Manchester United - fan's review of 2008/09 Premier League season
Manchester United - fan's review of 2008/09 Premier League season
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Tuesday, 02, Jun 2009 04:26
Good, bad or just the same old, same old? What the fans made of the 2008/09 season.
It's very difficult to complain about this last season without looking like an ungrateful, whining typical United fan.
Three trophies (four if you count the Charity Shield, no one does, but if you did.), the final of the Champions League, World and English champions - you can't really complain with any of that.
Apart from, well, it's just so hard to shake that disastrous night in Rome from the memory.
Give it a few weeks though and the realisation that United won the league for a third year in a row, almost became the first team ever to defend the Champions League, won the World Club Championship, the Carling Cup and only missed out on the final of the FA Cup after the lottery of penalties will fully sink in.
Truth be told, it was a fantastic season and very almost an unbelievable year.
Grade: A-
High Point
A third league title on the trot, claiming an 11th Premier League success and equalling Liverpool's long-standing record of 18 league titles was a sensational result. Sir Alex Ferguson believes United will go on to win more titles during his time at the club, but there won't be many that go down as well as this one.
The unprecedented 14 consecutive clean sheets at the crucial part of the season was also a fantastic achievement, effectively tying up the title for Sir Alex's men and gaining United's sometimes overlooked defensive brilliance some richly deserved praise.
Low Point
There were two massive low points to the season which still smart now. The first and most obvious is the utter humiliation that was the Champions League final.
No one likes to lose in the European final, but to get there, and with all the ridiculous hype that went before, to then be played off the park was so disappointing.
On paper the final was set to be a classic but in reality - apart from ten minutes when it looked like Ronaldo may eventually step up and perform on the big stage - United were completely embarrassed. It seems stupid that getting to the Champions League final can be viewed as the low point of a season but the game was such a crushing disappointment it will take a long time to get over.
There haven't been many times in recent years that United have been made to look ordinary and completely helpless - the defeat to Barcelona, however, was certainly one of them.
The other main low point involved a certain game at Old Trafford on March 14th when Nemanja Vidic went from being the Premier League's best defender to its worst, simply at the sight of Liverpool's Fernando Torres running towards him.
What followed in that 90 minutes is only slightly bearable now in the knowledge that the stupid smug grin plastered all over Rafa Benitez's face following the game has now well and truly been wiped off.
The manager
Up to the Champions League final there was not a single black spot on Ferguson's handling of the 2008/09 season. His decision to favour the recently acquired Dimitar Berbatov at the expense of Carlos Tevez was at times unpopular but you just have to look at the stats to see the Bulgarian had a superior goal-scoring record, while the little Argentine was a million times more effective coming off the bench than he ever was starting.
The tactic of playing Ronaldo through the centre in Europe was also a masterstroke and the complete undoing of Arsenal in the semi-finals. There were also signs of brilliant things to come from Fergie's latest batch of youngsters. Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck and Rafael da Silva all had hugely impressive seasons despite only playing limited roles.
There was also the particular highlight of making Benitez look like a right royal tit after his rant at the United manager backfired spectacularly, resulting in his own team's form dipping at just the wrong time and his childish refusal to congratulate Ferguson on a successful campaign.
It was one triumph after another for Sir Alex throughout the season, until that horrible night in Rome. Admittedly he was hampered by the loss of Darren Fletcher but the decision to start Ryan Giggs in the centre of midfield was seriously flawed as was the decision to bring on Tevez at half time instead of a midfield player who could have at least got amongst those pesky Barca players and hopefully retrieved the ball for more than 30 seconds.
But in Fergie we trust and there cannot be any legitimate complaints about the Scot's handling of another brilliant season.
Fan's Player of the Year
- Wayne Ronney -
A controversial choice maybe, but certainly justified.
There were plenty of players in the running, including Ryan Giggs, who was awarded the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year; Vidic, who was voted as the club's player of the year; and, of course, the winner of the Ballon d'Or and the Fifa world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Rooney had probably his most impressive and certainly most mature season yet this campaign. His willingness to play wherever his manager wanted him saw the 23-year-old selected out on the left wing for a large number of games, but such is his immense talent that Rooney was able to thrive in that area coming in off the touchline and causing defences around the country all manner of problems.
There were a few dips, admittedly - his complete absence in the game against Barcelona and the sending off against Fulham were particular lows, but if anything they actually served as a reminder of what a developed player Rooney has now become and how imposing he is for United that it comes as a complete shock when he's not firing on all cylinders or totally bossing the game.
Twenty goals for the season for a player who would happily play in goal, as long as he got to run out every weekend, makes Rooney undoubtedly United's most important player.
Needs for Next Season
United do not need to add anything to what is already the best squad in the league. It wasn't simply the fact Ferguson had the best defence and intimidating strike force in the Premier League at his disposal that saw him claim yet another league title this year, it was the fact at any given moment and for every position on the field he was able to replace quality with quality, something Liverpool have still yet to master.
Ferguson's main needs for next season will be to hold onto what he already has.
The rumours surrounding Ronaldo and Real Madrid will never go away, but the Portuguese winger seems a lot more settled this summer compared to last.
Of greater concern, then, is the future of Tevez. United may baulk at the idea of paying more than £25 million for a player who will probably start the majority of the season on the bench, but such was his dynamic impact as a substitute this year that losing him, especially to a Premier League rival, would be a huge blow. Undoubtedly the fans' favourite at the moment, the United faithful would be devastated to see the little Argentinean go.
Richard James