So we have bought a world-class defender. And we have lost one or maybe two good defenders from last season; namely Irwin & Johnsen.
If we count in the latter we have this defence: Ferdinand, Blanc, Silvestre, Neville x2, Brown and Johnsen. In addition we a couple of adequate reserves taken from the younger lot. I'd say that is satisfying, but as Gary Neville said: solid defence is a result of WORKING TOGETHER VERY HARD IN EVERY GAME. Not a result of activities on the transfer market. But we have a solid platform in the defence now. Or have we? Well, our goal-keeper proved a little too french in the beginning of last season. But he also showed great composure and stability after xmas. And I guess our back-up here isn't any worse off than most other back-ups in other clubs. They are after all, well, back-up-solutions. So yes, we have a solid defence now; ON THE PAPER.
What about our midfield? Keane, Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Butt, Chadwick, Veron. I name them in this order due to their performances last year. In all respect Veron wasn't worse than Chadwick, but he wasn't any better either. I felt that almost every player in the midfield under-achieved last year, with the exception of Keane, and maybe Butt. And in fairness Scholes didn't get the chance to prove anything. In my book the introduction of Veron was the drop-over-the-top that outbalanced our already-working-midfield, and led to our defeat in our campaigns in THIS area. The strange thing was that it DIDN'T hamper our attacks that much, even though Veron did fail utterly in aiding our attacks. What he DID do was surprisingly enough aiding our DEFENCE with much success and skill. Maybe he felt, or was commanded to, helping our unstable defence when it was in dire need? If that was the case then he certainly had a JOB on his hands, because that was almost always the case. Anyhow he seemed strangely out of touch when he tried to guide our attacks. And due to the importance of his role, we got a centre midfield that simply DIDN'T work as it should. And it affected almost every player in that area. I don't know why this happened. All I know is that it DID happen. My GUESS is that Veron is going through a difficult time. And that can mean anything; the country, the city, the club, the manager, the players around him, his family, the weather, the food. SOMETHING isn't right in his life. I hope for his, and our sakes that he get it right THIS season. I don't think he will hamper our season this time around. And by that I don't suggest he will improve. And I don't suggest he will be sold either. I just believe that he will not be as present this time around IF he performs as he did last year. Not even Fergie will be THAT kind to a great player. Fergie likes success more than he likes players. And last season he PAID DEARLY for miscalculations and POOR judgement in SEVERAL areas. His pride took a beating, and rightfully so. And he knows it. And he will learn from this. He has always been good at recovering with renewed strength and wisdom. And he likes it this way, too. Mr. Wenger will experience this, I am sure. When Fergie and his red lads are on a vendetta-course, I don't think they can be stopped. Not in the Premiership. In the Champions League it's a different story. But let THAT rest while. Premiership and the FA-cup is WHAT Fergie would first want to reconquer.
Our attack is maybe where I feel we lack players. In addition to two GREAT strikers, what do we have? Ole and Ruud are easily two of the country's most skilled and efficiently goal-scorers. We cannot trust Yorke anymore than we can trust Bin Laden. And all other alternatives are really midfielder's. I say we should buy another attacker. THEN we are in balance again.
If we count in the latter we have this defence: Ferdinand, Blanc, Silvestre, Neville x2, Brown and Johnsen. In addition we a couple of adequate reserves taken from the younger lot. I'd say that is satisfying, but as Gary Neville said: solid defence is a result of WORKING TOGETHER VERY HARD IN EVERY GAME. Not a result of activities on the transfer market. But we have a solid platform in the defence now. Or have we? Well, our goal-keeper proved a little too french in the beginning of last season. But he also showed great composure and stability after xmas. And I guess our back-up here isn't any worse off than most other back-ups in other clubs. They are after all, well, back-up-solutions. So yes, we have a solid defence now; ON THE PAPER.
What about our midfield? Keane, Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Butt, Chadwick, Veron. I name them in this order due to their performances last year. In all respect Veron wasn't worse than Chadwick, but he wasn't any better either. I felt that almost every player in the midfield under-achieved last year, with the exception of Keane, and maybe Butt. And in fairness Scholes didn't get the chance to prove anything. In my book the introduction of Veron was the drop-over-the-top that outbalanced our already-working-midfield, and led to our defeat in our campaigns in THIS area. The strange thing was that it DIDN'T hamper our attacks that much, even though Veron did fail utterly in aiding our attacks. What he DID do was surprisingly enough aiding our DEFENCE with much success and skill. Maybe he felt, or was commanded to, helping our unstable defence when it was in dire need? If that was the case then he certainly had a JOB on his hands, because that was almost always the case. Anyhow he seemed strangely out of touch when he tried to guide our attacks. And due to the importance of his role, we got a centre midfield that simply DIDN'T work as it should. And it affected almost every player in that area. I don't know why this happened. All I know is that it DID happen. My GUESS is that Veron is going through a difficult time. And that can mean anything; the country, the city, the club, the manager, the players around him, his family, the weather, the food. SOMETHING isn't right in his life. I hope for his, and our sakes that he get it right THIS season. I don't think he will hamper our season this time around. And by that I don't suggest he will improve. And I don't suggest he will be sold either. I just believe that he will not be as present this time around IF he performs as he did last year. Not even Fergie will be THAT kind to a great player. Fergie likes success more than he likes players. And last season he PAID DEARLY for miscalculations and POOR judgement in SEVERAL areas. His pride took a beating, and rightfully so. And he knows it. And he will learn from this. He has always been good at recovering with renewed strength and wisdom. And he likes it this way, too. Mr. Wenger will experience this, I am sure. When Fergie and his red lads are on a vendetta-course, I don't think they can be stopped. Not in the Premiership. In the Champions League it's a different story. But let THAT rest while. Premiership and the FA-cup is WHAT Fergie would first want to reconquer.
Our attack is maybe where I feel we lack players. In addition to two GREAT strikers, what do we have? Ole and Ruud are easily two of the country's most skilled and efficiently goal-scorers. We cannot trust Yorke anymore than we can trust Bin Laden. And all other alternatives are really midfielder's. I say we should buy another attacker. THEN we are in balance again.