Manchester United's midfield morass

Via Soccerfanbase

By Zach Ricchiuti

Manchester United's weak midfield proved its downfall against Tottenham in what could become a recurring story.

This past weekend, we saw a fascinating tactical match-up during what could have been the most entertaining match of the season. The last time Manchester United lost at home to Tottenham, Gareth Bale was five years old, and despite his attempts at replicating his brain functions from that time period, the speedy Welshman did find success this weekend.

Tottenham lined up in their typical 4-2-3-1, with Aaron Lennon, Clint Dempsey, and Bale lined up behind Jermain Defoe, who was supported by Sandro Raniere and Mousa Dembele sitting deep in midfield. Manchester United replied with Robin Van Persie up top, and Ryan Giggs, Shinji Kagawa and Nani behind him.

Now, Sir Alex is a great manager, he's won a lot more things than I ever will, and he knows a lot more about this sport. But I don't care, because I have the glorious benefit of hindsight. So having accepted that, there were a couple blatant flaws with this United lineup.

Tottenham's midfield is youthful and dynamic, and United struggled in the first half to deal with Dembele's dribbling. With Giggs struggling to get involved in the game from his perch on the left, they often left Tottenham with a lot of space to create 2v1 situations. 

Perhaps the one thing Ferguson did right in this game was start Nani on the right. Going up against out-of-position Vertonghen, Nani was always going to have an advantage. But even this backfired. The fact is, every goal came from Tottenham bypassing the wings altogether and plowing straight through Manchester United's center like a teenager on prom night. 

United mounted a mini-resurgence in the second half, but by this point Tottenham had their lead and could just sit inside their own box and boot everything away. And should Ferguson refuse to address his midfield problems, it will surely continue to hurt them.

According to Sir Alex in an interview to Manchester United's non-biased website, "I don't think we've had a holding player since I've been here." Just for good measure to make sure everyone understands, or because he's lost hearing in both of his ears, he confirms, "We've never had a holding midfielder." 

Bullshit, Sir Alex. He goes on in the interview to try and say Roy Keane wasn't a holding midfielder, and that may be true, but Roy Keane was still a lunatic and didn't necessarily have to “hold” to get his point across. More importantly, Keane was a mobile midfielder, and covered enough ground to get United into the Champions League final in what would be their treble-winning 1999 season. Even in 2008, when United won the final, they relied on a three-man midfield. Hargreaves at the center might not have been a typical holding midfielder in the pivot mold, but even he resembled a rabid labrador chasing a tennis ball.

Last year, United's midfield was dominated by their group stage rivals in the Champions League and they floundered out. That’s no coincidence; the last four Champions League winners have had either a strong midfield that could keep the ball, or could defend deep. Barcelona's dominance distorts this theory somewhat, with them having won twice in the last four years with a style that forces you to sit deep and counter, but as long as they still remain dominant, teams have to match their midfield quality or sit deep and counter to beat them.

For United to find success In Europe, they will most likely have to go with a three-man midfield. They've tried having Wayne Rooney mark opposing team's deep-lying midfielders in the past, but it’s failed due to a combination of Rooney's lack of discipline or outside support.

When January comes around, people will most likely clamor for United to shore up its middle by buying Wesley Sneijder, who is having a poor season at Inter. But I'm not convinced. His style of play doesn’t fit quite right, and he lacks the fitness necessary to keep up with opponents in England. Sneijder and Van Persie also despise each other, so there's no reason to create a Dutch feud in the dressing room if he can avoid it. 

Outside of that, Ferguson’s options are limited. In Europe and in the cup competitions over a long season, I see United having serious problems dominating games and staying solid. Rio Ferdinand and Vidic, who is injured at the moment, are not as young as they used to be, and with their younger center backs injured, their defense will continue to be exposed like they were against Tottenham. Like a teenager on prom night.

Zach Ricchiuti is a contributor and resident soccer expert for Began in '96.