Paul Scholes’ Manchester United career is to be extended by
another year, but his time going toe-to-toe with the Premier
League’s best must come to an end.
Reports have stated that Sir Alex Ferguson has rewarded his veteran
midfielder with a new 12-month contract to continue his 15-year
spell at the club. While his signature has yet to be sealed, the
extension is just reward for a man who continues to be a valuable
member of the squad.
Alongside fellow senior citizens Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Edwin
Van der Sar, the 35-year-old is still a regular fixture on the
Premier League champions’ team sheet. Scholes was meant to wind
down his career in the humble environs of his hometown club Oldham
Athletic in League One, but on current form he more than merits his
place at the highest level.
Twin strikes against CSKA Moscow and Besiktas has prompted the
manager’s decision, as well as a performance against Tottehnham
Hotspur which rewound the clock, at least until he was
red-carded.
The sending off isn’t the only blot on his copy book this season.
Effortless displays against Spurs, Wigan Athletic and Stoke City
have been tempered by his public struggles when selected to face
the tough tackling units of Liverpool and Sunderland.
Thrown in at the deep end against the tenacious duo of Lucas and
Javier Mascherano at Anfield, Scholes was swamped by their
attentions. Never blessed with the engine and size of many of his
contemporaries, he previously made up for the imbalance with a
street fighter’s aggression and ballerina’s touch.
Age has robbed him of the turn of speed and tenacity that made him
capable of trading blows. Even the flawless touch can fall away
when pressurised by men capable of making him play the game at a
speed his ageing legs are not used to.
Ryan Giggs’ supreme physical capacity has hardly been diminished,
but for the asthmatic Scholes, this problem has been extenuated in
recent years.
United’s terrible 2-0 defeat at Anfield was followed by a 1-0
setback against Chelsea. While United were never at the races in
Merseyside with Scholes in place, a team flush with terriers
outfought the Blues on their turf.
Ferguson seemed to have learnt from the harsh lesson dealt. For
nearly all of Scholes’ period at the hub of the all-conquering
machine, he has been in the starting side for the top of the table
clashes that led to the league title residing in the Old Trafford
trophy cabinet.
The ‘Ginger Maestro’ can now only play to his own tune against the
rest, because the best will destroy his rhythm.