Defensive Woes Just Get Worse
Saturday’s match against West Ham was remarkable not just because we won 4-0 but that we kept a clean sheet with barely a defender in sight towards the end the match.
Our current defender injury list now consists of:-
Evans, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, O’Shea, Fabio, Rafael and Neville.
I was hoping that Vidic would shake off the flu which kept him out of Saturday’s game in time for the Wolfsburg clash but this has proved not to be the case as Manchester United jetted out to Germany today without him.
It really does beg the question, who is going to play in defence for us on Tuesday?
Fletcher at right back, Evra at left back, Carrick in the middle and….???
Some reports have suggested that young Oliver Gill (David Gill’s son) could find himself making a very unexpected first team debut but as he was not included in the 35 man Champions League squad, I don’t see how UEFA can bend the rules for us, even despite our defender crisis. The whole point of naming the 35 men is to cover this kind of thing, I would have thought.
However, he has travelled with the squad and so there may be something in it.
Looking at the names of the reserve defenders we have included in the squad, there are Cathcart, Chester and Cleverley but all three of these are on loan at the moment.
Having given De Laet a few starts recently then he might have been the ideal choice but he is not listed in the Champions League squad.
The only one that looks eligible to me is Jonny Evans’ younger brother Corry.
I know Fergie could not have envisaged this kind of injury crisis but it does seem odd to put people in the Champions League squad and then loan them out when there are certain players such as De Laet and Tosic (yes, I know he’s not a defender) who are here but not included.
It’s just lucky that the game against Wolfsburg is not a must-win affair.
Actually, all home grown players under the age of 21 can are automatically eligible for Champions League. They need not be registered on the A list. The A list contains 25 players and the B list can have an unlimited amount of players and can be updated during the course of the season. So Gill, De Laet and Tosic are all eligible.
Thanks for that Red. I didn’t know that. Well, you learn something everyday!
Well that’s my experience from Football Manager…and I checked the rules on UEFA website…Tomorrow we cannot lose 1-0 or 2-1…We need atleast a draw or a 3-2(4-3, etc) loss to finish first! With this depleted defence, I am getting worried!!
And Wolfsburg need a win to be sure to qualify! So it’s a must-win affair for Wolfsburg!!
To be honest, I don’t think finishing first or second in the group is going to make a great deal of difference.
Like ours, there are a few groups yet to be fully decided.
Personally, I think we are starting to look a much more potent attacking threat in recent games.
We haven’t really hit the high notes in Europe so far this season but some of our higher scoring Premier League matches have come away from home.
I think we can go there and get a draw, even if it means 2-2 or something.