Too Much Too Soon for Bebe & Obertan?

After the game against Crawley Town in which Manchester United squeezed through to a narrow win, there were more than few questions asked about certain United players - questions that challenged whether some players were good enough to represent one of the best football clubs in the world.

As usual, when bold questions like these are put forward by the media and some fans, there is a barrel of mixed, contradicting and interesting views.

There are those who say the players who underperformed once too many - in this case Bebe and Obertan, should be gotten rid of as soon as possible. They say that if they can't perform against a lowly team like Crawley - 90 or so league places below United, then they have no chance of making any positive impact in the Premier League against teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and the rest. If they cannot even look like penetrating a Crawley defence, how are they going to fair against Champions League defences, who are trained to keep out the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?

It has to be said, that Bebe and Obertan have not done themselves any favours with performances like that against Crawley in the F.A Cup. That was their time to shine - they won't get many chances in the League - so if they wanted to show the Old Trafford faithful what they are capable of, the F.A Cup was the perfect time. They failed to deliver.

On the other hand, there are those who jumped to the defence of the under fire pair. They say that they haven't been given enough time to shine or enough time to settle. Some hold the strong belief that Bebe and Obertan have the quality, but do not have the fitness in Bebe's case, or the confidence in Obertan's case, ad in time, with the guidance of the genius of Ferguson, they will come good.

Going on the performances I have seen from the pair, there isn't much basis for the above argument.

Obertan certainly holds the more natural talent from what I have seen - he has trickery, pace, and is building his strength. At the moment he is not good enough to challenge for a place on the wings - Nani and Valencia are currently in another league to him, but I think he will improve with support and confidence. Having said that, I can't see him ever nailing down a first team place, and I see him more of a lively substitute in the future.

Bebe on the other hand has shown very little to convince me that he is good enough - now or in the future - to challenge for even a substitute place. He has been so very poor, and the amount of abuse he has received - although harsh, is mostly true.

I think Sir Alex has learned his lessons. One, watch a player before you sign him, and two, don't take Carlos Quieroz's recommendations too seriously. Spending £7 million on Bebe was a mistake - his agent must still have his jaw firmly rooted to the floor in utter disbelief. Sir Alex will have to work miracles himself if he were to re-coop the fee paid for the Portuguese attacker.

I think it has probably been a case of too much too soon for both players. Obertan was hardly a regular at Bordeux before his £3 million move, and Bebe was playing on the streets of Portugal, and had no big League experience.

A few more seasons playing in the reserves with the occasional appearance in the Carling Cup and F.A Cup will do good for Bebe so he can gradually build his fitness, confidence, and lets hope his quality too.

Obertan can be trusted with more first team appearances, but needs the support of the fans, his team mates and his manager to build his confidence. Both need to settle in, but if they don't perform in the reserves, there is only one place they can possibly go - out the door.

Manchester United Winger Not Leaving

Rumours that a transfer request had been handed in to Manchester United by their French winger Gabriel Obertan were rubbished by his agent today, who insisted that Obertan is happy at Manchester United and no transfer request had been handed in at any time.

Obertan, who was brought in by Sir Alex Ferguson in July 2009 - a £3 million buy from French club Bordeaux, was rumoured to have come to the conclusion that he is not good enough to make the grade at Old Trafford. He has not had a lot of pitch time in his short stay at the club, but this is to be expected from a player that was relatively unknown in the English Premier League at the time of his aquisition.
Obertan's representative, Karim Djaziri, claimed the Frenchman has not handed in a transfer request and is happy to stay at Old Trafford:

"I have read that Gabriel has handed in a transfer request, but no he has not done this. He is very happy at Manchester United and he doesn't want to leave.

Obertan was signed and unveiled along with Antonio Valencia, who came from Wigan, and although Valencia is currently out injured (but soon to return), the Ecuadorian winger is one of a few players whom fight for a place on the wings. Obertan should be taking tips from players such as Nani, Ryan Giggs and Antonia Valencia, in the hope that he can learn how to become an accomplished wing man. It seems his representative acknowledges this:

"He is still learning and he knows he is not ready to be a regular starter in the team, but he is working hard to be a member of the first team."

It is true that Obertan hasn't set United alight, and his career in Manchester hasn't really taken off yet, but at the young age of 21, and still quite inexperienced in English football, the Frenchman has much to learn, and has plenty of time to learn it. Who and where better to learn his trade than under the wing of Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, who knows what it is like to be coming up through the United ranks?

Obertan has scored only one goal in the first team for United, which was in a Champions League game against Bursaspor, but he has been impressive in the reserves, scoring a handful of quality goals which must have impressed Ferguson. Young players like this need a chance, and therefore must be patient and prepared to work hard to prove that he is good enough to make the grade at United, because at United, only the best will do.