What makes a Winning Football Team? Part III: Manchester Utd

Previously, parts I and II 

I had discussed the idea of Chelsea’s best years lying ahead as the fruits of their rebuilding effort begin to take shape. In the same vein, in this post, I will be discussing the situations of one club that is at the other end of the cycle: the one where it’s all downhill.

1. Manchester United: Being a Chelsea fan, it is a no-brainer that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the complete destruction of Man Utd last season. But in this post, I will keep those sentiments aside and look to outline something that should have been so damn obvious to everyone.

Man United had their peak period as a team between 2006 and 2011. During that time, they won 4 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups, 1 Uefa Champions League, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, and were runners up in UCL one other time. That is an extremely illustrious list of titles no matter who you support. There is no doubt, as such, that Man Utd had their best period is recent history between ‘06 and ‘11. As mentioned in the previous posts, such a successful period is only possible if most of the players in the team are playing at their peak and there are about 3-5 world class players in the team as well. The starting XI for United’s team during that period went something like this:

Van der Saar, Rio Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Wes Brown, Carrick, Scholes, Anderson, Rooney, Tevez, and Ronaldo.

Now that is SOME lineup – especially when all of them are playing at their peaks and you have about 6-7 world class players in the team in different positions. No wonder this team won so many trophies in that period.

But that was back then. United even managed to win two more league titles in the following 3 years. These titles came about not because United was still that powerhouse with world class players playing in their prime. It was simply because of Sir Alex Ferguson’s brilliance, coupled with some terrible form displayed by some of their main rivals that they continued winning titles. Granted they did get hold of RVP during that time. But for context, this was the list of players who played in their positions during SAF’s last 3 years:

Goalkeeper: De Gea, Lindergaard

Defenders: Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Raphael, Smalling, Evans, Phil Jones

Midfielders: Carrick, Paul Scholes, Valencia, Anderson, Cleverley, Nani, Young, Kagawa

Forwards: Van Persie, Rooney, Welbeck, Hernandez

The main thing to observe here is the number of players who are common to the starting lineup in 2012/13 and 2007/08. I count 6.

Clearly, Manchester United tried to sign some new younger players – Valencia, Smalling, Phil Jones, Cleverley, Hernandez, Kagawa and maybe even RVP (who was 28 at that time). But apart from RVP, none of them turned out to be world class. This was partly because some of them were good but not great players (Valencia, Kagawa, Hernandez) and some were just too damn young to make the necessary impact in the big games as they still needed a lot of experience (Smalling, Cleverley, Jones). As a result, SAF and to an extent, even Moyes, reverted to playing with the old guard who were way past their prime (Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Carrick).

The end result was that United’s central midfield and defense consisted either of ageing players way past their prime or with extremely young players with little to no experience playing in the big games. Add to this the likelihood that the younger players were just not good enough to start with, and you have the perfect recipe for disaster at the back. Little surprise then that United capitulated at the back on numerous occasions this past season.

So ultimately, even during the 2013/2014 campaign under Moyes, United were practically playing the same team they played during 2007/08 with a few inferior additions who are unlikely to reach the same peak as their predecessors – based on what they have displayed so far. So it was never all Moyes’ fault. Yes he did get his team selection wrong on many occasions. But he could only do so much with a team having world class attacking talent and an ageing and/or below par central midfield and defense.

No wonder all the rumours about Van Gaal’s summer transfer targets are in the areas of defense and central mid-field. I am really curious to see what kind of talents United can attract now – considering they do not have European football to offer. Chelsea was almost in that same boat in 2012 before they won the Champions League thus ensuring UCL football for the next season. Then they went on to buy Hazard and Oscar. But United don’t have anything to offer apart from their ‘history’ and rich tradition (*cough!* Liverpool *cough!*). Will they land Paul Pogba (SAF’s $80m mistake), or Alexis Sanchez or Luke Shaw?

We will have to wait and see.

Juventus reportedly agree deal for Alexis Sanchez

About friggin’ time Mr. Beppe “I am a shrewd businessman who signs good players for cheap but never spend big money on star players” Marotta opened his check book to sign a game changing player for big money. Not necessarily spending £40m+ on someone you may not necessarily need just because you haven’t spent big before (*cough!* Ozil *cough!*). But more like you know exactly what you need and there is a world class player available on the market and he is young and he can really add value to the team and he doesn’t even cost super high and so you go out and buy him. 

That is exactly where Alexis Sanchez is right now. He is only 25 years old, just about hitting the beginning of his peak period. He has already played and gained valuable experience in Barcelona no less. He is reported to cost less than £22m. And Barcelona are not even trying to keep him in the squad. He would pretty much play as a winger when Conte chooses to go with 4-3-3 (though I am not too sure of his defensive abilities when he is put in as a wing back in the more common 3-5-2. I am just going to assume that Conte knows what he is doing and what he needs). 

All in all. Perfect set of circumstances. 

Tuttosport in Italy is announcing that the deal is done, etc, etc. But the rumor mill is also showing interest from Man Utd and Liverpool. I would be extremely surprised if United landed him though – especially considering he won’t get Champions League football next season and the extreme likelihood that United are still going to be sh*t next season as well. In any case, if Mr. Marotta loses out signing Sanchez just because he did not raise his offer enough, that would be extremely disappointing for all Juventus fans. There is no way Juventus can mount a serious challenge in Europe if they do not add world class players in different positions. 

So what’s holding up the deal? Apparently Barcelona are waiting for the World Cup to end so as to inflate his price presuming he has a good tournament for Chile. I would personally prefer Vidal and Sanchez going into the World Cup not only as national teammates but also as club teammates. I can dream, right? 

Hopefully this is the first of many signings that Conte presumably put as a condition for him to continue his stay at Juventus beyond next season. And hopefully this will be confirmed soon.