How Will Fergie’s Fledglings Cope With the New Season?

Sir Alex Ferguson has at his disposal one of the most versatile and capable squads he has ever managed, mixing the talent and drive of youth with the experience and calm of seasoned veterans. Last season, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs began the process of making way for Anderson and Nani respectively, while Gary Neville remained sidelined for all but 15 minutes against Roma, leaving Wes Brown to become an integral part of the best defense in the Premier League. The Manchester United captain’s return to the first team has piqued interests as to what sort of role he, Giggs and Scholes will play in the coming season.

Scholes is competing for a spot in a midfield that is jam packed with talent, as Anderson, Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, and Darren Fletcher  each provide a particular skill set suited to certain types of play. One major advantage Scholes has over the other four is the experience brought from a 14 year carreer in which he has won every competition in English football at least twice. He will prove invaluable, as he did against Barcelona, for those games where a cool head and a clean touch are required. However, at nearly 34, it is unlikely that the Ginger Genius will be a permanent fixture in the starting 11, a reality that will hopefully give Anderson or Carrick a chance to become a dominant force in United’s engine room.

Based on Giggs’s form last season, I am inclined to believe that he surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton’s appearance record by virtue of the captain’s armband rather than his performances. He can’t put defenders behind him the way he used to, but he is still an good option to change the mood of a game. Nani, while bursting with talent, has mediocre discipline and can often be overzealous with his exhibitions and shooting. Keeping Giggs match fit to replace Nani (or vice versa) will be necessary, though if the young Portuguese is able to mature over the season I doubt that Giggs will be on the field too many times this season.

Gary Neville’s return to action has been long awaited and much anticipated by the Old Trafford faithful. The captain’s return is however met with  a pinch of apprehension, with concerns over his ability to physically overcome having been sidelined for over a year. While I do not, and will never, question the boost that his spirit can bring to the team (as I fondly recall him picking a sobbing Ronaldo up by the scruff of the neck in the rain of Moscow) I am less assured of his ability to reintegrate himself into the back four. Furthermore, I do not want Wes Brown to become irritated at playing a supporting role in the defensive fortress he helped to construct last season. While I predict that Neville will play a significant role this season, I do imagine that Ferguson might fabricate the occasional “Injury” to give Brown, or Rafael da Silva an opportunity to shine.

Whatever comes of this season and the next, as what remains of the class of ’92 (and Giggs, who was not actually a part of the FA Youth Cup winning side) begins to fade away, the transition will be as gentle as can be. For let us not forget that in between United’s old boys and the fresh generation is a group of players such as Owen Hargreaves, Michael Carrick, Wes Brown, and Rio Ferdinand who will become the authorities in United’s defense of the Champions League and Premier League titles.