Tom Cleverley gives Man Utd midfield consistency in place of Paul Scholes.

Tom Cleverley's performance on Monday night against Tottenham at Old Trafford will have reassured Man Utd fans that all is not lost following Paul Scholes' retirement. When Sir Alex Ferguson identified Cleverley as a potential homegrown replacement for the outgoing Scholes many fans looked forward to seeing him in first team action. 

Cleverley has now started both of Man Utd's opening fixtures; impressing in both. It is for this reason that he is the focus of this weeks' Tactical Analysis article on dhpremiership. When looking at Cleveryleys' passing map for his first two Premier League starts, it is clear to see what he does well.

Tom Cleverley's passes v West Brom (14/8/11).

In 82 minutes against West Bromwich Albion, Cleverley managed 64 passes; 58 of which were successful passes. The vast majority of these passes were only short passes that help keep the ball moving as it were. This is however something that Man Utd will look for, because of how rarely he gives the ball away. 

Just looking at the diagram from the West Brom game it is clear to see that he likes to involve the wide men (in this case Ashley Young and Nani). It seems that Young and Nani are beginning to drop deeper in search of the ball, with Cleverley often providing them with possession. This in turn suits Young and Nani as they are far more effective at running with the ball than receiving it too far up the field.

Cleverley also does his fair share of work in the attacking third; linking up the play with what are often forward-thinking passes. 

Tom Cleverley's passes v Totenham (22/8/11).

Against  Tottenham on Monday night, Cleverley saw less of the ball. In 82 minutes he attemped 35 passes, 30 of which were successful and perhaps crucially one of which was an assist for his young compatriot Danny Wellbeck. 

Tottenham's quality in possession of the ball may have been the reason for Cleverley's reduced amount of possession, however he remained effective when he did have it. 

Just as he did against West Brom, Cleverley again involved Ashley Young and Nani wherever possible by getting the ball wide (often with a 10-15 yard pass). Something that did differ in this match however was the amount of times he got the ball to Wayne Rooney's feet. The vast majority of his short passes past the half way line were to Rooney; showing that he is just as forward-thinking as his predecessor Paul Scholes. 

It seems that with Tom Cleverley in the starting X1, Man Utd will dominate possession of the ball just as they did with Scholes in the side. Whilst the likes of Young, Anderson, Nani, Rooney and even Wellbeck will have a larger influence going forward, Cleverley's work in the 'engine room' will keep Man Utd ticking over. He has shown he is far from careless in possession and his intelligence with the ball will progress as his playing career does. Let us not forget also that Cleverley is yet another product of an outstanding production line at United. Loan spells at Leicester City, Watford and Wigan Athletic have clearly given him some invaluable experience away from Old Trafford; similar to Danny Wellbeck's time away. Perhaps crucially however, his 25 appearances for Wigan in the 2010/11 season have given him a decent taste of Premier League football; something which is now benefitting Man Utd.

Cleverley celebrates his role in a sumptuous Community Shield goal v Man City. Photo: EPLtalk.

Had it not been for the riotous acts of England's youth only a short time ago, Cleverley may have made his debut for Fabio Capello's England side against Holland; perhaps the only thing I was looking forward to in what would have been yet another meaningless friendly encounter! 

Cleverley's time will undoubtedly come in the England side, however his immediate focus will be on establishing himself and Man Utd's holding midfielder in what looks like an incredibly strong squad. Far be it from me to offer Sir Alex any advice, but I would love to see Cleverley start once again against Arsenal this weekend, and I think he will. With the pace and skill they have in Ashley Young and Nani, coupled with the work-ethic of Anderson and Cleverley, United's midfield will be simply too strong for Arsenal I think. With such quality around him I would also tip Wayne Rooney to continue his decent start to the season. 

DH