Man Utd’s Got Problems

Manchester United desperately needs a goal-scorer, but so far the club keeps striking out in their attempts to land one.  As the summer transfer period turns into the world’s most expensive game of musical chairs, Sir Alex Ferguson looks like he might be the one left standing when the music stops playing.

Consider this: Karim Benzema is off to Madrid. David Villa has his heart set on staying in Spain. Franck Ribery doesn’t want to go to England either. Samuel Eto’o is on the verge of joining Manchester City. And Zlatan Ibrahimovic doesn’t appear to be leaving Inter just yet.

Unless Manchester United have a trick up their sleeve, they’re going to start the season with some major questions surrounding their strike force. How will Wayne Rooney adapt to his new role up front – whatever the gaffer decides that will be? Will Dimitar Berbatov shrug off the malaise that enveloped his last year and rediscover the form he had with Spurs? Can Federico Macheda, the 18-year old Italian with only a couple of goals to his name, be counted on for an entire season?

Over there, Carlos Tevez. Quick, fetch him back Wayne.

But the even greater worry is this: Since Cristiano Ronaldo packed his bags and fled town, we can’t help but look at United’s team sheet and see holes all over the place – not just up front.  For instance, their central midfield (take your pick from Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Anderson, and Owen Hargreaves – remember him?) lacks serious punch and pales in comparison to Liverpool’s and Chelsea’s.

The wings present deeper problems. Ryan Giggs is surely on his last legs – and unless they improve markedly, Nani and Ji-Sung Park aren’t going to strike fear in the hearts of defenders. Antonio Valencia’s arrival from Wigan partly fulfills Ferguson’s need for width, but the Ecuadorian is nowhere near as versatile or lethal as Ronaldo.

Antonio Valencia has the small task of filling £80m boots.

One other problem area has begun to present itself at the back: Even though Edwin Van der Sar had a top-notch season last year, there were signs towards the end that age is finally catching up to the 38-year-old. And so far, neither Ben Foster nor Tomasz Kuszczak seems good enough to be United’s Number 1.

It all bodes well for the other Premier League contenders, though. With Manchester United’s quality taking a dip, it means that even if Chelsea and Liverpool don’t improve over the summer, running in place might just be enough to win the title this year.