Why Man United need to quickly find a replacement for Paul Scholes

Manchester United are trying to persuade Paul Scholes to sign a contract extension. Recently the club have extended the deals of Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher and Micheal Carrick. But getting Paul Scholes' contract sorted is proving to be difficult for United.

There are a number of reports commenting that the stumbling block in the deal is the amount of games Paul Scholes wants to play. United want him to play most games. While Scholes doesn't feel he can play every game for the club. That is quite understandable, seeing Man United will normally play around two games in a week. With Scholes being 36, he will find it tough to maintain his fitness and keep up with the fast pace of the Premier League. Now, of course, even at 36, he has proved he can keep up with the electric pace of the Premier League. In his last two games, Paul Scholes has had a 91% successful passing completion rate. His last game for United was the fast tempo match against Chelsea. And even though the game was played with great pace ontinually played with great pace he still managed a fantastic 52 successful passes and only misplaced 5 passes in 70 minutes of football. Pretty impressive for a 36 year old, especially in the context of one of the highest quality matches in the Premier League.

But Paul Scholes worries that age will sooner or later get the better of his football. Its already becoming rather apparent. In his last three games Scholes has been withdrawn after the 70 minute mark. Its like what they say when playing young teenagers, 'don't play them too much or you will burn them out.' With Scholes it's similar, if he plays too much at the age of 36, it may cause long term injuries and could see his abilities suddenly decline.

Of course, Paul Scholes is a fantastic player. A once in a generation type of player. A player who has a brilliant first touch, a great eye for a pass and a tidy finish. Zinedine Zidane's once said "My toughest opponent? Scholes. He is undoubtedly the greatest player of his generation." Players like Scholes are hard to come by these days. I'm sure Sir Alex Ferguson knows that too. But United need to find a suitable replacement for Paul Scholes.

For me Anderson is a good player, but whether he is a suitable replacement for Scholes is another question. Anderson can see a pass and understands the game well. But the jury is still out on his passing execution in the final third. Furthermore he lacks the physical strength to be able to control the centre of midfield, like Scholes does for United. Man United need someone who can run with the ball at their feet and someone who can see a pass and execute it in the final third. Now, there are plenty of other attributes this player needs in order to fill the void left by Paul Scholes. But United need to be willing to spend what it takes to get this type of player.

There have been rumours that Luka Modric has been identified as a possible replacement for Scholes. If Spurs do sell him to Man United, which could be possible, if Spurs fail to make the Champions League grade this season. United would have a player in a similar mould to Paul Scholes. Both Modric and Scholes have a brilliant first touch and have a fantastic long and short range passing abilties.

Man United seriously need to replace Scholes before he retires. Of course it would be lovely to see Paul Scholes carry on, simply because he is extremely unique player. But Scholes' time is coming to an end. If United want to make the transition of Scholes smooth, they need to dig into their pockets and find a suitable replacement for this sensational player. Yes, Scholes will be missed. But if United fail to replace him properly it could hinder their success. As the Man United's central midfield would lack a creative edge. Somthing which they have characteristically had for decades.

I expect Man United to find a suitable replacement for Scholes. The best clubs are the teams who can transition almost unnoticingly from one genereation to another. Sir Alex is a genius when it comes to replacing the stars of yesterday. Take David Beckham, he was replaced by a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. When Ronaldo left the United in 2009, Nani stepped up his game and it seemed United didnt even miss Ronaldo on the pitch. Two years later and Nani is seen as a world class player. So Sir Alex Ferguson is the best man to find a fitting replacement for Paul Scholes.Thierry Henry once said 'Without any doubt the best player in the Premiership has to be Scholes.' Many of Scholes fellow footballers have nothing but respect and admiration for his abilities. But Scholes knows his time is coming to an end. Manchester United need to fill the void left by Scholes. Or Scholes' abilities will be sorely missed.

Scholes doesn't do much talking off the pitch, but boy, doesn't he do his talking on the pitch. He is certainly a gift to Manchester United.

Why Spurs pursue of David Beckham will not help them in there road to glory

The constant football headlines linking David Beckham with Spurs is becoming a little frustrating. The Tottenham team is a team built on tenacity, pace, and flair. I’m sorry. David Beckham doesn’t have those abilities! He didn’t have them when he was 23 nor does he have them now at the tender age of 35. Spurs this season have been incredibly fluid in their style of play. This has been due to the great management skills of Harry Redknapp. He has effectively utilised the likes of Gareth Bale, Rafeal Van der Vaart and Luka Modric. However, Beckham wouldn’t instil any fluidity in Tottenham’s play. Beckham who has clearly passed his peak has not got the physical or technical skills to keep up with the premier league standard let alone the tenacious spurs side.

Many football commentators argue Beckham would be an ‘impact substitute.’ I couldn’t disagree anymore. Beckham isn’t the type of player who can pop up with a goal from nowhere. Nor is he a player who can skin one or two players. If anything Beckham will be make a passive contribution from the bench. The only effective contribution he can make is through delivery in set pieces. Some would argue that is making an impact. Which is fair enough, but spurs already have outstandingly technically gifted players. The likes of Bale, Van der Vaart, Modric who can all distribute the ball effectively and have decent free kicks. Some believe Beckham may have a role to play in the centre of midfield. Logically, I can see this happening. Beckham hasn’t got the pace, but he can ping a ball around. But it’s clear that the likes of Modric and Huddlestone have the ability to muster effective short range and long range passes. Furthermore, one of the effective features of the spurs midfield is that they all are very competent at running with ball. However, David Beckham has never really had that ability, and at 35 I doubt he will have developed it.

Assistant coach Joe Jordan believes Beckham will give the side ‘experience.’ But do spurs really need to waste a good deal of cash for a short term loan, which includes covering parts of the players wages and a loan fee? Yes Beckham is a brilliant professional, on and off the pitch he represents the game brilliantly. But do Spurs an ambitious champions league side need this experience vitally? The answer is no. The squad of players have shown great professionalism and character in a number of performances this season. Take the result at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal. Coming back from 2 down against a title challenger, at their own ground and not to mention your arch rivals shows great character from Tottenham. One thing great results do- whether you win or lose. Is the ability to give your team collectively and the individually experience. As they learn how to handle the intensity of certain matches and atmospheres.

Managers are always looking to improve their sides. Harry Redknapp has proved at Spurs he has done a brilliant job at improving the club. His acquisitions have generally have had a successful impact on the club’s strong progression. But the potential signing of David Beckham will not improve his side. The most frustrating aspect of this deal is that Spurs are working so hard to make this deal materialise even though it’s for a mere three months. If the club were looking to loan messi for three months fair enough. But Beckham? Come on. Lets get realistic.