Manchester United conceded four goals in the
space of 21 second-half minutes in their disastrous defeat by Leicester
but it was not their collapse that concerned me the most - it was the
fact they looked so vulnerable throughout the whole game.
What went so wrong? Well, United's defence lacked
leadership, experience and quality. But if I criticise them, then it is
also important that I point out they did not have much protection.
The balance of the team was all wrong. We already knew
Louis van Gaal's squad was top-heavy with superb attacking talent but
this game was the first time we have seen that it does not matter how dangerous they are going forward if they cannot defend.
At times, they were simply all over the place.
You cannot tell me that they did not have the better
players - if you compared the two teams on paper, United should have won
the game.
But, tactically, United were naïve.
That, on top of the inexperience of some of their
players, combined to make them so bad at the back that, every time
Leicester went forward in the second half, it felt like they could have
scored.
Leicester should never have got the penalty that led to their second
goal, and that clearly ended up being a big boost for them. Even so,
there is no excuse for United conceding three more.
They were still 3-2 up with less than half an hour remaining and, although they were under pressure,
the game should still have been in their control.
Instead, they were nervous.
When you are in that situation, leadership matters. I
am talking about somebody at the back organising things - telling a
couple of midfielders to sit in front of the defence and saying "stay
there and don't move".
In the past, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have been that voice, but they have gone and not been replaced.
Instead, against Leicester, United had 20-year-old
Tyler Blackett at the heart of their defence. He is learning his trade
and was never going to provide that kind of authority.
When you are a young lad in a back four, you need help
from all around you but because of the number of attack-minded players
that United had on the pitch, that did not happen. The Leicester players
were given far too much space.
I can understand why it happened, because it is hard
for players who are forward-thinking to change their mentality and dig
in. Too many of United's players have that mind-set.
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