Manchester United are a club in transition as we all know. Fans are disappointed with the performances this season and are crying for manager David Moyes to add to the squad this month. The manager himself says he is trying to do so, but points out the fact that as usual January is a difficult month to buy players of the high standard expected to sign for a club like Manchester United. David Moyes was spotted lately at the Cagliari v Juventus match in Italy and the rumours instantly began regarding who he was there to have a look at. It was suggested he was looking at the Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal and also had an eye on bringing the talented youngster Paul Pogba back to the club he left in the summer of 2012. However despite these optimistic claims, the players David Moyes was realistically there to cast his eye over were probably Claudio Marchisio of Juventus and the defender Davide Astori of Cagliari. There is no doubt that these are all players who could add to the Manchester United squad however fans should look slightly further ahead to the troubles David Moyes will face in the summer.
His first problem comes at the heart of his defence where three of their most senior defenders are out of contract this summer. Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra have been key figures at the back for Manchester United for many years now and the general consensus is that none of these three will be offered new deals with the club. On top of this, young full back Fabio is also out of contract, although he has never really proven to be good enough and his loss will not have a similar impact on the squad.
In midfield the problems are also building. How much longer can Ryan Giggs be expected to play for? He has joined the coaching set up this year and one would have to imagine this will be the last few months of his playing career, with him focusing on the coaching side from next year on. Then there is the issue of Tom Cleverley. A player who started out showing so much promise but nobody can argue that this potential has stalled and does not look like coming close to being fulfilled - he does not look like proving his ability is anywhere near good enough for Manchester United. Anderson looks to be on his way out of the club this month on loan to Fiorentina and word from the club suggests that deal will become permanent in the summer. Then you have Michael Carrick, a player who divides opinion between fans and pundits alike. Some see him as a key player for Manchester United and others believe he is simply not good enough for the club. Personally, I feel he has a role to play in the squad but the players in midfield around him must be of a higher standard and compliment what Carrick is good at - keeping the play moving and feeding balls to those ahead of him to create opportunities with. The summer signing of Marouane Fellani has not been a success with the fans and his performances have certainly not matched the fee paid to Everton for his services. However Moyes had him playing well at Everton and I believe he can do well in the squad if Moyes can find the right position for him.
Going forward Manchester United also have issues. Apart from the glittering performances of the young Adnan Januzaj, the wide men have been terrible this season. Ashley Young has come in for a lot of criticism from fans this season and it has been largely merited. On top of this Antonio Valencia has struggles and Nani has flattered to deceive once again. Along with these underperforming players, Wilfred Zaha has not even got a look in yet and must be wondering how badly the other wingers need to play in order for him to get minutes on the pitch. The striker position are strong from the outset with Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie offering a frightening combination. However, the rumours of Rooney leaving do not seem to go away and this will only intensify in the summer when he enters the final year of his contract. Added to this is the belief that Van Persie is unhappy at Sir Alex leaving when he did as he signed for the club under the impression Ferguson would be in charge for a few seasons yet. Van Persie himself has came out recently in support of the new manager however you would question what else he could have said as he is not going to publicly criticise his own manager. There are also many rumours stating Van Persie is unhappy with the training methods of manager David Moyes.
So, there are issues all over the pitch for the manager to address. If he can bring one or two in now this month then he will certainly have helped the situation but there is so much more rebuilding for him to do. There is certainly potential in the squad to build on, with David De Gea now looking like the goalkeeper they thought they signed, and Shinji Kagawa is a top quality player if he is given the chance of playing in the right position - behind the strikers and not on the wing where his impact is limited. This could be the beginning of a vicious cycle for the club. If they fail to make the top four and therefore miss out on Champions League football, the calibre of player they may be able to attract will decline, making it even harder for David Moyes to improve the squad. The simple fact is that finishing in the top four has become a much more difficult task than in previous years, with Everton Liverpool and Tottenham all competing strongly with Manchester United. And David Moyes knows whoever he brings in this month will not decide if he finishes in a Champions League spot, as he is all too aware he will be relying heavily on the squad already at his disposal.
Essentially, Manchester United fans must recognise the slow and painful process that lies ahead for their club. They have been so used to success over the past years that accepting the tough times ahead will be a difficult pill to swallow for the fans but this is a huge rebuilding job, and despite the troubles in front of them, no matter what they must back their club and acknowledge the challenging job ahead for David Moyes.
