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January 08 2010
The Red Devils are adjusting
Rooney helps fill the gap left by Ronaldo - but Manchester United's defensive problems remain.
Wayne Rooney’s standing in the December 2009 Castrol Rankings shows how Manchester United have successfully managed to compensate for the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo’s attacking threat.
But while Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have maintained their firepower, Castrol Performance Analysis also highlights the defensive problems that left them trailing Chelsea in the Premier League title race at the turn of the year.
Castrol has applied the same expertise they apply to the development of their oils to create the Castrol Rankings – using objective analysis and highly advanced technology to measure every pass, every tackle and every single move of over 2,000 players and games from Europe’s top 5 leagues over the last 12 months.
Ronaldo, who left Old Trafford for Real Madrid last summer, tops the Castrol Rankings but United striker Rooney is now up to 25 after rising impressively to the challenge following the departure of his former colleague.
Ferguson’s side had scored 45 Premier League goals by the end of December, 12 more than they had at the same stage last season. Rooney, who scored 12 league goals in each of the last two seasons, has already taken his personal tally to 14, two short of Ronaldo’s haul last season.
Antonio Valencia had the unenviable task of replacing Ronaldo in the United line-up but has responded well, already contributing four assists, just two less than the Portuguese managed in the whole of last season. Valencia’s good form has seen him move from 138 to 93 in the Castrol Rankings.
United’s chance conversion rate has improved this season from 14% to 17% and they have fired in 13.6 shots per game compared to last season’s return of 13.1.
Their continuing attacking strength has helped keep Ferguson’s side within two points of leaders Chelsea with 43 points from 20 games, 1 point less than at the same stage in 2008-09 and 2 points short of their 2007-08 mark. Tellingly, United went on to win the league on both occasions.
Defensively it has been a different story with Ferguson’s side already having conceded 18 league goals, eight more than at the same stage last season. In fact United conceded just 24 goals during the course of the whole of their 2008-09 title-winning campaign.
And they have also already lost five of their opening 20 league games, more than any other side that has gone on to win the title, and one more than they lost over the whole of last season.
Castrol Ambassador and former England striker Alan Shearer said: “Of course United miss Ronaldo, but the way they have reacted to his departure has been commendable.
“Wayne Rooney is shouldering even more responsibility and he is beginning to look like the complete player and I have been very impressed by the way Antonio Valencia has made the step up from Wigan.
“Ironically, United’s main problem this season hasn’t been replacing Ronaldo’s goals, but tightening things up at the back. Injuries haven’t helped of course, but titles are won by squads, not teams, and that will be an area of concern for Sir Alex. Given his record, though, you can be pretty sure he will sort it out.”
Injuries have wrecked Ferguson’s chances of fielding a settled back-four and this is reflected in the Castrol Rankings that show all United’s main defenders falling this month. Rio Ferdinand has been the main absentee and has dropped from 127 to 220, Nemanja Vidic is down from 15 to 21 and Jonny Evans from 120 to 133.
Keeper Edwin van der Sar has bucked that trend, moving up from 20 to 14 and is the number one shot-stopper in Europe. However, the Holland international has also been sidelined this season and the fact that 28% of conceded goals have flown in from outside the area – the highest rate of any Premier League club – raises questions about the performance of United’s keepers overall.
The return of his frontline defenders will undoubtedly boost Ferguson’s chances of steering his side to a fourth successive title but the run of injuries has exposed the lack of back-up in the manager’s squad that could prove costly.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Liverpool’s Fernando Torres is the top ranked player at 5 with Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe has become the highest ranked English player at 21 following his impressive scoring run during the opening months of the campaign.
Joe Hart’s outstanding form for Birmingham City, where he is on loan from Manchester City, has seen the young keeper rise from 78 to 28, underlining his growing claims for a place in Fabio Capello’s England squad.
But while Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have maintained their firepower, Castrol Performance Analysis also highlights the defensive problems that left them trailing Chelsea in the Premier League title race at the turn of the year.
Castrol has applied the same expertise they apply to the development of their oils to create the Castrol Rankings – using objective analysis and highly advanced technology to measure every pass, every tackle and every single move of over 2,000 players and games from Europe’s top 5 leagues over the last 12 months.
Ronaldo, who left Old Trafford for Real Madrid last summer, tops the Castrol Rankings but United striker Rooney is now up to 25 after rising impressively to the challenge following the departure of his former colleague.
Ferguson’s side had scored 45 Premier League goals by the end of December, 12 more than they had at the same stage last season. Rooney, who scored 12 league goals in each of the last two seasons, has already taken his personal tally to 14, two short of Ronaldo’s haul last season.
Antonio Valencia had the unenviable task of replacing Ronaldo in the United line-up but has responded well, already contributing four assists, just two less than the Portuguese managed in the whole of last season. Valencia’s good form has seen him move from 138 to 93 in the Castrol Rankings.
United’s chance conversion rate has improved this season from 14% to 17% and they have fired in 13.6 shots per game compared to last season’s return of 13.1.
Their continuing attacking strength has helped keep Ferguson’s side within two points of leaders Chelsea with 43 points from 20 games, 1 point less than at the same stage in 2008-09 and 2 points short of their 2007-08 mark. Tellingly, United went on to win the league on both occasions.
Defensively it has been a different story with Ferguson’s side already having conceded 18 league goals, eight more than at the same stage last season. In fact United conceded just 24 goals during the course of the whole of their 2008-09 title-winning campaign.
And they have also already lost five of their opening 20 league games, more than any other side that has gone on to win the title, and one more than they lost over the whole of last season.
Castrol Ambassador and former England striker Alan Shearer said: “Of course United miss Ronaldo, but the way they have reacted to his departure has been commendable.
“Wayne Rooney is shouldering even more responsibility and he is beginning to look like the complete player and I have been very impressed by the way Antonio Valencia has made the step up from Wigan.
“Ironically, United’s main problem this season hasn’t been replacing Ronaldo’s goals, but tightening things up at the back. Injuries haven’t helped of course, but titles are won by squads, not teams, and that will be an area of concern for Sir Alex. Given his record, though, you can be pretty sure he will sort it out.”
Injuries have wrecked Ferguson’s chances of fielding a settled back-four and this is reflected in the Castrol Rankings that show all United’s main defenders falling this month. Rio Ferdinand has been the main absentee and has dropped from 127 to 220, Nemanja Vidic is down from 15 to 21 and Jonny Evans from 120 to 133.
Keeper Edwin van der Sar has bucked that trend, moving up from 20 to 14 and is the number one shot-stopper in Europe. However, the Holland international has also been sidelined this season and the fact that 28% of conceded goals have flown in from outside the area – the highest rate of any Premier League club – raises questions about the performance of United’s keepers overall.
The return of his frontline defenders will undoubtedly boost Ferguson’s chances of steering his side to a fourth successive title but the run of injuries has exposed the lack of back-up in the manager’s squad that could prove costly.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Liverpool’s Fernando Torres is the top ranked player at 5 with Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe has become the highest ranked English player at 21 following his impressive scoring run during the opening months of the campaign.
Joe Hart’s outstanding form for Birmingham City, where he is on loan from Manchester City, has seen the young keeper rise from 78 to 28, underlining his growing claims for a place in Fabio Capello’s England squad.
WHAT IS THE CASTROL INDEX?
