Given the status of the Premier League we enter December with a game against Aston Villa, which we traditionally win 3-1.
This year we see a Villa team on the slide, having lost Stewart Downing and Ashley Young in the close season to more ambitious teams, they are now firmly in the group of teams that would count a League Cup win or an FA Cup semi-final as a successful season so long as they aren’t also relegated.
Playing only 45 games a season means Villa carry a smaller squad, and so all signs are that United will roll them over on Saturday.
But which United will show, and how should we play, what is our best team on current form?
I believe Sir Alex is in the mood for 1-0 wins after City ripped us to shreds and every other team prior to that had enough chances to have done the same.
So I’m betting on this team being played:
De Gea,
Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Smalling
Nani, Giggs, Carrick, Young,
Rooney, Hernandez
A classic 4-4-2 with Rooney expected to come into midfield to help Ryan Giggs while Michael Carrick shields the back four
This isn’t a bad team and you might well ask who is pressing to join it given Rafael, Anderson and Tom Cleverley are unavailable.
The candidates with my view of them are as follows:
Phil Jones – might edge in at right back.
Jonny Evans – an accident waiting to happen given Darren Bent turns fast.
Antonio Valencia – covers better than he penetrates, and we need verve so he will be a sub.
Park Ji-Sung – on the bench and a 70th minute sub for Giggs.
Dimitar Berbatov- not even a bench player anymore but he will be there.
Danny Welbeck – on the bench.
On form I’d play a different team to Sir Alex and it would go like this:
De Gea,
Rafael, Smalling, Vidic, Jones,
Valencia, Young, Giggs, Carrick,
Wellbeck, Henandez.
My plan would be to play Jones rightback and Rafael at leftback.
To let Valencia attack, and Young too, both told to get crosses in.
To push Carrick and Giggs up behind the strikers when we press.
Wayne Rooney is out of form, Patrice Evra is having a terrible season and Rio Ferdinand is too slow for the pacy Villa attack. Nani hasn’t played well for a month.
So I advocate dropping the out of form players and in doing so drop the age of the team by a few years, which is a sign of ambition.
This coming close season we will need to replace Ferdinand, Giggs, Carrick, Evra, Berbatov as well as Darron Gibson, Federico Macheda and Park, perhaps (and you heard it here) even Wazza too.
Let’s win 4-2 and not 1-0, that’s how we want United to play!
Steve Burrows CBE @ifollowsteve
