Is Manchester United's "Old Guard" Becoming an Ineffective Guard?

I was asked a couple of weeks ago to write about Manchester United's "old guard" of Edwin Van der Sar, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs.  In my heart, they are all United legends and I wish they can be evergreen forever.  But I needed a few matches to come up with a conclusion. 

The matches against Middlesbrough, Bolton, Aalborg, and yesterday's dominant performance against Blackburn at Ewood Park have justified my positions on the four United old guards.

Edwin Van der Sar

Ever since the departure of Peter Schmeichel, United's men between the posts were an enigma waiting for a costly blunder to happen.  Mark Bosnich, Barthez, Tim Howard, and Carroll were not the answer and save Tim Howard, have not been heard of much lately.  But the experience and championship mentality of Edwin from his time with Ajax and Juventus was invaluable and something United severely lacked since the Great Dane's departure. 

His arrival, coupled with two of Sir Alex Ferguson's great "minor" signings of Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic, was justified when United won the Carling Cup in 2006, won the Premier League in 2007, and became Champions of England and Europe in 2008.  While his biggest gaffe in recent memory was the back line debacle at Anfield with Wes Brown, Edwin Van der Sar can seriously play until he is 40. 

Being 37 and with United's one year contract offers for players who are in their 30s, Van der Sar can still be counted on for another year or two.  As long as Edwin can command the posts with intelligence and strength, he will continue to contribute to United's trophy haul challenge.  He keeps himself in great shape and has shown time after time that he is mentally strong and will keep United's  back line organized.

Paul Scholes

Recently diagnosed with ligament damage sustained against Champions League outfit Aalborg, Paul Scholes is still the rock in the midfield for Manchester United.  Once was the Paul Scholes who was good for 10 or so goals from midfield and laughable tackles on the unfortunate opposition. 

Because of his obvious loss of pace and surrounding players with pace and touch, Paul has become the provider from the back line and makes United's transition from defense to attacking the trademark of Manchester United Football. 

His first touch and turn when receiving the ball is still world-class.  His vision when looking up the pitch or his back towards the opposition's goal to create width is still world-class.  But what sets  Scholes apart from many midfielders in football is his passing.  It is well known that if England manager Fabio Capello could, he would chose Paul Scholes as a midfield choice.  His vision and deft passing lets the United attack flow even in his 30s. 

His understanding of creating width in attack or playing a long pass to a running Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Park Ji Sung, or Carlos Tevez is no fluke.  What also is not a fluke is his ability to understand the situation of the match and play the correct ball.  Yes, his ability to do this for a full 90 minutes is not there anymore, but when he is on the pitch, United will always be a force.

Ryan Giggs

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