“There was an abundance of good midfielders and I think now they’ve got the same kind of squad.”
Paul Scholes has been speaking about Manchester United’s midfield, and in the process made a very generous comparison. Jose Mourinho’s side have started the season in excellent form, winning five of their six Premier League games, three of them by four goals, and they’ve conceded just two at the other end.
Paul Pogba impressed, before picking up a hamstring injury against FC Basel two weeks ago, and Nemanja Matic has already proved to be a very astute purchase by Mourinho, even Marouane Fellaini has been effective. United’s midfield has performed so well thus far, last season’s player of the year, Ander Herrera, has fallen down the pecking order.
Scholes has been impressed by Mourinho’s midfield and he’s paid them a very big compliment. The former United midfielder has compared the current midfield to the one he played in for Sir Alex Ferguson. That midfield featured Roy Keane, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Scholes and, for a few seasons, Juan Sebastian Veron.
These players helped United to great success, and remain one of the best collection of midfielders to have graced the Premier League.
Scholes didn’t claim that the current crop of United midfielders is as good as the footballers he played alongside, but said that they offer Mourinho a range of skills and strengths, akin to the options Ferguson could call upon.
“I remember when there was me and Roy, Veron, Nicky Butt and Ryan who played in central midfield,” Scholes told reporters at a Futsal tournament in Dubai, which sounds like a better way to spend retirement than with Michael Owen or Robbie Savage on punditry duty.
“There was an abundance of good midfielders and I think now they’ve got the same kind of squad. You’ve got Herrera, who is not getting a game, Michael Carrick, who’s not getting a game. Pogba and Matic seem to be the first choice but Mourinho can mix and match – the midfield should be as good as any.”
Scholes also spoke about Pogba, and how the arrival of Matic has brought the best out of the French midfielder.
“Obviously, before his injury you could see United were winning, and winning quite comfortably,” Scholes said.
“I think the addition of Matic has helped him and given him that bit of freedom – he’s scored a couple of goals already and a couple of assists. He’s playing well and hopefully his injury is not as serious as it could be… Last season was tough for him but there was always going to be a settling-in period. There were two or three other players along with him who took a little while to settle down. With Matic coming in this year, and the other players a year down the road, I think we’ll see the improvement.”
United’s current midfield aren’t as good as the one Scholes played in, alongside Keane, Giggs, Beckham and Butt, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the midfield Ferguson had in his final seasons at Old Trafford.
