Must Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool now copy United to win the Premiership? …
Did Carlos Queiroz set out the model for next season’s championship race when he celebrated United’s title success as a victory for football?
“The Manchester United culture is to win by playing great, creative football,” said Ferguson’s assistant. “It is about winning and entertaining. For some time now, the game has moved in one direction. The systems and strategies and the general way teams approached the game had become so defensive and cautious.
“That is why it was so important, not just for Manchester United but for the game as a whole, that we won the championship.We proved it is possible to win trophies with an attacking style of football.”
Other teams may chafe at United’s triumphalism but they can have no argument with the facts. United outscored Chelsea by 19 to register 83 league goals with just 27 condeded, an astonishing return shared out generously among the squad. Other teams could only watch wide-eyed and opened mouth as United defied expectations to bring the title back to Old Trafford.
Chelsea’s succes under Mourinho encouraged others to examine more closely the grimly efficient 4-3-3 formation. Now United’s glory may do likewise and usher in a new enthusiasm for more adventurous football. Certainly, the spending of the top teams this transfer window encourages the belief that Ferguson’s rivals intend to copy the United model to wrest the Premiership trophy from the defending champions.
United appear to have bought well this summer. It is the Tevez signing however - and a deal is in sight according to press reports - which some observers claim gives United an important advantage.
“It will be the biggest signing of the summer if they get Tevez,” ex-United defender Gary Pallister told the Manchester Evening News. “He is a fabulous talent, and scores goals as well. He is tough, which most Argentinian players seem to be, and if you add him into the mix with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, it gives you so many options.
“If you are playing against United next season, goodness only knows how you cope with that sort of attacking flair. It is quite frightening.”
Sir Alex will be delighted if Pallister’s words prove to be true. The manager believes Wayne Rooney will improve next year and could deploy Saha, Tevez, Rossi, Ole, Anderson, Nani and Ronaldo to shoot down his rivals too. If United’s emphasis is on goals next season, the others may soon come to the view that imitation of the champion’s recipe for success is the only solution.
The Rivals
Arsenal: The only team in Britain which could give United an argument for being easiest on the eye. The Gunners are young, attractive, slick and scarily powerful on their day. That day did not come often enough last season, putting the Wenger boys under enormous pressure to succeed this term.
The legendary Thierry Henry is now in Spain and Arsenal have signed the adopted Croatian Eduardo Da Silva to add goal nous to a strike team that includes Van Persie, Adeybayor and Walcott. It doesn’t look enough when set against the firepower the other teams will boast, hence reports that Wenger is trailing other attackers and is talking up the inexperienced but promising reserve Nicklas Bendtner. There is even continued speculation of an unlikely reunion with Nicolas Anelka.
“I feel that players like Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor are ready to take over from Thierry up front,” Wenger told the Sun. “We were never planning to spend a lot of money this summer because we have prepared this young team to grow.
“Manchester United won the title and they only bought Michael Carrick last summer after selling Ruud van Nistelrooy. The lack of signings did not stop them.”
If Arsenal look short in attack, they are equally short of goalscorers in midfield. The Arsenal defence looks robust enough, which will always give Wenger’s team a chance but the Gunners will need to deliver on all of their potential if they are to retain a serious interest in the title.
Chelsea: Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher tips the ex-champs as the team all the others need to beat. Well, he would say that!
Chelsea have last season’s top scorer in Didier Drogba and can expect more from Shevchenko who looked a cart horse at times but has the pedigree to do better this year. Kalou is useful and Mourinho clearly expects much from 28-year-old Peruvian striker Claudio Pizzaro, especially when the club’s African contigent competes in the continent’s cup of nations.
“He is what you used to call a typical British striker - intelligent and holds the ball well,” Mourinho told the Times earlier this month. “He is not the kind of selfish striker who only likes to shoot, is good in the air and scores goals. I hope I can give him some of my qualities as a coach. I think I can make him better. He is not a young boy but there is always place for an improvement and my competitive and aggressive qualities can make him even better.”
Chelsea will be United’s greatest challengers and can offer a goal threat from all areas of the pitch too. Mourinho’s promise to return to the tried and tested 4-3-3 might lead to selection difficulties but surely gives the Stamford Bridge outfit a better platform from which to test United’s stamina for a long league fight. Joe Cole’s return to form will be a bonus. With defensive reinforcement and the return of Petr Cech, there should be none of the comedy defending that saw Mourinho’s men stumble last Christmas.
Problems still remain however. Robben, a tremendous talent when fit and in the mood, could be on his way out. The fading SWP is not in the same class. Lampard and Ballack can score goals but can they play together? Does the German have a real appetite for English football?
Liverpool: Another summer, another massive investment in Liverpool’s squad, with Premiership glory uppermost in Rafa Benitez’s mind. Two European finals have quietened any grumblings about the lack of league success but it is now 17 years since Liverpool were last top of the pile. Benitez must deliver this season.
To that end, Liverpool have spent big. Fernando Torres is the £26.5 million striker Benitez will look to for the 25-goals-a-season hitman Liverpool have needed for years. The arrival of Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun from Ajax and West Ham United respectively, should offer the Merseysiders better penetration and invention to complement a grittty defence and a solid midfield.
England’s Crouch and Pennant, plus Holland’s Dirk Kuyt are still there to complement the new purchases and act as reminders of Benitez’s sometimes uncertain touch in the transfer market. But are these players enough to bridge the 21 point and 26 goal gulf that separated Liverpool from the champions last term?
Liverpool were sunk before December and will see a strong start to the Premiership campaign as a priority. They will also want to get Torres scoring too. Otherwise, whispers of ‘Torri-entes’ will grow louder.
Spurs: Yet again, Martin Jol’s side are billed as the most likely to break into the Premiership’s private arrangement of the four Champions League places. Spurs have spent a fortune on ex-Charlton frontman Darren Bent, to add even more variety to a much-vaunted attack that already features Keane, Defoe and the sublime Berbatov.
Spurs have no choice but to try and outscore their opponents as the defence looked shaky last season and needed stiffening. The Auxerre defender Younes Kaboul, France’s Under-21 captain, has arrived for a rumoured £8 million. Much will be expected of Gareth Bale at left back too but Spurs’ season is likely to be defined by the medical bulletins despatched by Ledley King’s doctor.
Spurs recovered reasonably last year after the instability caused by King’s injury and Carrick’s departure. If they click this season in front of goal as they did last year and can keep the opposition at bay at the other end, Spurs could be in contention for a place in the top four.
