Football Insight: Why Rio Ferdinand and not Wayne Rooney will hold the key to Success for Manchester United next season
Manchester United are currently on their summer tour of the U.S. and as things appear, they are not going to be overly active in the transfer window to bring in new players to their squad. The only two addition made to the squad are the addition of Chris Smalling from Fulham and Javier Hernandez from Gualadajara.
With no new players coming into the squad, there will be immense pressure once again on the usual suspects to carry the team on their shoulders. The attack will be lead by none other than Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov will be assisting him but after a not so good last half of the season. It still remains to be seen how Berba will perform this season. The new signing Hernandez may be a sublime talent but he will definitely be taking his time into settling to the pace of the game in the English Premier League.
So attacking wise the onus will be on Wayne Rooney to bag the most of the goals by himself, which is not an easy thing to do. Rooney scored 34 goals last season but the moment he got injured during the champion’s league clash with Bayern Munich United’s title challenge as well as their Champions League, hopes were all but gone.
United failed to beat the likes of Blackburn, Everton and Fulham at home in the absence of Rooney and that proved to be the deciding factor last season as United surrendered their Premier League crown to Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea.
The knee injury that restricted Rio’s stay in South Africa to just 3 days, came as no surprise to those who had watched Manchester United last season closely and how Ferdinand’s injury ravaged season had a detrimental say in United’s title challenge.
The opinion is always divided, as there are those who always bemoan his occasional lapses in concentration and then there are those who admire his positioning and reading of the game. One thing is for sure when he is fit he is one of the most accomplished defenders in the world.
His partnership with Nemenja Vidic at the heart of United’s defence, of course when both are fully fit, is one of the most formidable centre back partnerships anywhere in the world. Ferdinand’s cultured approach blends perfectly with the robust and uncompromising style of Vidic.
The fact that Rio and Vida played less than a dozen games together in the previous campaign was one of the major reasons why United could only add Carling Cup to their trophy cabinet, the solidity and reliability they provide their side was missing and United were vulnerable in their absence.
If Rio finds himself hostage to injury once again next season, with him already certain to miss the start of the campaign after undergoing knee surgery in the summer, United will struggle. Johnny Evans is a competent defender but he has his own set of injury problems with a persistent ankle problem, so does Wesley Brown who cannot be relied upon to last a gruelling full season.
Gary Neville also falls into the same category and can only be used as a part time, same for O’Shea, while new signing Smalling, cannot be drafted straight into the first team and expected to perform like a rock at the heart of the defence.
That is why it is of utmost importance for United that Rio makes a full recovery in the summer and stays fit throughout the season. At the age of 31 and a debilitating back problem, he surely cannot play every game like he once used to, and his appearances will be restricted to prevent the nightmare of a season he had last time around, when he just made 12 appearances.
It is absolutely imperative for Manchester United that Ferdinand is able to resume his formidable partnership with Vida at the centre of their defence and prove to all and sundry that his career is not a career in terminal decline. If not then United could be looking at another season of abject disappointment and self-recrimination.
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