Reserve Team Season Review

Sorry for this being such a long article. Once I started writing, I couldn't stop. Thank you to those who took the time to read it.

It's been a pretty good season for the reserve team. They won the Premier Reserve League North comfortably by 13 points ahead of 2nd placed Liverpool and went onto beat Aston Villa on penalties in the Play-Off final at Old Trafford. They're through to the Lancashire Senior Cup final which will be played sometime at the start of next season, they reached the final of the Dallas Cup in April and on Thursday night beat Manchester City 2-0 in the Manchester Senior Cup final to secure their third trophy of the season.

The campaign didn't get off to a great start however as a very experienced reserve side containing the likes of Kuszczak, Fletcher, Gibson and Diouf among reserve team regulars such as Pogba, Michael and Will Keane, Petrucci, Fryers, Cole and Lingard were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal and some people may have though that this season might be a difficult one for this reserve team but over the course of the season, they've gone onto win every piece of domestic silverware going and produce some outstanding performances along the way like against Newcastle twice, Liverpool, Swansea and Chelsea.

There were a number of candidates who in my view could've won the Reserve Team Player Of The Year Award which went to Michael Keane at the awards dinner on Monday night. Anyone of Michael and Will Keane, Davide Petrucci, Jesse Lingard, Zeki Fryers and Larnell Cole. I’d also like to mention Marnick Vermijl who’s had a solid season. I haven't included Pogba as I don't think he's been as consistent as the others mentioned. There are times when he's been excellent but times when he's not been that great and hasn't really dominated games like he's more than capable of doing at that level.

Michael Keane - Michael has grown a lot as the season progressed. Originally a right back, he's adapted really well into the role of centre back and has become the leader of the defence. He's not afraid to put his head in where it hurts, he’s great in the air and with the ball at his feet and he likes to get forward which the 5 goals he’s scored this season has shown. His good form at the start of the season was rewarded with a first team debut against Aldershot in the Carling Cup.

Will Keane - The focal point of the attack. Will Keane has scored 19 goals this season and got 10 assists to his name. It's not just the number of goals which has impressed me this season but his all round play has improved a great deal. He's a very intelligent striker. His movement is fantastic as we seen on Thursday night in the build up to his goal, his first touch is excellent and his ability to hold up the ball has improved. With the departure of Michael Owen and possibly Dimitar Berbatov, a space might open up in the squad next season for Will.

Davide Petrucci - Possibly the most exciting of all our young players. He has arguably been the standout player this season. Everytime I watch this lad play, I think to myself, he must be close to breaking into the first team. He has been used in a variety of roles by Warren Joyce, such as a deep-lying midfielder, a more advanced midfielder and as a second striker. His passing is of such a high standard, both long and short. He possesses excellent technique, has shown good awareness when playing in midfield to sit when the other midfielder goes forward and has shown that he can put his foot in when he needs to and make a tackle. Like Scholes, he’s brilliant at creating space for himself and making himself available for a pass. He’s a very good striker of the ball and has managed to bag 8 goals this season. What has impressed me most of all about Petrucci is his character. After suffering setback after setback and having been out of the game for such a lengthy period, he’s comeback a stronger (both physically and mentally) and better player and has worked incredibly hard since he’s returned and it’s shown. I’ll be so pleased if this lad could make it into the first team because I think he has all the right attributes to be a United player. He’s expressed a desire to be apart of the pre-season tour and either go on loan next season or stay at the club and hopefully be involved more in the first team so that could be a good sign that he’s already signed a new contract or is close to doing so.

Jesse Lingard - One of the other nominations for the Reserve Player Of The Year Award, Lingard has also had an impressive season, weighing in with 9 goals and 9 assists. He has been used on both wings, mainly the left and in a central role. Technically very good, he shows good composure on the ball and has a nice first touch. As well as his pace and his ability to beat a man, he has also improved physically this season. As of yet, he’s still to make an appearance for the first team and probably will have to wait a while to do so if he goes out on loan next season.

Larnell Cole - A similar sort of player to Lingard in terms of technique but not as direct, Cole is very small in stature but what he lacks physically, he makes up for with the talent he has. He has good technical ability, a superb first touch, he’s a very good passer of the ball and has worked very hard for the team this season. Cole made his debut for the first team against Leeds United in the Carling Cup in September but had little time on the field to really make an impact.

Paul Pogba - Where to begin with this lad? Obviously a talented player who it seems has become frustrated at the lack of first team opportunities, which is maybe the reason why he’s taking a lot of time to come to a decision regarding his future. This season, he’s been hit and miss for the reserves. As I’ve already stated, in some games he has been excellent and in some games pretty average although he’s still produced the odd moment of magic. We know that he’s very comfortable on the ball, he’s very strong and probably the player most physically equipped out of the youngsters to deal with the physicality of the Premier League. During his first few appearances for the first team in the Carling Cup, he didn’t really impress, failing to stamp his authority on any of those games. However I was at the Stoke game at Old Trafford when he came on as a substitute and he certainly impressed me that night and got the crowd excited. Sir Alex has already stated that he considers Pogba as part of the first team squad. I think more first team appearances are only around the corner for Pogba. The question is whether he wants to stay or not. I really hope he can come to a decision soon.

Ezekiel Fryers - A player who never once looked out of place during the few appearances he made for the first team this season was Zeki Fryers. He played quite well at centre back at Leeds in the Carling Cup alongside Michael Carrick and in the next round played equally as well at left back at Aldershot. He also went on to make his Premier League and Champions League debut this season and had been on the bench numerous times for other games as well. I think he’s ready to be given more opportunities at first team level and with Evra’s below par performances this season, maybe he’ll get that chance, especially now as Fabio is going out on loan and providing we don’t sign another full back. He’s had a great season for the reserves. He’s equally as comfortable at centre back as he is at left back. He’s composed on the ball and offers good support from the left when we’re attacking and can put in a good delivery with his left foot. I can certainly see Zeki breaking through into the first team next season.

Ryan Tunnicliffe - The type of player the first team are most in need of. A tough tackling box to box midfielder who’s prepared to get stuck in. Not the most gifted of players compared to some of the other members of the reserve team but Tunnicliffe makes up for that with his work-rate and his determination. He spent a good period of this season on loan at Peterborough where he made a decent number of appearances although mainly from the bench as he struggled to hold down a first team place for most of his time there. He returned to United after his 6 month loan spell had ended and I think he showed improvement as the rest of the season went on for the reserves. His passing has improved this season and he’s been more of a threat going forward because he’s been involved in a lot of attacks.

I couldn’t go without giving a special mention to Warren Joyce and Rene Meulensteen who have done a terrific job with this group of players. I’d also like to include Paul McGuinness as well who continues to do a great job with the academy players. This group of players are different from the reserve teams we’ve had in the past. You can see that the focus has been on producing more technically gifted players who aren’t necessarily the biggest or strongest of players but are more comfortable with the ball at their feet because the team have played some terrific football this season.

So what’s next for these first team hopefuls? Hopefully all or most of them will get to go on the pre-season tour to South Africa while those players who were at the European Championships are on their extended break. I’ve got a feeling some of them might be more involved in the first team than maybe some expect. Pogba if he decides to stay will definitely be involved more next season, the same applies to Fryers. Both Michael and Will Keane could be given opportunities next season because the manager still doesn’t seem happy with the right back spot even though Rafael should play most games and with the club not offering Owen an extension to his contract and with Berbatov possibly leaving, there could be a place for Will Keane as a 4th choice striker unless we decide to sign another striker. If the manager decides yet again not to sign a midfielder then an opportunity could arise for Tunnicliffe who could offer us something different in midfield. Last but not least there’s Petrucci who you would think is very close to getting a chance in the first team squad after his performances this season. As for Cole and Lingard, I think they’ll possibly go out on loan.

Again, thanks for reading what turned out to be quite a long article.