To Be(rba) or not to Be(rba)

The last post was almost a year ago on the status of our midfield. I have eaten humble pie on some of the points I raised (like Nani’s coming of age) but I still think the weakness in midfield has cost us the title this season.

Nani has been a revelation. Though as frustrating as ever sometimes he has shown that he can get it done when the chips are down(Second half vs Spurs and the Bayern Second-leg) He is no Ronaldo but he is our best bet for a creative edge on the wings. A good shot, can use both feet and adept at both the wings(yes , yes, times change, people change...Nani and me both) . Can the same be said of Anderson? Should he be given a chance too? NO....Ando is what Fabianski would have been like had he been an outfield player!! Harries players well but his composure, decision making and finishing point to him never becoming more than what Darren Fletcher was 4 years ago, who by the way, was by far our best player in midfield this season. An absolute terrier, he has evolved into a perfect box to box player, something we have lacked since Roy Keane’s departure. Our ineptitude at keeping the ball this season has prevented him from making too many forays up field, otherwise he may have ended up in double figures for the season. Carrick’s pedigree or lack of it has come out for all to see. His performance against tougher midfields where he has no time on the ball has made a strong case for him to be shipped out. The Champions league finals of 07/08 when the Chelsea midfield strangled him in the second half comes to mind often when I think of him. If you want a deep-lying playmaker there are many better in the business than him. Valencia,though, has been pivotal. Were it not for his right foot and Rooney’s head we wouldn’t have been here in the first place. But he is a one-trick pony (So was Beckham, but his trick lay in curling the ball...Mark him four feet in front and still he would curl the ball past the man and into the box) and I fear the day they’ll mark him out of games (Ref: Inter Milan vs Barcelona- Cambiasso and Zanetti’s number on Messi....Maradona is Insane btw).

So to our protagonist then...Dimitar Berbatov...to whom our midfield plans are inextricably linked. Considering the incessant Berba-bashing that has been going on in all forums I think I will come out with a few points in favour of our beleaguered Bulgarian.

Fact: Berbatov is not a lone forward. He does not have the pace or energy to match up with the premier league defenders on his own. He needs another man to play with him, a person with whom he can exchange a couple of clever touches, a one-two, someone to take the heat off him. Robbie Keane was a great player of that mould and that was the reason for Berba’s success at Tottenham. The current United format of playing two deep lying players in midfield leaves a huge gap between midfield and attack into which Berba moves to act as the link-up. People are saying that Berba’s assists have gone down. But considering the number of passes out to the wing that he has threaded which have turned into assists for Valencia or Nani I think he has done a fair job. Next to Scholes, he is our most intelligent player on the pitch and the likes of Nani are generally a couple of steps behind him (a skilful swivelling pass against Tottenham comes to mind when Nani was left fuming...more at his own lack of vision, I think). What our midfield needs is a traditional trequartista in the mould of Wesley Sneijder ( oh..How I wish we had got him last year...sigh) or Van Der Vaart, a player who can link up with Berba and make those runs into the box to support the attack. A true creative presence behind the strikers whose presence will make Berba’s dropping into the hole unnecessary and will make him plyhis trade at the edge or inside the box. Where will Fergie come up with this player? Van Der Vaart is one(he is 26 still) but for younger options, we can go for Marek Hamsik from Napoli, Luka Modric from Spurs or Miralem Pjanic from Lyon. Instead of splaying cash on a striker(We have six in the squad already) again we can look to a creative presence in midfield who will deliver us not only the killer passes but also some much needed goals(Come on, Giggs and Scholes have 14 goals between them this season you have look somewhere to replace those soon). So Stick with Berba (We have paid 30 mil for him after all), get a creative midfielder in, play Fletcher as your box to box midfielder, Nani and Valencia on the wings and we have a good solid front half.

As for the defence and the wings(some tweaking required)...Next post please.