2008: The Champions' Preview

Manchester United see out the year as English Champions having witnessed Sir Alex Ferguson over the past eighteen months completing his jigsaw that is a fourth all conquering team and a squad described by the man himself as ''the best'' he's had.

The 2007 season ended in disappointment having come up short in the Champions League semi-final and FA Cup final but had you told anyone before the season started that United would've performed as they did you'd have been laughed at.

Now I've always been an optimistic fan, always believed we'd win the league every season since I can remember but had you suggested we'd be on course for a second Treble in May, I'd have struggled to believe you.

Winning the Championship was something that filled me with joy that meant the pain in failing in Europe and the first FA Cup final at the New Wembley was not long lived. We played free scoring, free flowing, attractive attacking football and nobody could live with us.

Yet before the season the only people who believed we could do it were a small percentage of United fans, critics wrote Sir Alex Ferguson was not good enough and should jump before being pushed.

Rob Smyth wrote in the Guardian in May 2006 that Fergie's legacy was falling apart at the seams and "Ferguson’s brilliance famously knocked Liverpool off their perch. Now his incompetence is doing the same to Manchester United...United could finish fifth."

Smyth also found time to criticise the likes of Patrice Evra, the same Patrice Evra who pushed the whinging Gabriel Heinzé out of the team and out of the club, the same Patrice Evra who was named in PFA's XI - it was just one article that was predicting the end of Fergie's United career and the end of United's dominance over English football.

How wrong they were.

Now we enter 2008, confident in the knowledge we're going to retain our league title despite falling two points behind Arsenal on the weeked and confident that this could be the year, 50 years on from the Munich Air Disaster, we conquer Europe again.

Ferguson has built a squad that has everything in the locker.

In defence we have the World's best defender in Rio Ferdinand (and my choice for future United captain) alongside Nemanja Vidic, who together form a formidable partnership with Patrice Evra and Wes Brown (while current skipper Gary Neville is out) filling the wide defensive positions - supported by an experienced head in between the sticks, Edwin Van Der Sar.

Protecting the defence we have either Owen Hargreaves or Michael Carrick, Hargreaves the man who can be the difference between us being a success in Europe - imagine if we had him against Milan standing up to the brilliance of Kaka.

In attack we have Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Louis Saha, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes (currently injured) players who would get into any team in the World and players who can change the game at the drop of a coin.

Then we have 'squad players' such as Anderson, Nani, Danny Simpson, Gerard Piqué, Tomas Kuszczak, John O'Shea, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung all of whom are young, able and willing to fight for a first team spot at the club.

Anderson is the one who stands out for me. He has been given a lot of game time recently with there being injuries to Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves and he has shown that he is worth every penny we paid for him.

Young, skilful and strong. He dominated the midfield against Liverpool and Arsenal. Up against Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas respectively you would have expected less from a player some have renamed 'Kleberson II'. Mark my words, in a few years he will be the best all round midfielder in the Premiership and it looks as though Fergie has found the impossible, an eventual replacement for the brilliant Paul Scholes.

Ferguson has proven everyone who wrote him and the club off wrong..again. He has built a
team, a squad that is coming together nicely - with experienced heads and bags of potential. We have filled in the weaknesses and built on them, injuries and suspensions are no longer feared as obstacles which may ruin our chances of silverware as we have a capable squad now.

In 2007, the critics who said Fergie should walk have been silenced - the critics who said United would finish fifth have been silenced too and it's fantastic to watch.

Whats more pleasing is Ferguson has again reiterated his stance that retirement is NOT on the cards as he wants to continue developing this squad and I can't wait to see it unfold.

2008 will be an even more successful year for Manchester United, I'm sure of that. We're even better than most and favourites tag for both the league and European Cup this year is richly deserved, all that is left now is the hard part - for Fergie's boys to go out there and prove their worth, prove themselves as the best team in Europe which is a tag they richly deserve.

2008 will be a sombre year for United with February 6th marking 50 years since the Munich Air Disaster but it will also be a year of celebration and joy as United continue their domination over English football and with a little bit of luck, Europe too.

Happy New Year, as a United fan I know it will be! ;)

Goal King Ronaldo

2007-08

Appearances
20 (1 as sub) (15 (1) in PL & 5 in CL)

Goals
18 (13 in PL & 5 in CL)

At this time last season Cristiano Ronaldo scored 12 goals all coming in the Premier League having made 19 league and 5 Champions League appearances so thats 12 goals in 24 games at New Years Day last season.

This time he has bagged 18 goals, becoming the league's top scorer on 13 and also the Champions League's top scorer with 5 - this having played less games, 20 and 1 as a sub.

Many expected Ronaldo to struggle in reaching the goal scoring heights he did last season but he's proved them wrong like he has so many people throughout his relatively short footballing career.

Yet despite his remarkable goalscoring form this season some pundits and fans alike have come to the conclusion that Ronnie is below his high standards this year - "he's trying too much and he isn't performing to the heights he did last season" they say.

I beg to differ. Ronaldo could perform like this all season, all of his United career and I'd be nothing but pleased with him. How many strikers could boast a goalscoring record like his this season?

What I think has changed this season is the team rather than the player. Ronaldo is still beating players like they aren't there, still pulling skill out of the top drawer, he's still getting all the fans on the edge of their seats - in other words he is still that boy Ronaldo.

United have brought in Nani, Anderson and Tevez in the attacking departments - two of those players have been superb, the other coming off the bench every now and then and showing glimpses of fantastic potential.

All in all, United now have more players that are grabbing the headlines and taking the spotlight off Ronaldo, unlike last season where it was just Scholes, Ronaldo and Rooney.

Even the defenders, Evra & Ferdinand have come in for huge praise this season. Anderson has bossed the midfields of Arsenal and Liverpool this season. The partnership of Rooney and Tevez.

United, this season, have players all over the park getting in the spotlight and it's excellent news for the club. Ronaldo has improved in fact, he's more of a team player, more clinical and even more skilful - his goal record is just one bonus we get to benefit.

He has matured a lot, he's bringing in the young foreign lads Anderson & Nani and making them feel at home.

Basically what we are seeing is Ronaldo the man, the maturing player and it's refreshing to see.

From the young boy, the unknown 'one trick pony' we saw make his debut against Bolton to the man and the player we now have, who is still improving - it's great to see and Ronaldo is just the image of the club that we are at the moment.

Full of youth, vibrance, skill, potential, energy and the hunger for success, all maturing together and with the world at their feet.

That boy Ronaldo hasn't taken a step back, in fact he's improved this season we've just got an even better team and it certaintly is exciting times to be a Manchester United fan.