So in the end, United couldn't quite make the history of winning 4 successive league titles. I think Liverpool's inability to get any points against Chelsea in their penultimate game was really the clinching point as far as the fate of the title was concerned. Liverpool can't really be blamed as they had played a grueling tie just a couple of days before that game. Though United won the games they had to after dropping points at Ewood Park, in the end it just didn't suffice.
To be honest (and I might have made this point before too) when the season started, I really didn't expect the United team to win either the League title or the CL. The reason was simple, I just didn't see the goals that went out with the departure of Tevez and Ronaldo getting replaced. I was barely impressed with Berbatov last season and I am really not surprised he came a cropper again this season. It has only been because of the brilliant tally Wayne Rooney could muster and the huge own goal count that United were able to score enough goals to stay in the hunt until the last day. Though I am tempted to commend Sir Alex for his confidence in his team, I feel vindicated about the fact that he missed a trick by not signing at least one big name player after Ronaldo's departure. The fact that we didn't have one more important goal scorer apart from Rooney was felt most when Rooney was injured during those crucial games late in the season against Chelsea and Rovers. I am sure most people will agree with me that's where we lost the title.
But there's no denying it was a funny season overall. Because United lost a whopping 7 games while Chelsea had a poor away record for most part of the season. Although I would attribute us dropping points to the spate of injuries our defenders had in the middle of the season, I still feel United could have gained from other title contenders dropping so many points by having a better strike force. In the end, I guess it's fair to concede the title to Chelsea on the grounds that they had a better record against the other top 4 sides which we didn't really enjoy (Although I still remember luck playing a major role in their doing a double over us!)
So, what should Sir Alex do for the next season. I think when our defense is fit, there is no denying we are one of the most miserly teams in Europe. With Evans filling in well for Ferdinand and the fact that young Smalling will be with United next season, I think we're well covered there. It's pretty much the same with full-backs. Evra continues to be brilliant form while Brown-Neville-Rafael trio keep the right back position in good stead. In the midfield, Fletcher and Scholes were brilliant this season. But with Scholes aging and Carrick at best enjoying a patchy season, we might do well do bring in a young attacking midfielder and groom him.
Valencia was absolutely brilliant and if Nani can stay as consistent as he was during the title run-in, the wings aren't really an area of concern. But I wouldn't mind somebody like Silva coming in, specially when there are rumours he might be interested in coming to Old Trafford.
As far as the strike force goes, a support striker for Rooney is an absolute necessity. I don't know if the new recruit Hernandez is being relied upon to do that, but given that he's a newcomer to England and that he might need some settling down time, I guess we could do well to sign one decent striker (with or without Berbatov staying back). I just can't see Sir Alex not doing anything about the striker situation specially after seeing the kind of poor hauls we've got from Owen and Berbatov. Overall, it will be an interesting summer transfer season. But yeah, another one where we'll have to live with the torrid transfer rumours.
