Date: 24th June 2011 at 1:30am
Written by:

Paul Scholes goal against Barcelona

The Ginger Prince shows Barcelona who's boss in 2008

The transfer window will always bring the over-hyped gossip, however with the sad but inevitable retirement of Paul Scholes there has been extra speculation surrounding United.

Will there be a replacement for the midfield maestro?

The first name linked was that of Wesley Sneijder. Sneijder is a player who has usually taken up a more attacking role than Scholes did. Scholes would sit in the centre of midfield and dictate the play through his passing. This made Scholes a key component in the United team. Fans would spend large parts of matches with the thought ‘give it to Scholes’ running through their heads, knowing his vision would pick out a pass no one else could see, or at the least fire a shoot to challenge the keeper.

Whilst Sneijder is an exciting prospect for the United line-up he would not quite be a Scholes replacement. I’m not too sure whether, like Scholes fitted so well into, Sneijder could play in a simple midfield two. His typical role is to play ahead of the midfielders and behind the strikers, this could either see him playing as a frustrated centre midfielder or an attacking midfielder with a gap left behind him. This is why I am not sure he will end up at Old Trafford next season. Even if Sneijder does come to United he would not quite play an exact Scholes role.

The next ‘Scholes replacement’ lined up was Luka Modric. Again another exciting prospect with great passing and playmaking abilities. Whilst I think Modric could sit in a centre two more than Sneijder I still don’t think he will be arriving this Summer. The news that Chelsea had a bid rejected was not followed by news of United making a bid, and so it may be possible United did not value him quite so high. Modric has also expressed his wish to stay in London and so presumably ruling out a move to United.

One possibility, of which I have already seen many strong views from United fans, is that of Charlie Adam. Whether he played for a club who was relegated last season or not he did have a great passing ability and had Blackpool stayed up would have been the hero. Whilst at United he would no longer be a big fish in a small pond and may not out shine teammates as he did at Blackpool this may not be what United need. Adam would presumably be a squad player at United who could offer a different perspective to the midfield.

In my last article (http://tinyurl.com/6aq8p3g) I wrote about the possibility of Rafael and Fabio being used as secondary attackers in a Barcelona-esque play. In this instance there may be no need for a Scholes style player. A more defensive player such as Lassana Diarra may be the favoured option allowing the attacking wingers and full backs more freedom when going forward.

Adam could be a useful squad player who could provide the attacking passing as Scholes did if needed. If SAF does opt to move for Adam then he would provide the option of bringing him on off the bench to change United’s style of play and give them options to attack from another area of the pitch.

I don’t really believe Ferguson is looking for a replacement for Paul Scholes, we also have to remember it has been a while since Scholes was a permanent fixture in the United midfield. The team is in a period of transition and rather than comparing the new players to the old I think Ferguson is looking towards a new style of team. If the big money is spent on Sneijder then this would be an exciting prospect but would not be a replacement for the Scholes role. However if this was not the case and Adam came in this would allow versatility in the team and the ability to change the focus of attack.

I do not think any new centre midfield arrival, if there is one, should be compared to Scholes. A new United team is evolving and we were lucky to be able to enjoy Scholes with him playing his whole career at United but now it appears it is time to move on with a new midfield set up.

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TomDTweets

Or read my Blog at http://www.itssqueakybumtime.blogspot.com/

 

28 responses to “Why Fergie Isn’t Looking To Replace Paul Scholes”

  1. Scholes the goals says:

    Some people are 9999999999999999999999% blonkers on trick poneys I wish we had a Sir Lord David 7 Beckham Obe and Sir Lord Pual 18 Scholes Obe in their early 20’s….

  2. red_sith says:

    i would like rooney to play at scholes position..
    young and chica as forward,valencia on right, nani on left..
    we should really sign a true defensive midfielders as to cover for fletcher..
    we miss him in 2 final of CL..

  3. elvis says:

    people say man u need to fix the heart of the midfield but we need to get another goal threat not to be critical but berbatov not rally a goal threat but he’s a good player Edinson cavani is an extreme goal threat his finishing is top notch he plays for napoli and scored 26 goals in 35 games he’s pricey probably around 20 to 30 million but i dont think his wages are also hes only 23. marek hamsik another midfielder sir alex has been targeting his passing and creativity is somethin we need since paul scholes retirement. but to be real nobody and i mean nobody can replace paul scholes, ravel morrison paul pogba and tom cleverly has been seen as one of the rising talents in the club, some have said ravel morrison has an even brighter future than wilshere and rodwell and SAF has belief that someone in that acadamy has the talent is if not where would ryan giggs and paul scholes be if sir alex never gave them the chance.

  4. poney club says:

    I’ve been exploring for a little for any high-quality articles or weblog posts on this kind of space . Exploring in Yahoo I finally stumbled upon this site. Studying this info So i am glad to convey that I have a very excellent uncanny feeling I discovered just what I needed. I so much without a doubt will make sure to don?t disregard this website and give it a look regularly.