billycopper
Player Valuation: £40m
Whilst nobody would wish injuries on to our key players, I feel that there could be some benefits to the situation.
If we hadn't lost Jags then maybe Heitinga would still be labouring in midfield or at full back. Hibbert wouldn't have been called up at centreback, for which he may finally have won over a large proportion of the fans. And Coleman probably wouldn't have got the game time that he's had in the league to show what he can do.
If Neville hadn't picked up an injury then Fellaini would most likely still be playing in a more advanced role rather than his preferred midfield anchor position, where he has arguably become our player of the season.
If Arteta hadn't suffered such a long spell on the sidelines then perhaps Pienaar wouldn't have taken on the onus of being our main creative outlet- a responsibility that has caused him to have far more of an impact on games and to up his goalscoring ratio. We may well have not brought Donovan in if Arteta, Gosling and Osman had remained fit.
If all of our strikers hadn't suffered some form of injury or another, and if we had two fit forwards available at any one time, we possibly would have switched to a 4-4-2 formation. In which case we might not have discovered the fluid midfield balance that we're currently enjoying, with Bily, Donovan and Pienaar interchanging.
If we hadn't suffered such adversity, some players may have coasted through this season rather than pushing themselves, especially on the back of reaching Wembley last year.
In seasons past we've tended to fall away in the league come March time, as fatigue takes it's toll on a small squad. This season could be quite the opposite. We're currently about 10 points away from the European places and pushing the top teams all the way even without all our best players. Having Arteta, Jagielka, Yakubu, Anichebe, Vaughan, Rodwell, Gosling, Neville and Yobo back and, more importantly fresh, at this stage of the season, could see us charge up the table to claim a European place.
In another month's time, the concern for Moyes will be how he keeps everyone happy. Seeing a bench last weekend of Nash, Senderos, Coleman, Arteta, Bily, Vaughan and Anichebe was very pleasing. Add Jags, Yakubu, Rodwell, Gosling and Yobo in to that we start to look very strong.
If we hadn't lost Jags then maybe Heitinga would still be labouring in midfield or at full back. Hibbert wouldn't have been called up at centreback, for which he may finally have won over a large proportion of the fans. And Coleman probably wouldn't have got the game time that he's had in the league to show what he can do.
If Neville hadn't picked up an injury then Fellaini would most likely still be playing in a more advanced role rather than his preferred midfield anchor position, where he has arguably become our player of the season.
If Arteta hadn't suffered such a long spell on the sidelines then perhaps Pienaar wouldn't have taken on the onus of being our main creative outlet- a responsibility that has caused him to have far more of an impact on games and to up his goalscoring ratio. We may well have not brought Donovan in if Arteta, Gosling and Osman had remained fit.
If all of our strikers hadn't suffered some form of injury or another, and if we had two fit forwards available at any one time, we possibly would have switched to a 4-4-2 formation. In which case we might not have discovered the fluid midfield balance that we're currently enjoying, with Bily, Donovan and Pienaar interchanging.
If we hadn't suffered such adversity, some players may have coasted through this season rather than pushing themselves, especially on the back of reaching Wembley last year.
In seasons past we've tended to fall away in the league come March time, as fatigue takes it's toll on a small squad. This season could be quite the opposite. We're currently about 10 points away from the European places and pushing the top teams all the way even without all our best players. Having Arteta, Jagielka, Yakubu, Anichebe, Vaughan, Rodwell, Gosling, Neville and Yobo back and, more importantly fresh, at this stage of the season, could see us charge up the table to claim a European place.
In another month's time, the concern for Moyes will be how he keeps everyone happy. Seeing a bench last weekend of Nash, Senderos, Coleman, Arteta, Bily, Vaughan and Anichebe was very pleasing. Add Jags, Yakubu, Rodwell, Gosling and Yobo in to that we start to look very strong.
