Pre-season tour

United’s initial squad for the pre-season tour flies to South Africa in the morning. Three matches will be played before United return to England and welcome back players from the Euros. They will then continue the tour with an updated squad, starting in Oslo. Last season’s tour saw the beginning of a new-look United that poured into the start of the season, including the emergence of Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck as real first team players. What can we expect from this year’s tour?

Fixtures

Wed 18^th July vs AmaZuluFC                    

Sat 21^st July vs Ajax Cape Town                             

Wed 25^th July vs Shanghai Shenhua   

                     

Fixtures for part II

Sun 5^th August vs Vaelerenga 

Wed 8^th August vs Barcelona    

Sat 11^th August vs Hanover 96                    

Initial Squad

Lindegaard, Amos, Johnstone, Ferdinand, Veseli, Vermijl, Wootton, Blackett; Valencia, Anderson, Carrick, Scholes, Powell, Kagawa, Bebe, Tunnicliffe, Lingard, Brady, Petrucci; Berbatov, Chicharito, Macheda.

Expectations

Young Players

We can expect to see the blooding of youngsters on the tour which will provide them with valuable experience. Davide Petrucci in midfield and Tylor Blackett at left-back are two exciting prospects to look out for.

New First Team Players

In addition to the new purchases of Powell and Kagawa, there may be one or two reserve players who make the step up to the first team this year. One of those may be the tough-tackling midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe. Look out for how he progresses alongside the experience and nouse of Scholes and Carrick.

Make or break

This is a big season for several players. Anderson must stay injury-free, Chicharito needs to build on his first two seasons and Macheda needs to show potential. And maybe Bebe can finally show why we bought him? Ok maybe not. But for these players it is essential they have a good pre-season in order to make their mark in 2012/2013.

Positioning

Baring in mind the lack of depth in defence, we can expect Valencia to appear at right-back. This may indeed become a more regular position for the Ecuadorian if he struggles to make a mark in a more fluid attacking system. After the first three games when we can expect lots of changes to the squad, we can also then look to what Sir Alex’s preferred style of play might be for this season.

Absentees

It is worth noting the absentees from the squad. Players selected for the Olympics aren’t included, and players selected for the Euros (bar Lindegaard) don’t begin their pre-season until 26^th July. Below are some possible explanations for the other absentees:

Chris Smalling-Injury

Nemanja Vidic-Recovery from injury

Jonny Evans-Possible operation

Larnell Cole-Possible loan

Joshua King-Possible loan


Follow @nickcoppack and @gem7thompson on Twitter for regular updates of the tour, and @ithinkunited for regular opinion.

United at the Euros

United had seven players selected in their national squads at Euro 2012. Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney, Nani and Patrice Evra all featured at least once in the tournament. Meanwhile Phil Jones and Anders Lindegaard failed to register appearances for their respective countries. Here is an assessment of the United player’s performances in the competition.

Ashley Young

Ashley Young had a relatively disappointing tournament for England. Despite holding a good recent scoring record for England, Young failed to deliver on the big stage. After the game against France, Young was moved from a central position out onto the left side, a switch that appeared to have a detrimental effect on his game. Passes went astray far too often, and he became an embodiment of England’s inability to keep possession. Although perhaps not as bad as most people suggested (he still delivered some dangerous crosses), Young had a poor tournament by his standards, and will be looking to rediscover his best form next season.

Rating: 6/10

Danny Welbeck

Possibly England’s brightest spark in Euro 2012, Danny Welbeck had a good tournament. His wonderful goal against Sweden was undoubtedly the highlight, but his running and 91% pass success rate are also praiseworthy. Against Italy in particular he appeared to be the only link between midfield and attack, and did a decent job of tracking Pirlo before his substitution. A tournament of positives for the ever progressing youngster; if only he could’ve helped England further.

Rating: 8/10

Wayne Rooney

Rooney inevitably struggled in this tournament. Having not played a competitive match for five weeks before being thrust into the action he was never going to be at his best. England constantly had less possession than the opposition without ever posing a significant counter-attacking threat, something that made it hard for Rooney to exert any influence on matches. He did well to be in the right position to score against Ukraine, however his link-up play could’ve been better. He also missed chances that you would usually expect him to score.

Rating: 6/10

Nani

It is fair to say that Nani had the best tournament of the United contingent. With two assists to his name, he often wreaked havoc down the right flank for Portugal. His inconsistency still featured at times with his final delivery, but he was for the most part an excellent outlet for the Portuguese. A goal or two combined with an appearance in the final could’ve made this the perfect tournament, but it wasn’t quite to be.

Rating: 9/10

Patrice Evra

Evra only featured once for France in the tournament, in the opening game against England, before Gael Clichy claimed the left-back berth. His performance was solid, and as ever he provided an extra man in attack when France came forward. However he gave away the free-kick that led to Lescott’s headed goal and was inevitably a part of another disjointed France squad that underperformed.

Rating 6/10

Introduction

Welcome to "iThinkUnited", a new blog launching ready for the 2012/2013 season. This blog will offer analysis on match results and performances, and offer opinion on everything from tactics to transfer gossip. Enjoy reading.

Follow on twitter @iThinkUnited