Breaker said:
They have some classy players like Scholsey and Giggsy and Wayne Rooney (excellent player, better lad) and a classy manager in Sir Alex Ferguson. That along with being based in Manchester gives them a lot of similarities with us, maybe it's time we accepted we're not so different after all?
De Gea has been immense for us, hands down
best GK in EPL for the last 3 months. Hasn't let in any bad goal and has collected nigh on all the crosses calmly, and has made every save he could reach pretty much.
Vidic was considered the best CB in the world till his injury, Evra's decent as far as full backs go even with his slump he hasn't gotten wasted by a winger yet and is good going forward, Valencia/Nani are just class players that can make quite a few starts at Bayern/Real/Barca despite the former 2 having CR7, Di Maria, Ribery and Robben, and would be on the teamsheet week in for any other team. We've got a good team, I'll admin Giggs and Rooney don't endear themselves, but you can't doubt their ability (Tevez likewise, although he's probably done much more wrong on a professional level cumulatively to us and you).
Aside from that, we've got the depth when a player is playing badly etc. Welbeck/Hernandez/Berba are good strikers, Young/Giggs as replacement wingers, Smalling/Jones/Rafael are all good as replacements across the defence (and fill in RB). We don't have too much cover in CM though, with just Cleverley / Pogba / Anderson / Fletcher /Giggs and all of those either inexperienced, injured or low work rate.
I'd just like to point out that we've done really well, considering that if:
1 player is out for 1 week = 1 point (So 10 players out, each for 10 weeks = 100 points),
we have 269 injury points (Beat out 2nd place arsenal by 30 points), and you have 44 points. (Lowest by 25 points). (Source, physioroom).
We've needed that cover, whereas you guys have really felt the losses of the Toures (Even Kolo when you've used Savic) for AFCON, Aguero, out of form Silva and especially Kompany, as well as Lescott, even though all but the toure's were out for just 2-3 weeks at a time.
You don't have to beat yourselves about losing this season, you will definitely challenge next year, and maybe even win if you get good cover and 1 or 2 quality signings in the correct places (CB cover / someone to challenge Lescott + winger(s), even though you'll probably make more signings considering the wage bill will reduce and the likely sale of Tevez etc.