Man Utd: 5 Reasons They're Better Than 1999 Champions

4. Tactics

Like all successful managers, Fergie has adaptability and this is none more so in his tactical evolution from the traditional 4-4-2 rigidity of €™99 to the fluid and dynamic formations he prefers today. The greatest asset this current team has is that it has multi-positional players and not in the sense of utility players. Danny Welbeck is a picture of a number 9, strong and powerful in the air. He can also play out on the flanks and like United€™s other attacking players he will take up at least 4 other position during a game. This flexibility runs defenses havoc and also allows the focus of play to be changeable. Add to that, the relentless furrowing of the aforementioned full backs, Evra or Rafael and you have a tactical system that is able to overload, switch play and counter with ease. The main component in this strategic shifting is Michael Carrick. His composure gives license to those around him to attack with abandon. The midfield of €™99 is arguably the greatest of all time, but the tactics were not as intricate. Ferguson has always emphasized attack and the directness of his €™99 team was very destructive. They would overwhelm teams with speed and deadly crossing from the flanks. And so it is unfair to say that those players were not adaptable, because they were under a very different tactical system. There was rarely a plan B for that United team, simply because for the most part they never needed one. The starting 11 was fantastic, but the tactics began to show with any changes in personnel. A team without Keane and Scholes in the Champions League Final was unrecognizable to the team in the semi-final clash against Juventus, in terms of tactics. That is not the case with present team. Playing the United way is enough regardless of team selection and the absence of Rooney or Carrick does not mean a tactical reshuffle is as necessary as it once was.