SANCHEZ, "SIGN ME UP FERGIE, I WON'T DISAPPOINT!"

I am a personal fan of Sanchez. He has been a rising star for a while, since he moved from River Plate to Udinese. I watched him play for Chile during the World Cup qualifiers, and he carried his team to the World Cup Finals. His determination and will to win was very evident, a trait Sir. Alex loves.I think he would be a perfect player for United. For the reasons listed below.

• Great dribbler
• Good work ethic
• Versatile, can play on either wing. Recently he has been playing the number 10 position for Udinese and is having quite a number of assists.
• Decent eye for scoring
• Good passer and very creative
• Responds to instructions and is humble
• Very aggressive, do not expect a quiet game from Sanchez

SIR. ALEX ON SANCHEZ
“We have looked at Sanchez and he has impressed us, as have other players,”Ferguson said.
“He has had very good games and is an interesting project.
“We have gathered some background, as with other footballers at his level, but nothing more than this – for the moment.” 

Sir. Alex clearly likes the player. He is a realistic target and would add invention to the midfield. I imagine him playing behind the strikers  as an attacking midfielder or alternatives to Nani and Valencia in the wing. His versatility would be of great help.

In the recent video below, one can see Alexis Sanchez's determination and aggression. He is also playing the no.10 position whilst  illustrating his creativity



Sanchez's great dribbling ability. A great dribbler can open up defenses.



Sanchez vs Inter, last season



Sanchez vs Roma, last season



Sanchez vs AC Milan, last season



As you can see I am a huge fan of Sanchez. I have followed him for the last four years, and what I can say is that he learns very quickly. The merefact that he is playing the no.10 position now and is excelling as Udinese gradually improves, shows that he is very talented and has good awareness.

He was good at the recent World Cup, though sometimes he showed he is still a work in progress, with an occasional bad decision in the final third. Overall his determination and aggression shows that he can weather any storm. SIGN HIM UP FERGIE!!!


Other midfielders that can help United

MAME,"GIVE ME A CHANCE!"

Mame Diouf has a lot of potential, and he has not really got a chance at Blackburn, he has been in and out of the team, and played in positions that do not suit him. I think he has the ability to be like Saha, an aggressive striker that keeps defenders awake the entire match.

I have not watched him a lot, but I watched the game he played against Chelsea, earlier in the season. He played in the wing but was very lively. He also got in good positions to score but was unlucky in a couple of occasions His link up play was great  in that game, which impressed me the most. Mame played good one touch football/soccer with his fellow Senegalese, El Hadji Diouf.

NOW THAT BIG SAM IS  GONE, HOPEFULLY MAME GETS HIS CHANCE!

Mame's chip against Bolton

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Mame earlier in the season, when he got playing time and played in his right position



Video of Welbeck and Mame earlier in the season



I hope Mame can get more chances playing as a striker for Blackburn in the second half of the season. I think he has the potential to at least be a squad player at United. A team always needs an aggressive striker.

Cleverly and Welbeck are doing well because they are getting a lot of playing time. Below is a link to Cleverly's progress at Wigan.

Cleverly's progress at Wigan

VERDICT ON MANCHESTER UNITED YOUTH

Manchester Evening News has a good article on the West Ham game; read it below:

Viv Anderson has offered a damning verdict on Manchester United's young players after the holders were dumped out of the Carling Cup.
 
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson was left shell-shocked at the manner of the 4-0 quarter-final defeat by West Ham after he made a raft of changes.

Some of his fledgling stars were given the chance to shine in a side that was made up of youth and experience, and Anderson was baffled at the way the team caved in.

"I don't think they are quite up to the task everyone thinks they are," said the former United and England full-back on MUTV.

"We changed the whole back five, including the goalkeeper and that is a bit of an ask.

"It has backfired on him (Ferguson) you could see that in his face. He is going to have to really think about the younger lads - they cannot match up to the expectations of this club.

"It was a bit of false dawn we went to Rangers and got a clean sheet. That night the system suited us.

"They had only Kenny Miller up front. West Ham played with two up and that was difficult for us. We conceded some shocking goals.

"It was a hard night and a learning curve for these young lads. It was a bad day especially for the back four."

Another former United star, Lou Macari, joined in the criticism of the team on the in-house TV station.

He said: "They were given an opportunity...'Show us what you are made of, show us what you've got, this is going to be fast and furious'.

"It was not going to be like Rangers where we were attacking all the time. This was West Ham, who were desperate to get into the next round. They have let him (Ferguson) down."

United went into the match on the back of 7-1 victory against Blackburn with Dimitar Berbatov scoring five goals. Blackpool are next up on Saturday.

Macari was keen to see an unchanged side against West Ham.

"I want to see a winning team," he added. "But football is going in a different direction where we read and talk all the time about players getting tired.

"If the ones who had all played on Saturday had played again do not think they would not have been able to play against Blackpool? They would be itching to play.

"Berbatov scored five goals and would have been on all-time high. If he played again scored another couple there would have been more pats on the back. I am not a great believer in chopping and changing."


MY VIEWS
These two pundits are spot on, but a little bit too harsh. But I guess when you play for United you must accept critisim and react.

Reasons why the team lost badly

• Defense was shambolic, Evans was one of the more experienced lads and he was awful. I wonder what happened to Evans. Since Fergie blasted him in the Milan game last season, he has never been the same. He needs to bulk up and stop being too soft. Fabio needs more games to improve. Oshea has not been the same since his injury last season, he is a lot slower and less confident, hopefully he comes through that. Smalling was the only decent defender.
• Midfield really needs help. Fletcher is the only consistent midfielder in the club, perhaps he has played one too many games and needs a breather. Anderson is too inconsistent for the Red Army, maybe he needs to go. Anderson is also a liability because he does not score goals at all, Keane was a defensive midfielder who could come up with a goal or two. The midfield did not service the attackers well and was dominated by a makeshift West Ham midfield.
• Bebe needs more games. Do not forget he just started playing professional football, so give him time. I think his confidence will help him become a great winger.
• Kit Kat did not get any help from the back four, so he was not to blame. The guy was left exposed.
• Sir. Alex perhaps should have picked some players who contributed to the historical win against Blackburn. May be Rooney upfront with Chica, since Rooney needs more games. But I guess the young lads let Sir.Alex down, he put his trust in them.

FINAL VERDICT

• Younger players need a chance now like Eikrem, Pogba and Ravel Morrison.
• The club needs to invest in the central midfield to add more creativity and steel. Read my suggestions for the midfield here Suggestions for United's midfield
• Younger defenders need to improve or the club needs to buy one more central defender. Smalling seems to be the real deal but Evan's needs to step up

All in all the future is not too bad for United, with the likes of Magnus, Ravel Morrison, Pogba, Petrucci, Ajose, Cleverly and Welbeck waiting for a chance, I am sure they will take!