Ferguson Must Ready For Their Title Drought

“That has always been the case here at the club. When you lose the last game of the season you have two or three months to reflect on the disappointment. We have not enjoyed that. But we will cope and bounce back.”

Sir Alex Ferguson

The summer transfer window has yet to close. We still have about three weeks left to come to the deadline. Many hot transfers have been signed. The world transfer record even has been broken by 80 million pounds Cristiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid & Manchester City (till I wrote this article) is the club with the most expenditure to sign new comers. Serie A has again lost their super star Zlatan Ibrahimovich due to a swap deal for Samuel Eto’o. Flamboyant striker Andrei Arshavin promises a bright future to Arsenal who have lost Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City. David Villa can leave Mestalla in the right price. Again, it’s a very great movement in the current economic climate, where many lower league clubs are struggling to even survive, let alone compete in the transfer market. I really enjoy it!!! It’s none of my business if all the big arrivals won’t improve the quality of players in the domestic country. However, La Liga as the most stunning domestic league after Kaka, Ibra, & Ronaldo’s arrivals is no longer part of RCTI sports programs next season. So sad!!

So, how is my sentimental favorite club Manchester United? They have no deep squad as well as previous two seasons. Yups, they just brought Antonio Valencia, Mame Biram Diouf (I don’t even know who the hell he is!!), Gabriel Obertan, & Micheal Owen as their new signings after lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. I’m just speechless!! Yeps, I’m talking not about being second or third. It’s about being champions. I know, it’s too early and somewhat unfair to judge their bad chance to win Premiership title. It seems to be harder to retain the title when I look the entire of the senior squad this season.

Let’s start from the defense. Edwin Van der Saar is getting older and his reserves, both Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak is getting familiar with some blunders. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are still best couple in the back-line, but they have no decent substitutes. Jonathan Evans still needs a lot of learning to be a world class center back, meanwhile United captain Gary Neville now is just no more that a bench-warmer that’s lost his speed and agility after long-term injury. Either does Wes Brown. With Vidic-Ferdinand, United might be still the strongest in defense, but what will happen if one of them should absent because of his injury?

What about their full backs? Patrice Evra on the left side is a real good one. He’s relishing the pressure that comes at the beginning of the season. Loyal player John O’Shea on the right side can blow a soundless situation in the back-line. The twin Rafael & Fabio da Silva are the hot prospects for their squad, but they are still young.

In the midfield position, United actually have many good players. However, Paul Scholes is the sole attacking midfielder. The reserves, such as Darren Gibson, is still far from the standard. Ryan Giggs is getting older. Nani still need to learn a lot to cover Ronaldo’s role. The sound condition come from either Michael Carrick or Darren Fletcher, which is a very clean passer. There’s also no doubt that Anderson and Owen Hargreaves is a hard-worker. Park Ji Sung simply gives us a bright hope. But still, they are not playmakers. That’s why I always hail United must sign Wesley Sneijder! But forget about it!! It’s impossible for a genius Ferguson to bring him.

In the front-line, I’m in the same boat with Early Doors. United are obviously worse after swapping Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez for Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen. Following the sale of Ronaldo and Tevez, there is a far greater goal-scoring burden on the new strike partnership. I criticized Owen’s signing since he’s too vulnerable and not on his best form. Look at the last night’s friendly against Valencia, Owen displayed all the shooting accuracy of a group of A-Team baddies as he repeatedly failed to locate his target from close range. People said, he was deemed to have blown his chances of an England recall. What about Dmitar Berbatov? Simply he is a lethargic skillful player. He’s not a goal getter. He even didn’t score more than two digits last season. Let say he will get better season, but how many goals will be scored? Still doubt about him. Federico Macheda is a good stuff. He has wonderful talent but seems have no sufficient time to prove it.

The real hope has come to United star Wayne Rooney. He’s in the form of his life. He has recently developed as a creative force, dependable goalscorer and the player whose fire and intensity come closest to matching his own. Ronaldo’s sale to Real Madrid ensures that the burden of expectancy will rest heavier on his shoulders. But he has already displayed his ability to thrive under pressure, at least in the pre-season.

People admit Fergie is the right man to toughen up his entire squad. This year’s Premiership is not gonna be an easy place to leave, at least in a Champions League group stage direction. My best friend Heru was right, Barcelona is the most favorite among all title chasers in Champions League. So, if Fergie doesn’t strengthen his squad in the rest of this three weeks, he should be ready for his next season title drought.

At last, here’s given the general uselessness of my predictions for the Premiership:

Champion: Chelsea (Though I still hope United will win the race).
Champions League group stage: Manchester United & Liverpool.
Champions League play-off round: Arsenal.
UEFA Europe League play-off round: Manchester City (still doubt about their consistency, actually).
Relegated: Burnley, Wolves and Sunderland.

Furthermore, Barcelona will be the first time who retain their Champions League title after beating Chelsea in Santiago Bernabeu. Both Real Madrid and Manchester United just can be proud as the semifinalists!