Football FanCast columnist Daniel Lomax feels that United's recent form has showed that there is life after Paul Scholes at Old Trafford, and wonders if the emergence of players like Anderson will finally signal the end of the ginger prince.

Has the recent form of Manchester United signalled the end for Paul Scholes? There is no doubt that Scholes is a fantastic player and brings much needed experience to a United midfield that often consists of players such as Nani and Anderson, but is the United number 18 a vital component for boss Sir Alex Ferguson anymore and is it time he moved over to let the youngsters flourish?

Since the end of September when Scholes got carried off against Aalborg, United have impressed and have hit their goal scoring heights. Granted, Wayne Rooney has helped spark United into life and the addition of Dimitar Berbatov has influenced their results and the Red Devils have, since the Aalborg match, scored nine goals in three games whilst not conceding. The players that have stepped in have impressed. Darren Fletcher especially is gaining more and more confidence in every game.

There could be many a reason as to why United have become free scorers but one is that the absence of Scholes has freed up the likes of Rooney and Anderson. In the match against Blackburn at Ewood Park, Anderson ran the show from the midfield, injecting pace, power and work rate into a performance that enabled United to attack with fluidity. When Scholes plays he likes to drop deep to collect the ball from Ferdinand and Vidic which can often become predictable and slows the game down, meaning that teams can regroup and defend in numbers.

It could be said that United are at their rampant best when playing with pace and running at the opposition and Scholes, although creative, hampers the way in which the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo, Anderson and Tevez like to play.

It will be a sad day when Scholes leaves United or retires from football as in the past, even last season to some extent, he has been a great for his club but maybe his time has come to move over and take a back seat at Old Trafford, after all he can still be a great asset in terms of being a squad player.

Personally I hope that Scholes can be a success this season and rediscovers his form but will he be able to claim his place back?

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