The defensive nightmares of David Moyes: Back four forgetting the basics

THe defensive problems for David Moyes seem to mounting

Whatever David Moyes hoped for when he took over the reins at Manchester United the fact that he would be at the helm of United’s worst ever start in the Premier League. Six matches in, the Red Devils of Manchester only have 7 points in their kitty, a point less than the horror start of the 2003-04 season.

Last year, United fell behind in five of the first six games but the hairdryer treatment from the Boss apparently worked as the strike force bombed the opposition goal to help pull off wins in three of those five games, helping United to 12 points. Sir Alex could easily laugh off the worst of the criticism, having been at the helm for more than a quarter of a century. However, David Moyes does not have the luxury – he’s only been at the helm for a few months and the screams for him to be kicked out have been there from the start.

So just what was it that went wrong at Old Trafford last Saturday that left David Moyes trying to pull out hair from his head in exasperation. The problem is a rather old one for United, known both to them and their opponents – the defensive side of United’s game has always been a problem. It’s not that United doesn’t have a defence, it’s just that the players in those positions just have a love of going upstream.

This can be seen quite clearly in the way United play – the wing backs go forward overlapping with their midfield counterparts as the team goes on the attack. However, once the ball is lost, they fail to get back in time and the centre backs and the defensive midfielder have had to cover the problems caused. This was evident in Saturday’s game against West Brom and was amplified by the fact that Moyes did not start with Fellaini after his rather dismal performance in last week’s Manchester derby.

However, Fellaini’s presence was missed especially when Amalfitano scored the first goal for WBA. The big Belgian is known for his rather forceful defending and that was what was needed when Amalfitano got onto the ball. Carrick was about ten yards to the left of Amalfitano when the West Brom midfielder made his run towards the goal.

Instead of cutting across to block Amalfitano’s path, he jogged alongside the Frenchman and could only watch as his quarry went around Evans, nutmegged Ferdinand and then chipped the ball over De Gea into the goal.

The second goal from WBA then drove home the point the players were barely following the guidebook of defensive football. The first basic error occurred when Nani and Anderson both went after Billy Jones from different directions, leaving quite a big space between them which enabled Jones to slot a pass to Stephane Sessegnon through the space between them.

The second mistake occurred as Sessegnon’s made his next move. After receiving the ball, he was able to chip the ball over Ferdinand’s head as United’s senior citizen in the back four was blocked by a West Brom player. The real culprit though was Phil Jones. The big fella should have been marking Sessegnon but he was stuck way too deep and could only watch the ball sail over his senior partner’s head towards a rampaging Amalfitano.

The third and final mistake could have been avoided altogether had Johnny Evans managed to force Amalfitano off the ball. The back heel from the Frenchman lead to an absolute belter from Saido Berahino that left De Gea with no chance at all as the ball screamed past him into the net.

With the game against Donetsk just round the corner, Moyes needs to force his back four to dig their heels in. Perhaps his infamous horseshoe runs need to be deployed or if that doesn’t work there is always that hairdryer that can be copied from the ‘Old Scot’ in the directors’ box. Whatever it takes, United will have to shape up or Moyes could well be shipped out.