At Craven Cottage, the competition had not even been underway for ten minutes when Tyrell Malacia was already receiving instructions from Christian Eriksen and Anthony Elanga.
The purpose of recalling Elanga was more defensive than offensive; he was supposed to act as a human shield for the left-footer playing right back. Malacia did not fare well against the crafty Willian and Antonee Robinson, who was known as 'Jedi.' Despite the fact that he was aware he would be running backwards more often than forwards, he was still defeated. Willian was a force that had been reawakened.
Despite the fact that United's summer recruitment was heavily focused on Dutch players, the country's lone representative has proven to be their least impressive acquisition. Malacia has not quite recovered from the chasing that Phil Foden gave him during a chastening 45 minutes at Manchester City. The game brought back memories of Patrice Evra's debut at the same stadium. At the break, Malacia felt the same way that Evra did.
Malacia only lasted for forty-five minutes four days later in Nicosia, where his errant touch turned attack into defense and briefly threatened a new low as Omonia took the lead. Malacia's loss was the lowest point in the team's history. Malacia made his first start in the Premier League since the thrashing he received at the hands of City against Fulham.
Malacia was more of a Buttner than a Blind in London, but he was an auxiliary choice due to the absence of Diogo Dalot, who was suspended despite being an otherwise ever-present player. The partnership that Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez have developed is satisfactory, and the fact that Victor Lindelof played right back against Real Sociedad in September resulted in a loss for the team.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka has gone from being a risk taker to a risk averse by not taking the train from Stockport to Euston. In doing so, he has thrown Malacia under the bus. Wan-Bissaka has only been selected for the team six out of a possible 21 times this season, has only played for a total of four minutes, and has not started a game since the month of April. This includes all six of United's preseason games against other teams.
Wan-Bissaka was praised by United manager Erik ten Hag on the eve of their match against Fulham "fights their own battles, albeit on a different front. Due to a combination of injuries and illnesses, he was frequently absent from games but does not have a significant underlying issue."
It is to everyone's advantage that Dalot has not sustained any injuries during his year-long work placement in Milan. However, despite Ten Hag's diplomatic suggestion that "it's about" Wan-Bissaka "getting really fit and to make competition with Diogo for the second half of the season," it is highly unlikely that Wan-Bissaka will ever put on a United shirt again.
Wan-Bissaka was informed that he was free to leave United before the end of the previous season; however, there were no serious suitors for his services. United must consider writing off their losses on a £50 million investment in a player who is destined to hold the record as the most expensive Englishman who has never played for England for some time. Plenty of Crystal Palace fans would welcome him back, and United must investigate the possibility of writing off their losses.
This season, Wan-Bissaka has hardly made an appearance.
It may seem as though we are getting closer to the middle of the season, but this is an illusion. In point of fact, United are only a little more than a third of the way through the domestic campaign, and they still have at least 28 fixtures to play within the remaining 22 weeks.
Then there is the possibility of advancing further in the League Cup past Burnley. This is a tournament that Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham have already been eliminated from, and Liverpool is scheduled to play against City in the following month. The League Cup represents the earliest opportunity for Manchester United to end a trophy drought that is almost certainly going to last for close to six years.
Last year, the two-legged semi-final format was brought back into play. This year, there will be replays in the third and fourth rounds of the FA Cup. Ten Hag's Europa League play-off with Barcelona will prevent him from having two free midweeks in February. The Premier League has not yet decided where the postponed matches against Crystal Palace and Leeds will take place.
Dalot has been overworked to the point where it requires reliable backup at this point. United will keep an eye on fullback Brandon Williams' progress as he recovers from a long-term injury. In the summer, sources indicated that it was in Williams' best interest to remain at United despite the possibility that Wan-Bissaka could get a divorce. United will monitor Williams' progress.
Ethan Laird's positive trajectory at Queens Park Rangers, where he is currently on loan, is in danger of taking a turn for the worse because manager Michael Beale is expected to defect to Rangers. As a result, United is considering recalling Laird. Laird made his debut for Manchester United in their final preseason game, which was played against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford. He is a right back who is more comparable to Ten Hag than Williams or Wan-Bissaka.
Since May of 2021, Williams has not participated in any United games.
If Cristiano Ronaldo had not called on Piers Morgan to come to Manchester, it would have been irresponsible to entrust the same forwards with the game. Even though they are a better team without Ronaldo, United are not necessarily in a better position financially. Because of him, they were able to establish some presence and a (weak) fear factor. Without him, they do not have anyone who can consistently score goals in their lineup.
United are interested in signing a forward, but the upcoming World Cup makes it difficult to do so right now. Even though Cody Gakpo was thought about during the summer, it would be unwise to look to the Eredivisie once more for another overpriced attacker, particularly one from the Netherlands.
Louis van Gaal is trying to turn the clocks back to 2014 with this Clockwork Orange in a back three, but the team does not have forwards who are physically capable of lacing the boots of Robin van Persie or Arjen Robben. Memphis Depay was benched in favor of Vincent Janssen for the match against Senegal.
Anthony Martial is a number nine who rarely lives up to his number. In his seven seasons with United, he has only once surpassed the 20-goal mark. Even though he has been sidelined for a third of their games so far this season, he has contributed to at least one goal or assist in five of his seven appearances.
Marcus Rashford is experiencing a renaissance and has scored a respectable eight goals, but he performs best when he is playing on the left side of the field. Antony has not scored a goal since October 9 and has missed five matches due to injury. Alejandro Garnacho is too raw to regularly come to the rescue. Elanga has not scored for his club since February 23. Jadon Sancho has pressed the reset button.
Sancho, a young man who is so polite that he shook the hand of every reporter in the mixed zone at Leicester, has quit social media and has traveled diligently to the Netherlands in order to refine his technique with coaches that Ten Hag has recommended. He was always a reliable option to play right back.
Wisdom Nnebi 1 w
Good one