We have been among the first to criticise David Moyes during his time at Manchester United. We feel that he hasn’t always made the most sensible or prudent decisions on behalf of the club.
One of those decisions has been to play Tom Cleverley on a regular basis. Such is his faith in the player that Moyes let Anderson go in January even though he didn’t bring in a replacement.
We haven’t been the biggest admirers of the Manchester United midfielder as, too often, he has ghosted his way through games without making a mark or leaving any sort of footprint on the game.
Such was the abuse directed at him from Mancheseter United fans that he even felt compelled to close his Twitter account after giving an interview in which he suggested that the criticism was unfair.
We wrote at the time that he needed to let his football do the talking rather than defending his football contribution in the press.
We have to say that he gave a decent account of himself in Manchester United’s game against Arsenal last week. Although he still lacked the ability to spot a killer pass or add to the attacking potency of the team, he worked extremely hard and didn’t give the ball away cheaply.
All this speculation about his contribution clearly got to him but he could have buckled under the weight of expectation. Instead he responded in a way that suggests he may yet have a future at Manchester United.
We still think that he needs to do a lot more to be considered an important member of the first team – you can’t justify your place in the centre of the Manchester United midfield by simply playing short, neat passes and running around a lot. The central midfielder needs to impress his personality on the game. To make vital interceptions, set up attacks and score goals.
Cleverley is still a long way off becoming a Manchester United regular who will be adored by the crowd. But he certainly gave an improved showing in his last outing.
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