With another stern friendly test awaiting Fabio's Lions, Goal.com's Sulmaan Ahmad knows what it will take for big game success in South Africa next summer...

Not so long ago, Manchester United were on the wrong side of a mauling at the hands of Barcelona in the Champions League final and their season, despite how incredible it had been for so long, briefly felt like a failure.

They won the Premier League - completing their second hat-trick of titles in the last decade - the Club World Cup, the League Cup, and did well to get to the FA Cup semi-finals, before an under-strength team was knocked out by Everton on penalties.

On paper, what lacked at the end of last season compared to the one before was the record in big games. The 2008-09 season may have yielded one more trophy, but the two won in 2007-08 were the biggest two on offer, and their record against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool (and, I think it goes without saying, Barcelona) was a mark up from where it was last time around.

Considerable credit must go to Owen Hargreaves, who was a long-term target of Sir Alex Ferguson as something of a successor to Roy Keane - tactically, if not inspirationally. Though he was in and out of the side with injury problems even in his first season, he was around for big games when it mattered and never failed to perform, whether in centre midfield, right-wing or even right-back.

His particular style of marking and pressing becomes invaluable when United can't just rely on the likes of Scholes, Carrick or Anderson to outplay their opponents in midfield and dictate the tempo of proceedings. Hargreaves disarms opponents and certainly, having come through the ranks with an immeasurable number of Bayern legends, is no slouch with the ball at his feet, either.

On the international stage, unaided by being born in Canada and having become the player he is with England's rivals in Germany, he has regularly been overlooked and underrated since his 2001 England debut under Sven-Goran Eriksson. The fact so many of his 41 caps have been substitute appearances in a left-wing role tells a story of its own.

Capello, though, is different. He knows what this team needs to be successful, and it's not Gerrard and Lampard alongside each other in centre midfield.

Gareth Barry is one of his favourites, but even he, like Hargreaves' team-mate Michael Carrick, is not so strong defensively as is required to neutralise the bigger threats possessed by the bigger teams. No English midfielder does what he does better than him. There is a reason that, for all of the impressive progression England have shown under Capello, they couldn't even get the ball off Spain for long enough to do anything other than lose 2-0.

Holland, tomorrow's opponents, are a similarly creative and relentlessly attacking side. England may find it easier to overpower them, but not by much. They are one of the form teams in the world and will have the likes of Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar ready to prove a point, knowing that the world will be watching their every move.

To get anywhere in South Africa, England will at some point have to get past the likes of Spain, Holland, Brazil or Argentina. They will need that perfect balance and it is no exaggeration to suggest that the most important man to add to their squad over the course of the next season is Owen Hargreaves. Unfortunately, despite all his ability, the bottom line might be drawn by the fact he has even less chance of staying fit than Michael Owen.

He may be back in the big time, but Owen is not the answer to England's problems anymore. He continues to be the headline omission upon the announcement of every squad selection, but he is not quite top of their list of priorities.

Having been and still being a born goalscorer, the man bestowed the honour of United's No. 7 shirt could certainly serve a purpose within the Three Lions squad, but Capello knows his first XI needs Wayne Rooney at his best, and that it is highly unlikely to happen alongside his new Old Trafford team-mate. Sir Alex probably knows it, too: the dynamic isn't one that will create enough chances for either of them, nor would it facilitate United's style of play. Berbatov and Heskey rejoice.

Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com
SoS Owen

August 11, 2009

DARREN Fletcher’s reputation has soared by missing the Champions League final - now he wants to prove he can match the hype on the pitch.

It has become a familiar refrain this summer as Fletcher has wandered round the posh Cheshire suburb he calls home with his twin sons. “If only you had been there, it wouldn’t have happened.”

For a player who spent so long gaining recognition from the United faithful, too many of whom wrongly claimed the Dalkeith-born star was only being persevered with because his manager had an aching desire to bring one of his fellow countrymen through the Old Trafford ranks, it is quite a statement.

Yet it is also the inescapable conclusion to draw from the European Cup final, when United were passed to death by Barcelona, completely incapable of preventing Andres Iniesta and Xavi torturing and tormenting them at will as Fletcher stewed in the stands, consigned there due to the needless red card he picked up when the semi-final at Arsenal was already won.

Not that Fletcher is about to let the adulation go to his head.

“The only thing people have said to me this summer is that United missed me in Rome,” he said.

“It is nice to hear and I did feel I made a big step forward last season.

“But sometimes you become a better player by not playing. People notice you because you are not there. It is easy to sit in the stand. I was desperate to be out there.”

Fletcher is not quite as phlegmatic as Paul Scholes yet at heart he remains a pretty grounded individual which is why he will consign the agony of having to sit in a suit at the Olympic Stadium for what should have been the biggest night of his career to the back of his mind.

Strong enough to accept the captaincy of his country, then reject George Burley’s request not to play in Sunday’s Community Shield so he would be fresh for Scotland’s crucial World Cup qualifier in Norway on Wednesday, Fletcher is mentally tough enough to know the challenges he still faces.

“I was always going to play for Scotland this week but I did not want to miss a Manchester United game either,” he said.

“There is competition for places at this club. If you take your face out of things it gives someone else a chance to perform, so I wanted to be fighting for my place.

“I want to play for Manchester United as much as I do for Scotland.”

Consistent

Undeniably, last season’s was Fletcher’s best and most consistent.

The 25-year-old made 42 appearances last term and the vast majority of his contributions were telling ones in a season that ended with a third Premier League title if not a place in Rome.

“There are some great midfielders at the club but I managed to get into the team for the start of the season and stay there for most of it,” he said.

“My performances improved because of the continuity of playing most weeks.

“Now I feel as if I am right in there competing for a place in the starting line-up each week, although I can’t take anything for granted because there is so much competition.”

As United move into the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era, Fletcher is expecting more rigidity, with an orthodox 4-4-2 formation replacing the flexible patterns their Portuguese superstar used to prefer.

However, that should not be translated into a lowering of standards as Fletcher feels United are well capable of registering an unprecedented fourth consecutive domestic crown.

“Obviously Cristiano is a great player and was a big part of our success. But it is a team game,” he said.

“A lot goes into creating a winning team and we still have the nucleus of that.

“We have also brought in Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia, plus Gabriel Obertan. We have not seen much of him yet but the other two have looked really good, which makes us feel confident about doing well.”