Manchester United are looking strong, but are certainly not unbeatable

After Manchester United’s excellent performance at Wembley on Sunday, a lot of attention has focused on United being the team to beat in this season’s premier league and Sir Alex Ferguson’s side are understandably hotly tipped to regain the title this year.

Yes, United may have shown their bitter rivals a footballing lesson at the weekend, especially in the second half, but that does not mean United are destined to walk all over their opposing sides this season.

The current emphasis on the Red Devils side this year stems from 21-year old midfielder Tom Cleverley. There is no doubt the boy is an exceptional talent, who could potentially do great things for his club and country but the step into Paul Scholes’ shoes is a big one.  The overwhelming praise Cleverley has recently being receiving, from current team-mates to current footballing pundits will certainly boost his confidence, but it also increases the youngster’s expectation to perform well consistently. If any manager is going to succeed in keeping Cleverley’s feet on the ground, it is Sir Alex Ferguson.

Phil Jones is another United players strongly tipped for big things in the future and hugely impressed last term with his former club Blackburn Rovers. But after underperforming in this year’s U21 European champions, it still remains to be seen whether the centre back can live up expectations on the biggest stage and justify his price tag.

With the teams around United throwing money at new signings like Serio Aguero to Man City, and potentially Luka Modric to Chelsea, the gap between Ferguson’s side and the teams around them seems to be shortening. Having said that, if Wesely Sneijder does make the move to Old Trafford before the end of the month, then we could see another dominate season from the team in red. 

For me, Ferguson’s squad is looking stronger than last year group of players, but the one thing the champions have lost is important experience in Paul Scholes and Edwin Van Der Sar, experience that cannot be replaced.

Scoring late winners, winning when they were not playing their best were both key attributes for Manchester United last season, and that was hugely down to the experienced heads in the side. So with a more youthful looking team, only time will tell if the Red Devils will still have the uncanny knack of scoring late in matches. Going by the time of Nani’s winner on Sunday, not a lot seems to have changed at Old Trafford.

Jamie Hopkins