Cleverley - Replacement for Scholes or not?

Paul Scholes, regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation with the likes of ALMOST EVERYONE acknowledging it. Manchester United were lucky to be served by a player of such talent for such a long time . He single handedly controls the tempo of games even now, when he's turned 37. The latest example being against the away game against Southampton, he came and BOOM, changed the game and well you know the rest. United started controlling the game more and then obviously the two goals came . He may not be bursting into the box as he used to or have that pace but he still has the brain and the eyes at the back of his head to go along with that, to make impossible long range passes and short passes and still keep the possession with Manchester United and his unreal pass accuracy around 95% on general.

Manchester United always knew that replacing him in that central midfield would be a tough task and judging by United's current weaknesses being exploited by teams and well getting him out of retirement clearly showed that maybe he is irreplaceable. Well, one can look at Xavi and Iniesta and say that they come close, but they are too very different , mostly playing short incisive passes and well the "new kid" Joe Allen is a Liverpool player, a United fan and a Scholes lover. He is definitely good with the ball and will grow into a very good midfielder for Wales, probably when he starts with the long balls too. But what United fans want to hear is that they HAVE a replacement for him. Tom Cleverley is the name that is sprung up .

Maybe, if he hadn't been injured last season after starting the season in tremendous form, he could have developed even better. United fans will hope he does so this season and with his recent performances, especially for the England senior side, he seems a nice tidy player. He is definitely gifted with intelligence and after joining United at 12 has come through a very good talent enriching experience with the United setup of producing good quality players. He knows how to attack and keep the ball and the lad with surely learn with experience when to tackle, something even Paul Scholes never mastered.

Cleverley has pace,vision, talent and temperament . But would he be a replacement to Scholes is still to be seen. He would rather make his own mark than be pressurized with the increasing comparisons and expectations. Recently, Milner , Gerrard and Lampard have praised him and said that he would be an integral part of the England setup for the coming years. What I reckon is that Cleverley alone cannot fill the "SCHOLES VOID" but it has to be shared between him and Kagawa since United would be changing from their 4-4-2 formation as it can be seen with their recent matches. While Carrick would sit behind and break attacks and well Anderson needs to step up and show the quality for which United had signed him after 5 frustrating years at United individually. This is his make or break season.

Cleverley needs to remain injury free, make himself available for team selection and mature quickly. That is exactly what Sir Alex Ferguson would want. Shinji Kagwa , has already shown his brilliance in the final third of the field. A combination of both of them would be a formidable partnership. While Anderson and Carrick do the same. While the wingers would always be important to United's style of play, that being Young , Nani and Valencia while Welbeck is ineffective there and Sir Alex Ferguson needs to sort this out.

Without a doubt, he has a bright future infront of him and hopefully he stays clear of injuries and controversies to give the United faithful a new midfield maestro . As much as any United fan would like to see Scholes get younger with each passing day, but that is not the case.

So well Goodbye Scholes! Enter Tom Cleverley!

Ferguson Turning A Blind Eye To The “MIDFIELD PROBLEM”?

It is clearly known the midfield problems United have been facing especially to be seen last season when they were completely outplayed by Athletic Bilbao . Manchester United were over run by their cross – town rivals in Manchester City over the two league matches all because United don’t really have a proper box-to-box midfielder or what they call an “Imposing”  midfielder. Someone they  had in Roy Keane. Not exactly the creative artist, but he would give his life on the pitch, oppositions feared him. He would get that ball back even if that meant going into a dangerous tackle. He single-handedly inspired United to beat Juventus and get into the famous ’99 Champions League final.

Fergie worried about midfield

United lack that now. He was never really replaced. Everyone talks about Giggs and Scholes being replaced but along with them, a midfielder is needed who can really get into the opposition’s faces. The closest you get with the midfield United have is Darren Fletcher but for now it’s not sure when does he get back. Carrick is a brilliant player, but not one to “break” the plays or even the legs as in Roy Keane’s case.  The Monday night fixture against Everton was a perfect example, even though one can be led to believe that the new signings and players will take time to gel but yet, in the previous few seasons United have shown vulnerability in midfield.

Felliani showed exactly what United are lacking even though United was playing with Carrick in the centre of defense , but it can’t hide the fact that United were dominated by just one man – Felliani . Maybe instead of going for Robin Van Persie, Sir Alex Ferguson might’ve tried to get someone like Felliani or him itself for the midfield job. City have Yaya Toure, Chelsea have Mikel / Lampard who are decent while Arsenal had Song . Sir Alex Ferguson claims that he never had a defensive midfielder during his reign, well even if  Roy Keane was no defensive midfielder but he was a marshal that held the midfield together, a box-to-box and the perfect captain. Time and again Yaya Toure does it for City. Hate him or love him but Segio Busquets is amazing as a CDM/CM for Barcelona. One can even say that the entire burden of this position falls on Michael Carrick who can shine for United if someone else comes to share the burden.

United have shown great movement in the transfer market this summer , but well the recent names linked are Kaka and Mexico U-23 midfielder Hector Herrera who is a young unproven talent. Not much can be said what he’ll develop to be and United don’t really need Kaka.  His addition would definitely be welcomed, but United don’t really need him. The deal looks dead now due to the wage demands , yet UNITED NEED A MIDFIELD STRENGTHENING MIDFIELDER or just Carrick to suddenly become the man Sir Alex Ferguson and the fans want him to be.

Maybe United are moving towards a more fluent style of play, and eventually Carrick would come good. In any case, one can just wait to see what is on Sir Alex Ferguson’s mind.  We get to taste that this weekend itself, when United face Fulham at Old Trafford. Fulham scored 5 last weekend while United succumbed to Everton. This will be a good match even though Clint Dempsey might not feature due to his ongoing war against Fulham for a transfer to Liverpool.  No doubt United will look to make a point, after watching both City and Chelsea beat their opponents in style . Well, City got through in the end. Some United fans must be looking and Hazard and thinking why not him? Well, he is at Chelsea and United fans would just hope Kagawa and Persie fire United past Fulham and the “tired” Rooney and Nani too come good.