Gary Neville believes Manchester United still have too many problems at the back to seriously challenge for major honours this season.
Michael Carrick guided Manchester United to third place last season, securing Champions League football in the process. Ever since his appointment and a resurgent Manchester United towards the end of season raised hopes around Old Trafford,
Manchester United has since strengthened the midfield with Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. Carlos Baleba is also expected to join soon as he has reportedly passed his medical.
Carlos Baleba is set to wear legendary shirt number previously worn by Robin van Persie.
Despite the signings and all the expectations around Manchester United, the opening defeat reminds that plenty of work needs to be done.
United were beaten 2-0 by newly promoted Hull City at the MKM Stadium. Neville believes the defeat exposed weaknesses that could become a much bigger problem if they aren’t addressed before the transfer window closes.
Gary Neville calls for defensive reinforcements
Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, Neville wasn’t impressed with United’s response to Hull’s approach.
“Hull did everything they had to in terms of competing, being aggressive, organised and hard to break down.”
United struggled to deal with Hull’s physical approach, particularly in the early stages. That was a major concern for Neville, who feels Carrick’s players didn’t match the intensity of the home side.
“Manchester United fell short in those areas in the early stages of the game, and they have struggled at times against teams that play deeper.”
For Neville, that made the result more worrying than simply dropping three points on the opening weekend.
“It’s a massive wake-up call. Hull didn’t just match Man United physically but were better than them in that area, and that will be the big disappointment for Michael Carrick.”
There is still plenty of time for United to put things right. However, Neville doesn’t want the Hull performance repeated against the next opponent.
“Too many players were well below par, and he will want that to just be a blip; you can’t let it stretch into next weekend as well, they have to be at it.”
United have already spent heavily on midfield incomings this sseason. The forward line was heavily invested last summer, with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo and Benjamin Sesko coming in.
Neville’s argument is that the defence now needs similar attention.
Man Utd still need defenders
The former United defender believes Saturday’s defeat made the issue impossible to ignore.
“What it did highlight is that Man Utd defence isn’t good enough. To be fair, the club probably know that; they rebuilt the forward line last summer and rebuilt the midfield this summer with a few signings.”
Neville’s solution is straightforward. He wants United to add both a centre-back and a full-back before the window shuts.
“I don’t know if they’ve got the money or not, but they do need a centre-back, and they do need full-backs. They just do. There’s no other way of putting it really. That was highlighted on Saturday.”
That leaves Carrick and United with an important decision to make.
The midfield has received plenty of attention during the summer, but Hull showed that improving one area of the team won’t necessarily solve every problem.
United now need to respond on the pitch. More importantly, they have to decide whether the current defensive options are good enough for a season that includes Champions League football.
The Hull defeat may prove to be nothing more than a bad afternoon. But if the same weaknesses appear again, Neville’s concerns will become harder to dismiss.
