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Manchester United earned rave reviews for the impressive performances of so many young English players in their win over Tottenham. And the Life’s A Pitch panel believes that manager Sir Alex Ferguson has built another strong, new team almost under the radar.

Special guest on the show, the FA director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking is delighted that Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Tom Cleverley, Danny Wellbeck, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney are excelling at Old Trafford. “To have six players interacting like that is great,” he says. “Obviously you’ve got to do it over a period of time, and sometimes when they’re young you’ll have those moments. [But] it is exciting to have players like that.”

Jason Burt of the Daily Telegraph is amazed at the speed with which Man Utd have built a new top-class side and he singles out Phil Jones for special attention. “You look at someone like Phil Jones and he looks like a natural at that level, straight away,” Jason explains. “He’s going to be a real star for the next decade, I think. You don’t want to build him up too much, but you look at that player and he was so comfortable in that environment. And I’m sure it’ll be the same when he plays for England eventually.”

Jason can also understand why Sir Bobby Charlton has already compared Jones to United legend Duncan Edwards. “You can see that dynamic style on a couple of runs he did when he took the ball out of defence. He’s very much a player who will galvanise those around him. You can see others looking to him. He could well captain club and country eventually. You can see him becoming a totemic figure for United and for England.”

John Cross of the Daily Mirror has been particularly impressed by the versatility of Smalling. ”I think he’s been remarkable,” John says. “He’s obviously got a great talent at centre back and it’s such a difficult transition at that level to make [to move from centre back to right back], and yet the versatility and the adaptability he’s shown [has been excellent]. He’s obviously got a great awareness about him, really good in possession. A traditional centre half can’t always do that. He’s shown great pace, great strength. I think he’s got great promise.”

Dominic Fifield of the Guardian, meanwhile, can see the early signs of the England U21s team enriching the senior side. “We have been complaining – the media, as observers from the outside – wondering where the future of the senior England team is and we’re seeing evidence of that now,” he says. “OK, there was disappointment to be had in the summer at the U21s European Championships. But there are players there, who were at that tournament, who are now doing well in the Premier League. And if you’ve got clubs like Man Utd willing to blood these players, then that’s got to bode well for the national team.”

Of United’s rapid team rebuilding process, Dominic says: “I think there were only two players who played in that game [against Tottenham] who started the Champions League final in May, which is astonishing – [Patrice] Evra and Rooney. They’ve completely done this below the radar.”

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Man Utd v Arsenal, live 3:30pm, 28 August, Sky Sports 1
Bolton v Man Utd, live 4:45pm, 10 September, ESPN

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