Fergie rebuilds Utd once more By NEIL CUSTIS
Published: Today
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AS Alex Ferguson picked up three new pieces, another jigsaw began to take form.
Keeper David de Gea, centre-back Phil Jones and now England winger Ashley Young have joined Manchester United as Ferguson (below) once more reinvigorates his team.
And his £55million spending spree may not be over yet.
Another team is forming just as the title winners of 1993 evolved into the Treble winners of 1999, who were overhauled to create the Champions League kings of 2008.
Time never stands still for Ferguson and sentiment does not get in the way - just ask David Beckham and Roy Keane.
As ever when rebuilding, Ferguson looks a lot deeper than the names that find themselves on to all the top clubs' radars.
For him, other pieces in the new jigsaw have been on the shelves at Carrington for some time just waiting to be placed into the big picture.
The Fergie line-up of the future as shown on this page may not rattle any cages right now. But the master builder knows it will, as it emerges over the next few years.
After all he was famously told he would 'never win anything with kids' when he produced his most renowned overhauling at Old Trafford in 1995.
The FA Youth Cup winners of 1992 became the foundations for success from the mid-90s and beyond.
Look at the three great Ferguson teams on this page from the past and any manager would have been proud to have any one of them on his CV. Fergie never allows a side to grow old and stale as Chelsea have.
Nor will he baulk at the big buy when the money is there, unlike Arsene Wenger.
But it does not always need the big bucks he spent on the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Dimitar Berbatov either.
Remember Eric Cantona cost £1.2m and a 'Little Pea' turned into a little gem when Javier Hernandez became the bargain of the season at £6m.
Ferguson's teams are a product not only of his eye for the right man at the right time but in getting the raw talent and moulding it into a star.
He took a one-trick pony in Cristiano Ronaldo and turned him into a thoroughbred.
This team for the future has been a combination of scouting and nurture.
There is no genius in landing Young, Wayne Rooney or maybe even Antonio Valencia.
And the latest big-money buy who could be on his way to Old Trafford is Arsenal playmaker Samir Nasri.
But look through the rest of the team and each has been carefully brought through the ranks or had their development tracked elsewhere.
At 20, Atletico Madrid's De Gea may seem expensive at £18.3m when most goalkeepers do not peak until they are 26.
However, Ferguson trusts his instincts - and those of the men around him.
The incredible Da Silva twins Fabio and Rafael have already relieved the headache of right-back Gary Neville's retirement and who will replace left-back Patrice Evra when the brilliant Frenchman moves on.
Jones may have come to everyone's attention this past season at Blackburn yet fellow centre-back Chris Smalling, 21, seemed an expensive gamble at £8m with such relatively little experience at Fulham.
Last season, though, he took to the Old Trafford stage and the spotlight of the Champions League without problems.
The midfield in this team has the established Valencia and Young on either flank with Nani's future not entirely certain after a poor second half to the season.
The centre looks far from familiar but Tom Cleverley has been with United since he was 15.
After successful loan spells at Watford, where he was their 2009-10 player of the season, and Wigan, Ferguson has called him back and believes he is ready.
Those who have witnessed 18-year-old attacking midfielder Ravel Morrison at close quarters know United have a genius.
He has had problems off the pitch though on it, he has everything needed to be a great.
Have a look on YouTube at his two goals in the second leg of United's FA Youth Cup triumph this season.
Also for those who believe there is still 'only one Keano' watch 18-year-old Will Keane on the same video.
He is an out-and-out striker and a previous recipient of the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year trophy.
His twin brother Michael is a very handy right-back in the same United youth team.
New names, new stars in the making, a new United, as the conveyor belt of talent continues to bring in the trophies.
Ferguson will be 70 this New Year's Eve but shows no signs of stopping and no signs of losing his touch in his constant rebuilding at United.
Even if he does call it a day he will make sure his successor has the tools at his disposal with which to continue the good work.
As Ferguson insisted: "We've got a good nucleus of young players in the club which gives you the foundation to be able to protect the future and know it's going to be all right."
Read more: Fergie rebuilds Utd once more | The Sun |Sport|Football
Published: Today
Add a comment (19)
AS Alex Ferguson picked up three new pieces, another jigsaw began to take form.
Keeper David de Gea, centre-back Phil Jones and now England winger Ashley Young have joined Manchester United as Ferguson (below) once more reinvigorates his team.
And his £55million spending spree may not be over yet.
Another team is forming just as the title winners of 1993 evolved into the Treble winners of 1999, who were overhauled to create the Champions League kings of 2008.
Time never stands still for Ferguson and sentiment does not get in the way - just ask David Beckham and Roy Keane.
As ever when rebuilding, Ferguson looks a lot deeper than the names that find themselves on to all the top clubs' radars.
For him, other pieces in the new jigsaw have been on the shelves at Carrington for some time just waiting to be placed into the big picture.
The Fergie line-up of the future as shown on this page may not rattle any cages right now. But the master builder knows it will, as it emerges over the next few years.
After all he was famously told he would 'never win anything with kids' when he produced his most renowned overhauling at Old Trafford in 1995.
The FA Youth Cup winners of 1992 became the foundations for success from the mid-90s and beyond.
Look at the three great Ferguson teams on this page from the past and any manager would have been proud to have any one of them on his CV. Fergie never allows a side to grow old and stale as Chelsea have.
Nor will he baulk at the big buy when the money is there, unlike Arsene Wenger.
But it does not always need the big bucks he spent on the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Dimitar Berbatov either.
Remember Eric Cantona cost £1.2m and a 'Little Pea' turned into a little gem when Javier Hernandez became the bargain of the season at £6m.
Ferguson's teams are a product not only of his eye for the right man at the right time but in getting the raw talent and moulding it into a star.
He took a one-trick pony in Cristiano Ronaldo and turned him into a thoroughbred.
This team for the future has been a combination of scouting and nurture.
There is no genius in landing Young, Wayne Rooney or maybe even Antonio Valencia.
And the latest big-money buy who could be on his way to Old Trafford is Arsenal playmaker Samir Nasri.
But look through the rest of the team and each has been carefully brought through the ranks or had their development tracked elsewhere.
At 20, Atletico Madrid's De Gea may seem expensive at £18.3m when most goalkeepers do not peak until they are 26.
However, Ferguson trusts his instincts - and those of the men around him.
The incredible Da Silva twins Fabio and Rafael have already relieved the headache of right-back Gary Neville's retirement and who will replace left-back Patrice Evra when the brilliant Frenchman moves on.
Jones may have come to everyone's attention this past season at Blackburn yet fellow centre-back Chris Smalling, 21, seemed an expensive gamble at £8m with such relatively little experience at Fulham.
Last season, though, he took to the Old Trafford stage and the spotlight of the Champions League without problems.
The midfield in this team has the established Valencia and Young on either flank with Nani's future not entirely certain after a poor second half to the season.
The centre looks far from familiar but Tom Cleverley has been with United since he was 15.
After successful loan spells at Watford, where he was their 2009-10 player of the season, and Wigan, Ferguson has called him back and believes he is ready.
Those who have witnessed 18-year-old attacking midfielder Ravel Morrison at close quarters know United have a genius.
He has had problems off the pitch though on it, he has everything needed to be a great.
Have a look on YouTube at his two goals in the second leg of United's FA Youth Cup triumph this season.
Also for those who believe there is still 'only one Keano' watch 18-year-old Will Keane on the same video.
He is an out-and-out striker and a previous recipient of the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year trophy.
His twin brother Michael is a very handy right-back in the same United youth team.
New names, new stars in the making, a new United, as the conveyor belt of talent continues to bring in the trophies.
Ferguson will be 70 this New Year's Eve but shows no signs of stopping and no signs of losing his touch in his constant rebuilding at United.
Even if he does call it a day he will make sure his successor has the tools at his disposal with which to continue the good work.
As Ferguson insisted: "We've got a good nucleus of young players in the club which gives you the foundation to be able to protect the future and know it's going to be all right."
Read more: Fergie rebuilds Utd once more | The Sun |Sport|Football
and excited at the same time!
Are you even remotely serious? Custis connected to Utd? I done heard it all now