Wayne Rooney and James Wilson should have been deployed in place of stuttering front two, says pundit
Monday 9 February 2015 15:18, UK
Radamel Falcao’s career at Manchester United appears to be in doubt and he won’t remain at the club past the end of the season, according to Jamie Carragher.
Carragher gave his assessment on the Colombian international after United’s 1-1 draw at West Ham, a game which the Sky Sports pundit criticised their lack of movement and imagination going forward.
West Ham were without Winston Reid and James Collins at the heart of defence, and Carragher believes the United front line should have caused the Hammers more problems.
“I think Louis van Gaal has got a problem with his strike force,” Carragher told Super Sunday.
“I don’t see Falcao staying at the end of the season and it’s something Manchester United will have to address in the striking department.
Van Persie and Falcao were just jogging up field, ambling up and they didn’t cause a make-shift West Ham back four enough problems. United have got big problems at that end of the pitch. There is not enough movement from the front two, there’s no sprint, spark or energy.
“West Ham showed pace and energy through Sakho and Valencia in the first half to get in behind the United defence. But Falcao and Van Persie failed to exploit the same spaces.
“They were just jogging up field, especially Van Persie, ambling up and they didn’t cause a make-shift West Ham back four enough problems.
“When United were in the wide areas, Falcao was ball-watching and that made him easy to mark. He should have been running down the channels. There is not enough movement from the front two, there’s no sprint, spark or energy and that was in complete contrast to West Ham.”
With his side trailing by a goal to nil. United manager Louis van Gaal opted to bring Marouane Fellaini on as they pushed for a route back into the game.
And while the substitute was involved in the build-up to Daley Blind’s equaliser, Carragher thought James Wilson, or the deployment of Wayne Rooney further forward, would have been better alternatives.
“United have got big problems at that end of the pitch,” Carragher added. “Everybody talks about United needing a centre back and that defensively they’re all over the place, but they’ve got one of the best defensive records in the league.
“Granted, a lot of that is down to the goalkeeper, but the problems are at the other end of the pitch and there’s no way I see Falcao staying.
“The position of Rooney is not right. He only touched the ball in the opposition’s box once or twice and he’s playing like a defensive midfield player.
"You wonder why Van Gaal doesn’t put Rooney up front in those positions to create and score goals because the two strikers, with their lack of movement, had less touches than De Gea and that tells the whole story.”
Sign in to watch highlights of West Ham v Manchester United here.
