There are few in the English game that are better judges of young talent than Sir Alex Ferguson. But letting Gerard Pique go back to Barcelona, while still just 21, must wrangle the Old Trafford boss. The Spanish centre back managed to go from United reserve, to integral cog in the best footballing side on the planet, in the space of a couple of months. It wasn’t even as if there was an element of progression at the Nou Camp; he was already a good player, and one that Fergie could do with now.
There has been a whole host of players that have failed to make the grade at Old Trafford. Such is the depth within the club’s academy that there are bound to be players that are released, believed not to be up to the job. For all the Giggs, Nevilles’, Scholes et al, there are those that fall either into lower league football, or out of the profession all together. Players that Ferguson releases from their United duties tend to be more of the Ben Thornley mould, not players who go on to win the Champions League within a year of leaving.
Having originally been at Barcelona as a boy, Ferguson had done the hard work in snaffling a young talent from Barca’s cantera, and his time at United (which he maintains he enjoyed and is thankful for) went along the usual lines. He performed well in the reserves, earning him a full contract, he then went on loan to Zaragoza upon which he struck up a good bond in defence with Gabriel Milito, and then back to Manchester to try to break his way into the first team. The latter never really happened however; restricted to just 12 senior appearances in his time with the club.
It is not as if Ferguson doesn’t give young players enough opportunities. Consider how the careers of the likes of John O’Shea, Wes Brown and Jonny Evans started. Even in relatively important games, they managed to gradually pick up more and more starts until they eased their way into the senior squad with little fuss. There must have been something that Ferguson either didn’t like about Pique, or even more worrying, didn’t notice.
At this moment in time, Ferguson really only has half of his backline playing regularly at their optimum level. Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic are world-class in their respective positions, but there is rarely continuity in who they are partnered with. Obviously Rio Ferdinand is Vidic’s partner in the middle, but his fitness is always an issue, and although he is pretty much back from his latest injury, the next visit to the physio is only a matter of time. As for the right back spot; I genuinely have no idea who is Ferguson’s preferred option. United fans I’m sure will have a better idea than I will (and I’d be grateful if they could tell me) who should be playing there: Neville, Rafael, O’Shea or Brown. Or even someone else? Maybe that should be the source of Fergie’s next big purchase?
In a defence that has been crippled by injuries – least we forget the games that paired Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick in the centre of defence last year – having a world-class centre back, with all the attributes needed, plus the extra ability of being comfortable on the ball, could make all the difference to a United backline. His fitness is seemingly far more reliable than that of Ferdinand’s, or even Vidic’s, and he has proved at Barca, and for his country, how good he is. Football’s very own Neanderthal man, Carles Puyol, can be rattled in games, and having Pique’s reassurance alongside has seen him improve vastly. There are few players that Ferguson regrets letting go (he probably doesn’t regret any if we’re being honest), but there must be a part of him that see’s Pique lifting the Champions League, and then the World Cup, that thinks a mistake was made.
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