GettyImagesWelbeck and Cleverley have had mixed results since rising from Manchester United's academy

Spokespeople for Manchester United are not shy about lauding the club's famous youth academy. Considering the Busby Babes entered folklore, and the 'Class of '92' bloomed into treble winners, it is a rightly heralded institution. However, at present, the graduates on the pitch are getting mixed reviews from the fans.

Regular starters in this season's incarnation of the team who have come through the ranks include Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Danny Welbeck, Johnny Evans, Tom Cleverley and Darren Fletcher. This list, of course, misses a number of players who are on the fringes.

Giggs and Scholes have both been victims of criticism in recent weeks. In particular, it has been noted that results suffer when Giggs is in central midfield or the two start together. However, against West Brom at the weekend, Scholes came on and kept the ball crucially as the team held onto a wobbly one-nil lead. Casting the mind back further, Giggs was immense in the match against Chelsea a few weeks ago.

Whilst it is unfair to expect these two veterans to run at pace all the time, if used economically, they still have a huge amount to offer. Their influence on the others around them cannot be quantified and it is still good to have them around.

Tom Cleverley is having a good season. His bad run of injuries, which essentially ruined the last campaign for him, seems to have come to an end. His industry and adventure is appreciated and he is exactly the kind of player to put next a Giggs or a Scholes in the coming months. He still has a tendency to be overenthusiastic, though.

Some injury lay offs can finish a player. Darren Fletcher's battle with illness kept him out of the side for a long time. His return this season has been welcome but is being handled delicately. He has not been thrust centre stage in any of our bigger fixtures, nor has he taken any games by the scruff of the neck yet. With time, hopefully, it will come.

The other notable graduate is England international Danny Welbeck. Welbeck has been getting an awful lot of stick on the blogs of late, most of it unfair. Thinking back to his debut against Stoke, I remember talking to the elderly gent sat next to me in the South Stand. He said that Welbeck's debut goal was the best he had seen in 50 years of watching United. That is some commendation. Jogging the mind again, one recalls his goal against Manchester City in the cup, or his strikes for England in 2012.

So Welbeck is massively talented, and this has been proven at the highest level. However, he has scored only 1 goal in his last 21 appearances and that is the kind of thing people notice when you are a striker. This run of form can be traced back to precisely the moment he signed his new contract.

The fact that Welbeck is a local lad and playing for his childhood team means he will always be given the benefit of the doubt by this correspondent. However, he needs to find his mojo again. It is in situations like these when having a Ryan Giggs in the dressing room is priceless.

The New Year is a good time to wipe the slate clean and start again. In the coming months, United fans would like to see a more settled Cleverley, a resurgent Darren Fletcher and some Danny Welbeck goals. Fewer Paul Scholes tackles would also be nice. Fingers crossed.

Happy New Year everyone.

Follow Mark on www.twitter.com/markjpayne

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