Manchester United end of season squad review – English Premier League (Part 1)
Manchester United’s season has finally came to a close on 28th of May, 2011 as they lost the UEFA Champions League final to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604. The Red Devils won the English Premier League title and in doing so overhauled their
rivals http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 by increasing their English league title tally to 19. All in all, it was a good season for Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad, a squad which was termed as average at best when the season kicked off in August of 2010.
Many have already stated that United’s squad was made to look good by the lack of quality in the English Premier League in the 2010-2011 Premier League season. Maybe, that was the case but United out fought the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786
and Arsenal as well as Manchester City to claim the Premier League title. All three of the fore mentioned clubs have marginally better squads than Manchester United.
Several experts have also attributed Manchester United’s success in the 2010-2011 Premier League season to their veteran manager, something that is true to a certain extent as only Sir Alex could’ve led the current crop of players
at Old Trafford to an unprecedented 19th league triumph. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at Manchester United’s squad as a whole and determine how different sections of the team performed overall in the 2010-2011 Premier League season.
Defence
In pure statistical terms when compared to their defensive displays in the 2009-2010 Premier League season, Manchester United fare as worse off in terms of goal conceded in the 2010-2011 English Premier League season. United’s
conceded section at the end of the 2009-2010 Premier League season read 28, when compared to the 37 that they conceded in 2010-2011 Premier League season, there is a clear increase of nine goals.
However, when compared to their top rivals in the Premier League, United’s defence actually looks like a http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Defence-c38904 which only champions can boast of. Only Chelsea and Manchester City let in fewer goals than Manchester United in the
2010-2011 Premier League season. United’s tally of 37 goals conceded in 38 matches is better than 43 conceded by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429, 46 let in by Tottenham and 44 by Liverpool.
Traditionally, Manchester United’s success in the Premier League era has been based on their defensive solidity contrary to popular belief. Sir http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alex-c4752 Ferguson is a staunch believer in defensive astuteness as it is reflected in his
side’s performances. However, it can be said that the Red Devils’ defence could have done better in the 2010-2011 Premier League season.
They were sloppy on their away trips which caused United to enter a tight title race in the last few months of the season. Regardless, Sir Alex Ferguson’s outfit marched onto win the Premier League by a margin of nine points in
the end, something that not only pays tribute to his team’s defensive organization but also to their determined approach throughout the season. However, Manchester United will look to reinforce their squad in the summer transfer window as they do need some
reliable back-ups at the right back and the left back positions respectively.
In the next part of this series, we shall take a look at Manchester United’s midfield and elaborate on their performances throughout the 2010-2011 Premier League season...
The views expressed by the writer are his own and do not reflect the editorial policy of
ViewArticle/www.bettor.com
Tags: