Today?s Player of the Day is Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley. Having been with the club since the age of 12, Cleverley is now beginning to establish himself as a Manchester United and England regular.
Cleverley was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, but grew up in Bradford, West Yorkshire. He joined Manchester United as an 11-year-old trainee in July 2000. During the 2005?06 season, he made nine appearances for the under-18 side. He also received a taste of reserve team football when he was named on the bench for the team's 4?1 away win over Everton on 21 February 2006.
In recognition of his sterling work for the reserves, on 24 July 2008, Cleverley was called up to the Manchester United first team for the remainder of their tour of South Africa and the match against Portsmouth in Nigeria. He made his first team debut against Kaizer Chiefs in the final of the 2008 Vodacom Challenge, where he scored the third of United's four goals just after the hour mark.
On 18 August 2009, Cleverley signed for Watford on loan. He was then able to play in the Hornets' match away to Nottingham Forest that evening. He started the match and was booked within four minutes of the start of the second half, but then sealed a 4?2 win with a goal in the second minute of injury time at the end of the game. He then scored another goal on his home debut four days later, scoring Watford's second goal in a 2?2 draw with Blackpool, and became Watford's joint-top scorer with the second goal in a 2?0 win over Preston North End in November. Shortly afterwards, he extended his loan deal at Watford until the end of the 2009?10 season. Cleverley scored a further five goals in 20 appearances for Watford before a knee ligament injury in April 2010 ended his season prematurely. He went on to win the team's Player of the Season award.
Cleverley returned to Manchester United for the beginning of the 2010?11 season, and travelled with the squad for their pre-season tour of North America in July 2010. He came on as a substitute for Ryan Giggs at half-time in the first match of the tour against Celtic in Toronto, and scored United's third in a 3?1 win. He then netted his second of the tour on 28 July 2010, scoring United's fourth in their 5?2 win in the 2010 MLS All-Star Game.
On 31 August 2010, although Cleverley looked destined to stay with United for the season, Wigan Athletic confirmed they had agreed a season-long loan deal for Cleverley, with Manchester United retaining the option to recall the player from his loan spell in January. On 11 September, Cleverley made his debut for Wigan which was also his Premier League debut, replacing Mauro Boselli in the 75th minute and assisting Antolin Alcaraz in a 1?1 home draw against Sunderland. On 27 November, he scored his first goal for the club, also his first ever Premier League goal, in a 3?1 defeat away to West Ham United. Seven days later he scored his second for Wigan and first home goal in a 2?2 draw against Stoke City. However, following a Dubious Goals Panel ruling, this goal was taken away from Cleverley and credited as a Rory Delap own goal. In January 2011, Manchester United agreed to let Cleverley stay on loan at Wigan until the end of the season. Cleverley scored the decisive goal in a 2?1 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers which lifted Wigan out of the relegation zone. Cleverley was one of Wigan's stand-out performers, and ended the season with three goals and two assists in 25 Premier League appearances.
Paul Scholes' retirement before the 2011?12 season left an opening in Manchester United's central midfield. Cleverley has been identified by manager Sir Alex Ferguson as a potential homegrown replacement for Scholes. Cleverley was praised by Ferguson after playing the full 90 minutes in a 2?1 victory over Barcelona in a preseason friendly match. Ferguson said that Cleverley was United's "best player" against Barcelona and he indicated that there is a strong possibility that Cleverley could be among the starting eleven in the opening round fixture of the Premier Leagueseason against West Bromwich Albion.
Cleverley made his competitive debut for United in the 3?2 comeback win over derby rivals Manchester City in the 2011 Community Shield. He came on as a second-half substitute for Michael Carrick after United went 2?0 down at half time, and assisted Nani's equaliser, after a pass and move build up.
For the 2011?12 season he changed his number to 23 which was previously vacated by Jonny Evans who took Wes Brown's old number 6. He started his first Premier League game for Manchester United on 14 August 2011, playing the full 90 minutes away to West Bromwich Albion in the first game of the 2011?12 season. After impressing in his opening game, Cleverley started Manchester United's second game of the campaign against Tottenham Hotspur on 22 August, getting an assist in the process. He played the full game against Arsenal on 28 August 2011, which Manchester United won 8?2. Cleverley sustained a ligament damage in his foot after being tackled heavily by Bolton's Kevin Davies in the 3rd minute of United's next game, a 5?0 away victory at Bolton Wanderers. It was later confirmed by the club that he would be sidelined for a month with the injury. In October 2011 he signed a new contract keeping him at the club until 2015. On 25 October 2011, Cleverley made his return from injury in the Carling Cup, a 3?0 win against Aldershot Town. He made another appearance 4 days later, away to Everton. Cleverley played in a more advanced midfield role, linking defence with attack and was arguably Manchester United's best player. He left the field of play after 57 minutes due to an ankle injury, but his performance was later hailed by his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, as "outstanding".
In August 2011, he was called up to the England first-team squad for the friendly against the Netherlands by Fabio Capello, but did not end up playing as the game was cancelled on 8 August by The Football Association after the riots in London. He received another call-up for the Euro 2012 qualifying matches with Bulgaria and Wales later in September 2011 alongside fellow new England additions and club-mates Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, but did not end up playing.
He made his debut a year later in a 2?1 win against Italy on 15 August 2012.
On 2 July 2012, Cleverley was named in Stuart Pearce's 18-man squad for the 2012 London Olympics. He played the full game in the tournament's opening fixture against Senegal; which ended 1-1. In the second group match against the United Arab Emirates, Cleverley was instrumental in GB's victory. He laid on the winner with an incisive through ball for Daniel Sturridge and generally impressed with his range of passing.
Become a fan of Cleverley on Facebook by liking his Official PFA page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Cleverley/228583130573731
Source: DSG
Source: DSG