Strengths:
Attack – United have goals in the team, lots of them! And they also have the ability to create them. In Robin Van Persie they have probably the best striker in the country right now who has hit his peak just at the right time, and even an unhappy Wayne Rooney is an asset – bagging himself 12 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League. Strength in depth also comes from the likes of Javier Hernandez, who proved that he can still be an effective hit man from the bench, and Danny Welbeck, who has now established himself as an England regular.
Dressing room influences – The club has always ensured that there has been a steady presence of players from an earlier generation in and around the dressing room. At a time when Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville were whippersnappers making their first tentative steps into the first team, they had the likes of Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister and Brian McLair to guide them along. Now, though, they are the elder statesmen, both in the playing squad and on the coaching staff. This will be vital as they attempt to usher in a new era and sustain the same level of success that they’ve become accustomed to over the past 26 years, and it will pay for Moyes to have these sorts of names as allies in and around the dressing room.
Midfield options – Last season United enjoyed an 84% pass succession rate, managing to maintain possession for a total of 56% of their games. The personnel are of a certain quality too, that allows them to be so expansive and dynamic through the middle. Ferguson and Moyes both knew that the area is an incomplete jigsaw at the moment – the failed attempt to buy Thiago Alcantara is testament to that, but the likes of Carrick, Giggs, Cleverley, Kagawa and Valencia has a complete set of skills to utilise the best of the space.