Man Utd's fringe players are holding them back in their pursuit of silverware
By Mitch Wilks
Despite a largely disappointing transfer window last summer, the signings Manchester United did manage to complete felt like they had gone some way in fixing a glaringly obvious squad depth issue.
How wrong we were.
Unfortunately, this isn't FIFA Career Mode and new signings providing depth is reliant on current players elevating their game and breeding competition within the squad. Considering that United now look lost without a 34-year-old they signed on a free transfer on deadline day, it's fair to say that depth is still a bit of an issue.
Simply put, there is far too much mediocrity still plaguing the Red Devils. It's now beginning to stunt the progress they've made as a side in the last 12 months. Players who fans would expect to be kicking on and performing, especially with so many fixtures, are instead shying away and straining the rest of the team. This was again on show as United bowed out to Leicester in the FA Cup quarter final.
Credit where credit is due, Leicester were flawless, tactically and mentally. They were second to none on every blade of the grass covering the pitch, and made a changed United side look even worse than they were.
United were bad as a whole. Really bad. While the players are to blame on the surface, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must also harbour some of that responsibility for picking such a changed team in a big game for the club.
Solskjaer made five changes heading into the quarter final. Leaving out Marcus Rashford wasn't an option, but the wholesale rotation in a game as big as this was rather naïve. Yes, Bruno Fernandes has looked leggy in recent weeks, but he's the club's best player - there is no excuse to drop him with a semi final on the line.
Having said that, the players who did come in for United are hardly regarded as Sunday league footballers. Alex Telles, Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek, Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic are still a good enough bunch of names to see them to Wembley, or at least you would've thought. Pogba was fine and continues to recover from a lengthy layoff, while Telles was unfortunate not to have come away with an assist for some solid crossing. But that's where the positives end.
This feels insanely repetitive to write, because it is - it's the same old story every time for too many players on the fringes for United.
Martial was again lifeless and looked completely uninterested, fashioning just one shot and creating zero chances in 90 minutes. Van de Beek wasn't much better and was again far too passive; by no means is he the same player as Fernandes, but he has to want the ball more and try to dictate games if he wants to improve.
As for Fred, the less said, the better. His performance was a summary of United's pitfalls; no fight, no desire and a supreme lack of quality in possession that cost them and is simply not acceptable at a club that should be aiming for silverware.
Of course the Red Devils still need more signings, and likely wouldn't have this problem should they have navigated the transfer market properly last summer. They'd have been knocked out in the semi finals instead, as contractually obliged. What's just as and if not more important than incomings, however, is outgoings. There are too many players at the club who have had more than enough time to prove their worth but haven't. United must cash in on these assets to improve their squad.
Solskjaer has been the only manager who has really succeeded in clearing any of United's deadwood in recent years. There is still more to go, though, and the names are getting bigger, but that shouldn't put United off from selling. There is still a lingering mediocrity existing within the fringes of the squad, and it is those players who are detrimental.
Their FA Cup quarter final exit should serve as similar significance to their 4-0 defeat to Everton in April 2019. It was a telling display for a number of players who just aren't at the required level. Solskjaer must continue to weed this out of his squad if he wants to take things up another level at the club.