old Trafford this season. 4/10
Antonio Valencia – 20, 3 – bar a traumatic broken ankle in September, Valencia would have played a far greater part in United’s season. Still, the determined Ecuadorian forced his way back into the side in the spring at Nani’s expense, providing a series of strong performances. Ashley Cole will not soon forget the roasting handed out at Old Trafford. 6/10
Nani – 49, 10 – outstanding in autumn and winter, Nani lost his place to Valencia during the run-in. But this should not deflect from the Portuguese’s outstanding campaign, the most consistent and productive of his United career. Why then is the player open-minded about a move away from Old Trafford? 8/10
Park Ji-Sung – 28, 8 – it is hard not to consider Park the ‘coward’s winger’. After all the South Korean’s qualities have little to do with his technical ability and far more about the 30-year-old’s tactical discipline. More productive in front of goal than in previous years. Deserves his place in the United squad but at the loss of how much quality? 6/10
Ryan Giggs – 38, 4 – the Welshman’s enduring value was highlighted in a series of outstanding late-season performances in central midfield – from flying winger to playmaker who can still dictate the tempo of a game against all but the very finest. Exposed in the Champions League final but then so was United’s entire midfield. 7/10
Gabriel Obertan – 15, 1 – United’s forgotten winger who, after two years at the club, will surely be on his way this summer. No closer to a breakthrough and the impending arrival of Aston Villa’s Ashley Young will only accelerate Obertan’s return to France. 3/10
Paul Scholes – 33, 1 – the Ginger Ninja’s outstanding early season form tailed off during the winter months. Scholes’ brain worked to the end but physically the 36-year-old had deteriorated badly, to the point that the midfielder’s famed ‘time and space’ began to erode. Will be hugely missed but retirement will preserve his legacy. 5/10
Anderson – 30, 4 – another frustrating season from United’s €30 million Brazilian. An excellent performance in the dead rubber against Schalke and a goal against Blackpool on the final day are seemingly exceptions that prove the rule: Anderson’s contribution is flitting at best. Look back far enough and the 23-year-old can be influential, but it is in the distant past. 5/10
Darron Gibson – 20, 2 – it is hard to pinpoint the thinking behind Ferguson’s continued faith in the Irishman, who shoots at every turn but with very little accuracy. He boasts neither the range of passing skills, technique, nor pace to succeed at the very highest level. A hyper-critical assessment perhaps, but then this is United and standards are high. 4/10
Darren Fletcher – 37, 3 – the Scot has become a key asset in Ferguson’s midfield over the past three seasons, especially as Owen Hargreaves fought a losing battle against injury. Yet, this was not the finest of campaigns for the Dalkeith-born midfielder, even before a springtime virus laid the 26-year-old low for the best part of two months. Fletcher remains a valuable member of the United squad whose performances over the past nine months are just a touch below those of previous campaigns. 6/10
Michael Carrick – 44, 0 – the Geordie’s performances markedly improved this season in comparison to those of the past two campaigns. At times Carrick’s use of the ball and excellent defensive instincts have contributed fully to United’s success. Yet there is the nagging feeling that Carrick’s ability to influence is in reverse correlation to the opposition’s quality. See exhibit A: Barcelona. 7/10
Dimitar Berbatov – 42, 22 – by far the Bulgarian’s most productive season at Old Trafford. Without the striker’s autumn contribution United could not have won the Premier League. After all, Berbatov scored more winning goals this season than any other striker. But with a record that is skewed towards performances in games against lower-ranked opponents it is still hard to resolve that Berbatov is fundamental to United’s chances. 8/10
Wayne Rooney – 40, 16 – truly awful pre-Christmas, yet outstanding during the run-in. Ferguson’s decision to return the striker to his natural position at ‘number 10’ proved a masterstroke both for the player and the team. But it’s hard to forget Rooney’s October revolution, nor the series of truly dreadful performances before the year turned. 5/10
Javier Hernández – 45, 20 – it is hard to recall a début season being more impactful given the full context. Transplanted from central America to the Premier League aged just 22, ‘Chicharito’ not only changed the way United play for the better but has scored vital goals to boot. Hernández, as Gary Neville argues, should go on to score “hundreds of goals” for United. 8/10
Michael Owen – 17, 5 – “Michael has proved to be a top footballer,” Ferguson said today on handing the former Liverpool striker a new contract. How the mighty Blackpool, Southampton, Scunthorpe and Bolton Wanderers rued the striker’s contribution this season. A symbol of Glazernomics if ever there was one. 3/10
Federico Macheda – 12,1 – the Italian will return to United after a less than auspicious loan spell at Sampdoria, with whom he was relegated from Serie A. Yet, with seven strikers on the books it is hard to imagine the 19-year-old remaining at Old Trafford next season. 3/10
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Anders Lindegaard – 3, 0 – two cup appearances before knee injury curtailed his season. Will serve as back-up to David De Gea next season.
Ben Amos – 2, 0 – cup appearances against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Valencia this season. Needs to head out on loan once again for his the sake of his own development next season.
Gary Neville – 4, 0 – retired at the right time if his appearances against Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion are anything to go by. Low key end to a great career for this one-club man.
Owen Hargreaves – 1, 0 – five minutes match time before inevitable injury ended his United career. That was four minutes more than the previous season.
Ravel Morrison – 1, 0 – far more will come from Morrison than this brief substitute appearance in the Carling Cup.
Bebe – 7, 2 – not one of Ferguson’s finest decisions. Barely a footballer, let alone a United player worth £8.3 million. Value?
If Macheda warrents a mark out of 10 then surely Wellbeck deserves a mention for his work at Sunderland?
Zayd – marks out of 10 for anybody who has played at least 10 games for the club this season. Welbeck hasn’t.
Only 6/10 for Tony V? Seems extremely harsh.
bman – I didn’t feel the need for a sympathy vote. It’s my personal assessment on his contribution to United this season. Not his fault of course but at 20 games it has been limited.
wheres darren fletchers mark?
6/10 for Smalling and 6/10 for Valencia? A couple of these ratings are a tad harsh! Even a 5/10 rating for Anderson is harsh. He’s been inconsistent, not consistently bad. Park deserves a 7/10. This season has probably been one of his better ones – his form up to buggering off to South Korea was decent. Played well against Arsenal and Chelsea – and scored a last minute winner against Wolves.
double post
a decent season for most of the players. congratulations to vidic, hernandez and nani for excellent seasons. they all need to raise their game for next season in an attempt to make manu the best in the world. thats the master plan
A very logical disbursement of ratings for the players.
Obertan though shouldn’t have fetched a rating of higher than a point. and Bebe’s a bloody negative.no value in the market indeed.
Rooney rightly awarded for being a git in autumn but Eds being very generous with a four fer Gibson
Give Macheda a break -.-” he’s like only 19 . One more loan move will be perfect for him.
I thought he was older and figured he should have done more by now. Fair enough, give him more time.
Hi Ed,
I believe that your assessment of Rooney is a bit harsh since your basing your evaluation on his off-the-field antics rather than for his performances.
5/10 seems harsh and maybe a bit biased.
Ashish – My score is based on his season’s performance: shocking horrendous performances pre-Christmas, far better in the spring. But to call it “biased”, meaning that I am unfairly showing prejudice, is incorrect. I challenge you to show evidence for that assertion. As the American’s like to say I “call it as I see it”.
shocking ratings, how can u give the majority of the league winners 5 and 6’s
Valencia is a clear 7 and would be higher if not for the Injury. Anderson had half a dozen GREAT games before xmas and half a dozen after the return from injury. like someone said he has been inconstant but shown GREAT signs. no fletch rating. joke ratings
Lewis – so inconsistency deserves a higher rating in your eye? Well as you wish. I’d challenge you on these so-called “great” games. Name them and point to the evidence of greatness.
Arsenal – home (1-0)
Sunderland – home (2-0)
Birmingham – home (5-0)
Blackburn – home (7-1)
Bolton – home (1-0)
Schalke – home (4-1)
Probably others too but those spring to mind. There are 3 Man of the Match performances in those. He has scored more goals this season than the previous seasons combined. And all this despite being injured for much of it and being a victim of Sir Alex’s ruthless rotation policy in CM. He has had a couple of poor games (Newcastle away and Arsenal away) but these are outnumbered by top performances. You didn’t notice because you were fawning over Nani, Hernandez and Berba. Some of his passing this year has been amazing and he is the only midfielder we have who can bring the ball forward with confidence and start an attack from nothing. Always positive, always exciting on the ball and looks to have found an eye for goal.
DeadRevel – Look, I’ve no problem you having an opinion, like the selection of games (in which he was substituted twice and didn’t even play against Bolton) but when you start putting words into my mouth I do. So less trying to make an argument by pretending to know what or whom I was “fawning over” and more facts. Like these:
Anderson – “scored more goals this season than the previous seasons combined” – true. he got four, three of which came in dead rubbers in the final two games. That’s all season. But you’re right that’s an improvement as he has five in 135 games for the club overall. Awesome stuff.
Then there’s the passing stats, which at 74% means he gives the ball away one in four occasions he gets it. Maybe he’s trying a killer pass? I’d love to think so but he recorded no assists this season in the Champions League and just three in the Premier League all season. Compared to Nani’s 18. Maybe that’s why people “fawn” over him?
My mistake, I meant Everton at home where he started the attack which led to Hernandez’s goal. My comment about his goals was a bit facetious and designed to wind you up, but as far as I’m concerned he has ended his goal draught and should be commended for that. I’ll ignore the part about previous seasons as your article is clearly about 2010/11.
I enjoy your podcasts and while I don’t agree with everything you say, it is very rare you don’t have a balanced argument. But with Anderson it seems like you are pretty much ignoring his performances this year and basing your thoughts on previous seasons. 5 or 6 out of 10 is fair but particularly in the podcasts he is ignored until he does something wrong. This is partly due to the fact many of his best performances have coincided with Berba or Hernandez taking the headlines – against Blackburn and Sunderland for example he was excellent but Berba is always going to be talked about. He won Man of the Match against Everton but Hernandez gets the plaudits (for a goal which Anderson was integral in). And almost without fail this season, whenever Berba performed well the midfield, including Anderson, was on song. Story of the season, and Anderson has been an important character.
I am a bit astonished at the logic in your comment:
“Barcelona’s superiority, especially in the centre of the park, was hardly surprising given United’s failure to upgrade central midfield last summer. Indeed, the Reds progression to Premier League champions, by a substantial margin to boot, and the Champions League final was surely an over-achievement driven by Sir Alex Ferguson’s enduring brilliance.”
So, if we take this argument to its absurd conclusio, then the worse the United team that wins the Premiership, the stronger testament it is to Ferguson’s “brilliance”. To my mind it would have been more “brilliant” of him to have strengthened midfield at the beginning of the season (or in January)and won the Premiership by a couple more points and beaten Barcelona in the final, or run them very, very close.
Damian – My point is that this isn’t the best United side ever and Ferguson has squeezed more out of it than many people, including me, expected. Not quite sure what’s so astonishing about that comment.
What I am saying is that it is not so brilliant of Fergie to leave a hole in midfield and then have to perform miracles to get the league title (how many midfield permutations were there this season, must be a record for United?). It was an exceptional performance by Fergie, granted, but it followed on an act of (well, to put it bluntly, stupidity, in which he made life difficult for himself. And this raises the question of what might have happened (in the Cup semi final and in the Champions League final) had we strengthened central midfield at the beginning of the season.
Please use whatever clout you have as Editor to keep hammering on the theme that the team/squad needs to be strengthened before the new season. A lot of us are worried that we will be sold a bit short and not see the kind of players who would transform the team coming in before the new season.
Damian – I agree, it was negligence not to upgrade midfield last summer but I wonder if that’s all down to Ferguson? He’s working with a financial arm tied behind his back. Trust me, I have no clout!
Lies! If he comes to Herbie for advice then surely he consults you?!
Re. the midfield… do you not think they were hoping/gambling Hargreaves would come back? Hargo and Fletch for that position with Scholes, Giggs, or Carrick… on paper that all looked quite reasonable; Ando and Gibshite (and even O’Pie). No Hargo and Fletcher out for spells did it. Still needed one more class midfielder though – and now we need three.
Progressed: The twins, Vida, Smalling(much more than anyone could predict),Nani,Park (a useful squad player), Anderson (infuriating, but the boy has talent) & Hernandez (wow).
Regressed: Evra(sometime appalling positional play), Evans,Scholes & Fletcher (looked a plodder thro’ the season).
Still key players???: Rio(unless more injuries),Rooney(but he will never be ‘Messi-class’), Giggs(as a squad player), Carrick (but there are far better players & we need one of them to replace him).
Should be moved on: Berba(a Jim Leighton reaction from SAF),O’Shea(not a good enough footballer), Kuszczak, Brown(victimised by SAF),Gibson & Bebe(why waste time & effort on both of them?).
Interesting views, I would’ve given Rooney a 6 for the season personally, 3 for first half of the season, 9 for second half, so it evens up at a 6. 5 seems harsh for Fabio, who I thought had a pretty good season overall.
PROBLEM WITH THE DA SILVA’S IS THEY ARE CONSTANTLY GETTING INJURED…THERE ISN’T A GAME THAT GOES BY THAT ONE OF THEM DOESN’T GET TAKEN OFF WITH A KNOCK OR INJURY OF SOME SORT
ITS EMBARRASSING…SO FOR THAT REASON THEY GET A 5 FOR ME
and my bastard keyboard a fucking 2….caps lock ffs
That’s hardly their fault though, is it. Unless they’re living to extremes in their private lives I don’t think it’s fair to blame them for whatever injuries they sustain. Everyone slates Owen Hargreaves for his injury record (and Louis Saha before him), but in both cases they were just very unfortunate and, especially in Hargreaves’ case, put a huge amount of desperate effort into getting themselves fit again, albeit to no avail. When the da Silva’s are injured from something like dropping salad cream bottles on their feet or straining knee tendons from watching too much telly with their feet up, then they’re fair game for injury criticism.
yeah, but if they keep picking these knocks up, they need to look at how they are conditioning themselves….giggs was the same when he was their age, so something had to give……if they dont do something about it now these little niggles will develop into more serious stuff in the long run.
i’m not knocking them as players, just the fact they constantly seem to be limping, subbed off etc
Give ’em time. Bet they bulk up over the summer – so they can take the knocks that they give it their all to dish out. I love em… you have to draw comparisons with the Nevilles really. Technically more skilful too for sure.
btw, love the retro bbc link…..its scary that article was over 10 years ago, and i think i remember looking at it back then too.
Yeah, it’s amazing what a little Googling can come up with. I was actually looking for a David James example regarding too much PlayStation usage, but I had my wires crossed, that didn’t actually lead to an injury, just a really shit run of form for him.
To be fair to the Twins… they play hard for such little fuckers… it’s no wonder they’re always picking up ouchies.
And get yourself a fuckin “Cherry”, ya tight cunt… they’re damn near indestructable.
Fair enough, so you’re basing your scores on overall contribution to the season rather than performance when available. By that measure I think I pretty much agree with your assessments.
Ed would it be possible to give us a rating associated with each number.
i.e. 6 = average, 7 = good etc
oh ed…can you get me wayne rooneys autograph too whilst you are influencing the board
thanks
ffs
LKHF
faffing
captain – sorry too busy waxing old uncle malcy.
Some of these ratings seem pretty harsh
Nani no more than Giggs deffo.
6 out of 10 to be generous.
Since Valencia came back he was nowhere near his first half’ form.
HONESTLY! yous know nothing about football! Nani is not moveing, Evra is brilliant this season! All of united are playing top class! So there..Honestly! Im 36 and its like saying yous could do better! UNITED RANT! you’s call yourselves UNITED FANS! How can you say that? Haveing a go at players! 6-10..Yeah…For all of them its worth 8/10 AND ROONEY! 5-10! He was still world class all season! Your all idiots who wrote this!
Harry – seems that “yous” could do with a lesson in spelling. And manners.
I think Harry’s right Ed, every United player should get 10/10 for the season just for wearing the United shirt, especially the players who never actually made an appearance this season! Actually everyone who’s ever made an appearance for United should automatically get 10/10 forever just for being associated with the club!
lololol what a dick… yous?.. moveing?…evra was brilliant(past tense) he was not brillant this season at all…haveing?…. rooney was shite for the first 4-5 months of the season…..now fuck off you twat
Harry, you mong, it’s just Ed’s opinion FFS
It’s not a list of facts carved into stone to stand for all eternity – it’s what he thinks is fair and what he thinks will spark debate