Paul Scholes: the real hero at Old Trafford- Manchester United short of his substitute
Manchester United’s midfielder Paul Scholes once again showed his class when he steered his team to a convincing win over the Newcastle United in the season opener. This is one of the many countless times when he proved instrumental for the Old Trafford outfit. It has now become a fact that he is indispensable for Sir Alex Ferguson and the United’s squad.
Ferguson is hopeful of replacing Giggs with Antonio Valencia and Nani while Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Amos will most probably be the fitting successors of Van der Sar but still there is no obvious substitute for Scholes. This could become a big problem for Ferguson in the future when Scholes may decide to call his day. Scholes has been the anchor in the midfield for Ferguson’s team during the past many years. Commenting on it, Ferguson said, “Replacing Scholes is more difficult, even impossible, but we do have players at the club capable of responding to that challenge.” Earlier, Michael Carrick was brought into the team to replace Scholes but his game has deteriorated with the passage of time whereas Scholes has achieved further heights. Another of his successors could be Owen Hargreaves but his stay at Old Trafford till date has been hampered by injuries.
Scholes opened the season for United the 16th time. The result was predictable as Newcastle has never won at Old Trafford since 1972. Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher and Giggs scored goals for United in the match but it was Scholes who pulled all the strings. He showed his class when he supplied precise pass to Berbatov for the opener. After Valencia dispossessed Jonas Gutierrez, Scholes located Berbatov with unbelievable accuracy as the Bulgarian drilled a shot past Steve Harper. Scholes was seen again in action when his linked up play with out-of-form Wayne Rooney gave another brilliant chance to Berbatov which he wasted as he was unable to put the ball inside the goal.
Commenting on Scholes’ passing ability, Ferguson said, “He's just a master of his trade. His passing range and awareness of the play is marvelous. He's still got the appetite to play. Last season was his first season without injury for a long, long time. That's the key to Paul: stay fit and he can play like that.” On the other hand, Scholes’ Newcastle counterpart Kevin Nolan was unable to make his mark during the match as the Newcastle captain was completely dominated by Scholes. The United midfielder has been criticized for his temperament. Resultantly, he has been booked regularly by the referees during the matches. He was once again on referee’s card as his mistimed tackle earned him and United, the season’s first booking.
Rooney once again failed to end his goal drought as he was unsuccessful in finding the back of the net. It is now four months and 18 days since his last official goal. The last time Rooney scored was against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. This time it was Berbatov who was under limelight as he opened his account of the season. Berbatov’s overall performance was very impressive as he created chances on regular intervals. The No.9 in Newcastle’s shirt was also very impressive. Andy Carroll continuously put United’s defense under pressure through his brute force in the air. “He has an incredible aerial power,” said Ferguson. Nemanja Vidic, who was leading United’s defense, was challenged by Carroll frequently. Additionally, Giggs once again scored to extend his record of scoring in every Premiership since his debut for the United.
Overall, it’s a good start for United who will be hoping to regain the title from Chelsea this season.
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