Kagawa conundrum

Adam Bate believes David Moyes must get the best out of Shinji Kagawa or face the consequences.

There is a danger in reading too much into team selections. After all, we are only three games into the Premier League season. Even so, the words of Shinji Kagawa this week suggests it is the player himself concerned by his continued omission from the Manchester United starting line-up rather than mere media hype. "Please ask David Moyes why I'm not in the side," said Kagawa. "It's hard not playing regularly. Some days the frustration is worse than others; it comes in waves." The comments indicate Kagawa is fit and ready to play, a point emphasised by the 165 minutes of action he has enjoyed in Japan's victories over Guatemala and Ghana over the past week, netting against the latter. So why has he been overlooked? Ryan Giggs, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck and Wayne Rooney have all started under Moyes so far in the Premier League with Nani featuring from the bench. As a result, it is easy to forget the status Kagawa held in the game upon his arrival at Old Trafford in June of last year. A £250,000 signing from Cerezo Osaka in 2010, Kagawa was a key figure in Borussia Dortmund's title-winning campaign in his first season at the club. In fact, Dortmund won 14 of their first 16 league games that season, only losing their 15 game unbeaten run when the attacking midfielder was injured against Eintracht Frankfurt in December. After a wobble in his absence, he returned as a champion for a run-out in the final minutes of the last game of the season.

Shinji Kagawa - Bundesliga rankings 2011/12
Discipline	Number	Ranking
Goals	13	10th
Assists	8	6th
Throughball accuracy (min 10 attempts)	64%	2nd

The 2011/12 season was an even greater triumph as Kagawa scored 13 goals and provided eight assists as Dortmund stormed to a second successive title. While Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski were impressive, the No.10 had a legitimate claim to being the driving force behind this Dortmund side. He was named in the World Soccer team of the year alongside Xavi and Andrea Pirlo in midfield, with Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie in attack. As a result, aged 23 at the time, United's acquisition of Kagawa threatened to be just as significant as that of Van Persie. This was the player the fans had been waiting for. A tricky advanced playmaker with exemplary touch, here was a player with the ability to make those driving runs from midfield but also thread balls through to team-