Why there are still gossip columns while the transfer window is shut I do not know, but there are, and even worse, I read them. Today's purveyors of lies ran quite an intriguing little story, claiming that Xavi Hernandez might be on his way to Old Trafford for 20m. First of all, I don't believe thid deal will ever take place. I mean why on earth would Barcelona sell the best central midfielder in the world - a player in his absolute prime - to Manchester United for the same amount of money that brought Robbie Keane to Liverpool? It would possibly be the dumbest sale ever to take place, so I can only conceive that Xavi's agent wants more money, ergo he's stirring up some rumours to try and get Barca to cough it up.
But while I don't believe there to be any real possibility of this move happening, it does raise an interesting discussion - something I talked about at the start of the season in an earlier post I think. One obviously can't blame Fergie for being interested in a player of the calibre of Xavi, but it does highlight the fact that he may well see a weakness in United's midifeld, a diagnosis which I wholeheartedly agree with. To spell out the situation in dire terms, Darren Fletcher has easily been Man Utd's best central midfielder this season. Need I say more?
I've said it before and I'll say it again - Anderson is not a replacement for Paul Scholes, nor is he ever going to be United's answer to Fabregas. He has important qualities, but he's just not creative enough, seeming more determined to stick his bulky posterior into the oppostion than make a clever pass. Then there's Carrick, who quite simply has very little quality in my opinion. His passing is average at best (when he's under absolutely no pressure) and he just runs and hides behind games when the going gets tough (see last Saturday, and almost every other big game he has played in). Hargreaves is a useful squad player, but he's basically the midfield version of Saha - decent when fit, but never fit. However, even when he is fit, he's an average holding midfielder at best, and certainly not worth the 18m United paid for him.
With Scholes absent (and even when he's not absent, he's still old), United's distinct lack of quality in midfield is being ruthlessly exposed. They have the players up front and behind to make amends in most games, but when the big games come around it's very hard to see United being dominant in the middle of the park. Even though they enjoyed more possession than Arsenal last Saturday, this was in spite of, as opposed to because of, the likes of Carrick and Anderson. For all the space on the pitch, neither player ventured forward and seized the opportunity to really cut holes through a lightweight Arsenal midfield. And in the dying moments, when midfielders should be getting the ball and feeding it into the box, it was telling that Arsenal were the ones with all the possession, while Michael Carrick was nowehere to be seen.
One may argue that United where shorn of three of their central midfielders against Arsenal, which is true. However, even with a fully fit midfield, the problems do not go away. Fletcher can only offer you so much, and Scholes is on his last legs at this stage (something which Ferguson seemingly understands, having hauled him off early against both Liverpool and Chelsea). In my opinion, if you want a good midfield then you need to go foreign. Generally speaking, English players just don't seem to have the passing range nor the ability to read the game that Spanish and Italian players have. Ferguson invested heavily in two of these English players, and I think he's suffering as a consequence (Yes yes, I'm aware that United won the double last season, but I'll be damned if that wasn't because of Ronaldo's 965 goals and United's almost impregnable backline).
If by some incredibly bizarre turn of events Xavi does end up in Manchester, then United will be maybe one player short of having a seriously good team (that one player being a left midfielder of course). But while I just can't for the life of me see Xavi heading north, it should be positive news for all followers of United that they're looking for a player of Xavi's ilk, because that is exactly what they need if they're going to remain dominant in the years to come.
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