Anderson will need to maintain some consistency if he is to forge a career at United

Anderson’s Manchester United career has been a mixed bag to say the least. When he signed from Porto in the summer of 2007 there were high hopes for the Brazilian after Kleberson left a bitter taste in United fan’s mouths.

There were early comparisons with Ronaldinho, especially as both had started their careers at Gremio but that was where the comparisons ended as instead of flicks and fancy touches United got an energetic midfield battler.

It was in a game against Wigan when Anderson really impressed and lead me to think what exactly did United have on their hands? On as a substitute he battled all over the park whilst playing sublime passes, the most notable being the assist for United’s first as Tevez raced through onto a nicely weighted ball beat 2 players and the keeper before hitting the back of the net.

Anderson’s performance on that day was over shadowed by the result and quality football United played but he would have his time in the spotlight with dominating performances against some of the Premier League’s best midfielders as he would shackle the likes of Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas on his way to the winning the Premier League title.

Yet it appeared he set too high a standard for himself as his second season was not as spectacular as his first. Hindered by injury as well as fatigue from travelling to Beijing to play for Brazil at the Olympics, Anderson’s early season performances were lethargic (a massive problem considering a major part of his game is built on energy and constantly being active) and up until the Carling Cup final, it looked as if the Brazilian had been a one season wonder. But Anderson soon found his form and put in strong displays against Porto in the Champions League quarter final, Portsmouth in the league and most notably against Arsenal in the Champions League semi final (Anderson seems to love playing against Fabregas), where he harassed Arsenal’s midfield as well as playing a part in United’s opener with a defence splitting pass that found Ronaldo who set up Park Ji Sung.

Anderson had seemed to find form at the right time and after his performance in the semi final it was felt that his energy and industry would help United deal with the formidable partnership of Xavi and Iniesta in the Champions League final against Barcelona.

After an encouraging start for United, Xavi, Iniesta and Barcelona came to life. The duo pulled the strings in the midfield retaining possession, playing effective passes and dictating the pace of the game leaving Carrick, Park, Giggs and Anderson to chase shadows. Given his big chance to shine, Anderson never looked so ineffective and was duly substituted at half time for Carlos Tevez.

Yet the whole situation seems to be a metaphor for his career at United. One day he can show why he is so highly regarded the world over and on other days he can look average. It’s more than obvious that Anderson is talented and if applied, this talent could make him a top midfielder in coming years but he will need to find some kind of consistency before this can happen.

In the coming years, especially as Scholes is in the twilight of his career, Anderson will find his role in the team growing but only if he can manage to maintain the kind of form from his first season that had United fan excited.

At 21, Anderson is clearly not the finished article and will need to work on his passing, which although is of a good standard can be hit and miss and he will need to provide more of a threat in front of goal having only scored twice (once in a friendly) in his United career.

But if Ferguson manages to get the kind of form out of Anderson that he is capable of, then he could have some player on his hands.