Manchester United maybe at the top of the Premier League table right now, but their performances have been far from convincing, well conceding early , sometimes one , sometimes two. As seen they cannot always come back to win like against Norwich and Galatasaray. And even in the attacking manner, they have not really got going by that I mean , playing in style and scoring in style. Wayne Rooney has been pegged back and has scored just two goals this season, ergo he is providing assists but shouldn’t others be taking care of that and well as it has always been the case with United recently, the injuries never help. The much creative Shinji Kagawa is out injured when he could’ve provided the right type of incisive passing and creativity needed to break down teams like Norwich. They have conceded first in 12/20 games this season which is a worrying fact for any United supporter not just the coaching staff and players. 

The areas that need to be strengthened are :

Defense :

Centre Back

Left Back

For starters, as mentioned before United have conceded first and then looked to suddenly pop up with goals and be called “Comeback Kings”. Though this may be interesting but this ordeal is becoming not too welcomed by the fans now, they’d rather see their team score six and concede none. Any good team is built on a strong defense. The pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were formidable during United’s CL winning season of 08-09. But Vidic is now injured and Rio is losing pace. Smalling and Jones have been brought in but they are too becoming injury prone while Jonny Evans is looking solid. With reports coming in that Rio may leave at the end of this season, United need to sort out the defense majorly.

Replacement for Fedinand and Evra a must for United

Then comes the problem of Mr. Evra. At his peak considered to be among the best LBs in the world is now a shadow of himself. His positioning has left fans and manager alike furious on many occasions since the last season. He has lost that yard of pace and his aging body is giving up on his athletic style of play. While Buttner ( the 4th best LB in the Dutch league. Really? ) is not really a viable option at the moment and Fabio on loan to QPR, has been injured which is halting his playing time and growth. So United need to buy a new LB and CB as soon as possible to stop shipping goals and become the force they desire to be and well win that 20th PL title and the elusive CL title.

 

Midfield : 

Wings

Centre Midfield

United don’t really have the star studded midfield when compared to other top teams around the world. Well let’s just say United got Kagawa who got injured and have a good prospect in Cleverley who needs to come of age and Nick Powell looks bright. Anderson needs to work on his fitness and make this season count. But United need to look beyond Scholes and Giggs now. Fletcher coming back is a boost and Carrick is under rated. But United need someone who can hold the midfield , break up attacks, control the pace of the game. This would also solve the problem of United conceding partially. Scholes being replaced is next to impossible so why not get a player and let him make his name. Someone who can keep the ball and then obviously get those creative , “jaw-dropping” through balls to Rooney , Chicharito, van Persie and Welbeck to feast on. While CAM is being covered by Rooney , United need a midfield player that can well cover both CM and CAM altogther. United don’t have the Spanish CAMs preferred these days in the PL like Mata, Silva, Cazorla  but they have enough quality to cope. Just they need to get a midfield general to control the game.

United cannot rely on this pair anymore

Manchester United has been the typical wing team. Mostly reliant on it’s wingers. It can be said that this season the wingers have been not that great or well pretty much awful. Valencia has not been consistent with his crossing , his form dipping majorly in recent matches. Nani is at odds with Untied over a new contract and hasn’t been playing well at all, his HT substitution at Anfield was a proof and then being picked out by Sir Alex Ferguson in his post match interview after the loss to Chelsea criticized Nani for losing the possession of the ball. Ashley Young , well he never was Manchester United quality. A team of United’s caliber cannot hope to compete on all fronts with just 3 natural wingers. It has become so evident, that the manager has to play Welbeck and Rooney out wide these days . While the wingers don;t provide any genuine threat. With Nani on his way out mostly, United definitely need someone with flair and quality. The idea of feeding Rooney and van Persie looks mouth watering for any midfielder.The fact that Manchester United are currently relying on a 37-year-old to come out of retirement and add a certain steel tells us that the other central candidates aren’t perhaps ready for Ferguson’s standard.

 

United need to pick themselves out of this low performing rut and get on the horse and concede less and score more. Fans should be patient with the transfers and wait for players like Powell and Cleverley to develop. Kagawa should come good. But I bet, they wouldn’t mind someone like Hazard, Mata or for that matter, completing the Mazacar, Oscar in their team. All this would come down to SAF’s choice of formation on his vision of the team. The man has done this many times before and surely he would be looking to do the same again. United have a good squad and without injuries and a few tweaks, they’d be a force to be reckoned with. Defense needs to be strengthened so that they are not ripped to shreds so often. Winning in style is something that is expected out of United every time they take the pitch not by going down by 2 goals and crawling their way back.