Newcastle-Online.com take a look at Manchester United's squad and
assess their strengths and weaknesses, key danger men and ways to
combat their players ahead of our FA Cup Semi-Final match at Cardiff's
Millennium Stadium. N.B No assessment of Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher
or Louis Saha who are all injured and will miss the match.
Filed: 16th April 2005
Keepers | Defenders
| Midfielders | Strikers
Name:
Tim Howard
Position: Goalkeeper
Shirt No. 1
Age: 26
Appearances: 24
Goals: 0
Arrived from the States with a big reputation and had a decent
debut season pulling off some great saves and keeping a few
clean sheets along the way. Then the chinks started to appear
that seems to have beset all Man Utd 'keepers since their great
Dane, Peter Schmeichel left. Howard has found his true level.
Decent shot-stopper, average alround goalie. Flaps at crosses,
goes walk abouts in his box, gets distracted, doesn't command
his box and generally puts his whole defence under pressure.
The goalkeeping Andy O'Brien. Get on top of him, crowd the box,
ping those crosses in and rough him up and he's putty in his
own hands. |
Name:
Roy Carroll
Position: Goalkeeper
Shirt No. 13
Age: 27
Appearances: 29
Goals: 0
Roy Carroll recently lost his place in the Northern Ireland
squad which should tell you most you'll need to know about the
'keeper. He's average. A good shot-stopper and adept at saving
shots with his legs (so shoot higher Toon!) but other than that,
a liability and a disaster waiting to happen. As with Howard,
just throw everything at him. |
Name:
Gary Neville
Position: Right-Back
Shirt No. 2
Age: 30
Appearances: 32
Goals: 1
A vastly underrated player in my opinion - a fantastic player.
Highly competitive, hard working, composed, so experienced,
a leader at the back and likes to get forward when he can, able
to deliver quality telling crosses. His strengths far outweigh
his weaknesses which are a tendency to over hit the ball from
the back, to play it long (sounds familiar) and he likes to
get stuck in, often with studs showing. A nasty piece of work
when riled which could be to our advantage. |
Name:
Phil Neville
Position: Right/Left-Back/Central Midfield.
Shirt No. 3
Age: 28
Appearances: 30
Goals: 0
Phil Neville is one of those players that isn't quite good enough
but he does a good enough job. A bit like our own Aaron Hughes.
Versatile, hard working, sticks to his task, fully committed
and he won't let anyone down. On the ball he is sloppy and a
poor passer though and can look like a headless chicken at times.
If he plays he'll be a weakness in their side that we can take
advantage of. |
Name:
Rio Ferdinand
Position: Centre-Back
Shirt No. 5
Age: 26
Appearances: 34
Goals: 0
Rio Ferdinand is quite simply one of the best ball playing defenders
in the game, cool, sophisticated and better than many playmakers
with the ball at his feet. But as a defender first and foremost,
there are flaws in his game. For his size and position, he isn't
that great in the air and he's not the strongest either. And
while he has improved greatly in cutting out silly mistakes
which were his trademark, he is still prone to the odd lapse
in concentration. If Shearer and Co. get on top of him and don't
allow him time and space, he can wobble. |
Name:
Michael Silvestre
Position: Centre/Left-Back
Shirt No. 27
Age: 26
Appearances: 43
Goals: 2
Silvestre, like Boumsong, is an extremely good athlete. Very
quick and a powerful runner but for a centre-back, he doesn't
fully convince. Far too weak when up against strong strikers,
rash and careless in the tackle and he too switches off and
seems to have trouble concentrating for 90 minutes. I'm not
convinced. Can be got at. |
Name:
Wes Brown
Position: Centre/Right/Left-Back
Shirt No. 6
Age: 25
Appearances: 29
Goals: 0
Wes Brown has been beset by various injury problems over the
years that have restricted his development and limited his impact
at Man Utd. On his day he's a fine player however, very quick,
comfortable on the ball and versatile, an able performer at
either right or left-back as well as in the centre. Like Ferdinand
and Silvestre though he too has lapses in concentration and
for a defender, he's not the strongest. He's also prone to losing
his head now and again, lunging in. He can go to ground quite
easily and seems an indecisive decision maker. If he plays he
could be a weakness in the Reds rearguard. |
Name:
Gabriel Heinze
Position: Centre/Left-Back
Shirt No. 4
Age: 25
Appearances: 36
Goals: 1
The Argentinian has impressed greatly since his arrival in England
and has arguably been man Utd's most consistent player this
season. He looks a fabulous player and I can't spot many weaknesses
in his game other than his penchant for kicking out out the
opposition - something which has earned him 8 yellows this season.
He likes to bomb forward and can defend as well as attack. Whoever
Souness selects on the flank will have their job cut out keeping
the left-back at bay and getting past him at the other end. |
Name:
John O'Shea
Position: All over
Shirt No. 22
Age: 23
Appearances: 32
Goals: 3
Linked with Newcastle leading up to the January transfer window,
O'Shea hasn't quite lived up to his early promise which to be
fair, can be attributed to the fact he has been switched around
all over the place. Right and left-back. Central midfield and
defence. His versatility looks like preventing him from holding
down a regular place in his preferred position at the back.
Good in the air, comfortable on the ball and reads the game
well but lacks real pace and gets caught out of position quite
a lot. |
Name:
Quinton Fortune
Position: Left-Back/Wing/Central Midfield
Shirt No. 25
Age: 27
Appearances: 27
Goals: 1
The South African has become somewhat a bit part player at Man
Utd but this season he has played more of a role. Can play at
left-back, down the wing or in the centre of midfield. A neat
and tidy player with an average end product. Likes to get forward
and works hard for his team. |
Name:
Christiano Ronaldo
Position: Right/Left-Wing
Shirt No. 7
Age: 21
Appearances: 44
Goals: 9
Arrived at Man Utd with a big reputation and a job on his hands
to fill the void left by David Beckham and while he often gets
criticised for his end product, 9 goals in 44 appearances and
assists heading into double figures suggests he's improving
in that area. Has the potential to be a world beater and on
his day he's frightening. He will represent danger whenever
he's on the ball and is without a doubt one of their key and
most dangerous players if not thee most dangerous. How do we
stop him? Stay on our feet, don't get too close, double up and
make sure he isn't allowed to run at the defence. His crossing
is erratic and he can drift in and out of games with a tendency
to disappear when roughed up. Likes to dive too and we must
be on guard for any of that, as must the ref. Force him into
the centre where he gets bogged down in the traffic. |
Name:
Liam Miller
Position: Central Midfield
Shirt No. 17
Age: 24
Appearances: 19
Goals: 1
Came to Man Utd from Celtic and likened to Roy Keane but has
looked way out of his depth in the Premiership. An average player
who will work hard and get stuck on but won't contribute much
in an attacking sense. |
Name:
Paul Scholes
Position: Central Midfield/Forward
Shirt No. 18
Age: 30
Appearances: 43
Goals: 10
Man Utd's best player. A world-class player even now at the
age of 30. He will pose the biggest threat and over the years
has been the chief Toon tormenter. He's just a great player.
Brilliant on the ball with a passing range as good as any, great
in the air for such a small player and at breaking into the
box and grabbing goals, there are none better than the man Scholes
- as we have found out to our cost over the years. He hasn't
quite been his prolific self this season, going a long time
without a goal but he's back amongst them and he is a big game
player who we must not allow to get into the box. He must also
be closed down quickly when in striking range. He doesn't have
many weaknesses other than his poor tackling ability. I say
poor, he is a forward. He does like to lunge in though. Man
Utd's key player! |
Name:
Roy Keane
Position: Central Midfield
Shirt No. 16
Age: 34
Appearances: 37
Goals: 2
Not the player he once was but as we can vouch for with our
very own Shearer, Keane like Wor Al, is still very much a force
to be reckoned with. Not the driving force of old or the hell
for leather up and down box to box midfielder but he never wastes
a pass, can tackle with the best of them and will lead his team
to the death. He's even mellowed, although a nudge here and
a nudge there from his big pal Alan might see a return of the
red mist. Like Shearer he has no pace and conceded quite a few
free kicks around the midfield area for tugging which has effected
the flow of his own team in some games this season. Still a
great player and who will be key to Man Utd's efforts. |
Name:
Kleberson
Position: Right-Wing/Central Midfield
Shirt No. 15
Age: 25
Appearances: 11
Goals: 0
Proof that not all Brazilians are good players. A player Newcastle
were interested in, holding talks with his club and representatives
prior to his switch to Manchester, Kleberson has been a huge
disappointment at Old Trafford picking up injuries and playing
poorly when selected. Way out of his depth and on his way in
the Summer no doubt. |
Name:
Wayne Rooney
Position: Striker
Shirt No. 8
Age: 19
Appearances: 35
Goals: 15
He could have been a Newcastle player... not. What can you say
about Rooney that hasn't already been said. Since his switch
from Everton, he's made a huge impact with his hat-trick in
the Champions League and his performances wide on the left.
Scored twice at St. James' Park and along with Ronaldo and Scholes
he is the main danger and could destroy us if he's allowed to
play his natural game. Like Scholes he doesn't have many weaknesses
ability wise although he can tend to rush play, however he does
have a very very suspect temprement. He's a volatile character
and likes to flash the studs and put his weight about which
could hamper his team's quest if things aren't going his way. |
Name:
Alan Smith
Position: Striker
Shirt No. 14
Age: 24
Appearances: 37
Goals: 9
Many were surprised when he opted for Man Utd in the Summer
and perhaps it was the wrong choice given his lack of regular
first-team action, even during periods when Man Utd had injuries
to their other forwards he found himself on the bench or stuck
out wide. We all know his strengths and weaknesses. He's good
in the air, got good technical ability and can lead the line
well and he works like a dog for his side. However when it comes
to the art of scoring, he ain't the best despite an impressive
tally of 9, impressive given his lack of games. He isn't a finisher,
he doesn't strike the ball well enough when in range and his
positional sense for a forward doesn't exactly smack of sniffing
out goals like true predators can. Nonetheless a good player
who if selected, will cause our backline problems. |
Name:
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Position: Striker
Shirt No. 10
Age: 27
Appearances: 22
Goals: 12
Van Nistelrooy is very similar to Shearer in many respects,
a traditional centre-forward and a world-class one at that.
Likes Scholes he has proved a thorn in our side in the past
and will relish getting back on the goal hunt having went a
period without one after a spell out on the sidelines with injury.
Looks rusty and lethargic at the moment but we will have to
be on our toes to keep him from notching. Force him outside
the box and he's mainly ineffective. Watch out for his diving
as well. |
Name:
David Bellion
Position: Striker
Shirt No. 12
Age: 22
Appearances: 18
Goals: 5
Former Sunderland player. Lightning quick, direct but poor control
and wayward finishing. Average and not Premiership material. |
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