Manchester United's new Line-up - The way I dreamt

As usual, all the football fans around the world are sitting in front of their computers or televisions, waiting for the latest update on their respective teams. I am one of them. As a Man. Utd. fan, I feel obliged to watch out for any rumors or updates on any activity of the team.

We have all been fed with plenty of rumors about the signing of many superstars by Man. Utd. As far as i am concerned, SAF is not playing FM12 with our squad, and we need to be realistic about any players coming to our squad. However, as a fan, I can’t help but dream about the “What If’s”.

This is merely my opinion of our first eleven starters (4-4-2) for next season, and I believe there are some people out there dying to see if the rumors turn out to be true.

Goalkeeper

I believe David De Gea is the re-incarnation of Peter Schmeichel and Edwin Van Der Sar. Sure he had a terrible start last season, but none of us will ever forget the saves that he made during our 3-3 draw with Chelsea, the penalty save from RVP during the 8-2 victory and a few others. I believe that if we could provide decent and better cover for him, he will be right at the top together with Pepe Reina and Joe Hart.

Right-Back

We have three options for this position, which I believe is quite a healthy sign for the fans. In my humble and perhaps ignorant opinion, Rafael is the best player here. He has the attacking mindset that helps to carry our team forward. However, it’s the defensive qualities that have sometimes caused the fans to be upset last season. Focusing too much on going forward, he got caught out of position, and tackled harshly which often put pressure on our back-line. I certainly hope that he will improve on his defensive side next season.

* We also have two very decent covers in the shapes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones. They both have shown their abilities but for some reason, i prefer the latter.

Centre Backs

Few days ago, all United fans received a great news; our Serbian Wall has fully recovered and is ready for the next season! We certainly miss his defensive abilities as well as his leadership qualities. He has put fear in the hearts of every forward that plays against us for almost six years now, and I hope that he will be able to do it once again.

Despite the disappointing games losing to Man. City and Athletico Bilbao last season, I see that Evans has improved a lot. I really look forward to seeing him partner Vidic in the middle, and hopefully reclaim the BPL trophy from our “Noisy-turned- successful Neighbour”.

* Rio Ferdinand is getting old and thus might not be able to contribute much, thus I will only put him as cover for this position, alongside our two future excellent CB – Jones and Smalling.

Left Back

For this position, my imagination runs wild and I hope that Baines will be brought in to replace Evra. Everyone would agree that Evra has not been performing well for the last couple of seasons. He can’t even hold his position in the French team. Baines is 3 years younger, and could offer a different aspect to our wide play. Evra has been great but it’s time for a change. For me, Baines for LB for 2012/2013.

* Evra and Evans will serve as backup. I hope that, after his loan in QPR, Fabio will return as a better player and become our new Evra.

Right Midfielder

There is no other player that deserves this place on the flank except for our new No. 7, Antonio Valencia. He has been great, and there is no need for further elaboration to describe his crossing, bursts of pace, helping our back four and so on. He is our main player for the second half of the season.

* I have seen Nani played on the right side of the wing for his national side in Euro, and surprisingly, he was actually good! Maybe if he could tone down his “show-boating”, he will be a good contender for the slot on the right midfield.

Central Midfielders

With the addition of Kagawa and hopefully Lucas Moura, SAF has certainly answered our prayers. The problem here is we could only slot in two players here, but we have Kagawa, Cleverley, Lucas Moura, Carrick, Scholes, Powell and Fletcher (like i said, this is based on my dream).

However the two players that I really want to see are Kagawa and Fletcher partnering up in the midfield area. Kagawa has shown Germany and the world that he is not some ordinary “shirt-seller” type of player. It is true that he is not a play-maker, but he is a player that could link the defence and offence departments. With Rooney dropping into the hole and playing the role of Deep Lying Forward or a Trequista, Kagawa will be more than delighted to receive the ball, and perhaps spray it to our wings as he usually does at Dortmund. As for Fletcher, he has the defensive ability in the shape of energetic runs that could tire opposition’s midfielders by closing them down, and providing good tackles as he usually does for us. Their combination could change our team, and inject the element of stability between attacking and defending.

* Scholes, despite getting older, somehow defies the normal ageing process. The same goes to Giggs. I doubt, however, that they could play more than 20 matches next season. Thus, they should only be allowed to play if we would like to change the system of our play. For Carrick, he could provide a great backup to Fletcher. He was the best English passer last season, and this could prove to be a great asset for Man. Utd. Cleverley will get more and more time on the pitch next season, and turn into a world-class player. Anderson, however, does not really stand in my plan for the next season. If I were SAF, Ando will be sent outside of BPL to regain his confidence and touch.

Left Wing

This is a very interesting position as there are two great players that could play here. However, I rate Ashley Young higher than Nani simply because his energy on the field. He had a terrible tournament in Kiev, and I believe that he would try his best to redeem his dignity. However if Lucas Moura were to come to Man. Utd, i think he could give these two players nightmares simply because of his versatility, great skills, flair and more physical approach compared to Young and Nani. So, my left winger/midfielder is Lucas Moura.

*Ashley Young and Nani can be a nice choice once the opposition team is starting to get tired. They could easily show their opponents clean set of heels with their devilish pace.

Strikers

Rooney is the first on my list. He is the heartbeat of our team and we should exploit his strengths; work rate, speed, vision, great passes, and incorporate them more in our games. There is nothing to say about him because everyone knows his qualities. His partner is the one that I want to focus on.

The current situation with RVP makes me wonder if he would somehow turn to Old Trafford in order to seek what he desires most, winning trophies. If rumors and my dreams are believed to be somewhat true, his partnership with Wayne Rooney will send a chill down the spines of any opponents in the world. They are both great with the ball at their feet, and have turned out to be the top two scorers in the BPL last season. What could go wrong?

* Kiko Macheda and Welbeck will be used more if SAF wants to inject more pace into the game alongside with Chicarito. Berbatov seems to be playing his last season when the campaign starts. With three great strikers in our ranks, we can certainly switch our attentions to them if things have not gone well. Kiko has a lot to prove, and he would be trying his best to show that he stands a chance to be a part of our Theater of Dreams.

Starting – De Gea, Rafael, Vidic, Evans, Baines, Valencia, Kagawa, Flectcher, Lucas Moura, Van Persie and Rooney

Sub – Lindegaard, Jones, Smalling, Scholes/Cleverley, Carrick/Giggs, Chicarito/Welbeck and Berbatov

I hope everyone’s enjoyed this piece of writing. It may not be the greatest ever literature but this is what a Red Devil wants from the great team of Manchester United. GO GO MAN UTD!!