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Last Season

Sir Alex Ferguson clinched the Premier League title in the penultimate game of the season at Blackburn Rovers but in truth the Old Trafford side always looked good to wrestle the champions crown from Chelsea and in many ways the season may be considered in the long run as something like the end of an era.

Man United legends Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes all bowed out and have left Ryan Giggs as the last remaining long term veteran, a link to Ferguson’s outrageously successful ‘Fledglings’ but last term also helped to serve as a warning to their rivals that youngsters are beginning to find their feet as the Red Devils look to build on from past successes.

Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez was a bigger success than Ferguson could have ever hoped for, netting 20 goals in his debut season. Young centre back Chris Smalling also showed maturity at the back when injuries and poor form saw the former Maidstone man flung into the deep end, an England call up was a reward for his consistency.

Oddly enough the players who finished as top scorer and top assist maker, Nani and Dimitar Berbatov, ended the season by missing the Champions League Final but both had hugely crucial roles to play in the Premier League title success, though one wonders what the future holds for both players.

Wayne Rooney’s unwise decision to announce his intention to quit the club was expertly handled by Ferguson and after a troubling few weeks where the club’s supporters made it clear they were not happy with his antics, the England man got his form back and all was forgiven, an overhead kick winner against local rivals Man City helped erase that unseemly episode from the supporter’s collective memory.

It was home form that blew all other title rivals out of the water as Man United dropped just two points from the 57 on offer at Old Trafford, an astonishing record that afforded the club the occasional slip up away from home, and these did indeed occur at the likes of Everton (where a 3-1 lead was lost in injury time), defeat at lowly Wolves as well as back to back losses to Chelsea and Liverpool.

In the end the title was secured with nine points to spare though a Champions League Final defeat to Barcelona, the second in three seasons, was something of a crushing blow but in many ways did not take anything away from Man United’s rightful claim to being the Catalan side’s main challenger to the crown of best team in Europe.

Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar has given his backing to to his replacement David De Gea and insists the youngster will be a success.

The veteran Dutchman retired at the end of last season and manager Sir Alex Ferguson opted to choose the 20-year-old Spaniard as his new number one.

De Gea is very highly rated all over Europe and cost the Red Devils £18million after he won the Europa League with his former club, Atletico Madrid,  and helped his country win the U21 European Championships.

Van der Sar has seen De Gea play and explains why he will be a success at Old Trafford.

“They (United) scouted all over Europe and found a couple of targets and they chose de Gea,” he told ESPN.

“Hopefully he’s going to have a great career at Manchester United.

“He’s very talented. He’s already won a trophy with Atletico Madrid and the Spain Under-21 team so the prospect of him doing well is there.

“Everybody has to be his own person but I’ve met him. I’ve spoken to him and it looks to me as though he can handle it.”

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Atletico Madrid goalkeeper will sign for the club this summer.

The 20-year-old has been bought to replace Old Trafford legend Edwin Van Der Sar who will retire after the Champions League final against Barcelona on Saturday.

Ferguson has been scouting all over Europe and De Gea has got the nod ahead of Ajax’s Maarten Stekelenburg and Schalke’s Manuel Neuer.

The fee is understood to be around £18.3million with additional add-ons rising to £23million. De Gea is believed to have signed a five-year deal.

Ferguson reckons United have got the perfect replacement for Van der Sar and revealed they were chasing their man for a long time.

“We’ve been working on it for quite a while, we identified him a while back as one we should go for,” he told Sky Sports.

“He’s a young goalkeeper, very quick, with good composure and presence.

“He’s an outstanding replacement for Edwin Van Der Sar.

“We were looking for someone with the same types of qualities. One great quality Edwin always had was his composure and organisational ability.

“David De Gea is very similar that way.”

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Manchester United manger Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he wants three new faces to strengthen the club for next season. Up to 6 players could leave during the summer including veterans Paul Scholes, Edwin Van Der Sar and Ryan Giggs with Gary Neville already retired. United have 2 games left this season; home to Blackpool on the 22nd May before traveling to Wembley for the UEFA Champions League Final against Barcelona on the 28th.

Wes Brown, Michael Owen. Owen Hargreaves and Gabriel Obertan are all also rumored to be leaving Old Trafford before the start of next season. If the possible changes are made then Sir Alex will be forced into making some decent signings to add depth to the reigning champions.

“We have some ideas in mind,” Ferguson said. “Hopefully we can get them put in place. We have Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes coming towards the end of their careers, Gary Neville has already retired and Edwin Van Der Sar is retiring, so there are holes we want to plug up in terms of the safety and security of the team for the next few years.

“Of course, we have some excellent young players and a lot of them have progressed, which gives us a great, powerful squad. I am looking at maybe three signings which would boost our overall quality in our team.”

The Manchester club are also looking at giving youngsters Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck, who impressed on loan at Wigan and Sunderland respectively, a more extensive chance in the first team.

United Chief Executive David Gill has promised at least one big name signing in the mix.  “We have been working very hard over the course of the last 12 months to plan which positions we need to fill, identifying those players and trying to work on it. What Alex Ferguson has done very successfully for nearly 25 years is to reinvent the team slowly and integrate them within the established stars.

“That is what we will continue to do. It gives a buzz to everyone at the club when you bring in high quality players. It is something we look forward to with relish.”

Aston Villa playmaker Ashley Young has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford all season and Inter Milan midifelder Wesley Sneijder is also a player who may be contacted by the club.

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will spearhead a summer clearout from the club this summer in a bid to freshen up his squad.

The Daily Mail reports nine players could be allowed to leave in the biggest overhaul at United for 16 years despite the team being on the verge of Premier League and European Cup double.

Chief executive David Gill confirmed veteran Paul Scholes is likely to follow Gary Neville and Edwin Van Der Sar into retirement.

Seven more players could be allowed to leave in the most significant shake-up since Sir Alex Ferguson offloaded Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis in 1995.

Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves are out of contract at the end of the season and are unlikely to be offered new deals.

Tomasz Kuszczak and Dimitar Berbatov will be sold as both players will not be guaranteed first-team football next season.

Wes Brown, Darron Gibson and even Jonny Evans could also be sold if the right offers come in.

Any income generated from the sales will be invested in new signings with Ferguson on the verge of securing a number of big-names.

Moves for Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder and Ashley Young of Aston Villa are on the table but his interest in Everton youngster Jack Rodwell is believed to have cooled.

United are also expected to sign Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea, with Gill confirming: “We know the keeper we want. We are in a good situation with that.”

On Scholes, he added: “It wouldn’t surprise us if Paul Scholes retired. He will have a conversation with Sir Alex at the end of the season.”

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Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has dropped the biggest hint he is staying at the club yet as he outlines plans for next season.

The 28-year-old has been linked with a move away from Anfield for some time and was the subject of a failed bid from Arsenal last summer.

Arch-rivals Manchester United have also shown interest in the Spain international as a replacement for Edwin Van Der Sar.

Reina has always declared his love for the club but wants the board to show ambition  especially after the departure of Fernando Torres to Chelsea.

Liverpool had the worst start in Premeir League history this year under Roy Hodgson but fortunes on the pitch have turned around following the appointment of Kenny Dalglish.

But Reina says the club cannot afford another start like they had next year if they want to win a trophy.

“We didn’t start this season, or last, the best – and next time we need to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he told LFC Weekly.

“We need to be consistent with the aggression, commitment – everything. And if we get the balance right, we’ll be a lot closer to where we want to be.”

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So here is the team that the PFA members decided upon.

PFA Premier League XI:

Edwin Van Der Sar (Man Utd)
Bacary Sagna (Arsenal)
Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd)
Vincent Kompany (Man City)
Nani (Man Utd)
Samir Nasri (Arsenal)
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
Gareth Bale (Tottenham)
Carlos Tevez (Man City)
Dimitar Berbatov (Man Utd)

Now it’s your turn. Using our cut and paste thingy below, simply fill in the gaps and cut and paste into the comment section for others to judge.

GK.
LB.
RB.
CD.
CD.
CM.
CM.
LW.
RW.
CF.
CF.

Good Luck!

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25. Andrei Kanchelskis (Man United, Everton, Southampton)

24. Sami Hyypia (Liverpool)

23. Marc Overmars (Arsenal)

22. David Ginola (Newcastle United, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Everton)

21. Emmanuel Petit (Arsenal, Chelsea)

20. Georgi Kinkladze (Man City, Derby County)

19. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

18. Xabi Alonso (Liverpool)

17. Jurgen Klinsmann (Tottenham)

16. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

15. Jaap Stam (Man United)

14. Robert Pires (Arsenal, Aston Villa)

13. Ole Gunnar Solskjær (Man United)

12. Claude Makelele (Chelsea)

11. Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Man United)

10. Edwin Van Der Sar (Man United, Fulham)

9. Paolo Di Canio (Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham, Charlton)

8. Patrick Vieira (Arsenal, Man City)

7. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United)

6. Roy Keane (Man United)

5. Gianfranco Zola (Chelsea)

4. Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal)

3. Peter Schmeichel (Man United, Aston Villa, Man City)

2. Eric Cantona (Leeds United, Man United)

1. Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

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