Its been a fortnight since the shattering loss at the hands of Barca and i have pretty much recovered from the horror dreams that have haunted me since . To be perfectly honest , Barca played well as they usually do , but perhaps United were below par ,especially in the centre of the midfield, Carrick went missing (having made a habit of it in the big games) and Giggs looked every day of his 37 year old frame towards the end .
To add to the grief of true United afficonados Paul Scholes announced his retirement from professional football. Everybody could see it coming , but you dont't realise till it hits you in the face . It was always sheer joy to watch him play , he made ' the beautiful game ' look mesmerisingly beautiful . Those 40 yard long passes for giggs , becks ,Ronaldo and recently Nani ....just sheer class . And the way he controlled the game from the defence , the short passes , that perfect volley and the odd run into the box , the eyes just lit up in expectancy . Hope he'll light up OT once again with his managing abilities.
With his departure the onus is on SAF to refurbish the already weak midfield . Gibson is on his way out that leaves us with four genuine midfielders Carrick , Fletch , Anderson and Cleverly ...none of them in the category we need to match up with Barca . Phil Jones deal has been patched up and done , De Gea will be on his way once the U21 Euro ends and talks with Ashley Young are in the advanced stages . And it seems Fergie will sign one more player than his quoted quota of three ,that much needed link between midfield and the frontline. Modric and Sneijder are mouthwatering prospects but the ever reluctant Harry Redknapp comparing selling Modric with selling the club and Sneijder with his huge pay package and his position at Inter , it seems likely that only a hefty sum can lure either one of them to OT . Reports claim that Fergie personally called Alexis Sanchez about his move from Udinese , and that has brought many greats to OT including the likes of Roy Keane , Scholes. Having already seen the histrionics of the Gianpaolo Pozzo , this might well turn out to be the transfer saga of the summer .
So that leaves us with Jones , De Gea , Young coming in and one more (guess who?) . Macheda , Cleverly and Welbeck will be significant loaness coming back and the departure list maybe a long one with the likes of
Gibson , Bebe , Kuszak , Oshea and Wes Brown going out and to add to it the retirement of Scholes and VDS. Academy products like Paul Pogba and Joshua King are expected to make forays into the first team .
It will be interesting to see how United line up next season ... Ferguson's determination to overwhelm Barca might well pan out with a formation of 4-3-3 with Jones , Young and Fletcher being United's reply to Busquets , Iniesta and Xavi . Jones has the experience of playing in the destructive role in the mid and Young has flourished under Capello in the centre . Nani might be pushed a little up the field so that he can finally fill into the boots of Ronaldo and Rooney , Hernandez can square up the forward line . Perhaps this set up would still lack one marquee player required to take the team to the next level . Well the die has been cast , all that remains is whether SAF can stop Barca's domination and bring home the 20th
To add to the grief of true United afficonados Paul Scholes announced his retirement from professional football. Everybody could see it coming , but you dont't realise till it hits you in the face . It was always sheer joy to watch him play , he made ' the beautiful game ' look mesmerisingly beautiful . Those 40 yard long passes for giggs , becks ,Ronaldo and recently Nani ....just sheer class . And the way he controlled the game from the defence , the short passes , that perfect volley and the odd run into the box , the eyes just lit up in expectancy . Hope he'll light up OT once again with his managing abilities.
With his departure the onus is on SAF to refurbish the already weak midfield . Gibson is on his way out that leaves us with four genuine midfielders Carrick , Fletch , Anderson and Cleverly ...none of them in the category we need to match up with Barca . Phil Jones deal has been patched up and done , De Gea will be on his way once the U21 Euro ends and talks with Ashley Young are in the advanced stages . And it seems Fergie will sign one more player than his quoted quota of three ,that much needed link between midfield and the frontline. Modric and Sneijder are mouthwatering prospects but the ever reluctant Harry Redknapp comparing selling Modric with selling the club and Sneijder with his huge pay package and his position at Inter , it seems likely that only a hefty sum can lure either one of them to OT . Reports claim that Fergie personally called Alexis Sanchez about his move from Udinese , and that has brought many greats to OT including the likes of Roy Keane , Scholes. Having already seen the histrionics of the Gianpaolo Pozzo , this might well turn out to be the transfer saga of the summer .
So that leaves us with Jones , De Gea , Young coming in and one more (guess who?) . Macheda , Cleverly and Welbeck will be significant loaness coming back and the departure list maybe a long one with the likes of
Gibson , Bebe , Kuszak , Oshea and Wes Brown going out and to add to it the retirement of Scholes and VDS. Academy products like Paul Pogba and Joshua King are expected to make forays into the first team .
It will be interesting to see how United line up next season ... Ferguson's determination to overwhelm Barca might well pan out with a formation of 4-3-3 with Jones , Young and Fletcher being United's reply to Busquets , Iniesta and Xavi . Jones has the experience of playing in the destructive role in the mid and Young has flourished under Capello in the centre . Nani might be pushed a little up the field so that he can finally fill into the boots of Ronaldo and Rooney , Hernandez can square up the forward line . Perhaps this set up would still lack one marquee player required to take the team to the next level . Well the die has been cast , all that remains is whether SAF can stop Barca's domination and bring home the 20th
