Man United midfielder Anderson has had a mixed season for United, he has gone from being linked with a move away, to having a few great performances, disappearing to Brazil and being linked with a move away again.

On the 25th August 2009 it was being reported that Anderson had, had a major bust-up with manager Sir Alex Ferguson. It was believed that Anderson had said that he wanted to quit and Sir Alex granting his wish.

The following day there was an interview with Anderson printed by the Daily Mail the 21-year old said:

"I thought that, without Cristiano Ronaldo around, I could to play more and that has been my challenge from pre-season onwards.

"But the coach decides the teams and to discuss this with him is foolish because he is the chief. I do not want to leave United. No.

"Sir Alex Ferguson has demanded a bigger effort from me and I accept that. Because to get into this United team is very complicated and difficult for any player." 

The summer transfer window closed and the midfielder was still at Old Trafford. On the 30th September 2009 Man United beat Wolfsburg 2-1 at home, Anderson had a successful game, which resulted in Sir Alex singing his praises.

Sir Alex said: : “I think we had a very good team performance tonight in terms of our football”

“I think Michael and Anderson in central midfield had particularly good games for us.”

Everything was fine until the January transfer window came around and the Brazilian was being linked with a move away, again. Things took a turn for the worse when it was being reported that Anderson didn’t turn up for training.

It was believed that Anderson felt the full force of Sir Alex Ferguson’s wrath after United’s 2-1 loss to Man City in the first leg of the Carling Cup final. He was then left out of the squad to play Hull. Days later Anderson was in Brazil without the clubs permission.

Since then he hasn’t played for the first team, he has played for the reserves. He was named in the squad to play Everton last weekend but wasn’t named in the starting line-up or on the bench.

He has been named in the squad who face West Ham tonight and some quotes have appeared in the press today.

"The conversations with Ferguson are private but I have explained my situation," said Anderson.
"I went to Brazil to think about my future and not to negotiate with other clubs.

"One of my dreams this season is to make the Brazil squad for the World Cup but the fact is that if I do not play for United then [the national coach] Dunga is not going to be interested in me.

"This is very hard for me because I need minutes on the field during the coming matches. I always had a good relation with Ferguson. He has asked me for more effort and I accept that, but I need more chances to play in the first team."

"I have won titles in Manchester but still the people have not seen my real performance on the field"

"I am not a machine. It is impossible to function 100% in each match and I accept that I have not played well during some matches but those were not significant enough to stop me playing for a long time."

"The decision not to ask me to travel to Milan was down to the coach," noted Anderson. "I just hope I have more luck and can play in the return game.

"I am a professional footballer and my responsibility is to United. Am I happy? I would say I am optimistic. If I play more games then I will be happy. But that is normal.

"Some European clubs have asked about me but, as far as I am concerned, my future is still with United.
"I am not finished here and I'm convinced that I can offer much to this team in the decisive moments of the season."

We will have to wait and see what happens with him but I believe it would be a shame to see him leave in the summer. He is only 21, which gives him plenty of time to improve and start becoming more consistent in his performances.

He has the quality to become a regular in the Man United team, he just needs to keep his head down, train well and I am sure Fergie will put him back into the team.