Tom Cleverley: Grading His Contribution for Manchester United This Season

The central-midfield duo of Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley has swiftly developed into manager Sir Alex Ferguson's preferred partnership this season.

The former remains an underappreciated, steadfast mainstay in the first XI, while the latter is a young talent capable of becoming a true star at Old Trafford.

Cleverley's journey to this point has been gradual—in his teen years and early 20s he spent extended spells at Leicester City, Watford and Wigan Athletic—learning his craft in the less glamorous environments of British football.

This article will seek to grade his contributions for the Red Devils this campaign, assessed across five categories: Creativity, Influence, Development, Defensive Awareness and Understanding.

The future is bright indeed for the lad from Bradford City.

Creativity: B

In terms of tangible production, it would seem as if Tom Cleverley has been a little disappointing this season.

He has racked up only a single assist in 19 Premier League appearances, three fewer than Carrick, his regular midfield partner.

However, this can be a rather deceiving statistic. Some of the Red Devils' best passing sequences this term have seen Cleverley feature heavily.

He may not have made many of the final killer balls to set up goals, but that doesn't meant his impact hasn't been key.

He is more the spark for attacking movements rather than the conduit through which they flow.

Influence: B+

Which leads nicely on to the next topic for assessment—Influence.

His and Michael Carrick's partnership has been Sir Alex's most relied-upon—the two started alongside each other in crucial recent games against Chelsea and Real Madrid.

While Carrick brings a reliable stability to the team, Cleverley uses his excellent mobility and dynamism to roam forward as a link between those behind him and in front.

His goal against Sunderland earlier this season was a picture-perfect strike that showed how potentially devastating he can be in the final third.

He may not provide as much protection to the back line as some would like, but his fitness levels allow him to track back and forth in the particularly topsy-turvy games.

His influence on games from a tactical standpoint has greatly increased since his early days playing the position.

Development: A-

Tom Cleverley's improvement this season has been clearly evident to any who have watched the Red Devils in action.

His footballing intelligence and awareness are areas that the United coaching staff have clearly been working with him on.

In general, he has looked far more assured in a position he seems intent on making his own.

In terms of the numbers, his season to date has been a mark above the 2011/12 campaign.

This season he has relinquished possession an average of every 102 minutes, compared with 44 minutes per game last term.

He has scored two more goals this season, as well as dramatically improving his aerial win percentage from 0 percent to 33 percent.

His pass completion percentage remains strong at 90 percent, compared with 91 percent in 2011/12.

(All stats via EPLIndex.com).

Defensive Awareness: B

As previously mentioned, Tom Cleverley is not a player renowned for his defensive abilities. This being said, his numbers aren't all that disastrous.

The England international has averaged a 78 percent tackles won percentage and has made only a single defensive error all season.

His role has tended to be in providing a tactical protection for the defence rather than imposing physical intimidation on opposing attackers.

He is not a player who likes to be drawn into heavy challenges but prefers to break up opposition attacks by anticipating passes and making interceptions.

Though he is far from being the finished product yet, his improvement in this area has been promising.

Understanding: B+

Of all the different combinations of central midfielders Sir Alex has at his disposal, Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley have by far the best understanding of each other.

From a positional standpoint, each knows exactly where the other is and where the other will be in two passes' time.

When one gets caught out of position, the other is quick to provide cover in behind him.

I've only given Cleverley a B+ grade for his ability to work with Carrick this season as the two have had games where they've been dominated and have yet to become a feared duo for opposition teams.

It's also worth mentioning that Cleverley's partnership with Brazilian midfielder Anderson has been tipped by many to be a leading one in the future, but too often the two leave large pockets of space behind them and are prone to efficient counterattacking teams.

What have you made of Tom Cleverley's season so far?

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