Lack Of Quality Squad Depth Exposed

A place in next season’s Champions League has been secured. There is nothing left to play for except pride and the final standings. I was motivated to watch United play against Leicester City to see how we respond to the challenge of playing every 2 days. I had also wanted United to win to further delay City’s coronation as league champions and close the gap to them. When the starting line-up was announced, I was curious to see how these players do. I wanted to see how strong our reserve team was.

The Team Performance

We lost the game and I thought it would bother me less than it has. We looked afraid at the start, the players on the pitch were rusty and as a result, we saw a disjointed performance. Our defence was all over the shop for the first goal we conceded. We scored an equaliser out of the blue but the response to scoring the equaliser was impressive. We got pinned back in the second half and conceded another goal from a set-piece. There is a famous adage in football and that is you never make a substitution during a corner. We did it and paid the price for it.

The Players

Amad Traore impressed me with his performance. There is some potential there that can be worked on and he shouldn’t be far off from being more regularly involved in the first team. Mason Greenwood carried on his good form but has still got the potential to get better. Nemanja Matic had a good start, reading the game well but then was at fault for the winning goal we conceded. Matic and Juan Mata look past their prime now. Anthony Elanga worked hard but doesn’t look ready at this level. Not every hot, young thing from the Academy or promising young player that we sign will have what it takes to do well in the first team. Donny van de Beek looks like a pale shadow of the bright and sprightly player we saw at the start of the season. Axel Tuanzebe looks like a good one-on-one defender but was poor on the ball.

Lack Of Squad Depth & Faith In Players

This performance showed us that in terms of quality depth, we are as far as the 10 points that separate us and Manchester City. It looks like Solksjaer has a group of 14-15 players that he truly trust and has no faith in the rest. After this performance, you can understand why the double pivot and Victor Lindelof-Harry Maguire are the first choices for Solksjaer. However, you may argue that if others get more playing time, they will not be as bad as they looked this morning. Players need regular game time, faith and belief shown in them to perform. Taking the example of Manchester City and glorious Manchester United teams of the past, we could rotate a squad of players and the players coming in are as good or almost as good as the ones they have replaced. Solksjaer seems tentative in utilising his full squad, showing a lack of faith in the players on the fringes. It is unfair for someone like van de Beek because he is a top-quality, technical player that is wasted away playing a few minutes here and there and then getting thrown on from the start expected to perform at a high level.

We got to question the coaching these players receive as well because you get a sense that if someone like van de Beek was at City instead under Pep Guardiola, you would see a completely different player.

I will leave this article at this juncture. I will be sure to share my thoughts on the squad and transfer plans in a different article soon.