Gary Neville believes Michael Carrick’s biggest issue at Manchester United is not simply the defence, but the lack of protection being offered by the players in front of it.
Speaking on Sky Sports as quoted by the Express, Neville argued that Michael Carrick has several attacking players who are naturally more comfortable in possession but are not contributing enough when United don’t have the ball.
“I wish he could play all of those attacking players.”
Gary Neville believes the balance could become a major problem for Carrick if Manchester United continue to field so many attack-minded players together.
Gary Neville calls for a defensive reset
“But they are going to kill him defensively. It’s not just the defence and the back four that are causing him a problem. [Bryan] Mbeumo and [Marcus] Rashford are too high and wide. They don’t narrow back in. You’ve got [Youri] Tielemans and [Kobbie] Mainoo in midfield who are a little bit one-paced.”
Neville also expects Carlos Baleba to provide another option in midfield, while pointing to the freedom given to Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha.
“[Carlos] Baleba will probably come in there. Bruno [Fernandes] floats around a little bit, and then [Matheus] Cunha floats around a little bit. You’ve got these five or six players who are better with the ball than without the ball.”
For Neville, simply scoring more goals may not solve the problem. He believes United need to change how they defend as a team.
“It would be great to see them score loads of goals and maybe concede one or two and go and win games, but there is going to have to be a reset from the point of view of defensive structure because there are far too many of them walking on the pitch.”
