Manchester United – Player Ratings 2011/12 (Part 1)

The following ratings are based on several factors including the following:

-How much was expected of the player beforehand and their importance to the team.

– How well they played throughout the season.

– Consistency in their performances.

– How much they improved during the season.

1) David De Gea – It was always going to be difficult to fill the massive boots left by Edwin Van Der Saar after he retired but Sir Alex was willing to invest heavily in the young goalkeeper and as the season wore on, the results turned out to be very promising. Some shaky performances during the season start caused alarm bells to ring but once David settled in and became accustomed to the English game, his performances had quickly put all his doubters to shame. The lad has a long way to go to fulfilling his potential but for a first season he has done very well. 8

3) Patrice Evra – A really worrying drop in form over the last few seasons which may have been a direct result of Evra’s World Cup troubles back in 2010 seemed to drag on into the new season. Caught out of possession time and time again, lacking in confidence when attacking and with United not having any real cover at left-back, it was always going to be a tough time for Evra but credit to him, he kept his head held high and although I have been his biggest cretic this season, the way he has dealt with everything that has been thrown at him has been admirable. Being in the centre of the worlds media attention during and after the Suarez incident did not help but even then, the Frenchman pushed on and eventually started putting in some telling performances at the end of the season. 6

4) Phil Jones – Brought in a year earlier than planned by Sir Alex after rumours of other club putting in bids for the youngster started to circulate, the lad started his season off with a series of outstanding performances which suggested he was ready to accept the challenge of Old Trafford now rather than later. His energy, drive, commitment and passion warmed him to the fans and lead to many calling him the future England captain. As the injuries piled up at United, Jones found himself playing different roles every other game which hampered his development and put an end to his consistently promising performances. As his own injuries started kicking in, Phil struggled to recapture his earlier form as the season drew to a close. Much is expected next season. 6

5) Rio Ferdinand – A niggling back problem and a series of disappointing performances including a 1-6 hammering at the hands of Manchester City lead to Rio being reminded of his responsibilities at the club by Sir Alex who even suggested that the ex-England captain was no longer first choice centre-back at United. With Vidic out for the season, Rio kicked on and found some of the best form of his career. Classy on the ball, an expert at reading the game and with his injuries now fully behind him, this was a season to remember for the 33 year old. 8

6) Jonny Evans – Manchester United fans’ favourite scapegoat had started of the season in very poor form and that didn’t look like it was going to improve after Jonny was shown red during the Manchester derby. Questions were asked and many wondered where the youngster had it in him to make it at United but once Nemanja picked up his injury and Evans was given a consistent run-in in the team alongside Rio, he began to show all the promise which Sir Alex had place in him. Dominant in the air, comfortable with the ball at his feet and with an eye for the oppositions half, the youngster put every doubter to shame. 9

7) Michael Owen – In what turned out to be Michael’s final year at the club, not much can be looked back on during the season as anything notable for him. Hampered by injuries and with only being chosen for the odd game here and there, along with a few goals to go with, United’s number 7 will no doubt be disappointed with how little he featured in his last season at Old Trafford. Atleast he can look back at his time here and remember ‘that’ injury-time goal he scored for us in the Manchester derby. 5

8) Anderson – Many called it his ‘make or break’ season and the Brazilian started off with a flyer. With injuries to the midfield section, Anderson was trusted with the responsibilities of making the team tick and he did just that alongside the very promising Cleverley. Fast-paced football revolving around one-touch passing excited the fans earlier on as Unites swept away their opposition. Eventually the inevitable happened and Anderson picked up yet another injury which put a halt to his season and possibly even his United career. 6

9) Dimitar Berbatov – Having pretty much carried United to the Premier League title after his Golden Boot winning season the previous year, a lot was expected off the Bulgarian this new season. Unfortunately for him, Sir Alex was rash in his tactics which saw Dimi deemed to slow for the style of play which United were trying to recreate. Even then, a brief stretch of starts halfway through the season reminded us just how good the Berbatov was as he started to score for fun. It’s likely that we’ve seen the end off Berba but for what it’s worth, it has been an honour watching him play throughout his United career. 6

10) Wayne Rooney – A late flurry of exceptional performances last season suggested Wayne was back to his best and hungry to win again. Although a look at the figures may suggest he carried that form into the new season, that very much has not been the case. Even though Wazza has scored goal after goal this season, many of which against big teams, his overall contribution to the team has been very substandard compared to his usually high standards. Sloppy with his passing, missing easy chances and not tracking back or not jumping into tackles he would usually die for, some suggested that he just didn’t look that interested whilst others blamed his cameo appearances at central midfield as well as out wide as the reason to his hampered season. Having said that, credit must go to him for still scoring as many as he did for us and for that reason I’ll be a bit more generous with my season rating for him. 7

11) Ryan Giggs – With Scholes out of the picture after announcing his retirement, many expected Ryan to become our creative outlet from midfield and to carry the team on when results were not going our way by him keeping a cool head and allowing others to do the same. To an extent, Giggsy did just that with his last second winner against Norwich and his cross for Hernandez in the dying seconds at Stamford Bridge being notable examples. Still, one too many times this season did we see a silly flick from Giggs intercepted by the opposition, or a simple pass roll past it’s target and out for a throw-in after yet another sloppy pass from Sir Ryan. No doubt the veteran still has it in him but we can rightly expect much, much more from him next year. 6

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