Yep, I have to say it. To Sir Alex Ferguson. To Cristiano Ronaldo (with help from Emerson Boyce). To referee Steve Bennett and his inability to produce a second yellow card to Paul Scholes, or punishing a flailing Rio Ferdinand arm in the box. To Ryan Giggs, surely to become Manchester United’s record appearance holder at the Champions League final.
Thank you for winning the Premiership. Not because I’m a United fan, but because had Chelsea sneaked in and won it, I had a horrendous week of torment ahead. On this very blog after Wigan held Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, I confidently predicted the league was all over and United would claim it. Well, thank god they did, otherwise I may have been forced into my forfeit along Chambers Street in Edinburgh, which I will refrain from posting on a family blog.
So United then are champions for the 10th time since the Premier League’s inception in 1992. And deservedly so. They have once again proved to be the most consistent team in the league, and to accumulate 87 points is an outstanding achievement. Credit though must go to Avram Grant’s Chelsea team, who provided an excellent run of form to take the title down to the wire. As well as those two, lets not forget Arsenal, whose scintilating early season form had them as genuine contenders until it all started to go wrong after the now infamous game at Birmingham.
But back to United, and Ferguson believes that this current United side is good enough to “beat that record” of arch enemy Liverpool’s 18 English league titles. Saturday’s victory gave the Reds their 17th, and Fergie’s 10th in charge.
His belief that “there are plenty of years left” in his team is one you can’t argue with. Defensive powerhouses Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, more on whom later, at 29 and 26 have formed a formidable partnership and will surely form the bedrock of United for many years yet. Man Utd fans reading this would agree with me when I say that those two are of similar statue to Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister- Old Trafford stalwarts who had an incredible understanding as a defensive pairing.
While class acts Paul Scholes and Giggs are at the veteran stage of their careers, they are still hugely influential and you can see both still being around in the short to medium term. But it is in the attacking sense where United have flourished. Messers Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez have between them contributed 57 goals to United’s cause this season, which is quite an astonishing total. Ronaldo has taken the plaudits and has been voted United’s player of the year, but Rooney and Tevez have been just as key.
Rooney as we all know is an exceptional footballer- pace to burn and a frightening ability on the ball. His link up play with Ronaldo has been a joy to watch this season and his presence is missed when he isn’t there. While the two “R’s” are elegant, then Tevez is the exact opposite. A rugged, fierce competitor, he will chase everything down for his team and has a great work ethic. Added to that, he has undoubted talent and the Argentinian’s 19 goals is a superb return for the season. A quick look at their ages reveals that Rooney is a mere 22, Ronaldo is only 23 while Tevez is just 24. Players not even at the peak of their power. Frightening for the rest of the Premier League.
This is where United have simply been better than Chelsea or Arsenal. Strength in depth, particularly in an attacking sense. Chelsea in Didier Drogba and Arsenal in Emmanuel Adebayor have terrific strikers but they don’t have enough depth to help them carry the mantle of knocking in the goals to win silverware like United do with Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez.
Its been an enthralling campaign and Chelsea must now try to lift themselves for the Champions League final with United. Will they use missing out on the title as motivation, or will it affect them so much they can’t quite make it over the line? We will have to see, but with John Terry, injured yesterday and Drogba fighting to be fit, Grant’s men have a difficult task in stopping the Red machine.
hartypar
that was great . I am a 13 year old but forever tour fan. NO MATTER WHAT