Is it time for the old guard to take a backseat and let youth flourish?
In the past two United games—4-0 v Arsenal and 1-1 v Lyon, it seems as if the performances of Giggs and Scholes are becoming less effective.
I know Scholes has just come back from an injury lay off, but Gigs surprisingly has been pretty much injury-free, but hasn’t really had that sparkle this season, and it has been a hit-or-miss year for him.
Giggs has never really had any competition for his place—and to be honest, who was there to rival Giggs? We had Blomqvist in 1999, but he was even more injury prone than the great man himself. This year we have Nani, and although he hasn’t yet set the stage alight, there have been glimpses of what a good player he can be.
Against Arsenal he was excellent, and the game changed on Wednesday night when he and Tevez came on to replace Giggs and Scholes. Suddenly, United looked much more of a threat, and it was Nani’s cross that led to the goal.
With Scholes there is no doubt he is an excellent pro and unlike Giggs he has never had great pace and doesn’t need it, but if you look at the other midfielders now at Sir Alex’s disposal—Carrick, Hargreaves, Anderson, and even Fletcher—Scholes is no longer able to command a regular place.
My own preferred midfield partnership at the moment is that of Carrick and Anderson as they are the most dynamic, although Hargreaves is an important cog as unlike the rest he is happy to stay back and do the messy part of the job. Against the more dangerous and top teams, especially in Europe, he has an important role to play in the coming months—if he can stay injury free!
I’m not completely condemning these two to the retirement bin—Scholes would still be in the England set-up if he had not retired. I just think that they no longer should be definite first-team players, and that the team should be picked on merit and not on name.
3 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Andrew McNair about 1 year ago
Gino I'm pretty sure the Man Utd team gets picked on merit. Thanks for the article and keep them coming.
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Salaar Arshad Shamsi about 1 year ago
I agree with Andrew..Gino,United is a huge club..Scholesy and Giggsy have been around for a long time...they are legends..difference makers..millions of people idiolize these two..Nani is just finding his feet in england..These two have served united for a long time..They can't just be dropped indefinetly..Sir Alex knows that..anyways pretty good article..
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Nick Duckworth about 1 year ago
have to say Gino, I'm with Andrew and Salaar....Giggs and Scholes will probably be the only people to decide their own fate. They have been such important parts of the United team that Sir ALex will still use them until they can see for themselves that there is no need anymore. The competition for places at United is healthier than ever this season and Anderson is definitely one of the most promising young players I have seen in a LONG time. Nani has also settled extremely well and will for sure get much better as his experience grows. I think Sir Alex knows that Giggs and Scholes will not be able to compete for many more seasons, but they are still very effective players. If Giggs was used as a sub and only called on to play the final 20 minutes of a game, he would probably give a brilliant performance. I think Fergie feels a certain loyalty to Giggs to allow him to reach the all time appearance record, as he is our longest serving player now, and in my opinion Giggs deserves to be involved at United always even if it's in a different capacity to playing.
Very Good article, much enjoyed
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