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Can Manchester United remain competitive?
The club that has dominated the Premier League since its existence had their credentials to remain competitive come into question of late.
Last season Manchester United lost the league to their local rivals, Manchester City, on goal difference on the final day of the season. It was a wound that cut deep. For the first time in 44 years it was the blue side of Manchester that was celebrating a league victory.
Last summer Manchester United reinvested heavily into three young players, spending just over £50m on them. Despite being valued as the most valuable club in the world they also have £423m of debt, expensive purchases are no longer viable. They have managed to sign only one player this summer who will compete for a first team place this summer whereas league rivals have been much busier in the transfer window.
Despite remote financial constraints of late they have, as always, remained competitive. The main reason behind their success over the past 25 years has been down to Sir Alex Ferguson. The Scotsman has taken Manchester United back to the soaring heights that they once knew and now anything short of dominance in the league is deemed to be disappointing. They have been priced at 13/5 to win the league with BetVictor; they are second favorites to do so this season.
Manchester United may not have signed many players this summer but will be hugely looking forward to the return of club captain Nemanja Vidic and also Tom Cleverly who are both coming back from season-long injuries. Their absences were heavily felt last season and may have been the difference between finishing runners-up or champions.
There are major competitors for what has been dubbed the “top four” spots. Along with City and United sit Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool. It doesn’t take a genius statistician to work out that there are six teams going in for four places. Manchester United have not been investing much compared to their rivals and if they are not careful they could see themselves getting leap frogged in the table. With a thin squad being temporarily held up by old legs, the structure that is Manchester United could fall under such pressure. The Red Devils have the most seasoned of squads out of their rivals and average a starting XI age of 27.8 which has been brought down by three starting players being 21 or younger.
Age is seen as a disadvantage by some but many will argue that having more senior members is actually beneficial to the squad. The most important senior and important member of Manchester United is the manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. He is the most vital cog in the machine; time and time again he has masterminded victories for his club even when there were doubters. Ferguson is a firm believer in his own methodologies and he will be quietly confident that his men can get back to winning ways come the end of the season.