Midfield Headache?

Forevergiggs

Ageing veterans and youngsters with plenty to prove. Adam Bate wonders whether Sir Alex Ferguson has made a mistake by not investing in the Manchester United midfield.



Manchester United dominated Norwich in many of the key statistics at the weekend. And yet, while they may have dominated possession of the ball, you only had to watch the game to appreciate they didn't dominate the Canaries. For many, the sight of a near 39-year-old Ryan Giggs traipsing around the midfield is just the latest in a series of example of why Sir Alex Ferguson erred in eschewing the opportunity to sign a central midfielder in the summer.

It's a recurring complaint from United fans. Often murmured; sometimes bellowed. At a club that became divided upon the issue of what colour strip supporters should wear, it takes quite something to unite the fans - but unite them it has. There is, of course, a danger in bringing everything back to the thorny midfield issue. After all, United have won 14 of 18 games this season. It's anything but a crisis. But it's tempting to suggest that falling behind 11 times already this season and keeping just three clean sheets indicates that more steel is needed. The defence is being left exposed.

Ferguson remains reluctant to admit this is a personnel issue and it's little wonder given that, despite the restrictions of the Glazer regime, the manager has spent big on other areas of the field. The semantics have occasionally veered into the bizarre. "I don't think we've had a holding player since I've been here," he told the club's official website at the start of the season. "We've never had a holding player. We tried to get Roy Keane to do that but he just couldn't do it. He had to play a way that was his own way of playing, so I've not had it for 25 years. Why should I think about it now?"

Perhaps he sees Michael Carrick fulfilling this role. "I think Michael Carrick has had his best season at the club," he added. "I'm very hopeful now he will have an authority that will stand us in good stead for the next two or three years. That will be an important role for Michael, to replace Paul Scholes in that department."

The notion of the elegant Carrick as midfield enforcer is not so strange despite the fact he does not fit the snarling image of a Keane or a Paul Ince. Not only is the game changing, as Ferguson is keen to stress, but the England international was actually among the top tacklers in the Premier League last season. The expected names are all there - Lee Cattermole, Joey Barton, Scott Parker, Youssouf Mulumbu and Cheick Tiote. And there is the name of the more languid Carrick right alongside them.

Michael Carrick

2011/12 Tackles per game - 3.00 Interceptions per game - 2.37

2012/13 Tackles per game - 1.58 Interceptions per game - 1.67

But far from growing into the role, Carrick's statistics indicate that he is a player going in the wrong direction. The number of tackles and interceptions put in by the 31-year-old this season are both significantly down on the previous campaign. That's an unfortunate situation for Ferguson when the powers of so many of his other midfield options also appear to be fading.

The manager may have been effusive in his praise of Ryan Giggs last month as United were beaten 5-4 after extra time in the Capital One Cup against Chelsea, but these are surely the death throes of a great career. "I think in Ryan Giggs we saw a player of absolutely unbelievable proportions in terms of playing the 120 minutes at 39 years of age next month," enthused Ferguson. "It's a credit to himself but it's also an example to every player on that pitch including the Chelsea players." Giggs had played reasonably well in defeat. But United could do with a midfield match-winner not a middle-aged man performing admirable feats of endurance.

Giggs undoubtedly remains an intermittent threat. He is as likely as anyone to unlock the opposition defence - as shown by the statistics for through-balls and assists from last season. But the veteran is a decorator of games, more suited to adorning them with occasional moments of magic rather than dictating the tempo from the outset. Indeed, his own style is analogous to United's eight comeback wins this campaign - bypassed in the early stages but perfectly capable of exploiting the gaps once the game has opened up.

PL stats - 2011/12

Player (City & United only) Successful through-balls

David Silva 18

Samir Nasri 14

Yaya Toure 11

Ryan Giggs 7

Wayne Rooney 7

Player (all Prem) Mins per assist (3+)

Antonio Valencia 163.1

Ryan Giggs 183.3

David Silva 187.8

Juan Mata 194.7

Steven Pienaar 208.8

Ditto Scholes. A revelation on his return last season, but he cannot be expected to dominate as he once did in his prime. The presence of these United legends should be the great squad advantage the club enjoys over its rivals. Instead they are being relied upon so often that their presence is in danger of becoming a weakness. The manager who has prided himself on seeing players' legs go at their next club now regularly appears to have a midfield more formidable on paper than on the pitch.

Darren Fletcher's unfortunate bowel condition is something, by his own admission, that he can only hope to manage rather than recover from. It seems wishful thinking in the extreme to believe he can ever recapture the energetic form of old. The more cynical among you may conclude that Anderson's chances of making good on his potential are - to pardon the pun - rather slimmer. That's a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of Tom Cleverley.

And yet, still Ferguson remains adamant. Youngster Nick Powell is the latest player being talked up as an explanation for the miserly approach to midfield acquisitions. "Powell is going to be a really good player who, we hope, will fill Paul Scholes's boots in terms of he's got terrific vision, good temperament, two great feet, is quick and is a great striker of the ball," the Scot told MUTV. Stars of the future. Icons of the past. And points and prizes being unnecessarily tossed away in the here and now.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/n...ield-headache-

*******

This article pretty much sums up our entire dilemma.

londonredmaniac

Yes. He has made a mistake. That much is blindingly obvious.

Brightonian

When Fergie actually gets round to playing Anderson Carrick and Cleverley together, and it doesn't work, then we can start talking about who he should or shouldn't have bought. Until then, it's purely a problem of his own making.

Decotron

indeed.

londonredmaniac

It's a problem regardless. We talk about competition for places being important but who is Carrick's competition?

sammsky1

thats a great article.

Its constructive criticism and has a point. But done with a sense of proportion and also etiquette, given the person the article is analysing.

Some posters on here these last few days would do well to learn the art.

Broyphs

The horrible thing is that I almost feel like I want Giggs and Scholes to retire to force us into buying some quality. When you factor in Giggs, Scholes and Fletch, all of whom have to be managed carefully and have their games chosen, it's not hard to see that we need to do something. Even more so when you consider that Anderson can't play 90 mins twice a week and Carrick is being run into the ground.

londonredmaniac

Absolutely.

Legend16

"The presence of these United legends should be the great squad advantage the club enjoys over its rivals."

this is the most frustrating thing for me. two great players who should be icing on the cake for us are being relied on as the main ingredients. at a time when they could be closing out games and securing points for us they are being called on to run the show like they were 10 years younger. its getting harder and harder to understand

Cina

Yeah I'm in the same boat, have been for a while. I said a while back that Fergie seems to want to get as much out of them as he can before he takes a risk and punts out big money on a new midfielder, a position in which he has made some rather poor signings over the years.

londonredmaniac

This post...mixed with this user name makes me sad.

Oh what I'd do for another Roy Keane

Legend16

same feeling for a while now

Amir

I feel the same way. It's great to have them around and they do have their uses, but we're not using them like that. We're still treating them as key players when they simply can't be anymore. If we won't use them right, then the best thing for the team would be if they forced the issue and retired.

Cina

I mean Christ, Scholes already fucking retired, but SAF actually brought him back to fix our midfield last season. What sort of wake up call does he need before he invests in that bloody midfield?

Legend16

I wouldnt write off a comeback the way things are going

MDFC Manager

So i wasnt imagining that Carrick isnt doing what he did really well over the years. He really has become less effective this season.

londonredmaniac

This, this and....oh...very much this.

Nick 0208 Ldn

A fair bit of padding in that article and little recognition from Adam Bates of the performances put in by Clev, Ando and Fletch thus far this season.

I'm not saying that they are all the answer we need, however the choice is simple enough and and they would bring the most to the team right now.

Which isn't to say that an additional CM wouldn't have gone amiss in the summer. Of course if said player had picked up an injury SAF would be in the position he is at present and we all know how that turns out.

If that's the quality of article Sky are paying people for in 2012 i'd advise some posters on here to approach them for work.

pocco

Cool, who shall we drop? Rooney or RVP?

CLK_FPC

As someone said the problem i very much of our own making. There was NO logical reason for Giggs to start Saturday's game when Clev, Ando & Fletch were all on the bench.

The bring Scholes on when things aren't going well thing is a nonsense in itself, any team can find itself in problems but relying on Scholes to dig us out is crazy. It also sends out a bad message in that others see us relying on him.

Sad thing is even when they do retire (Giggs & Scholes) I'm not 100% sure we will move to replace them.

Adebesi

I was shouted down last year for suggesting that. In fact, apparently, there was no problem at all with our midfield last year, and it was Scholes who begged to come back because he was so bored in retirement.

Cina

Don't pay any attention to Twigg.

londonredmaniac

I got told I was entering he world of conspiracy theories

Brightonian

Ooh, I dunno... Giggs? Young?

Brightonian

To be fair, it was Scholes who asked to come back, that's fairly well documented. Doesn't change the facts of your argument of course.

Adebesi

That was how the conversation went then as well.

Me: I reckon Scholes came back because we needed him to come back.
Someone else: No, SAF said he asked to come back.
Me: Well, he would say that, wouldnt he? But SAF can be economical with the truth.
Someone else: Why would you say SAF is a liar? You twat.

I paraphrase. But then the debate morphed into me justifying the fact that I think SAF says what he thinks will help the team, not the truth, and others accusing me of being part of a strange cult that thought SAF is a pathological liar, with no evidence to back it up - except for the examples we gave about saying people were injured and then playing them, etc etc.

Anyway, suffice it to say, I dont think it would be constructive to tell the media: "Scholes retired, weve had half a season, we are not coping, so I asked him to come back and rescue us." That doesnt mean that is not how it went down though.

Or maybe it was a bit of both, a mutually advantageous arrangement. Who knows.

Anyway, on topic: yes, we should sign a midfielder. A really good one. A Rooney / Van Persie type good one. A central midfielder who is so good the idea of not playing him in a big game, if he is fit, is absurd.

manusteve

I agree at the current time, Carrick is indispensable. I would never lambast Carrick because his midfield partner(s) have been ever changing and "slow".

I remain baffled at why he doesn't play the Carrick-Anderson- Cleverley axis and then mix the three up top as he wants. That midfield area is so vital in the modern game.

Let's face it, 4-4-2 is laughable. Which top teams play it? Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Man City, etc etc.??? And yet fans on here keep banging on about 4-4-2.

For goodness sake Sir Alex, either play Carrick, Ando and Cleverley OR go and buy some midfielders.

marjen

Scholes came back because our only two fit midfielders when he returned were Giggs and Carrick, and one of them isn't really a midfielder no matter how hard we pretend him to be. We played Phil Jones alongside Carrick in the run-in towards christmas, then managed to put Rafael and Ji-Sung Park in CM for the match vs Blackburn.

Adebesi

Its like we were drowning in the sea and he jumped into the water to rescue us, but as he towed us back to the boat, his strong, ginger arms wrapped round our stomachs, making us feel safe, we shouted at onlookers: "Its alright, he was coming in for a swim anyway, we dont actually need his help, we are really strong swimmers!"

Sometimes it doesnt matter what people say to the contrary, the truth is too fucking obvious to be mistaken.

marjen

If Cleverley and Anderson had been fit and firing he would never have come back.

Cina

Indeed.

Besides, even if it was him who asked to come back, it's hardly purely because he had a change of heart and wanted to play again. He obviously would have seen how shit our midfield was at the time and thus pounced on the opportunity then, so it works in both ways.

Siorac

Hahaha, this.

It's quite clear that as long as we have sufficient quantity in midfield, Fergie won't be bothered about lacking sufficient quality. Only when Giggs and Scholes both retire we'll have a chance to actually see reinforcements in that area. So a few more seasons I guess.

togg

it is odd though isn't it that despite being one point off the top and through to the knockout stages of the CL there is a general depressed feeling in the caf generally. I'm not saying it isn't justified with relevance to certain areas of the team, but i wonder what this place would be like if we were 12th and 14 points off the top. I hate to think........

Good article though, calm collected and thoughtful...

MUFCgal

I'm baffled as to why SAF didn't play Anderson and Cleverley against Norwich, but it's likely he'll play them tonight in a dead rubber match.

They should have played against Norwich, and Ryan Giggs played tonight. It's lunacy IMO.

manusteve

We were also short-headed for the Prem last season. Doesn't mean midfield wasn't and isn't a problem.

The depth of feeling around the midfield area isn't some knee-jerk reaction. As we are not privy to SAF's real thoughts and available funding to pursue transfer targets, we are obliged to believe everything he utters in public.

Personally, the way we have played this season means our positioning is astonishing!

manusteve

Agreed 100% on Ando and Cleverley. But I wouldn't have played Giggs tonight either - for what purpose? Giggs hasn't performed in the Prem this season and we don't need a result tonight either.

Brightonian

Well we are Manchester United. Of course we'd be in complete fucking meltdown if we were in 12th. That doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with recognising that we've regularly played quite poorly, almost never started our strongest line-up, and are very lucky to be doing as well as we are in the league and CL.

Longlivekeano

Easy. Clev and ando. Give them 1 season together and trust them

Cina

I think in the end, our midfield boils down to one simple thing. SAF loves playing 4-4-2 but we no do not have a midfield combination that fits the bracket for doing so.

Adebesi

Eureka!