Season's Over

With Manchester United beating Millwall 3-1 last Saturday, the season has come to an end. I wouldn't call this season successful by any means, but you can definately say it has not been a disaster like many have claimed.

To give the season some context, 5 new players were bought for the first team, and 2 of those can now be considered regulars for a place in the squad. With the departure of one key player and two who had worn out their welcome, the chemistry of the squad came under threat for the first time in quite a while. With the core still comprising of many from the Youth team of 92, it was easy to see how it would be difficult to adapt to new players entering the squad with such prominence. For starters, the 5 players who were brought in came from 4 different continents, with a variety of playing styles and backgrounds from which they emerged.

With that said, here's my report card for the season for each member of the first team:

Goalies

Roy Carroll

Roy had a good albeit quiet year. He filled in admirably for Tim Howard while he was struggling, and played a key role in securing United's place in the FA Cup final by holding Arsenal in the semis. B+

Tim Howard

Given that a year ago 99% of United fans had not even heard of Tim, this season has marked a wonderful debut for the American. Although he did stumble at the beginning of the year, Tim did an admirable job of providing quality keeping and assertive leadership from the back. It was quite convincing of him to displace the now departed Fabien Barthez so easily to take the starting role and not relinquish it until late in the campaign. Although it was his blunder that cost United their place in the Champions League (although I think that may even be debatable, the defenders in the area reacted slowly to the rebound and incoming forward), he deserves credit for working hard to regain his place and trust of the manager. A-

Tomorrow I'll cover defenders...