Good servant leaving

Vidic has been a good servant all these years, except for the few games against when Torres seemed to always get the better of him, so it was with a heavy heart that I read the news that he was leaving at the end of the season.

Having said that, however, it must be said that United would be better off getting a younger defender, one in the same cut as Vidic. Of all the leagues in the world, it has to be said that the English league is the toughest for defenders. It is fast and it is rough. So, having a younger defender, one who is tough and fast, would do United a world of good.

Let's face it. Though still a fantastic defender, Vidic is getting slow and a little bit too injury prone. We send him off with a host of gratitude and wish him well, though.

Rio Ferdinand, too, should be heading off soon, if not at the end of the season, then the next. He is older than Vidic, and even though he is still a fantastic reader of the game, he is also injury prone and a little on the slow side, to put it mildly.

Evans is a good central defender and the more games he gets under his belt the better he will become. With Vidic going, and you would have to think Ferdinand too, he should get more games and improve even more. The only thing is, he is injury prone as well.

I guess such are the demands of the English games that central defenders tend to pick up injuries easily.

Smalling and Jones have the makings of good central defenders but they have a long way to go yet and one wonders if they will ever be as good as people like Vidic, Ferdinand, Stam, Bruce and Pallister were for United.

We need to buy at least two more central defenders, and at least one needs to be an established one, able to take hard knocks and give them as well (legally, of course).

Meanwhile, all eyes will be at Old Trafford tonight as the United faithful hope the season will finally get started in the bid for a Champions League spot, though Liverpool's drubbing of Arsenal last night has seemed to suck all hope away, if there is any still there.

Good luck United. Good luck Vidic.