Can Manchester United secure a top 4 finish this season?

We have come to the halfway mark of the Premier League season and defending champions Manchester United finds themselves in an unfamiliar position of 7th place, 8 points behind league leaders Arsenal and crucially 5 points adrift off the 4th placed Liverpool. For the most popular football club on the planet this position is not acceptable and Champions League cannot afford to miss Manchester United next season. True there has been a transition with Sir Alex Ferguson leaving his post after 26 longs years and new man David Moyes need some time to gain a foothold but finishing below 4th place will be a disaster for the Red Devils.

In this column we will look at the reasons why they will secure at least a 4th place and also what may be the reasons why they might stumble in their quest.

Why they can make it:

The big reason for optimism for the United fans is that history says that Manchester United always play at their best in the 2nd half of the season. We have seen in Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign how his players perform and grind out results in the 2nd half of the season. With the confidence hitting new heights in the Red Devils’ camp after three consecutive wins, we can expect the unexpected once again.

Another thing that the New Year will bring is the January transfer window. Everybody knows that the United’s midfield is the Achilles ’ heel and it is true that United somehow managed to win things with an average squad, but that was down to Sir Alex’s genius. United needs midfield enforcement to bolster their case of a top-4 finish.

A very important fact which swings the fortune towards Manchester’s way is that their talisman Wayne Rooney is in the form of his life. After having spent a summer under the clouds of speculation, Wayne Rooney has seemed to have shrugged the idea of departing from Old Trafford. His form has been one of the very few bright spots for the champions this season. Yes, now you’ll realize the impact he’s had. The 28-year-old has scored 8 goals this season, bagging up 6 assists and numerous defensive contributions. And with the injured Robin van Persie nearing his return, the duo has the ability to win it for United against any team.

Much of the misfortune during the earlier part of the season was due to the absence of the much vaunted ‘United Way’ of playing. They were too defensive and too submissive on the football pitch, which was reflected in their results. But thanks to David Moyes, they have found their swagger back and the results in the last three games prove the same.

Why they might not be successful in their quest:

The current top 4 teams look solid this season and if truth be told all of them possess squad which are actually better than United’s.  Also the worrying part for Man United is their lack of depth of the squad. There was a time when United’s B-Team would have defeated most of the teams but not now. True that Arsenal and Liverpool also do not have deep squads but the fact is that both have more quality than United’s team and this is proved by the respective positions of the clubs in the league table.

In the past, though Manchester United are an attacking team, it is their defensive record which propelled them to victories day in and day out. However this season they have struggled defensively and have been conceding too many goals for their liking. Rio Ferdinand looks badly out of depth while Nemanja Vidic is not the same player anymore. Johnny Evans and Chris Smalling have been erratic and if David de Gea would not have been in good form under the bars then they might have been in lot worse position than they are right now.

But we very well know that we can never write-off the Red Devils, they are the iconic comeback kings of football.