Man United midfielder Darren Fletcher has warned United's other Premier League title rivals that we will be just as dangerous without Cristiano Ronaldo. Over the past two seasons Ronaldo scored 67 goals in all competitions but Fletcher believes that we can cope without him.
"Cristiano is a great player, an unbelievable player, and he was a major part of our success when he was with us," said Fletcher.
"But it's a team game as well and a lot goes into a winning team. We still have the nucleus of that, but we've also added players like Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia.
"They've both looked really good. Michael has scored a few goals and Antonio’s performance against Valencia was fantastic. So we feel like we've added a bit of quality as well.
"We've always been tight and we have a great defensive record to back that up, but maybe we've been a little bit too expansive in recent seasons.
"But the Manchester United ethos is all about attacking football and that's what the fans expect.
"You can't be wide open all the time, though. You have to be disciplined and I think you'll see a more rigid 4-4-2 formation this season, with the ability to go 4-3-3 when needed."
Fletcher also spoke about the Champion's League final which he unfortunately couldn't play in due to wrongly being sent off in the semi-final second leg against Arsenal.
"People talk about Rome and the fact I couldn't play because of suspension, but sometimes you become a better player in some people's eyes when you don't play," he said.
"It's easy to sit in the stand and not and play, though. I would much rather have been out there on the pitch against Barcelona.
"But I've heard it quite a lot, people saying you actually get noticed more when you don't play. That was just one of those cases.
"It was nice to hear that over the summer, that I might have made a difference.
"I was desperate to play in the final, but you have to give credit to Barcelona because they put in a fantastic performance. We were beaten by the better team.
"But I feel as though I'm right in there now, fighting for my place in the starting line-up.
"I know I can't take anything for granted because you only have to look at the quality of the players who can come in.
"But I feel as though last season was a big step for me. There are some great midfielders at the club, but I managed to start the season and stay in the team for the majority of it.
"My performances improved because the continuity that comes with playing most weeks."
Much has been made about Ronaldo leaving and the goals we need scoring but I honestly don't know and I don't think anyone does. We will have to see how we get on throughout the season but we have to trust the boss and be positive. We haven't done too bad through pre-season.
