Manchester United: 5 Bold Predictions for Man U's 2011-12 Season
The Red Devils are coming off a 2010-11 season in which they won two trophies, the Premier League and the Community Shield. Tomorrow, Sir Alex and his men will look to make it back to back Community Shield triumphs at Wembley.
With the season already upon us, let's take a look at five bold predictions for United's 2011-12 season.
Chicharito: 30 Goals
1 of 5Hands down the best buy in the Premier League last season, Javier "Chicharito" Hernández enjoyed a magnificent debut season with the Red Devils. In fact, many football experts have gone as far as calling him the "buy of the century."
The young Mexican talisman played in 45 games for the Premier League champions, scoring 20 goals in the process. His cracking form knocked Dimitar Berbatov out of the starting lineup, despite him winning the Golden Boot as the Premier League's top goalscorer.
Look for more of the same in 2011-12 from the Mexican hitman. 30 goals should be more than reachable for this rare talent.
Rooney Returns to 2009-10 Form
2 of 5Aside from winning the Premier League, 2010-11 was a season to forget for Wayne Rooney. Coming off a disappointing World Cup in South Africa, Rooney started the season in horrific goal-scoring form.
As the season progressed, so did Rooney. The England international was able to find his form when it counted most, in the latter stages of the season. But his 16 goals were the smallest output since joining United from Everton in 2004.
In 2011-12, look for Rooney to return to the form he had in 2009-10 which saw him bag a career high 34 goals in 44 appearances for the Red Devils. He may not score as many goals, but he will surely be just as pivotal for United's success.
David De Gea: Most Cleansheets in the Premier League
3 of 5United had one of the best defenses in the Premier League in 2010-11, allowing only 37 goals in 38 games. Only Chelsea and Manchester City were better, each of them allowing 33 goals.
Due to the loss of Michael Essien to injury and Chelsea's aging back four, the Blues' defense will not be as strong next season, leaving rivals City as United's top competition.
Enter David de Gea. The Spanish U-21 international parried away the most shots from inside the penalty area in La Liga last season. If United are to overtake City and Chelsea as the Premier League's stingiest defense, de Gea will need to bring his "A" game every week. The 20-year-old is more than capable of leading the Premier League in clean sheets in 2011-12.
Overall Attack: Lead the Premier League in Goals
4 of 5With rumors surfacing that PSG are interested in signing out of favour Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, the Red Devils may need one last signing to bolster their attack.
Last season, the Reds lead the Premier League with 78 goals scored, an average of slightly more than two a game. 20 were scored by Berbatov.
What does this mean? It simply means that the rest of United's attacking players need to step up their game. Expect Wayne Rooney to score more goals in 2011-12 than he did last season. Also, expect United's returning loan players to play a big part this season. Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Federico Macheda and Mame Biram Diouf should all get more playing this season, especially if Berbatov is sold.
20th League Championship Title
5 of 5On 22 May 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson achieved the impossible, knocking Liverpool "off their perch."
United's glorious triumph led Rooney to shave his chest hair into the number "19." Fresh off a hair transplant, Rooney is eyeing a 20th League Championship. Surely he's done it just to shave "20" on his noggin after United becomes the first club to reach 20 titles. Atta boy Wayne.
