It's all in the mind - a key to success at Old Trafford

After the disappointing performance against Crawley last night, I tweeted the following question out to my followers:

"Are certain squad players blocking the path to the first team of some talented youth players?"

The response was almost entirely in the affirmative but this got me thinking some more into what is required to make it as a United player.

Clearly you have to possess a great deal of talent to be spotted in the first place but I have come to believe that the key trait to become a true United player is "all in the mind".

The player that helped bring me to this conclusion was the subject of much of the discussion following the debacle witnessed at Old Trafford. 

Gabriel Obertan was signed from Bordeaux in July 2009 and what is striking about his stats prior to his move is that of his 69 league appearances, only 14 had come from the start of the match. That's to say that nearly 80% of the time, the Frenchman came off the bench when playing for his club . This is hardly compelling evidence pointing towards a certain transfer to the world's biggest club but clearly the scouting network spotted something to work on.

Obertan in his Bordeaux days

The two quotes below came from Laurent Blanc about Obertan after his transfer to United was confirmed:

“He has the potential, but he must overcome psychological and mental challenges so he can express his true value.”

“Manchester have been tracking him for a long time. They certainly hope to advance him, something that Bordeaux and Lorient have failed to do."

It is clear that Obertan has talent, after all he was a product of the famed Clairefontaine academy and has represented his country at every level except as a full senior international. What must be debated and is an unknown quantity is his mental strength. It is well known that (Bebe apart) the powers that be at Old Trafford tend to carry out extensive homework on each player they wish to bring to the club so they obviously felt that here was the club to bring out the best in the 21 year old. 

This is what brings me to the main point of this post. What United like to do with players is get them to the club at an early age and this is when the real work starts. Not only on the training pitch but perhaps more importantly, off the pitch on the mental side of the game. This will be part of the amazing legacy that will be left by Sir Alex Ferguson when he finally departs Old Trafford. The next incumbent will have a tough job continuing this philosophy and is why many United fans would like to see someone with experience of this to be the one appointed. The name of Mourinho has been mentioned as a possible successor to the great man from Govan but his managerial career has been somewhat nomadic thus far (albeit highly successful)  which is hardly conducive to a continuation of the Ferguson legacy. 

The philosophy cannot be summed up in a few words but is that innate will to win and that never say die attitude that is intrinsically instilled in all those that are lucky enough to graduate from the Carrington academy. Any player that does not have this quality is swiftly dispensed with and will have to settle for a career at a lower level. Bringing me back to the likes of Obertan, this mental edge is very difficult to teach at such a late age which is why so many foreign players join United and then fall by the wayside. Of course there are exceptions to this rule as the likes of Ronaldo and Nani can testify to but every one of these gems, one could also mention Manucho, Djemba Djemba, Kleberson and Tosic. These players were identified as United class but were found wanting when it came to combining their footballing talent with the mental capability to adapt to life in the spotlight.

This is what is so exciting about the current crop of youngsters knocking on the door of the first team at the current time. The likes of King, Pogba, Tunnicliffe and Morrison not only have fantastic talent but you can also be assured that they possess that unique United mental edge. In the case of the latter, patience has been supremely tested after news of off-field misdemeanors became public. It is clear that a last chance scenario has been spelled out to the player who would be foolish to risk throwing away this unique opportunity in favour of an uncertain future.

Members of the famous class of 1992 with mentor Eric Harrison

This present batch are arguably the most exciting to progress through the ranks since the famous class of 92. The likes of Giggs, Scholes and Beckham were always likely to graduate to the first team after being earmarked as truly exceptional from an early age. The lesser known names among those currently trying to break through should take heart from the example set by Gary Neville. Never blessed with the outstanding natural talent of some of his peers, he made an outstanding career out of making the most of his talent coupled with that instilled United mental edge described earlier. He quickly learned what it was to be a United player and that if he wanted to succeed, he had to forgo most of the normal things experienced by his non-footballing peer group as they grew up.


In conclusion, never underestimate the importance of the mental edge that is instilled in our players as they have made their way through the ranks at firstly The Cliff and now Carrington. No other club possesses this extraordinary ability to overcome the insurmountable odds that hail from the days of the Busby Babes right through to the glorious reign of Sir Alex Ferguson.

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