What does the future hold for Manchester United's defenders?

Leicester City’s 5-3 mauling of Manchester United was quite comical, one could say. It was worth a laugh for all the magnanimous efforts put in United’s attack and their defense to nonchalantly cancel those with Mark Clattenburg lending in a helping hand that turned it to be a bit too much.

At the end of the day, Louis van Gaal was still the last man standing as he had clearly managed to connive those fans that stood behind him despite their arduous routines of disappointment last season.

David Moyes’ disastrous reign at Old Trafford was characterised by one thing; Manchester United’s midfield gave away and that in turn proved fatal for the team. Van Gaal’s new signings exactly seemed the ones that could solve the crisis at the middle and they did it, albeit temporarily. For the one match against QPR, everything looked great and the team by itself was working wonders. The question of whether this is a result of QPR’s incompatibility with the Premier League hung around and last week’s match clearly provided an answer to that.

That night against Leicester City

Scoring 3 goals in the first half was a thing to cherish. For it, last happened after almost a year and a half ago. But conceding four in the second half to lose the match 5-3 is utterly ridiculous, no matter how you look at it.

If Manchester United had done the same thing, that match would have been revered as a ‘game of two halves’ but then, when they were on the receiving end, it didn’t look so happy.

Careful analysis and dissection of tactics will surely not be the prerequisite to label Manchester United’s lackadaisical performance as the breaking down of their defense. Chris Smalling (who replaced Evans earlier) and Tyler Blackett were the men in question for a major part of all the four goals, although Wayne Rooney should take credit for losing the ball prior to Estaban Cambiasso’s goal.

The trio of Jones, Evans and Smalling fail to deliver constantly

And as the match against MK Dons showed, Phil Jones has been a shadow of his former self two seasons back and quite evidently is a liability nowadays. Phil Jones opened up to good matches this season but then, his injuries seem to regularly haunt his progress and he shall be out for two more weeks.

While Van Gaal’s penchant for attacking football was showcased by the diamond and signing of more attackers, every manager shall strive to secure his defense.

Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw may attest to that, but their playing positions clearly indicate that van Gaal plans on using the trio of Evans, Smalling and Jones as the main defenders. Tyler Blackett might have been an added advantage, but these three were his initial choices for the position and they have significantly let him down. Let us not take Daley Blind into consideration as he plays at the base of the diamond and slots in well in the defensive midfield position.

As in the case of most teams, the defense usually consists of a man who steps up to organize the team and harness the ability of his younger compatriots. The sale of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand in the same window along with the lack of a suitable replacement has made sure none of United’ s defenders are of the mould of a leader.

While that seems the most important thing, suitable playing ability could do well to cover up for the lack of a leader and enforcer. However, the match against Leicester City showed United weren’t strong on that front either.

The period of transition between managers may have been quite of an overburden on the squad, but the fact that United’s defenders haven’t embraced the change of responsibility is quite saddening. It may do well to remind them that Sir Alex is not on board anymore and that they are playing under one of the most ruthless managers in the world of football.

Van Gaal’s ruthlessness shall have no room for complacency

Sir Alex, when he found talent he afforded to give them chances.However, van Gaal isn’t of the same mould. The selling of Welbeck to Arsenal which was criticized as an un-Manchester United-like move is the best example to van Gaal’s policy.Welbeck was a very good player whose consistency was quite off-hand while his game had a large room for improvement.

And there lay van Gaal’s concern. At 24, it was not room for improvement that a striker required. He must have been the finished product and ready to lead the frontline. When he realized Welbeck wasn’t cut out to do that, he had no second thoughts in selling him. Javier Hernandez and Shinji Kagawa faced the same fate.

The predicament of United’s defenders is no different from what it was for those players and the British trio of Jones, Evans and Smalling are next up on the line.

When in 2008, Gerard Pique moved back to Barcelona, there were two reasons behind the move. One was that he wanted to leave, which clearly Sir Alex didn’t want. But the second was that it was done by a half-hearted Sir Alex keeping in mind the developing Johnny Evans. Now as we look back, it was a decision that backfired on multiple levels. Most importantly, Pique has become one of the world’s best defenders.

Never-ending woes of the trio keep their position hanging

And then Evans, well he is where he is. He has been at a downfall ever since the injury back in 2012 and at 26, he doesn’t have much hope of improving. The stage where he blooms has already passed by and his days at Manchester United are numbered. A one-off stunning performance isn’t what is expected of him; rather a consistent level of playing.

Chris Smalling puts in equally deplorable performances and has had his progress stalled ever since he was chosen to be played at right back by David Moyes. He too has been constantly niggled by injuries and that has deprived him of an opportunity to have a consistent run of good games. His ball-playing capacities are quite poor and so is his one-on-one tackling.

To complement these two, we have Phil Jones who unsuspectingly puts in good performances prior to getting injured that kills off his momentum. And his opening day heroics were matched only by United’s loss on the same day. And there’s the one thing; a good defender wins the match for his team. Whether he played excellently well or not, the team lost and that is a poor reflection on Jones.

Van Gaal’s purchases in the summer have tilted the team to a left-footed one as shown by Luke Shaw, Rojo, Daley Blind, Di Maria. Added to that, Tyler Blackett, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie are all predominantly left footed. The reverting to a diamond with four at the back means that the right center back being right footed is imminent. And United’s only choices at this position are the three players who lack any real consistency, whatsoever. Three players fighting for one spot might be a good sign but when neither of them do justice to their inclusion, it is downright terrible.

Perform or Perish

As Ed Woodward has so extravagantly displayed, he is backing van Gaal’s policy of buying the necessary replacements without as much as a second thought in order to rebuild the team.

The old practices of not buying big in the winter transfer window might all just go right out of the window as van Gaal would do well to buy replacements for the trio once he realises their capacity is diminishing.

The deadline is running out for them to impress the manager. It is a new era at Old Trafford and after multiple assurances, van Gaal looks set to stay. He has implemented his policy at Manchester United: Perform or Perish.

Those who display complacence shall have no place in the new era. Louis van Gaal surely would see to that. As we talk about that, these three might just be the latest to hit the dust and leave the club once and for all. Van Gaal holds no place for sentiments and nor should he; in modern football, finding a replacement isn’t the toughest job unless it is Sir Alex you are replacing.