10 Concerns Man Utd Should Have Ahead Of The New Season

8. Have Utd Lost Too Much Experience, Too Soon?

Just like 12 months ago, this summer has been one of change for Manchester United. A year ago, the club lost veteran manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who stepped into retirement and took with him most of his backroom staff, and now, they've lost yet more experience with Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Ryan Giggs and club captain Nemanja Vidic moving on. That's four absolutely massive players for United. Ferdinand and Vidic were the heartbeat of their defence, Giggs an undisputed club legend and Evra was still a reliable, big-game player. Their departures leave a massive hole in both defence and midfield (more on that later) and the Red Devils in need of a new captain (more on that later). When David Moyes took over from Ferguson last year and removed assistant manager Mike Phelan and goalkeeping coach Eric Steele to bring in his own staff from Everton, many thought he was changing too much, too soon. It was less a transitional period for United and more a complete overhaul. And now, the club are facing a similar issue with a lot of their big game players being moved on. The fact United gave Evra a new, one-year contract this summer prior to his shock move to Juventus shows that Louis van Gaal wanted to retain at least one member of the 'old guard' so that his squad would not be overwhelmed by the sheer number of changes. Keeping the Frenchman would have been a sensible move as new left-back signing Luke Shaw remains a rookie at 19, and might have learned valuable lessons from the 33-year-old. As it is, there is a concern the club have lost too much experience.