Youth prevails for united

Tuesday, 23/08/2011

by Amit Mistry, Shoot's Man United Blogger

It is two league wins out of two games, along with a victory in the Community Shield. A strong start to the season indicates a promising future for this set of Ferguson’s fledglings. After an emphatic win against Tottenham Hotspur, the young stars are stepping up to the plate and proving their worth at United.

With injuries to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, it was Phil Jones and Jonny Evans who came in their stead as they maintain a clean sheet for the defence against a strong Tottenham side which boasted the likes of Jermaine Defoe, Rafael Van Der Vaart and Gareth Bale. With Phil Jones only at the age of 19, he has clearly demonstrated that he can be a commanding presence in the back four and looks to be a bargain at the price of £16m.

To many fans and spectators, a surprise for this season is seeing Danny Welbeck being featured in the starting line-up alongside Wayne Rooney instead of the experienced Dimitar Berbatov. Sir Alex obviously rates the young Englishman highly enough, and that faith was repaid as Welbeck scored his first goal of the season. What was also impressive was his back-heel to create the goal for Anderson. Such vision, awareness and confidence shows that Welbeck is thriving on the opportunity to play in the first team, and that he can truly prosper this season, and may even push himself for a contention in the England squad for next year’s European championships.

This season has also heralded the new midfield partnership between Anderson and Tom Cleverley. As seen at the end of last season, Anderson was finally finding his feet and finding the net. This form has continued through to this season, and he could cement his place in the heart of the midfield. On the other hand, Cleverley has been providing the assists, which helps particularly for his fellow Academy graduate, Danny Welbeck as they both have a great understanding of each other and this interplay is likely to flourish as the season progresses.

However, it has been well observed by all that United’s new No. 1, David De Gea is susceptible to the odd fumble and blunder. Yet we must acknowledge that he is a very young goalkeeper at an early stage in his career. Goalkeepers do not peak until they hit their thirties, and yet De Gea is holding the No.1 jersey at the biggest club in the Premier League at the age of 20. He does posses natural ability, which shows in his shot-stopping and reflexes. However, it is apparent that he is not accustomed to the physical aspects of the English game, nor the number of long balls being played into the box. Therefore, opponents will try to take advantage of his inexperience of the English game. Nevertheless, De Gea did notch his first clean sheet of his United career, and this will do wonders for his confidence.

It is also encouraging to see that Sir Alex is emphatic about his confidence in his young side. With such public endorsements of his players, it will create self-belief in these players which are burdened with great responsibility and expectation.

Although, United have still yet to face a big four side in a league game this season, I think Sir Alex and the team will be confident when they go into the Arsenal game this Sunday. Like United, Arsenal also possess talented young players, but the difference is that United have leaders on the pitch, and the belief that they can win the title.

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