....about Giggs and Scholes retiring?
It's something I have been thinking about tonight and I have come to the conclusion that I am not.
Firstly, I don't want to take anything away from either of them. I don't need to talk about their qualities as we already know them. Unbelieveable player's and unbelieveable professionals.
The general consensus is that we are going to struggle when they retire, Scholes' technical ability and range of passing in the centre and Giggs' creativity from the inside left.
Does anyone here really believe that Ferguson hasn't got it all mapped out?
In all honesty, I think we have replaced Giggs already with Nani and a fit 30Valencia being our first choice wingers and leaving Giggs out of the equation, we have Park as backup followed by Obertan. We might need to replace him as far as the sqaud goes but for his actual First Team spot I think we've covered it.
Scholes is where we're a little more stuck. Anderson has shone brightly this season and is still very young for a centremid, while Carrick in partnership has once again found his feet. Carrick has obviously come in for a lot of stick over the last 18 months, but I think it's fair to say he's had a good half a season with a the odd poor game and we're a much more stable team and defensive unit with him in the side.
Fletcher has been the most disappointing this season though and his partnerships have been the real problem with him seemingly failing to get any chemistry.
Gibson has been woeful and I have no doubt he'll be shipped out to a midtable side come the summer.
I do however think that while everyone is crying out for creativity and goals from a central midfielder they might be missing the fact that Ferguson hasn't needed one for the past 4 years. He's shifted the duty to the winger who would traditionally be a provider. First Ronaldo and now Nani. Because of this I don't expect us to sign anyone like Modric or Sneijder, I can however see us going for another midfielder who knows how to keep possession and keep the ball moving and in the direction of our explosive attacking outlets.
I refuse to worry that we'll struggle once Scholes and Giggs retire as long as Ferguson is at the helm. He replaced Robson, Cantona, Kanchelskis, Ince, Stam, Beckham and Van Nistelrooy as well as many other stars who were seemingly an integral part of the sqaud.
You would be mad not to be concerned about losing top players like Giggs and Scholes. Both have not only been magnificent servants for the club but have been two of the very best players produced in britain over the last 30 years and are certainly two of the best in the PL era. To see them retire will be a sad day for all United fans, and probably a lot of football fans in general.
Players retire and move on, thats part of football, but the concern is whether these players can be replaced with players of sufficient quality.
The fact that the richest club in the country is relying on two players in their mid thirties highlights the problem - it seems their aren't any players at the club capable of filling the huge gap they'll leave.
Anyone watching United can see that we lack quality in midfield at times. My opinion, for what its worth is that we lack a creative player and have done for a while. Scholes no longer has the ability to dictate a game every time he steps onto the pitch and thats what we lack. Especially away from home, we seem to let poorer sides have too much of the ball for long periods - i.e. Wolves, Blackpool and WBA to name a few.
Fergie has always done a great job in replacing players and evolving the team, but the question is whether he can bring in the players he wants under the current regime. Its simple fact that in general top players cost a lot of money.
Will project players like Bebe fill the void? Probably not, at least in the short term, and its doubtful whether Anderson and Fletcher are the answer either.
With other clubs like Chelsea, City, Liverpool and maybe Arsenal spending in the summer, its something which needs to be addressed if United want to maintain their place at the top.
