Manchester United – the class of ’14?

Article by Mark Harbottle @harbottle_mark

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Is it a sacrilege to even speak of today’s Manchester United squad in the same sentence as the historic class of ’92? It’s true the last 18 months have been up and down, but at a particularly promising time in the season, there are a few signs that the coming years could follow a template that led to domestic and European dominance in the 1990’s.

Firstly, the gaffer. Sir Alex Ferguson was a globally respected manager with a fierce reputation. He knew is squad inside out and was the trademark of building teams that brought youth through the ranks. Louis van Gaal arguably has similar qualities; exceptional success, has built his own squad (at cost) and has publicly supported the youth policy within Old Trafford. Over the next season we will see our squad gel as a talented unit who are committed to the philosophy of LvG – just as everyone was to Fergie.

On the subject of youth, it’s apparent that Luke Shaw, Januzaj and Phil Jones are going to be servants of the club for many years. Just as our young hero’s were accused of the reason for failure in 1992, it’s clear these player still have some personal development before we’re singing their names from the terraces each week. We have, however, seen enough to acknowledge that these talented individuals have the potential to be instrumental in future success.

The squad that led to a treble winning season in 1999 boasted long term stars who were part of the spine of the team. David de Gea is pretty much irreplaceable, Wayne Rooney now serving our club for a decade (I would use the word ‘loyal’ fairly loosely here) and even Carrick/Fletcher, who despite offering patchy consistency on the pitch remain integral and hugely influential to the club’s performance. As players come and go every club needs these anchors in the squad (Vincent Kompany, Messi, John Terry et al) to be truly successful.

Last season’s tragedy was partly down to ineffective use of our traditional width. Just as we were blessed with Giggs’s pace and trickery, our Argentinian Superhero fits a similar mould. Di Maria was so effective in his Old Trafford debut he was simply petrifying QPR’s back line every time he picked up the ball. The Welsh Wizard had a similar impact to matches, and it’s game changers like this that will help forge long term dominance.

Finally, the history making team of 1999 was an amalgamation of young, experienced and exceptional talent brought together over a short period of time. All the ingredients were in place and it was just a matter of time before this team started running like clockwork. Our existing squad – overseen by one of the greatest European tacticians, has put the wheels in motion and is anticipating this success sooner rather than later.

It’s not going to be an overnight job. It never is. What ultimately makes Manchester United (and the class of ’92) different is that the success was built on loyalty, passion and love for the club. The will and desire to perform for Manchester United. Perhaps it’s too early to say that about Falcao, di Maria and even Luke Shaw so this could arguably be the missing piece to the puzzle. Maybe what’s missing is a unique talent who loves our club and wants to play in the famous shirt to take us to the next level. Christiano Ronaldo; the red carpet might be rolled out sooner than you think.

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