Manchester United has no case for defence

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal needs to find a solution to his teams poor defensive crisis

Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Sergio Aguero’s sharp finish was enough to win the game for the reigning champions, but the turning point of the derby was the sending-off of United defender Chris Smalling.

The makeshift backline of Antonio Valencia, Paddy McNair, Michael Carrick and Luke Shaw actually produced a decent display against City.

However, it is the long-term future of the United defence that must be a worry for Red Devils fans.

Silly

Smalling’s red card was completely justified. His first yellow card for blocking a Joe Hart goal-kick was an unnecessary one to say the least. It was a poor booking and he knew that when he went into to challenge James Milner for the second booking he was taking a massive risk.

To get sent-off in such a manner and put his teammates under such pressure with more than 50 minutes of the game to go in a derby match is inexcusable.

Understandably United boss Louis van Gaal was not happy with his defender telling Sky Sports: “I think the first yellow card for Chris Smalling, I did not see but OK, the referee gives a yellow card,”

“Then you know as a player you have a yellow and you cannot do what he did for the second yellow card. That is logical.

“I say also a lot of things to the players and despite that they do not always follow what I have said. There is also emotion and sometimes you cannot control your emotion but it was not very smart.”

Mediocre

Some of the current centre-backs at United can only be described as mediocre. Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans epitomise mediocre. Both showed early career promise, but neither have established themselves as top centre-backs.

Smalling enjoyed a meteoric rise from non-league football to playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world. The former-Maidstone defender played regular first team football at Fulham for just one season, before being snapped-up by then United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

At 24 years-old he has endured a difficult at time at United with injuries and a lack of consistency hampering his chances of becoming an established Manchester United centre-back.

United fans must be wondering if Smalling will ever be good enough to play regular first team football at the heart of the Red Devils defence. The answer at the moment is not if they want to be successful.

Evans has been around the club for a long time and has always struck me as the kind of player that fills in for the first choice centre-back when they are injured, or need a rest. For me he will never been good enough to be a regular first choice centre-back for a top team.

Neither player is terrible and could probably do a job for a team with lesser ambitions than United. However, for a team who want to challenge for the big prizes like United they are not good enough to play at centre-back on a regular basis.

Potential

New signing Marcos Rojo and England defender Phil Jones strike me as the centre-back partnership with the most potential. However, United will reportedly now be deprived of the services of Rojo for up to six weeks, after the Argentine dislocated his shoulder in the derby.

Virtually the whole United career of Phil Jones has been hampered by injury setbacks. He is currently out injured with a shin problem. The 22-year-old has made just four top-flight appearances this season due to injury.

When Jones joined United from Blackburn in 2011 he was regarded as one of the best young players of his generations. Former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson even claimed that Jones could be Manchester United’s best ever player.

Had his development not been hampered by injury he may now be more established in the United team. If he can stay fit and injury free then he could start to fulfil his potential, because he has more talent than Evans and Smalling.

Youngsters

Out of necessity rather than desire Louis van Gaal has had to call on youngsters Paddy McNair and Kyle Blackett this season. It would be harsh to criticise either youngster’s performances so far, as they have been thrown in at the deep end in a struggling United defence.

Experience

When Manchester United lost Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in the summer, the club lost two leaders. Both were maybe past their best, but brought know-how and experience to the United team.

The pair was always going to be difficult to replace and it looks like nobody at United has taken up their mantle.

January

Speculation and rumour has been abound that United boss Van Gaal will be in the market to recruit an experienced centre-back in the January transfer window, with the likes of Mats Hummels and Ezequiel Garay reportedly targets for the Red Devils.

The addition of a quality centre-back will no doubt enhance United’s chances of finishing in the top four, which they are odds of 5/6 to achieve. At the moment though United’s defence is their weak spot and opposition teams will continue to exploit that weakness.

Which centre-back should United be looking at signing in January?