I’ve written a lot of football
stories over time, but strangely enough, never have I done any piece directly
concerning Manchester United. In a sense therefore, I’m a bit nervous, this
being my very first time. The feelings are mixed. Will my fellow Gooners term
this as the cross-over to the enemy? Will the United fans buy any of this as an
honest representation of facts? Ideally, The
Dug Out’s United correspondent, Martin is the one usually tasked with this,
but what the hell! Once doesn’t hurt, does it? Plus, he’s kind of been sleeping
on the job (sic).
On Monday 22nd April,
2013, Manchester United effectively sealed their 13th Premier League
title and 20th overall. And in some style too, thrashing Aston Villa
3-0 in a 32-minute blitz that was a show of might as it was a show of
insatiable hunger for success. No prizes for guessing who stole the show, one
Robin van Persie. He put in a shift that was in itself a performance of
superlatives befitting of claiming a maiden championship milestone, grabbing
that hat trick including a highlight-reel-material contender for goal of the
season.
Van Persie was always going to
dominate this piece same way he’s dominated the headlines of English football
for the last two years or so. This is the man who almost single-handedly
dragged Arsenal literally kicking and screaming last season to third place and
a secured them a Champions League slot. This is the man who at the end of the
season with a year left in his contract, and widely expected by the Arsenal
faithful to extend his stay at the Emirates beyond that, chose not to and
inadvertently attracted the interests of suitors from Europe’s elite. Also this
is the man who chose to ignore the overtures of Manchester City and Juventus to
instead warm up to and sign for Manchester United.
When on 15th August
last year United announced the Van Persie signing, even the most ardent of
United fans were in disbelief. The Arsenal fans were livid. The football world
was shocked. But what would be the implication of this? I personally remember
declaring amid my many rants on twitter that Arsene Wenger had actually handed
the Premier League title to Sir Alex Ferguson by approving that sale. What
convinced me? Everybody remembers how irritated and annoyed Manchester City
manager Roberto Mancini was about missing out on Robin’s signature. And in fact
he might have said (in not so many words) that if there was going to be a
difference between his side and Fergie’s in the title stakes, Van Persie was
it. Eight months later, and I believe Mancini has been proven right, just like
I have.
United have won the title with a
margin of 16 points over their nearest (and really, only) rivals, former
Champions, City. Was this expected? No, and a resounding one at that. Before
the signing of the former Arsenal captain, I had pointed that (in my own
assessment) that City were still odds on favorite to reclaim the title, and if
that weren’t to be the case, then Chelsea and not United would pip them. What
guided my rationale was partly the psychological blow that the Blues had
inflicted on their two rivals by signing Eden Hazard who had been scouted and
fancied by all the three clubs. Another reason was my belief that the title is
won in the transfer market and up to that point, with the acquisition of
Hazard, Oscar, Marko Marin and Victor Moses (later) Chelsea has done the most
and probably best business. But later, the Chelsea juggernaut would run out of
steam with owner Roman Abramovich’s decision to sack manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Then the game-changer happened; Arsenal accepting United’s 24 million pound bid
for Robin. And the rest from then on, would follow the popular script.
Has Manchester United been the
best and most deserving team during this campaign? Winning the title with four
games to spare while that much ahead of the nearest team surely begs to defend
that notion. You get the feeling that United were absolutely stunned by the
manner in which their ‘Noisy Neighbours’ City upstaged them last season. Hence
this campaign, aside from the flying Dutchman’s heroics, there has been a
marked improvement across the squad. David De Gea was easily the best ‘keeper
of the season, responding to his fierce critics by cutting down on his errors
and rising to a whole new level of producing superman-ly reflexes. To be the
best, you need a top drawer ‘keeper to be at his best almost every other day.
The young Spanish custodian was a wall between the posts this season and he
deserves all the credit he’s getting.
In defence, one man has been on
the lips of almost every United fan. Brazilian right back Rafael has been a
revelation all through the campaign. His overlaps, his defensive ability and
even his touch in front of goal has been a dream. Known for his petulance and
childishness in the past, this season he’s been reborn into the professional
that every title-winning coach wants his player to be. It is no wonder that
many fans are incensed by his exclusion from the PFA Award nominees’ list. Rio
Ferdinand rolled back the years with some trade mark assured displays at the
back after managing to minimize his injury niggles that have in the past blighted
his game. Johnny Evans was a commanding presence and so has been the captain,
Nemanja Vidic. Patrice Evra may not be as good defensively as he was a few years
ago, but still his quality shone, with a welcome goal scoring dimension added
to his game. Phil Jones impressed too.
United’s midfield story has been
about one man, really. Who knew that at this time of the season Michael Carrick
would have made more forward passes than any other midfielder in Europe
including the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Andrea Pirlo and Bastian Schweinsteiger?
If there’s a player that epitomizes the improvement United has made as a club
this season, then it’s this English international. He on many occasions gave
United latitude and a fulcrum on which to build on and thrive, finally
justifying why Fergie paid so much to prise him away from Tottenham some seven
years ago. It isn’t difficult to see why Carrick has been nominated for the PFA
Player of the Year Award.
Sir Alex Ferguson has always
built his successful sides around four highly dependable strikers and this
season was no different. In Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez and
of course Van Persie, the manager had men who could lead the attacks of any
other team in the top flight with distinction. And with the choice of being
able to play one, two or three of them during a single match, you can see why
they’ve played an integral part in United’s success. With the exception of
Welbeck, all of them have scored important goals, won games and rescued the
points in the team’s march to glory. Of course, Robin Van Persie, on 24 goals
already (at the time of writing this) is bang on to retain both his Golden Boot
Award and the PFA Player of the Year Award. Does an attack get any better?
United still have areas to
improve on, especially in midfield, but for now they can at least say ‘We are
the Champions!’ What you and I can be sure of is that when June rolls in, for
the manager, the 20th title will be a distant memory and instead
focus will be on winning the 21st league title…because at United, it
is all about conquering and moving on to the next one. Let us all stand up and
hail the 2012-13 Barclays Premier League champions, Manchester United!
