VERDICT ON MANCHESTER UNITED YOUTH

Manchester Evening News has a good article on the West Ham game; read it below:

Viv Anderson has offered a damning verdict on Manchester United's young players after the holders were dumped out of the Carling Cup.
 
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson was left shell-shocked at the manner of the 4-0 quarter-final defeat by West Ham after he made a raft of changes.

Some of his fledgling stars were given the chance to shine in a side that was made up of youth and experience, and Anderson was baffled at the way the team caved in.

"I don't think they are quite up to the task everyone thinks they are," said the former United and England full-back on MUTV.

"We changed the whole back five, including the goalkeeper and that is a bit of an ask.

"It has backfired on him (Ferguson) you could see that in his face. He is going to have to really think about the younger lads - they cannot match up to the expectations of this club.

"It was a bit of false dawn we went to Rangers and got a clean sheet. That night the system suited us.

"They had only Kenny Miller up front. West Ham played with two up and that was difficult for us. We conceded some shocking goals.

"It was a hard night and a learning curve for these young lads. It was a bad day especially for the back four."

Another former United star, Lou Macari, joined in the criticism of the team on the in-house TV station.

He said: "They were given an opportunity...'Show us what you are made of, show us what you've got, this is going to be fast and furious'.

"It was not going to be like Rangers where we were attacking all the time. This was West Ham, who were desperate to get into the next round. They have let him (Ferguson) down."

United went into the match on the back of 7-1 victory against Blackburn with Dimitar Berbatov scoring five goals. Blackpool are next up on Saturday.

Macari was keen to see an unchanged side against West Ham.

"I want to see a winning team," he added. "But football is going in a different direction where we read and talk all the time about players getting tired.

"If the ones who had all played on Saturday had played again do not think they would not have been able to play against Blackpool? They would be itching to play.

"Berbatov scored five goals and would have been on all-time high. If he played again scored another couple there would have been more pats on the back. I am not a great believer in chopping and changing."


MY VIEWS
These two pundits are spot on, but a little bit too harsh. But I guess when you play for United you must accept critisim and react.

Reasons why the team lost badly

• Defense was shambolic, Evans was one of the more experienced lads and he was awful. I wonder what happened to Evans. Since Fergie blasted him in the Milan game last season, he has never been the same. He needs to bulk up and stop being too soft. Fabio needs more games to improve. Oshea has not been the same since his injury last season, he is a lot slower and less confident, hopefully he comes through that. Smalling was the only decent defender.
• Midfield really needs help. Fletcher is the only consistent midfielder in the club, perhaps he has played one too many games and needs a breather. Anderson is too inconsistent for the Red Army, maybe he needs to go. Anderson is also a liability because he does not score goals at all, Keane was a defensive midfielder who could come up with a goal or two. The midfield did not service the attackers well and was dominated by a makeshift West Ham midfield.
• Bebe needs more games. Do not forget he just started playing professional football, so give him time. I think his confidence will help him become a great winger.
• Kit Kat did not get any help from the back four, so he was not to blame. The guy was left exposed.
• Sir. Alex perhaps should have picked some players who contributed to the historical win against Blackburn. May be Rooney upfront with Chica, since Rooney needs more games. But I guess the young lads let Sir.Alex down, he put his trust in them.

FINAL VERDICT

• Younger players need a chance now like Eikrem, Pogba and Ravel Morrison.
• The club needs to invest in the central midfield to add more creativity and steel. Read my suggestions for the midfield here Suggestions for United's midfield
• Younger defenders need to improve or the club needs to buy one more central defender. Smalling seems to be the real deal but Evan's needs to step up

All in all the future is not too bad for United, with the likes of Magnus, Ravel Morrison, Pogba, Petrucci, Ajose, Cleverly and Welbeck waiting for a chance, I am sure they will take!