By Ben James Aug 7, 2007, 15:31 GMT
London - Having danced their way to the English Premier League title in May with the kind of flair not seen since the days of Eric Cantona, Manchester United will be looking for more of the same this season as they bid to retain their title.
With Cristiano Ronaldo flying and Ryan Giggs enjoying an Indian summer to his career, United scored 123 goals in all competitions last season, ending Chelsea's dominance and showing that a side can win the league by attacking.
Of course, their success was built on a solid foundation at the back with Nemanja Vidic slotting in superbly into the centre of defence, but United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has always been attack-minded, using wingers throughout his reign at Old Trafford, which began back in 1986.
To that end, he has been active in the transfer market this summer, signing 20-year-old Portuguese winger Nani and Brazilian midfielder Anderson, together with England midfielder Owen Hargreaves and goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak for a total outlay of almost 50 million pounds (101 million dollars).
But the biggest signal to the rest that they mean to continue their all-out attack is the capture of Argentina striker Carlos Tevez from West Ham. The transfer may have been highly protracted but his presence can only improve United further.
'Our team is stronger than it was last year,' Ronaldo, one of the stars of United's triumph last season, said.
'The new signings are all great players. I am looking forward to playing with all of them because I am sure they will help the team a lot.
'It is always difficult to win the Premier League but we have bought four great players so we don't just want to win the League, we want the Champions League as well.'
Alan Smith may have been sold to Newcastle United but with Wayne Rooney. Louis Saha, Ronaldo, Giggs, Paul Scholes and now Nani, the club have an abundance of talent and Ferguson's only problem will be fitting them all in to his side.
With Gabriel Heinze continuing to insist he wants to join Liverpool - a move that Ferguson has said he will not sanction - they have a slight problem in defence, but Vidic, whose partnership with Rio Ferdinand was so important last season, believes they will be the ones to beat again.
'We have bought more players and I think the team is stronger than last season. We have also had one more season together,' he said. 'We need to improve everywhere. If you want to win the league and go to the final of the Champions League you need to improve everybody and that includes me.
'We need to take one step more to be better this season. If we stay the same as last season that is not good.'
Buying the right players is one thing but keeping them fit is another. Giggs said injuries are likely to be a key factor in the destination of the title.
'It could come down to injuries to settle it between us and Chelsea,' Giggs said. 'We both got injuries last season and it depends on who copes best. In the end, we coped quite well.
'This season the squad should be able to adapt a bit better. I think the bar will go higher this season; the squads and the players have got better in recent years, especially since Arsenal set the precedent by going through the season unbeaten.
'Manchester United has always been about playing with width and having players who can change a game, and we have four or five who can do that now,' he said.
'I hope I have some experience to offer to new players. The squad is young at the moment, but we've also got the players who have been here a while - myself, Scholes, Neville, Van der Sar. These are players who have done it.'
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