A catastrophic defensive predicament lies ahead for Manchester United

Finally football has recouped our lives with the commencement of the new season of the English Premier League with the addiction of the footballing fans set into motion with captivated times ahead. Well, in the inauguration stage, i.e. the first few weeks generally, managers expect all players to be fit and raring to go but some of who are unlucky squads which miss out on their key players and certainly Manchester United have learned that cruel truth. Just before the first game itself, Manchester United have reached a deadlock heading into the new season.

This unparalleled injury crisis looks like it will go on and with Smalling, Jones, Ferdinand and Evans sidelined altogether at the same time, it is certainly calamitous but as time passes on, we can hope for quicker recovery and post-haste first team action from these injured Red Devils. Injuries and instability have always hampered our progress in crunch situations and again yesterday it was evidently palpable.

Well we can’t keep blaming this ill-fated luck or whatever the fans prefer to call. Instead of drooling over the same, we can look forward to the following:

Carrick at centre-back is all fine, but considering we have about 4 other centre-backs, this shouldn’t be a re-occuring crisis each year.

All this talk about moving Carrick to CB doesn’t sound great when our midfield is likely to be exposed. Maybe for a one-off game it is alright to do so but hopefully not for an extended spell considering Evans’ good progress. It’s not like we can even move Evra over to the centre as it has been done in the past despite his size, but Evra’s inconsistency levels are matching their own consistency.

The option of a youth player playing in the first team action sounds more appurtenant than a makeshift defender.

Plus if we move Carrick back, Manchester United lose him from midfield and the protection he offers. Maybe the likes of Wooton, M.Keane, Vesselli can step up from the ranks and establish their command in few games. You never know, they might just take the chance. Giving the youth players the chance in their natural position can enrich them learning from valuable experiences. Obviously that would be pressure situations, but at least at OT this can serve the purpose with the comfort feeling from the home support.

Highly unlikely, but a switch to 3-5-2 formation?

Sounds inappropriate considering how hard it will be for United to play in the described formation with one fit CB (who’s in competitive action after a long period) and a supposedly lack of an imposing CM capable to thump their presence onto the field.

However, it’s a different ball game if Ando-Cleverley develop that killer partnership they displayed in the early stages of last season. Let’s see whether that partnership gets another shot.

The only positive from the defeat to Everton was Shinji Kagawa. Light on his feet, eye for a pass, incisive passing & glorious through balls, two footed. Little creative spark that we need. It will be all about the understanding that develops between Rooney, Kagawa and Rvp! Hopefully after that, they would be unstoppable.

Injuries are unquestionably part and parcel of the game and rather than openly crying over them or focusing on them, Manchester United should look to drive forward with the belief that the team will come out stronger as soon as the injured Devils return.