Hey guys read this about UTD on the Liverpool forum..... I Just wanted all of us to take note
Let's face it. Manchester United could very well be on the way to no. 20. They are on target to once again go above 90 points. No team has ever finished with that many points and not won the Premier League. There is every reason to believe that they will win it again. And they were supposed to be in decline. This was supposed to be the worst United team for years. Once again, however, it seems to get the better of any opposition, even the expensively assembled, star-studded squad of their city rivals.
How do they do it?
It is not as if they don't buy big players, but in recent years their additions to the first team have not exactly been renowned world beaters before they got there. While Chelsea have added players like Torres and Mata, and City have added Balotelli, Aguero, Tevez, and Silva, Manchester United have mostly relied on players already at the club while the biggest additions have been players like Ashley Young and Phil Jones - talented players but not on the same scale as those of their rivals.
But there is a method to the United approach that few teams can match, and they have done a good job of sticking to it while adjusting along the way. Just take a look at their squad and how old the players were when they joined. Far from all of the players were products of the United youth program, but the number of first team players who were either products of that system or joined between the age 17 and 22 is quite noticeable:
Scholes, Giggs, Rooney, Jones, Nani, Rafael, Fabio, Welbeck, De Gea, Smalling, Cleverley, Evans, Anderson, Hernandez, and of course the unfortunate, but in the past often influential, Fletcher.
Only Berbatov (27), Young (25), Carrick (25), Evra (25), Owen (138) and Lindegaard (27) were over 24 when they joined United.
So essentially, the United way is to get hold of talented players early, work them into the squad gradually, and add a few experienced players to solidify and build on that structure. Not everyone of the players who joined as youngsters have gone on to be influential, but the pattern is nevertheless clear.
If there is a pattern, it is also seems to be that the average skill level of United players is quite high, and more than physical characteristics this is what characterizes the typical United player. They are capable of passing, moving and controlling the ball. While few United players may stand out as the top players in their positions, the sum of so many technically skilled players working in unison and with the talent of someone like Rooney to add the final touch seems to be more than enough.
Looking back at it, though, I cannot help but wonder: Is the current United Way not very close to what the Liverpool Way used to be?
At the moment, we are all deeply frustrated with our league form, and we wonder whether we will be able to attract the kind of players we will need to strengthen in the short term if we cannot do better in the most important competition we are in. And make no mistake, short term gain is important at this moment if we are to maintain our credibility.
But when you look at United, it is also impressive how well the team is set up for the long term, and how the underlying structure supports the first team. Their success is, in many ways, well deserved. It is the result of a lot of good work over more than two decades - with a view to the long-term success of the club as well as to short-term gain.