Another Treble?

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything about football so here I go.

6 points clear with 8 games left. In the FA Cup semi-finals against Watford. In the European Champions League quarter-finals against Roma. So far so good. While I had my doubts, I now believe that Manchester United will have a treble of trophys such as they did in 1999.

Then

Peter Schmeichel in goal, the combination of Yorke and Cole, the supply of crosses from Beckham and Giggs, an engine room of Keane and Scholes, the experience of Irwin, Pallister and Berg at the back and excellent wealth on the bench with Butt, O’shea, Phil Neville, Solksjaer, Sheringham. That was the squad that led the charge on all fronts. Winning the league in comfortable style, dispatching a lackluster Newcastle in the FA Cup and doing it the hard way in Barcelona, coming from a goal down against German League holders and current winner (that year) to win the European Champions League in added time.

But that treble had other deciding factors as well. In the league, United coasted without much opposition. Arsenal was a shadow of the previous season when they won the double and in truth there wasn’t really anyone stepping up to United. With the league a little bit more relaxed, attention could be diverted to the other cups. The Champions League route was phenomenal. United had a poor record against Italian opposition in previous years. In the group stages, they had Barcelona and Bayern Munich to deal with. They then hurdled over to Italian giants; Inter Milan then Juventus only to meet Bayern again in the Final. The FA Cup was somewhat ordinary including the final. They really won it in the cracking semi-finals against Arsenal, both proper and replay.

Now

Van Der Saar seems like a safe pair of hands. Ferdinand and Vidic seem to be gelling well. Evra has improved immensely since joining United last year. Carrick has a wide range of passing and Scholes seems to be on song at the moment. Rooney has his patches but he’s finding his feet again. But the talk of the season will have to be Cristiano Ronaldo. For all his faults, he is a fantastic player to watch. Larson did his part although I would have liked to see him stay until the end of the season. United don’t have great strength on the bench this season as compared to 1999. Mediocre performances from Brown, O’Shea, Richardson, Saha and surprisingly Heinze as well have really pushed for Sir Alex to bring in replacements for next season, I believe.

We are at a scenario that United could play Chelsea in 2 cup finals after the drawing in the FA Cup and Champions League. The FA Cup is assured; I don’t believe Blackburn would pose too much trouble for Chelsea and neither would Watford stand in United’s way. Champions League is a question mark. I don’t believe Chelsea could go all the way but I foresee at least a semi-finals spot for United. Roma would do well to get a result either home or away.

Conclusion

Treble is on the cards. But with injuries piling up and Scholes serving a 3 match ban (2 matches left), Sir Alex will really need to juggle his squad really carefully. I do see the likes of Silvestre and Saha moving at the end of the season. Owen Hargreeves would be a good buy to solidify their midfield even more. A long term replacement for Giggs is needed. Richardson is not of the same crust and would fare better in smaller teams such as WBA or Sunderland. I question Sir Alex’s reluctance of not using Alan Smith or Dong Fang-Zhou on a more regular basis or even Bardsley on the right back side with Gary Neville sustaining an injury. Wes Brown looks more comfortable in the middle of defense.