At the turn of the New Year and halfway through the Premier
League season, Manchester United find themselves seven points clear of rival
City, top of the table. The addition of Robin Van Persie has brought renewed
energy and confidence to a team that was gutted to lose on the final day of
last season. Fighting through a rash of injuries Sir Alex Ferguson has
reinvented the team repeatedly by constantly switching formations to fit the
healthy personnel. Without further ado, here’s a look at how each player has
played to this point. Ratings are 1-10.
GK
David De Gea – The young Spaniard has picked up where he
left off last season, shaky at times but brilliant in others. With consecutive
clean sheets in the premier league he appears to be reaching top form. I
believe by the end of the year he will be in conversation for top five keeper
in the prem. Rating – 6.8
Anders Lindegaard – Consistently good performer whenever he
has been given the chance, Lindegaard has fit in well at United. The problem he
faces is that De Gea is considered keeper of the future which mean Anders will
never get the number of matches he needs to reach his potential. Going forward
I expect the 60/40 games timeshare to continue. Rating – 7.0
Defense
Rafael – Arguably United’s most consistent performer, the
young Brazilian right back has clearly come into his own this year. He has
formed an almost telepathic connection with Antonio Valencia down the right
flank and has been routinely making exquisite overlapping runs all season. If
he can stay healthy the sky is the limit. Rating
– 8.9
Rio Ferdinand – Despite time catching up to the centre-back,
Ferdinand is still one of the most intelligent footballers around. Early in the
season he was getting beaten by pace regularly, but has since improved his
positioning and fitness. His pairing with Jonny Evans hasn’t yet yielded as
many clean sheets as desired, but the two do work well together. Rating – 6.9
Jonny Evans – Evans has come a long way from that bumbling
player few United fans wanted on the pitch just a couple of years ago. Now
strong and confident in his play he has taken his game to the next level. His
refusal to make rash challenges has been key for United not giving up set
pieces. Rating – 7.7
Patrice Evra – After experiencing a dip in form over the
last two seasons, Evra appears close to being back to the top of his game. His attacking
runs continue to be incisive but it is his tackling and marking that has
improved. It has been a joy to see him start to score goals; winning headers
against much larger players. Rating 7.4
Chris Smalling – It’s tough to really assess his performance
thus far after only recently recovering from an injury. The potential and
abilities are still there, so look for this youngster to continue to get more
playing time. Rating – 6.5
Phil Jones – Same story as Smalling, although Jones has yet
to establish himself the way he did at the beginning of last campaign. It is
almost a shame to see such a talented player always be playing out of position
as he clearly favors, and excels playing centrally. Rating – Incomplete
Nemanja Vidic – The towering Serbian that strikes fear into
opposing attackers is back healthy again. If he can play 75% of the games going
forward look for him to regain his old form and once again be among the best in
the world. Rating – Incomplete
Alex Buttner – It’s amazing what one performance can do for
a player. In his debut he looked to be every bit the heir apparent (to Evra)
that the fans were hoping for, but since then he has struggled with positioning
and bad fouls. His enthusiasm for the game reminds me a lot of how Rafael
looked when he began his United career, unfortunately so does the defending. If
Buttner can put himself in better positions to defend, he will become a
dangerous wing-back. Rating – Incomplete
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