Man United

Twelve points. Not since May 2001 has the gap between the Premiership leaders and their nearest challengers been so gaping. Manchester United have garnered the highest points tally (65) after 26 games than any other outfit in the Premiership era.

Yet this is a side which receives very little love from the media. Every journalist or pundit stresses to clarify that this is far from a vintage Manchester United side. They’re not blowing teams away every week and their level of performance is far from spectacular. They will go out of the Champions League to Real Madrid and any domestic success will be as a result of the perceived low standard of the competition.

Now, I’m old enough to remember back to May last year. Manchester United ‘blew it’ in ‘the most exciting title race ever’. Manchester City had a seemingly endless chequebook, and by all accounts had a far superior starting eleven and greater strength in depth. Radio phone-in’s across the land and internet football forums were gleeful that not only were United no longer the biggest club in the world, but they weren’t even going to be the biggest in their own city. Then there was Chelsea – European champions and ready to launch a fresh assault on the Manchester dominance.

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Combining alcohol and football heartache isn’t always the best idea as many of us can testify, but it was the often potent mixture which fuelled Sir Alex Ferguson’s speech at the Manchester United Player of the Year awards last May. Speaking the night after two last-gasp goals saw United surrender their grip on the title, Ferguson spoke of those questioning his place in the modern game:  “I’m a dinosaur, I’m an absolute dinosaur but what I am, I’m a winner”.

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In early 2008 the Chief Executive of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore, put forward the most controversial proposal to alter the English game in living memory.

Scudamore suggested, with the support of a few chairmen of Premiership clubs, that there should be an extra ‘39^th game’ added to the Premiership season. This additional game would be staged in a neutral venue outside of England and the argument was centred on distributing the Premiership to its global fan base.

However, the overwhelming majority of football observers stared right through this thinly veiled attempt at diverting attention from the disease that has engulfed and altered the beautiful game beyond recognition: money, money, money.

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The departure of Anderson from Man United this summer may not surprise many, in fact quite a few of the Red faithful would state that they would be happy to drive him to his new destination.

Arriving at a costly £25 million from Porto in the summer of 2007, the high expectations placed upon the Brazilian have not been met and many Portuguese suitors are hopeful that Sir Alex Ferguson will opt to cut his loses.

Unlike previous United squads, there may be fewer world-class players for Sir Alex to call upon, but there are no obvious weak links in the first team squad and competition for first-team places is more competitive than ever.

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In the final part of our midfield transfer targets series, we’re going to look at four midfielders who have the potential to set Old Trafford alight for the next ten years or more.

Signing youngsters for large sums of money is always risky business but the potential rewards far outweigh the risks.

Assessed below are four players who all possess the potential, ability and application to succeed at United in the future:

1. Christian Eriksen
2. Mateo Kovacic
3. Nick Powell
4. Alan Dzagoev

• The Transfer Poll
• Man United Podcast
• Previous Transfer Articles

(Move through the pages at the bottom or skip to a player of your choice)

Many thanks to Jonas Giæver, the writer of the series, who has put a lot of time and effort into this five part series, which we hope you enjoy!

In the fourth part of our midfield transfer targets series, we’re going to look at four midfielders from the Premier League, players who have already shown that they can make it in the world’s toughest league.

Players signed from abroad are inherently more risky and inevitably take longer to adapt, these mids would have no such issues.

Assessed below are four players who all possess the strength, skill and experience to succeed at United straight from the start of the season:

1. Yohan Cabaye
2. Chiek Tiote
3. Sandro
4. Marouane Fellaini

• The Transfer Poll
• Man United Podcast
• Previous Transfer Articles

(Move through the pages at the bottom or skip to a player of your choice)

Many thanks to Jonas Giæver, the writer of the series, who has put a lot of time and effort into this five part series, which we hope you enjoy!

Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool at lunch time yesterday will be remembered mostly for Luis Suarez refusing to shake Patrice Evra’s hand before kick-off but the result keeps Sir Alex Ferguson’s team in contention for the Premier League title, after taking 7 points against out of 9 against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in recent weeks.

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In the third part of our midfield transfer targets series, we’re going to look at five medianos, defensive minded holding midfielders, who have the ability to strengthen our midfield and compliment the players that we already have.

The players that have the ability to anchor our midfield, break up attacks and re-distribute the ball efficiently. The medianos.

Over the past few seasons, as Hargreaves fitness deteriorated and Carrick lost his form, United’s midfield have sometimes lacked a player who can truly break up an attack and allow our wide man and strikers to prosper.

Assessed below are five players who all possess the foresight, tenacity and technique to succeed as United’s midfield steel:

1. Javi Martinez
2. Yann M’Vila
3. Javi Garcia
4. Sven Bender
5. Daniele De Rossi

• The Transfer Poll
• Man United Podcast

(Move through the pages at the bottom or skip to a player of your choice)

Many thanks to Jonas Giæver, the writer of the series, who has put a lot of time and effort into this five part series, which we hope you enjoy!

In the second part of our new midfield transfer targets series, we’re going to look at the players who have the ability to unlock defences with one pass.

The players that have the ability to change the outcome of a game with one swift flick of their foot. The maestros.

Over the past few years, since Scholes’ retreat to the quarter-back position, United have lacked a real goal threat from the centre of the park. Whereas Chelsea and Liverpool have enjoyed a plethora of goals from the likes of Lampard and Gerrard down the years, United have had to rely more heavily on their wide men to provide the midfield goal threat.

Assessed below are five players who all possess the intelligence, technique and touch to exceed as United’s creative engine:

1. Wesley Sneijder
2. Ganso
3. Nicolas Gaitan
4. Luka Modric
5. Shinji Kagawa

• The Transfer Poll

(Move through the pages at the bottom or skip to a player of your choice)

Many thanks to Jonas Giæver, the writer of the series, who has put a lot of time and effort into this five part series, which we hope you enjoy!

In the first part of our new midfield transfer targets series, we’re going to look at the players who have the ability to become United legends as the tenacious, box-to-box midfielder which we are sorely missing.

In the past, United have had many players capable of fulfilling this role but since Fletcher’s loss of form, due to illness, we have been lacking that player who can drive our team to victory because of their attacking and defensive prowess.

Assessed below are five players who all possess power, creativity and ruthlessness and are the essence of box-to-box midfielders:

1. Bastian Schweinsteiger
2. Arturo Vidal
3. Claudio Marchisio
4. Éver Banega
5. Jack Rodwell

(Move through the pages at the bottom or skip to a player of your choice)

Many thanks to Jonas Giæver, the writer of the series, who has put a lot of time and effort into this five part series, which we hope you enjoy!