Paul Scholes, regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation with the likes of ALMOST EVERYONE acknowledging it. Manchester United were lucky to be served by a player of such talent for such a long time . He single handedly controls the tempo of games even now, when he’s turned 37. The latest example being against the away game against Southampton, he came and BOOM, changed the game and well you know the rest. United started controlling the game more and then obviously the two goals came . He may not be bursting into the box as he used to or have that pace but he still has the brain and the eyes at the back of his head to go along with that, to make impossible long range passes and short passes and still keep the possession with Manchester United and his unreal pass accuracy around 95% on general.
- Cleverley – The next best thing
Manchester United always knew that replacing him in that central midfield would be a tough task and judging by United’s current weaknesses being exploited by teams and well getting him out of retirement clearly showed that maybe he is irreplaceable. Well, one can look at Xavi and Iniesta and say that they come close, but they are too very different , mostly playing short incisive passes and well the “new kid” Joe Allen is a Liverpool player, a United fan and a Scholes lover. He is definitely good with the ball and will grow into a very good midfielder for Wales, probably when he starts with the long balls too. But what United fans want to hear is that they HAVE a replacement for him. Tom Cleverley is the name that is sprung up .
Maybe, if he hadn’t been injured last season after starting the season in tremendous form, he could have developed even better. United fans will hope he does so this season and with his recent performances, especially for the England senior side, he seems a nice tidy player. He is definitely gifted with intelligence and after joining United at 12 has come through a very good talent enriching experience with the United setup of producing good quality players. He knows how to attack and keep the ball and the lad with surely learn with experience when to tackle, something even Paul Scholes never mastered.
Cleverley has pace,vision, talent and temperament . But would he be a replacement to Scholes is still to be seen. He would rather make his own mark than be pressurized with the increasing comparisons and expectations. Recently, Milner , Gerrard and Lampard have praised him and said that he would be an integral part of the England setup for the coming years. What I reckon is that Cleverley alone cannot fill the “SCHOLES VOID” but it has to be shared between him and Kagawa since United would be changing from their 4-4-2 formation as it can be seen with their recent matches. While Carrick would sit behind and break attacks and well Anderson needs to step up and show the quality for which United had signed him after 5 frustrating years at United individually. This is his make or break season.
Cleverley needs to remain injury free, make himself available for team selection and mature quickly. That is exactly what Sir Alex Ferguson would want. Shinji Kagwa , has already shown his brilliance in the final third of the field. A combination of both of them would be a formidable partnership. While Anderson and Carrick do the same. While the wingers would always be important to United’s style of play, that being Young , Nani and Valencia while Welbeck is ineffective there and Sir Alex Ferguson needs to sort this out.
Without a doubt, he has a bright future in-front of him and hopefully he stays clear of injuries and controversies to give the United faithful a new midfield maestro . As much as any United fan would like to see Scholes get younger with each passing day, but that is not the case.
So well Goodbye Scholes! Enter Tom Cleverley!
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