Does peripheral Park Ji-Sung still have a Manchester United future?

The 31-year-old South Korean midfielder has been floated as a player who could be offloaded at Old Trafford this off-season after physically struggling through the campaign

COMMENT
By Ben Somerford | Asian Football Editor

Twelve months is a long time in football. It was this time a year ago Sir Alex Ferguson's big-game specialist Park Ji-Sung was preparing for the Uefa Champions League final against Barcelona at Wembley Stadium where he was seen as a key figure to disrupting the Spanish giants' style of play. Fast forward to now and the South Korean has become a rather peripheral figure at Manchester United.

On Sunday, as the Red Devils agonisingly missed out on the Premier League title to Manchester City, the 31-year-old South Korean sat on the bench as an unused substitute for the 12th time this year.

Park may have made 28 appearances in all competitions for the Old Trafford club in the 2011-12 season – the same number he made in the 2010-11 campaign – however only six came following the end of January. Ferguson's faith in man dubbed “Three-lung Park” by fans has faded.

In the 2010-11 season, the United boss trusted Park in the big games and more often than not he delivered, including his fine performance where he provided an assist in the crucial 2-1 late season league win over Chelsea, or when he netted the winner in a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in December 2010. He also started in the FA Cup semi-final and Uefa Champions League final too.

"Park was given a shock starting berth for the April 30 Manchester derby but appeared tired and leggy, and proved ineffective before being replaced after just 57 minutes"

The 2011-12 season was a different story where his influence gradually diminished. Having dropped out of favour following the return of Paul Scholes in January, Park was given a shock starting berth for the April 30 Manchester derby which United would lose 1-0 and that result ultimately proved decisive in the title race. The South Korean, having not played since mid-March, appeared tired and leggy, and proved ineffective before being replaced after just 57 minutes.

PARK ON THE DECLINE?
PARK'S 2011-12 SEASON STATS
STARTS SUBS APPEARANCES GOALS ASSISTS	19 9 3 4
PARK'S 2010-11 SEASON STATS
STARTS SUBS APPEARANCES GOALS ASSISTS	25 3 8 5

It's harsh to judge Park on one game only, particularly when he hadn't played for so long, but it was evidence that he's no longer the player he was.

Already there has been talk Park could be offloaded this off-season, despite having 12 months to run on his contract, with Ferguson aware the tireless Korean is finally shown signs of fatigue. The speculation, with United having younger options like Tom Cleverley and Phil Jones now, does make a lot of sense which begs the question on Park's future.

The 31-year-old former PSV Eindhoven and Kyoto Sanga man may be popular at Old Trafford, but many United fans wouldn't mind seeing him move on. Certainly what makes Park such a good player is his energy and tireless nature. If he's lost his legs it may spell the end for him. Park, though, may believe he isn't physically 'gone' and fancy one more crack in the Premier League before his contract expires.

Interestingly, Park, who retired from national team duty following the 2011 Asian Cup, knocked back an offer from the South Korean Olympic team to play as one of his country's over-age players at the 2012 London games.

Maybe the rest will do him the world of good, but it's hard to see him being much more than a peripheral figure again next campaign at Old Trafford. Given his age and with no national team commitments, Park may settle for such a role, particularly given his loyal nature – having only played for three clubs in his entire 12-year professional career. And on the flipside, Park's presence alone as a United player has many benefits for the Red Devils in terms of Asian interests and sponsors.

Since City's derby win over United, there has been talk of wholesale changes at Old Trafford during the off-season, with Park's name mentioned but the current arrangement may actually suit all parties, unless of course, he believes he is physically 'gone'. And despite talk over the weekend from South Korea's 2002 World Cup legend Ahn Jung-Hwan about Park returning to the K-League, that remains unlikely for some time yet, if ever, in a playing capacity.

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