Bringing Daniele De Rossi would be an antidote to Manchester United's faltering midfield

What a win! If anything, this might just prove to be a catalyst for this stop-start season. The Manchester United of old. It has taken a while but David Moyes might just be getting into his stride. He was rightly criticized for his Everton-like substitutions against Southampton but here he was spot on. Then again it is one thing defending a lead and quite another trying to make a comeback from being 2-1 down.

A part of his problem has been trying to get out of Ferguson’s shadow as well as pleasing Wayne Rooney. Most of the players discarded or sidelined by Ferguson found place in Moyes’ team during the start of the season. Perhaps he was trying out different combinations or wanting to be his own man but either way it didn’t work out.

The other issue has been keeping Rooney happy considering the fall out at the end of the last season. But any keen Manchester United watcher would have predicted it as soon as they read the team sheet for the return leg against Real Madrid. The game has evolved to such an extent that now you need your best players playing in midfield, breaking up play and making defence-splitting passes. Ferguson, the wily old fox, realized that he will not get any players with the quality of Rooney to play in midfield; so he shifted him out to play in midfield for most of the last season. It worked in the league to perfection and might as well have in the Champions League if it hadn’t been for a certain Cuneyt Cakir.

Moyes completely destabilized the side in looking to please Rooney and moving him to his preferred striker’s position. There is no one linking the play in midfield and Fellaini isn’t the answer to it. If anything, he evolved in his last season at Everton and now certainly belongs somewhere higher up the field.

UDINE, ITALY – OCTOBER 27: Daniele De Rossi of AS Roma in action during the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and AS Roma at Stadio Friuli on October 27, 2013 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Dino Panato/Getty Images)

Two signings and a bit of tactical shift could change all this uncertainty. A world class striker and a midfield enforcer. Robert Lewandowski and Daniele De Rossi. Or someone in their mould. We don’t need a marquee signing but world class players in these two positions. And Rooney back in midfield or just behind the striker. Which would mean that there would be Carrick/De Rossi at the base of midfield dictating the play, 4 of Januzaj, Fellaini, Rooney, Nani, Kagawa, Zaha, Valencia and Giggs in roaming formations and any 2 of RvP, Lewandowski, Welbeck and Hernandez playing up top. It would mean that all players except for Rooney would be playing in their preferred positions with a definitive role. And let us keep hold of Kagawa and Zaha in the longer run. On the flip side, it would mean no place for players like Young or Anderson who we can now safely say are not Manchester United material.

Carrick and De Rossi could both play and perform roles like Schweinsteiger and Martinez do at Bayern and make way for one of the players in midfield. It would also allow both Rafael and Evra to play more as wing backs than in a set defensive formation. The perfect line up could be De Gea, Rafael, Evans, Vidic, Evra, De Rossi, Carrick, Januzaj, Kagawa, Rooney and RvP with suitable changes in respective positions as per the status of the game.

What do you guys think?