Premier League Preview 2009/2010 – Manchester United & Portsmouth

Manchester United
(Last season – Champions)

He’s gone. The most influential player at Old Trafford, the best player in the world if you believe FIFA, has packed up his Gucci bag and departed these shores for sunny Spain and life at the Real Madrid madhouse. This is a disaster for Manchester United according to some, a nightmare they won’t be able to get over.

What those people forget however is that the most influential man at Manchester United is still there. Over roughly a twenty year period that ranks as the greatest era in United’s storied history many outstanding players have come and gone, but it is the continuing presence of Sir Alex Ferguson that has kept the Red Devils eminently successful. If anyone can rejig and rejuvenate a squad that has won three straight league titles and lost it’s best player, he can.

United won their 18th league title in most un-United like fashion last season. Traditionally, in the Ferguson years at least, success has often come by way of a swashbuckling, adventurous, you-score-two-we’ll-score-three style of football. That spirit of enterprise still existed at times in 2008/2009, but the real hallmark of their ascendency was to be found not in attack but in defence.

Keeping clean sheets was almost second nature to United last season. 24 times they shut out their opponents in the league, an incredible statistic that accentuates just how masterfully Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Edwin Van der Sar and co mastered the art of defending. The 14 consecutive clean sheets United kept between November 2008 and February 2009 goes down as an all-time top flight record. Such an impenetrable backline paved the way to the title.

In the history of English league football no club has ever won the championship four times running, so the magnitude of the task facing Manchester United is clear. Losing the goals, guile and grace of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez does not help. And though the squad in it’s current state is still talented enough to challenge, one cause for concern this season is the extent to which United will have to rely on players with certain question marks above their heads. Players like Dimitar Berbatov, Nani, Anderson, Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Zoran Tosic, Rafael da Silva, Ben Foster; all possess unique qualities, but placed into the context of a gruelling league and Champions League schedule can they be relied upon to produce the goods week after week? Without Ronaldo around it is time for new stars to be born.

In 2009/2010 Ferguson looks set to utilise a 4-4-2 far more often than in previous seasons, with Berbatov and Wayne Rooney likely to be the first choice front pairing. That is potentially a delicious partnership, but can they gel adequately to produce an extra 25 goals in Ronaldo’s absence? Watching how Owen gets on will also be very interesting indeed. His signing is a gamble in that he now occupies one of the four strikers’ berths, but after a torrid time at Newcastle and a period in which everyone wrote him off the former Liverpool man will certainly not be lacking for motivation. The question is will the goals come, and for how long can he stay fit?

A 4-4-2 formation also means regular deployment of two out-and-out wingers, most likely to be Nani and Valencia. This is a huge season for Nani, who lived in the shadow of United’s old number seven for too long and who now has the chance to create his own legacy. He certainly has star quality – now he must add consistency to his game. Valencia also looks a very good signing; quick, powerful, a strong runner and possessing great balance when in possession.

A lot of uncertainty hangs over United this season but if anyone can oversee a semi-transitional phase whilst still keeping a team hungry and competitive it is Sir Alex Ferguson. Four in a row will not be easy but is by no means beyond them.

Key Man: Dimitar Berbatov
One to Watch: Nani

In: Antonio Valencia (Wigan, £16m), Michael Owen (Newcastle, free), Gabriel Obertan (Bordeaux, undisclosed).

Out: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, £80m), Fraizer Campbell (Sunderland, £3.5m), Carlos Tevez (contract expired), Manucho (Real Valladolid, undisclosed), Lee Martin (Ipswich, undisclosed), Richard Eckersley (Burnley, undisclosed), Rodrigo Possebon (Braga, loan).

Portsmouth
(Last season – 14th)

Fratton Park has been a bit like Woolworths this summer – it seems Portsmouth have had their very own ‘everything must go’ sale. Of the team that won the FA Cup just over a year ago five have left already and three more look either set for the exit door (David James, Sylvain Distin) or desperately want out (Nico Kranjcar). Meanwhile Peter Crouch, Sean Davis, Jerome Thomas, Noe Pamarot, Lauren, Glen Little and Djimi Traore have also been allowed to leave, amongst others.

Root cause of the problem stems from the financial mess brought about when owner Alexandre Gaydamak suddenly realised he wasn’t so much enjoying this Premier League club ownership lark anymore and decided to try and pawn Portsmouth off as quickly as possible. UAE businessman Sulaiman Al Fahim agreed to take over and has passed the fit and proper persons test, but due to technicalities the deal has not quite gone through. In the meantime Portsmouth are haemorrhaging money and have been forced to sell players merely for financial stability.

All this does not bode well for a team that narrowly escaped the clutches of relegation last season. Portsmouth went through three managers in 2008/2009 but have now settled on Paul Hart after the former youth team coach successfully digged the club out of the disarray left behind by Tony Adams. Hart is a decent manager who knows his stuff, but fears persist that he is a training ground man more comfortable around players than he is an overall leader of a football club. With several players gone and uncertainty prevalent Hart’s leadership will be vitally important to Portsmouth heading into the new campaign
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Scoring goals was a real issue for Portsmouth last season which makes the sale of Peter Crouch look even more worrying. The England international was the club’s top scorer with 11 league goals and it is hard to envisage loan signing Frederic Piquionne improving on that total. Piquionne has never been truly prolific and was often ridiculed by sections of Lyon’s support for his wayward nature in front of goal.

Meanwhile, of the players brought in only Aaron Mokoena looks like anything other than a cheap afterthought. Antti Niemi had to be coaxed out of retirement for example; hardly a signing that portrays the fruits of a lengthy, considered pursuit. Steve Finnan’s best days appear behind him and replacing Glen Johnson is a daunting task. Anthony Vanden Borre has bags of potential and can slot capably into midfield or defence but Portsmouth need more players of his ilk if they are to avoid a serious relegation scrap. With just 19 outfield players at Hart’s disposal the squad desperately needs boosting.

This time last year Portsmouth were FA Cup winners exciting themselves about the prospect of European football and AC Milan at Fratton Park. Things are very different now. Survival is the priority in 2009/2010 and anything after that would be a welcome bonus. The club’s vocal supporters might consider changing the words of their popular terrace chant to that of a simple plea: ‘Stay up, Pompey.’

Key Man: David James
One to Watch: Aaron Mokoena

In: Steve Finnan (Espanyol, free), Aaron Mokoena, (Blackburn, free), Antti Niemi (free), Frederic Piquionne (Lyon, loan), Anthony Vanden Borre (Genoa, loan).

Out: Glen Johnson (Liverpool, £17.5m), Peter Crouch (Tottenham, £9m), Sean Davis (Bolton, free), Andrea Mbuyi-Mutombo (Standard Liège, free), Andre Blackman (Bristol City, free), Noe Pamarot (released), Jerome Thomas (released), Lauren (released), Djimi Traore (released), Glen Little (released).

English Premier League, Manchester United, Portsmouth, Premier League 09/10, Previews