Tom Cleverley or Jack Wilshere. This seems to be the hottest and the most debated topic in the media and amongst the fans currently. It’s always been Cleverley or Wilshere. Wonder why it can’t be Cleverley and Wilshere. Why does does it always have to be either of them and not both of them. Although I’ve touched that topic a little at the end of this article.
There are few players from the United Youth and Reserve team who I really look forward to play in the First team. Cleverley, Pogba, Morrison, Daehli, Januzaj, the Keane brothers, Petrucci and few others on the list. Morrison and Pogba decided to move on from United while the others are pretty much in contention to break into the first team. Cleverley, oldest of the lot, was the first one to take that step. Tom Cleverley joined the Manchester United youth setup as an 11 year old kid. Much was talked about him as he made his way up to the Reserve team. A kid with bright future with the club as well as the national team. Sir Alex Ferguson has always encouraged players from the Academy to make the big step forward. Who can forget the famous Fergie’s Fledging’s.
Cleverley first got a taste of first team action during the pre-season tour of 2008 in South Africa. However, he never made an appearance in a competitive game that season. He had a series of loan spells before he made his competitive debut for United at the start of the 2011-12 season. His loan spells included stints at Leicester City, Watford and Wigan. He suffered long term injuries during his loans at Leicester and Watford. Just when it looked that he was settling in, the injury disrupted his progress. Despite the injury, he ended up being Watford’s Player of the Season. He scored a total of 11 League goals in 35 games for Watford. The following season, Tom again featured in the pre-season tour for United but was loaned to Wigan to gain some first-team Premiership experience. It proved to be a good decision as it gave him the opportunity to adjust himself to the Premier League game-style. He played 25 games for the Latics, scoring 4 goals. The main feature of his game of the creativity he brought into the midfield. He had a wide range of passing and never shy of making those long cross-field passes. He was the driving force in the Wigan midfield.
Cleverley finally made his appearance on the competitive stage for United during the 2011 Community shield against Manchester City. It was a good start to his United first team career and there were certainly signs that he could be the answer to United’s midfield issues. Scholes’ retirement meant that there was a huge void to be filled in the midfield and Sir Alex was confident that Cleverley was up for the challenge. Usually deployed as a Central Midfielder, Tom can play both, as an Attacking midfielder as well as on the right side of the midfield. His primary strength and position remains in the centre. He has certainly shown glimpses of his quality and what he can bring to the midfield. He’s an intelligent passer of the ball and has good control over it. He’s obviously not reached the ‘Scholes’ level but has made good progress. His first season was hampered by frequent injuries and kept him out of the team for long periods. Quite often he was very inconsistent with his performances. He showcased his talent in bits and pieces and went missing at other times. Some of his performances were rusty and seemed like the media hype was affecting his game.
The current season has been more fruitful for him. He’s done well in establishing himself as a first team regular in the midfield. Another important thing is that, he’s managed to keep his fitness levels high. The midfield partnership with Carrick has been outstanding so far. Both of them complement each other very well. Carrick playing in the holding midfield position has given Tom the freedom to attack more and make forward runs. The attacking runs into opposition penalty area as well as holding up the play in midfield has been very good. He has terrific vision and good combination play, but his final ball lets him down sometimes. Another key element is his versatility. He can adapt to different formations depending on the need. He still lacks that goal-scoring ability from midfield. That’s something he needs to work on and eventually develop. Although, he did score two wonderful goals curled into the bottom corner almost similar to each other. One being against Sunderland and the other in a FA Cup game against West Ham.
As for the National Team, injuries hampered his inclusion initially. He has put in a few decent performances but is capable of doing far better. Being a first team regular for the club will help him cement his position for England alongside Wilshere. The onus of replacing Gerrard and Lampard is firmly on these two. It’ll be interesting to see how Roy Hodgson manages to get both of them together in the starting XI. I just hope that it doesn’t lead to the debate whether Wilshere and Cleverley can play in the same team. Unlike in the case of Gerrard and Lampard, both the players in this case are capable of inter-changing positions. Cleverley has proved himself to be effective as an attacking midfielder and on the other hand, Wilshere has done a good job being deployed in the centre of the midfield.
Coming to the debate about who is better, I feel at this point Wilshere edges over Cleverley. He’s undoubtedly the first name on the Arsenal team-sheet. His performances in the season before last were tremendous. His vision, passing and ball-control have been excellent. He does have issues sometimes with his temper and dives in to rash tackles. One thing that has worked in favor for Wilshere is that, he’s had to take up the responsibility of handling the Arsenal midfield very early on in his career and has responded very well to that challenge. And with Fabregas gone, he quickly became a central figure in the Arsenal team. On the other hand, Cleverley took a few years to break into the first team. He had Scholes, Carrick and Fletcher ahead of him and it was evident that he wouldn’t get the required time on the field had he not gone on loan. Despite the injuries to both of them, Wilshere has made over 80 appearances for Arsenal while Cleverley has featured just 38 times for United. These factors have helped Wilshere establish himself better than Cleverley. If nutured and played to their full potential, England could have a deadly midfield combination in Jack and Tom.
Coming back to Cleverley, he has been very good this season. He’s slowly starting to repay the early faith and expectations shown by the fans and the manager. The next season could be very vital for him. The opportunity is present; it’s up to him to make full use of it. Nothing makes you happier than seeing an Academy player making it big at the highest level. Tom has made a good start and something he can definitely build upon. In coming years, Cleverley could be the goal-scoring midfielder United always wanted. And along with Wilshere, he’s the future of English midfield.
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An Article by RohanKhrisna27
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