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Midfield balance is one of the key things Sir Alex Ferguson always tries to maintain, and the boss has achieved that with Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick in the centre of midfield last season.

This season, enter Owen Hargreaves and Anderson competing for a place in the central and due to Scholes injured, both of them got the opportunity to shine. Hargreaves was actually impressive as a holding midfielder, his cover infront of the back four allowed Anderson to join the attacking quartet of Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez and Giggs. And like all typical Brazilian midfielder, Anderson direct running was the difference in United attack.

However, when Scholes got back from injury, the players have to tune back to the ‘Scholes’ style of play. While his vision, creativity, passing and long blasting shots are irreplaceable, I felt that his indirectness has disturbed Man Utd midfield balance.

Well, you can argue that Scholes are still not back to full fitness, but they have now loose ground to Arsenal when they drew 1-1 against Spurs and then lost to Man City. (Scholes played his first full match since early October during the 2-1 derby defeat). The next 4 matches will be a test to Man Utd’s title credentials. Starting with the FA Cup against Arsenal, they will then go to Lyon for the Champions League and face a tricky away game against Newcastle United and also Fulham.

It would be interesting to see how Sir Alex juggle his midfield now. Will he follow his sentiment and rely on Scholes or go for the more energetic Anderson?

english premier league, EPL, man utd, paul scholes

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