Defensive Issues.

    Today, I want to talk about an important issue that involves the team, an issue which was confirmed by Manchester United Manager, coach Louis Van Gaal, the issues is simply the teams lack of strength in our Defense and also the teams lack of pace on the left side of the midfield and also lack of pace on the right side of the midfield.  With some important players missing from the starting line up due to injuries and lack of fitness it seems the team has been left with regrets about not investing enough time, plan and finance into the squad to bring in more re-reinforcements during the past transfer window of September 2015.

                                        

    Above are some of the players that were brought into the club to strengthen the teams progress in the midfield and the attack and as much as the fans, the managers, the club owners, their fellow team mates  all welcome our new players into the team, I still don’t think all the problems in the club has been solved, yes we have gone half way to solving the teams problem but there are still some problems need to be addressed and the problems are the teams defensive problems.

  Look, I am a die hard Manchester  United fan and I love nothing more than to watch the team play with Confidence, Style and Precision. Games  played that makes me happy, Games won with Flair, Style and Precision are the games most Manchester United fans want to see because when the team player like that, the fans are left with the impression that the players and the managers are confident of coming away with a win from 75% of the matches the team plays in, against any opponent, in any competition.

  However, that is not the case right now at Old Trafford, in almost each and every game the team has played this season, you could sense the fear and sense the tension among the players and the fans in the stadium. The reason is simply because during the coarse of a match the fans and the players are usually concerned about how fragile the teams defense is and this reason has made most matches uncomfortable for Manchester United players, Mangers, Staff members and Fans to get through ninety minutes of each match comfortably.

                                                       

                                                         What Went Wrong?     

  After the retirement and the transfers of most our best defenders that worked together under the great coach, Sir Alex Ferguson and the transfers or retirement of majority of the defensive players who played under Sir Alex’s regime, it’s been hard for the new manager to find the right blend of players to form that strong defensive force Manchester United Fans have gotten so used to seeing from our defensive players.  

I know I am going offend some of our fans by talking about some of past defenders and taking the fans down memories lane and comparing the defenders Manchester United had back then to the defenders have but the comparison has to be done to find the reason why the Manchester United team of the past was so successful at winning games or why the Manchester United team of the past was so successful at winning trophies compared to the Manchester United team of the present? The Answer is simple, Strong,Committed,Hard working, Cooperative, Focused defensive players.    

Players like Rio Ferdinand

 Patrice Evra 

                                                                            Wes Brown, 


                                   

                                                               Johnny Evans

 and of course Nemanja Vidic.

 Yes these are the kind of players who are missing from Old Trafford right now.   Listen, I know that the defenders the teams have on the roster right now are all talented, no doubt, but I just think the team is lacking a defender who can be a leader and dictate what happens in the defense. The two options which might solve the problem is to either focused more on teaching Chris Smalling how to be a better, confident leader who makes the right decisions and to turn Chris into a defender who has more courage to carry the ball straight  out of our defense and pick a pass that will create attacking options for the team.    

  Listen, I know I am being tough on Smalling but that is simply because I know he can be such a good leader in our defense. Manchester United is sitting in sixth position in the Barclay's Premiere League right now, fighting for at-least a top four finish at the end of the season in other to secure a spot in the Champions League next season but the team might not play in the Champions League next season unless either one player take charge in our defense or the manager will have to invest a lot of time and money to bring in one more defender before this January transfer  window is over. These tasks are not easy and can not be accomplished in a day, I know, but these two options look like the best options the team has to solidify our defense right now.