Manchester United 2010-11: Ranking the Reds' Best 11 Players of the Season

For most, the abiding memory of Manchester United's season will be the dismantling they took at the hands of Lionel Messi and Co. on Saturday. However, despite this ultimate failure on the grandest stage, it's been a season of unequivocal success at Old Trafford.
In winning their 19th league title, Sir Alex Ferguson's side surpassed Liverpool to become the most successful club in British football, with the manager's fingerprints undoubtedly being the constant amongst a flurry of variables in the club's success over the past decade-plus.
We've been subjected to the newest, unknown quantities like "Chicharito," whose name resonates more as a Latino superhero yet whose performances have bolstered that assertion, as well as the seasoned campaigners for whom this latest triumph seems no more than an annual formality.
So of all the squad members who collected their deserved medals two weeks ago as recognition of their tribulations this season, here are the 11 players whose efforts, for me at least, are most deserving of acknowledgement.

1. Nemanja Vidic

Undoubtedly the best centre-half in the Premier League and arguably the world.
Whilst the occupant of the shirt beside him has been somewhat of a revolving door of injuries and lack of form, Vidic has been the hub of United's defence.
No matter who he's been partnered with, Vidic has earned the captain's armband and the recognition that precedes it with his solidity and fortitude at the heart of the back four.
He may not garner the headlines with such regularity in the way the Rooneys and Hernandezes of this world do, but his equalising header at Villa Park was a pivotal moment in the title race.
Meanwhile, his defensive durability has made him the most crucial on-field factor for Manchester United's success this year.

2.Javier Hernandez

I'm not a major advocate of players donning nicknames on the back of their shirts, but what the Mexican has done in this his debut season in English football has overshadowed any subsequent factors.
Twenty-plus goals speak for themselves. Hernandez has forced his way from super-sub to superstar status at Old Trafford, and his pace, energy and lethal finishing prowess have seen him become an instant fan favourite in Manchester with Wayne Rooney.
For £6m he's undoubtedly the bargain of the season, if not the century, and expect him to only get bigger and better in the seasons to come.

3.Ryan Giggs

Giggs' reputation and on-field form may have been marred by his own off-field melodrama, but that's merely because we take for granted his metronomic brilliance when he takes to the field.
Giggs may be 37 years old, and he may no longer have the long, curly black hair or his express pace, but his nous, technical supremacy and reliability have, for the 12th time, seen him crowned a Premier League champion.
His transition from explosive winger to dynamic central-midfield figure has been seamless. He's been a coherent figure for the entire campaign and has been a key cog in United regaining the title.
It's just a shame he couldn't show the same level of coherence off the field.

4.Wayne Rooney

To put into context Wayne Rooney's season, let me put it this way: Rooney's campaign makes Dimitar Berbatov's year look stagnant and uneventful.
From form-wrecking injury to off-field controversies, transfer requests, Nike training facilities in Portland, bans and the best form of his career, you can't say it's been boring.
If I detailed and accounted for every act of significance in Wayne Rooney's season, I'd be here until my laptop is eroded by time and I personally become fossilised.
Instead, let's look at why Rooney still makes the list. The contract controversy finally drew to a bizarre conclusion, and Rooney returned to where he's at his most abundant and affluent: on the pitch.
His return, coinciding with Javier Hernandez's breakthrough, transformed Rooney's delusions of grandeur and instead provided the formula for grandeur itself.

5.Dimitar Berbatov

It's fair to say it's been a peculiar season for the Bulgarian, whose reputation has oscillated from many considering him to be the best striker on the planet to being no more than an afterthought for the biggest game of the campaign.
He finishes the season as joint possessor of the Golden Boot, yet as third-choice striker in both Ferguson's and the wider public's estimation.
Many of his goals lacked significance, no more than impertinent statistics. However, his hat trick in an exhilarating 3-2 victory over Liverpool back in September was of indisputable importance.
It would have seemed beyond comprehension to most that there would be question marks over Berbatov's immediate future at United had the issue been raised before Christmas, but that is the stark reality we face.
Chances are he'll be back next season, but the fact it's even under repute shows just how far the mighty have fallen.

6. Edwin van der Sar

The Dutchman's career may have culminated on a sour note at Wembley, but the bedlam of panic and speculation as to whether there is a replacement capable of replicating his composure, consistency and class highlights his importance to Ferguson and United's plans.
Van der Sar's value to the team and to this victorious campaign cannot be overestimated. Where rivals such as Arsenal and Tottenham's oscillating goalkeeping circumstances have once again cost them in their chase to end an recent silverware droughts, van der Sar has been a rock at the back. 
Barring his error against West Brom, now an idle memory, the 40-year-old has had a flawless season, and likely replacement David de Gea will have an arduous task in trying to mirror his success.

7.Nani

Manchester United's players' player of the year has to make the list.
Nani has led the league in assists and despite maintaining the capability to lose his temperament at any given moment has grown as a player over the season.
Nani's impetuous personality is mirrored by his on-field displays. Nani can take over a game yet vanish in an instant.
He's overlooked for the more team-oriented Antonio Valencia and Park in the big games but is still the most dangerous midfielder in the United ranks.

8.Patrice Evra

It's not been Evra's most potent attacking season, but the Frenchman's once again proved himself as one of the premier full-backs in Europe.
Whereas in the past he's been needed as an offensive threat, Evra's most valuable asset this year has been his durability and consistency in the face of an ever-changing back four because of injury.
Along with Vidic, Evra has been a beacon of consistency and composure at the back and has been an invaluable player in Sir Alex Ferguson's system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand may have spent more time on Twitter than on the football pitch over the past year, but when he has managed to stay out of injury problems, he's been a crucial figure in the United side.
With inexperienced defenders Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling seemingly not ready for weekly football at the highest level, Ferdinand's service may have been limited, but his partnership with Nemanja Vidic has once again been invaluable.
If Ferdinand can stay healthy next year, it will be ever harder to penetrate the United defence.

10.Ji-Sung Park

One of my favourite players to watch, Park's energy, passion and work rate are unparalleled by anyone within the United squad.
Always called upon for the big games, Park is trusted by Sir Alex Ferguson and rarely fails to deliver.
His performance against Chelsea a few weeks ago was a large reason United won the game and ultimately the title.

11.Michael Carrick

With an ageing Paul Scholes unable to perform on a weekly basis any more and Darren Fletcher's season terminated by injury, Carrick has stepped into the breach and performed admirably.
His one glaring error came in the semifinal of the FA Cup, but despite this Carrick has had a consistent campaign deserving of recognition and therefore a spot on this list.