Apparently some posters (not all) think that bringing in RVP has basically screwed over our other attackers and means that our squad is now bloated with too many unneeded attackers. Ofcource the obvious answer to that would be that the more competiton the better, and that we were always a rotating team. But I decided to think about it more to see how exactly each player is affected (assuming Fergie sticks to the 4411 as I cant see him trying anything else). So anyway.....here's my two-pence:
Wayne Rooney: Probably the biggest benefactor in this whole move. In the last seasons, he was expected to both create all our chances AND still be there to finish them off. But now, not only do we have a real playmaker in Kagawa that can do all the things Rooney trys to do, but we also have a world-class finisher who can carry that weight off his shoulders. I believe Rooney performs better when given a "free-role" like what Messi does for Barca, and now he can chip in to whatever positions he wants without having to worry about the responsibilities he had before. It also means players cant just gang up on Rooney as who can leave RVP and Kagawa unmarked?
Danny Welbeck: Now he has a player from his on play-style to pick up from in training. Rooney's a great goalscorer but I dont think he's the right mentor for someone like Danny. By the time RVP finishes his peak years in 3 years time, Danny would then be ready to step up and enter his own peak after learning from the best striker in the world. Again a positive.
Chicharito: He's gonna see more of the bench so it might not be a complete positive for him. But I think having him revisit his old impact-sub role could eventually benifit him. He'll obviously still start some due to our rotating system and inevitable injuries, and if anyone knows how to play the impact-sub role to perfectiong then its Chica.
Young, Valencia, and Nani: Simple one this. Would you rather have RVP on the end of your chances, or anyone not called Lional Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. The answer leads to another positive impact.
Dimitar Berbatov: He was leaving whether VanPersie came in or not. And if he stays he would have probably not played any matches except as an emergency defender again by the way our defence seems to be falling apart.
Shinji Kagawa: The most contraversial of every one of those as he seems to divide opinion. Lets just get one thing out of the way, we wont be playing anything but 4411 against the lesser teams. And I think (whether we like it or not) he will be played at center midfield. First of all, because one of our midfielders tends to play more forward in these games, and second, seeing with Rooney no longer having goal-scoring responsibilities, he can interchange with Kagawa as they share the second-striker and midfield position. This way we can achieve that flexibility and fluid intercanging in our play that everyone's asking for but we can still keep our trademark wing-play. Now I know this aint his best position, but its better than shuunting him on the wing or starting him on he bench. Besides, its not like Yaya Toure or Luka Modric are having any problems attacking when they also play in 2 man midfields. So I think United would benifit from a similar attcking midfielder
Lastly (if you're still reading then God bless you!) when we play in bigger games like City in the league or the European games. Then we can just move into a 433 with Rooney on the left like he did when Ronaldo and Teves here, and Kagawa can take his favoured position with Valencia playing on rightback thanks to our bigger midfield.
Thanks for reading and I would love to hear your opinions!