Is this a Manchester United squad in decline?

Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic

20 games into the Premier League season and the mighty Red Devils find themselves 11 points off the top and on 7th place in the table. Just rewind your memory seven months back, and you won’t believe that ‘this’ United won the league for the 20th time in history, the most by any English club. Of course, then they had the most prolific manager at the helm – Sir Alex Ferguson.

United have lost 6 games now in the Premier League, out of which 4 have come at home, once a fortress. United lost just 5 last season in total.

Let me tell you that this article is definitely not a knee-jerk reaction after the Tottenham game because unlike most of my fellow United fans, I trust Sir Alex Ferguson’s choice with David Moyes for the coveted seat at Old Trafford and I really think with time he will definitely come good.

This article has been written after going through the frustration of not converting the chances, watching your team for 45 minutes without a goal on target, not pressing the opposition in midfield regularly and losing faith as a team who used to hit back harder when down.

Having said that, I am not sure David Moyes will achieve anything with ‘this’ squad. It is quite debatable if Sir Alex could have ground results with this squad like he did last season. Because clearly, the squad is in decline and after 20 games in the Premier League, 6 games in the Champions League and few games in the Capital One Cup, fans and David Moyes alike seem to have no clue about which is the best eleven for the reigning champions today.

I am thankful to the United board for trusting Moyes with a long 6 year contract to assess and rebuild the team. And hopefully we won’t behave like other clubs and sack the manager just after a season. However, like most of the United family worldwide, I do believe that some players are just not good enough, are overrated, and our investments on those players have gone for a toss. And yes, they must be replaced this summer or winter if possible.

I was just browsing through reddit/r/reddevils when I saw this. I agree with most of the points here but not all. Here’s my honest analysis on our squad:

World class players in the squad: Rooney, van Persie, de Gea

Definitely first team players: Evans, Rafael, Vidic, Carrick

Future prospects: Jones, Januzaj, Zaha, Keane (loan)

Haven’t proven anything yet: Nani, Young, Valencia, Fellaini, Kagawa, Fabio, Anderson, Buttner, Bebe (loan), Macheda (loan)

Decent players but not the first team: Welbeck, Hernandez, Cleverly, Smalling

Players in decline: Evra, Ferdinand, Giggs, Fletcher

Future prospects on loan: Powell, Lingard, Henriquez

Not tested/reserve: Lindegaard, Amos, L Cole, Varela

Now going by the categorisation, without a doubt Rooney, van Persie and de Gea are world class for me. Having said that, there’s no guarantee Rooney will stay next season if he doesn’t get Champions League football. Robin van Persie was instrumental in winning the league last season, 24 million well spent, but he is 30 now and with regular injury concerns, we have no idea how long he will go on. David de Gea’s first season and the de Gea of today are so contrasting that one has to believe that he can achieve heights of greatness like Peter Schmeichel and Van der Sar at United one day.

With the options available, Evans and Carrick are definitely first team players even though not the best. Rafael still makes mistakes but is a good right back at our disposal. Vidic is still the wall at United, but he is 32 now and we have seen glimpses of his declining form.

Jones has been played in both defensive and midfield, and he has proven himself in both duties. It is good to have a versatile player like him but David Moyes must decide on his regular position in the United line up. Januzaj has been now booked 4th most times in the league for simulation which is really sad in my opinion. Having said that, he is a bright prospect and with time he will learn from his mistakes.

Zaha has got limited opportunities in the first team, and if the talent he showed at Crystal Palace squad is to be considered, he still is a hot prospect for United in the future.

Nani, Young, Valencia, Anderson have got enough chances to prove themselves at United, but I honestly think they must be replaced in the coming transfer windows. Valencia has shown some flourish as compared to the last season but he is just a shadow of himself before he was given the number 7 jersey.

Fellaini hasn’t proven anything yet and looks out of place in the United squad but he must be given more time. Bebe, Macheda, Fabio and Buttner have not impressed at all apart from a few sparks and they must be sold as well rather than keeping dead wood. Even though I like Kagawa, I really think at United, his talent is getting wasted. Maybe he should leave for his own good.

Welbeck, Hernandez, Cleverly and Smalling definitely provide much needed cover for the first team and help a lot for squad rotation. They look okay at United for now.

Let’s be honest, Evra and Ferdinand both have lost their legs now. Evra’s replacement is a pressing agenda right now as both Fabio and Buttner are simply not great back ups on the left side. Ferdinand is 35 today and let’s face it – he is not the player any more who we signed from Leeds in 2002. Personally, I think his retirement is overdue.

Fletcher has just come back from a long illness and we are just asking for too much if we think he will solve our midfield problems. Giggs, in the twilight of his career, is my favorite player in the squad even today. But though we are proud of his evergreen and faithful career at United, and he can occasionally come up with some performances like in the Bayer Leverkusen match, he is not consistent at all like he used to be. Maybe this is his last season in the Red jersey after all.

Future prospects for United don’t look bad at all even after all the negativity since the retirement of the great Scot. Powell, Lingard and Henriquez definitely will shine for United one day. David Moyes might just consider calling them back in January, which will be a brave decision to take considering that with the current form, the world class marquee signings look a distant dream; they would choose guaranteed Champions League football than first team football.

United need reinforcements for sure if they want to play Champions League football next season and want to fight for the top 4 places. With lots of names popping up now and then, it is up to David Moyes to take the right decision of replacing the under-performing players, and he should have a clear picture on how his first team should look like. Having said that, for now, after half of the season, this is my best starting XI under David Moyes:

De Gea;

Rafael, Evans, Vidic, Evra;

Valencia, Jones, Carrick, Januzaj;

Rooney and van Persie.

Subs: Lindegaard, Smalling, Cleverly, Giggs, Kagawa, Welbeck and Hernandez.