MANCHESTER UNITED DECISION TO OPERATE BEHIND FOUR MAIN PLAYERS NON ADVISABLE

“I have to prove and to show that I have evolved as a player and blossomed into one of the best players in the Premier League.” wise word from current Manchester United number 9 Anthony Martial.   

  

  

  

The in-form French striker is currently out of nursing another injury and is expected to be out for “a little while” according to Manchester United manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer but the recent injuries to Anthony Martial has not stopped the french striker from carving out plans and ambitions to put up better performances for Manchester United moving forward into the future. Speaking during his exclusive full interview with MUTV, Martial expressed his desire to lead Manchester United forward line from this point on and into the future as an experienced player with the of helping Manchester United achieve further down shortly.   

  

  

While the french striker will not be returning to action for Manchester United at least not for the next two or three weeks, the french strikers comment might have sparked an important question, does players such as Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba, David de Gea and Marcus Rashford need to do better to help out the team this season or do the rest of the Manchester United squad simply need to step up their performance a level to turn Manchester United into a top-four team. Analyzing the context of the season, a large part of Manchester United's stand out statistics this season have come from the above mentioned four players with Brazilian midfielder Andreas Pereira being the only player close to the Manchester United team four stand out players who have been able to make some noticeable impact in regards to scoring goals or assisting goals. Fair assessment? Let's look at statistics for guidance, shall we?   

  

As the middle of the 2019/20 Premier League season finally falls upon us, statistician has made an impressive effort to round up the performance of each Premier League player this season, the current statistics for Manchester United players show Marcus Rashford, Daniel James, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba (despite recent injuries) all averaging a work rate of over %65 with the number of goals scored, goals assisted and goals created so far this season. With the reality that the above that the %65 average statistics do not include the level of trackbacks and interceptions completed by these four players, there is sufficient evidence to make a strong case that Manchester United is currently capable of being a top-four side if the rest of the midfielders and attackers step up and meet the work rate and creative level of the four players Marcus Rashford, Daniel James, Anthony Martial, and Paul Pogba.  

   

  

  

  

  

Compared to other teams currently consistently perched on the top four spots of the Premier League table or compared to other teams whom have most recently experienced the joy of competing in the UEFA Champions competition, Manchester United will find that the evidence shows that to succeed in top competitions, a team will need more than just four or five players operating at a high level frequently to achieve the status of being crowned champions of most of Europe's top competition today. While Liverpool has Mane, Salah, Firmino, Wijnaldum, Manchester City have Sergio Aguero, Debryne, Fenandinho, Sane, Gundogan, e.t.c all playing fantastic, creative, football.   

  

  

The list does not end in English based teams alone, Juventus, Barcelona, Inter Milan all with multiple players able to break down the tightest defense in Europe. So, while players such as Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Daniel James, Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood have all done exceptionally so far, the two realistic option left for Manchester United to reach the level of an elite team is for one other midfielder beside the five standout players currently listed above to step up and become that sixth spark that helps catapult Manchester United back to elite status.  

  

  

  

  

  

   

While the verdict of demanding more efficient involvement from other Manchester United players besides the four players in Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Daniel James there are some other players in the current Manchester United squad whom can make a case for themselves to prove that there are some names in the list of under performing Manchester United players who do not deserve to be listed. Players such as David de Gea and some Manchester United defenders simply because the list deals with the subject of players who can play a part in the team's attacking strategy. Most importantly, David de Gea continues to be one of the stands out high-class performers as the Spanish shot-stopper has always been for Manchester United. For the shortlist of players whom the attention should turn to regard expectation of consistent quality performance, the spotlight will turn to players such as Fred Rodriques, Andreas Pereira, and Jesse Lingard.  

  

  

  

  

   

As the Premier League mid-season continue to unwind, the data technicians have been busy accumulating the entire performance of the Manchester United players which will come in handy as clear evidence of which areas of the field or, to be phrased in a more accurate term, which Manchester United players need a little more improvement during the second half of the season. Judging from recent evidence during the lengthy injury to one Paul Pogba, the midfield trio of McTominay, Fred and Andreas Pereira appear to be the candidates who have fallen short of expectation in terms of the creative impact enforced on the Manchester United and the level of attacking threat the trio imposes on the opposing team. So far in the current season, the trio has compiled a combination of 4 goals and two assists in 20 matches during the 2019/20 Premier League campaign with Scott McTominay having a majority of the statistics so far in the season.    

   

  

  

  

Not good enough or are all three players just doing enough to play the role of an auxiliary attacking source to reduce the level of attention gathered by Manchester United's' main attacking source in Marcus Rashford, Antony Martial and Paul Pogba? Possibly but the question should be asked how long before opposing teams figure out that the recipe to stopping Manchester United's goal threat is focusing attention on players such as Marcus Rashford, Antony Martial, Daniel James and Paul Pogba putting the creative task on the shoulders of other players?   

  

  

  

Versatility wins trophies in the game of football and until other players besides Marcus Rashford, Antony Martial, Daniel James, and Paul Pogba step up their creative level in Manchester United’s attacking strategy on the football pitch, Manchester United are set to come up short in the race for the top 4 spots in the Premier League table.