To mark the end of one of the most eventful Premier League seasons ever, the expert football writers have filed report cards for Manchester United.
1) Was the season a success or failure?
A season that ends with the Carling Cup as the sole trophy cannot be considered a success for a club of United’s ambition, stature and resources. Fergie will point to the injuries which decimated his defence in the spring as the reason why United’s title challenge faltered, as well as the loss of Wayne Rooney for the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, effectively a title decider, at Old Trafford on April 3.
Yet the same excuse cannot be used for the Champions League exit to Bayern Munich, when United blew a 3-0 lead on the night to go out on away goals. So, all in all, a disappointing season. However, winning the title for a record fourth time in a row and reaching a third straight European Cup final was always going to be a tall order.'
2) How did the manager do?
Keeping United in the title hunt until the last day of the season, against the backdrop of crippling injuries and the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez deserves special praise. But ultimately United’s success is judged by winning the big prizes, and on that front they - and Fergie - have fallen short this season. 7/10
3) Player of the season: Wayne Rooney
His 34 goals and remorseless performances throughout the season make him the only candidate for United’s player of the season. Patrice Evra, who not only featured in all of United’s Premier League games but also started all but one, also deserves special praise for the remarkable level of consistency he has shown this season.
4) Villain of the season: Dimitar Berbatov
The Bulgarian failed to live up to his status as the most expensive player in United’s history for the second season running, so much so that he will be offloaded if they can get back just half of the £30million they paid for him. Berbatov has been a palpable failure at United and for that reason he’s the villain of the year.
5) Best signing: Antonio Valencia
The winger proved worthy of the £16million transfer fee United paid to Wigan for his services with six goals and 16 assists, and went some way to filling the void left by the departure of Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Michael Owen could have been a contender after scoring that dramatic late winner in September’s epic Manchester derby, but too few first-team opportunities and an injury sustained in the Carling Cup final wrecked his season.
6) Worst signing: N/A
It is difficult to single anyone out given that the four new faces they acquired last summer have all had varying degrees of success. Valencia proved the wisdom of his signing, while Owen’s lack of first-team chances and subsequent injury blighted his season. Mame Biram Diouf scored on his Premier League debut, while Gabriel Obertan showed glimpses of his burgeoning talent during his few first-team outings
7) Best game
It has to be the Manchester derby at Old Trafford back in September. Described by Fergie as the greatest Manchester derby of all time, it had it all- superb goals, costly mistakes and a fitting finale (unless, of course, you are a City fan) with Michael Owen’s extraordinary 96th-minute winner at the Stretford End.
Football, no matter who you support, does not get any better than that in terms of pure drama.
8) Worst game
United’s 0-0 draw at Blackburn in April. Neither side looked remotely like scoring and it proved to be a mind-numbing afternoon for those of us unfortunate enough to be at Ewood Park.
9) Funniest moment of the season
Gary Neville running around like a demented meerkat on the touchline when Owen scored the winner in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford then, realising he could be in trouble for his over-zealous celebration, adopting a serious face and pretending he was merely warming up by doing star-jumps, even though United had used all their subs by then. Pure comedy.
10) Key lessons to be learned
United need to acquire a creative central midfielder capable of scoring upwards of 10 goals a season, and Aston Villa’s James Milner may be the man to fit the bill.
A successor to Edwin van der Sar must be bought, with Lyon’s Hugo Lloris Fergie’s No.1 target.
They need to add another striker to their armoury, Karim Benzema the most likely candidate given his season of frustration at Real Madrid, with Mexico forward Javier Hernandez already on his way to Old Trafford after the World Cup.
Berbatov, Michael Carrick, Anderson and Ben Foster are the likely fall-guys as Fergie reshuffles his personnel for another crack at domestic and European glory next season.
And the issue of Rio Ferdinand’s long-term fitness must be addressed, with Evans and Smalling waiting in the wings if the England defender - who has only managed 13 Premier League appearances all season - cannot overcome his debilitating back problem.
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