Manchester United Player Rankings: Evaluating the Seven Strikers

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is lucky enough to have seven quality forwards on his first team. Seven.

Many managers would be satisfied with one or two,  but Fergie also has to make the tough decision on which forwards receive playing time and which ones sit on the bench. I guess you—or, dare I say, Sir Alex—can't have it both ways and Sir Alex is fully aware of that. The Scottish manager spoke to The Mail regarding this very situation on 6 August 2011.

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"I am not unhappy with seven strikers. Some clubs would love to have seven. There is a difficulty in terms of managing the situation in the sense of the number of games they can get. But I've got those players, so I'll get on with it. And we'll compensate by making sure they train well. I expect them all to be here at the end of the transfer window."

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United's seven forward options include the likes of Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda, Mame Biram Diouf, and Javier "El Chicharito" Hernandez.

Here are the rankings, in order from one to seven, of the Red Devils seven strikers.

1. Wayne Rooney

No doubt about this selection. Rooney has started the 2011-12 campaign on cracking form. He looks as if he is returning to his goal-scoring form of 2009-10 when he bagged 34 goals in 44 appearances for United.

His five goals in three Premier League games second, only behind Manchester City's Edin Dzeko. It's going to be a long year for Premier League defences if Rooney continues to score the quality of goals he netted versus Arsenal at the weekend.

2. Chicharito

Despite not having got off the mark this season, Chicharito settles in at number two. I know that most people are jumping on the Danny Welbeck bandwagon after four games, but Chicharito is surely still Sir Alex Ferguson's right-hand man.

The Mexican is coming off a superb Gold Cup performance with Mexico, which saw him take home the CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Boot Award and the Most Valuable Player Award.

Just give Chicharito ample time to recover from his concussion and he should be terrorizing defences before you know it.

3. Danny Welbeck

It seems I have jumped on the Danny Welbeck bandwagon myself. One thing is certain, Welbeck is being chosen over Dimitar Berbatov, the joint leading scorer in the English Premier League last season.

In fact, the man who co-lead the EPL in goals last season, Manchester City's Carlos Tevez, has seemingly been replaced by the in-form Edin Dzeko and new arrival Sergio Aguero.

Nonetheless, Welbeck and Dzeko have earned their respective starting XI opportunites. With each Manchester team sitting at the top of the table, Tevez and Berbatov may be tied to the bench indefinitely.

Albeit, Berbatov may receive increased playing time now that Welbeck in set to miss up to six weeks with a torn hamstring. That's some bad ju ju for the Ghanaian.

4. Dimitar Berbatov

If one was to use the phrase "out of favour" to describe any striker in the world it would surely be Dimitar Berbatov. After losing his starting XI place to Premier League newcomer Chicharito Hernandez last season, the Bulgarian has never really recovered.

Sure, he scored many vital goals for United last term, but after being left out of the squad for UEFA Champions League final versus FC Barcelona, it was clear that Sir Alex Ferguson was moving the club in a different direction.

5. Michael Owen

When I think of Michael Owen, I think of the Euro 2004 match between England and Portugal. What a game that was and what a player Owen was at the time. Explosive, cheeky, and confident. He was the real deal.

If not for injuries, Owen would be known as one of the top goal-scorers of his generation. Instead, he is often dubbed as the striker would simply couldn't stay healthy, which is truly unfortunate.

Owen might not have glistening pace, but he has a knack to be in the right places, at the right time. Expect Owen to score a few goals for the Red Devils in 2011-12.

6. Federico Macheda

After emerging onto the scene as a 17-year-old in 2008-09, Federico Macheda has not been able to break into the Red Devils first team.

On his debut, Macheda scored arguably the most important goal of the season for United, a stellar off-balance curler versus Aston Villa to earn United three points in injury-time.

A truly remarkable moment of brilliance may have lead to unreal expectations for the Italian forward. Today, Macheda has been linked with a season-long loan to Newcastle United.

A loan spell in the Premier League is just what Macheda needs. At 20 he still has time to break into United's first team, but the clock is ticking.

7. Mame Biram Diouf

Senegalese striker Mame Biram Diouf rounds out the list at number seven. Diouf spent last season on loan with Blackburn Rovers, where he scored 6 goals in 29 appearances for the Riversiders.

Diouf will have the toughest time breaking into United's first team out of all the Red Devils young forwards. Though he is capable, a move to another club seems to be a formality in the near future.

 Follow Shawn on Twitter: @etemadis