Ferguson hails Man Utd fire power
Sir Alex Ferguson believes his summer signings have given him a front four comparable to the 1999 treble winning quartet of Teddy Sheringham, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Reported by the Manchester Evening News, the Manchester United boss has spoken highly of new boy Shinji Kagawa and has a newfound confidence in his attacking line up.
He said: “I always consider 1998-99 as the gold standard of Manchester United strikers. We had Cole, Yorke, Sheringham and Solskjaer, and when we needed a goal one them would deliver.
“It happened so many times I was always confident of that whoever I was sending on could grab us a goal. The options I’m now starting see in this squad remind me of that era. I hope we see a lot of goals.”
The stats of the three strikers who are expected to start for United this season from the last campaign give Ferguson’s words some significant weight. Wayne Rooney grabbed 27 goals in the league, Javier Hernandez scored 10 and Danny Welbeck found the net nine times.
Kagawa himself has a good goal scoring record despite traditionally playing more as an attacking midfielder rather than a striker. Last season he managed 13 in 31 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Dortmund.
On the Japanese star, Ferguson said: “He certainly offers us different attacking options. His best position, without doubt, is just off the centre forward. He has good vision and can thread a pass. Shinji’s versatile and there’s no doubt he gives me more to think about.”
But Ferguson does admit that selection is the key, He said: “The hardest thing for me will be to pick the right pairing for the right games. And of course one or two may develop particularly good understanding with another. It’s going to be interesting.”
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