The evolution (or would it be devolution?) of our forward line has caused a major imbalance to the team, and we're arguably criticising our midfield for not doing a job that they probably aren't capable of, or more specifically were not built to perform in the first place.
In short, our forward line has changed, and the midfield personnel haven't (yet) been adjusted to complement it.
Rooney Ronaldo and Tevez had fewer requirements from our midfield. Give them the ball, and cover the defense so they didn't have to. It worked because we had masses of individual brilliance, and they'd win the game by themselves more often than not. This midfield was perfectly balanced for that role.
Nowadays its different. With the strikers we have now we need a front six unit, rather than two groups of three, and we don't really have the midfielders for this. Berbatov was IMO bought to gel the two units together, with Ronaldo's inevitable departure in mind, but he hasn't achieved this.
There are two ways to resolve this. We find the players upfront that can take us back to the old way of playing, or the more likely option is that the midfield is rebuilt. It largely depends on which players are most easily acquired, but given that forwards like Ronaldo don't come along everyday, I expect us to have two new starting central midfielders when we kick off next season. Carrick and Berbatov will probably be sacrificed and I reckon we'll sign two new midfielders and one new left-sided winger/forward.
In short, our forward line has changed, and the midfield personnel haven't (yet) been adjusted to complement it.
Rooney Ronaldo and Tevez had fewer requirements from our midfield. Give them the ball, and cover the defense so they didn't have to. It worked because we had masses of individual brilliance, and they'd win the game by themselves more often than not. This midfield was perfectly balanced for that role.
Nowadays its different. With the strikers we have now we need a front six unit, rather than two groups of three, and we don't really have the midfielders for this. Berbatov was IMO bought to gel the two units together, with Ronaldo's inevitable departure in mind, but he hasn't achieved this.
There are two ways to resolve this. We find the players upfront that can take us back to the old way of playing, or the more likely option is that the midfield is rebuilt. It largely depends on which players are most easily acquired, but given that forwards like Ronaldo don't come along everyday, I expect us to have two new starting central midfielders when we kick off next season. Carrick and Berbatov will probably be sacrificed and I reckon we'll sign two new midfielders and one new left-sided winger/forward.