Red View : The Manchester United Disaster?

A strong bench is the key to success. Imagine you were an opposition defender, tiring at the 75 minute stage, and Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov are warming up at the side lines. It is not going to make you feel at ease. The press last season criticised United in not having adequate cover up front; this strength in depth is exactly what United now have. Ferguson has proclaimed that he has a stronger squad than last season—and look what rewards that team brought in.

However, the aging hero of Edwin Van der Sar and his recent performances have not filled the Stretford End faithful with a huge amount of confidence. Coupled with the fact that he and reserve keeper Ben Foster are now injured, and Tomasz Kuszczak looking uneasy against Chelsea, the loss of goalkeeping coach Tony Coton after eleven years of service does make United’s last line of defence look like the brick wall it appeared to be last season.

One does also have to question the selling of Mikel Silvestre to rivals Arsenal when there is limited cover for Patrice Evra and the centre of defence now that Gerard Pique has also gone. However, no one knows the real facts better than Alex Ferguson and his team, and Tony Coton said in a recent interview that the manager has made a great signing in making coach Mike Phelan the new assistant manager.

However, the major note here is that Carlos Queiroz, who first arrived in 2002 helping United to claim the Premier League title, has now left to manage the Portuguese national side. Queiroz, who has previously been criticised in the past by United legend Roy Keane, was a personal friend and mentor to Cristiano Ronaldo, and his absence from United during his brief spell at Real Madrid in 2003/2004 saw United lose the title to The King’s Road new boy millionaires Chelsea.

It was not until a season after his return in 2004 that United got themselves back to the top of the league and remained their until now. Queiroz’s departure is clearly not the main reason behind United’s stuttering start, but it is arguably a contributing factor. The assistant is a key member to the coaching staff as well as offering tactical opinion to Alex Ferguson. His departure has forced a gelled and cohesive United team to once again be unsettled and disunited with Cristiano Ronaldo also wanting to jump ship.

Only time will tell, and the league never lies. If the Red Devils are to get over this ‘terrible start’ and retain their crown then they are going to have to get over the arrogance and complacency of being two time champions and utilise new signing Berbatov bringing out the best of his ability. Ferguson is the best in the business, his trade mark is comebacks, and as soon as the steam train gets going, there is certainly no stopping it.

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