There was a lot of talk last season that the current incarnation of Manchester United had reached the end of its rope. Two of the core players, Edwin Van Der Sar and Paul Scholes, had finally decided to call it a day. No suitable understudies had been found. The other linchpin, Ryan Giggs, has now been playing for the senior team for more than half his life. With Manchester City acquiring the sublime Sergio Aguero and somehow managing to retain the services of Carlos Tevez, and Chelsea hiring the impressive Andreas Villas-Boas as manager, it seemed that United would need to make a few major purchases in order to be competitive this season, let alone close the gap with a Barcelona who don't seem to follow the laws that govern other teams.
Of course, Alex Ferguson doesn't have to listen to anyone. Being the most successful manager in history kind of gives one a certain freedom of action that other men may lack. Nonetheless, the common assumption (which I, for my sins, shared) was that Herr Neuer would be soon winging his way out of Schalke towards Lancashire, and that Inter Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal would all find their star midfielders getting itchy feet following Mancunian overtures. Instead Ferguson, after much media speculation, replaced Van Der Sar with a man twenty years younger, and acquired Phil Jones from Blackburn and Ashley Young from Villa. De Gea's odd howler aside, the trio have been a resounding success. Young is turning into United's best deliverer of the ball since David Beckham, De Gea has produced a string of fine saves, and Brown is shaping up to be a top class defender.
