Manchester United: Is a Repeat Possible?
After winning last season’s English Premier League Title, Manchester United are dead set on defending their crown, and manager Sir Alex Ferguson confesses that the Red Devils are gunning and ready. They’ve acquired 4 promising signings over the European summer. There’s midfielder Owen Hargreaves coming over from Bayern Munich. There’s Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez who Diego Maradona once described as the “Argentine prophet for the 21st Century.” Portugese winger Nani was also brought over as well as the young Brazilian Anderson, who is also looked at as the new Ronaldinho.
Manchester United recently blew by Chelsea FC to earn the Community Shield title, giving the Red Devils confidence in their form entering the start of the Premier League season. However, their opening match against Reading FC didn’t turn out to be as impressive as Man-U fans would’ve wanted. United failed to score despite their many chances, and a first-half injury to Wayne Rooney was a blow to their offensive department. In fact, save for the attacking tandem of last year’s player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo and team captain Ryan Giggs, there wasn’t much steam in the Manchester United engine. Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez and Anderson were not suited up, and Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were also out.
Well, it’s just the first match of the season with several more to go. The bad news is: Wayne Rooney is already set to be out for at least 2 months following the prognosis on his first-match injury. The good news is: Sir Alex Ferguson has Carlos Tevez. Of course, anyone who follows football knows that one superstar is not enough to make a winning team. David Beckham and LA Galaxy my example. Even a couple of superstars won’t necessarily win a championship. Remember Real Madrid and Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Figo and Raul in the disappointing seasons from 2003 to 2005. When it comes to football, it’s all about team chemistry, and Manchester United can’t build on that team chemistry when the likes of Carlos Tevez are not allowed to put their boots on.
If Manchester United expects a repeat, they’re going to have to build that team chemistry. And the only way they’ll do that is if they get their new players on the pitch with the Man-U veterans. I don’t mean to twist the arm of Sir Alex Ferguson into action. It’s not like I’m about to fill in his shoes after his impressive 20 years of coaching the club. But then, your back’s against the wall, Sir Alex, and Wayne is going to be sidelined for a while, and his recovery might take a while. Time to build on the new signings and build fast. Otherwise, you can kiss the repeat goodbye. At this point, I’m nervous to consider Manchester United, but then let’s see how the odds will fare as the season progresses.
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