Without Sneijder there's still a vital chink in Man United's armour
Certainly, De Gea did not enjoy the most confident of games on Sunday and Ferguson has had his problems with goalkeepers in the past. The search for a successor to Peter Schmeichel proved difficult until he eventually recruited Fabien Barthez and he followed that with the capture of Van der Sar. But one crucial area has not yet been addressed by United and Ferguson must realise his side is still crying out for a player of Wesley Sneijder's ability - a player who can fill the void left by Paul Scholes and reduce United's reliance on a 37-year-old Ryan Giggs when they need a bit of invention in midfield.
Young will provide an extra attacking threat to add potency to Wayne Rooney and his fellow strikers. There is a sense that in Young, while a different kind of player, there could be echoes of Dwight Yorke; a talented professional at Aston Villa but someone who only realised his full potential once he began working with a superior breed of footballer.
In Sneijder,
Subs: Pantilimon, Richards, Clichy, Savic, Milner, Silva, Aguero. Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire) Roberto Mancini speaks: In his pre-match interview, Roberto Mancini says that none of the changes he's made from his side's scoreless draw against
Manchester City starting XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Kolo Toure, Kompany, Clichy; Yaya Toure, Milner, Silva; Nasri, Balotell, Aguero. Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Savic, Barry, De Jong, Johnson, Dzeko. West Brom starting XI: Foster; Jones, McAuley, Olsson,
82 min Cracking email from Peter Littley. "When you say 'Only Carroll in the area', do you mean 'only Carroll' as in it's only him, no need to get concerned. Or do you mean Carroll is all alone and looking for company, or Kompany?