City’s tactics shine light on the messy Lingard situation at United
PAT’S DONE THE TRICK Bamford scores against Huddersfield in front of Leeds fans a year ago
RIGHT now, Manchester United have one of the most creative, most threatening attacking talents in the Premier League.
Unfortunately for them, he does not play for Manchester United.
Three goals and two assists for Jesse Lingard at the club that has unashamedly borrowed him from a rival is a reflection of the decent impact the England player has had on West Ham’s fortunes.
In the same way Pep Guardiola banks up his possible choices, it is hard to see how Lingard would not have been a good option for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, certainly in the latter stages of the season, as personnel get tired.
Surely you cannot have too many permutations at this time in the campaign, as Guardiola is showing at the
Etihad. Lingard has done well as a leased player in London and caused Manchester City some worries last Saturday, not only with the miscue that provided Michail Antonio with an equaliser.
If West Ham turn over Leeds on Monday and United are beaten by City on Sunday, Solskjaer’s side will be a mere three points ahead of David Moyes’ team.
Still unlikely as it seems, it would typify United’s recruitment, sales and loan policy if Lingard inspired West Ham to a top-four finish ahead of his parent club. It would also be a notso-glowing testimony to Solskjaer’s judgement.
Cards on the table, I like Solskjaer. He is a personable chap, has handled some tricky situations well, and results and performances in the first half of the season were relatively good.
But even though his side are the second top scorers in the Premier League, only recently overtaken by City, it is obvious Solskjaer still struggles to get the best out of his attacking talent.
And he has a considerable amount of that, otherwise, presumably, he would not have allowed Lingard to go.
Individuals have to take responsibility, of course, and it is fair to say that while Anthony Martial continues to underwhelm, Marcus Rashford has been posting as many poor performances as good ones recently.
If skipper Harry Maguire, in his shouting at Selhurst Park on Wednesday night, was venting some frustration at Rashford’s overall output, it would be understandable.
But in the end, it is Solskjaer’s job to find the right combinations, to come up with systems that mean drawing three consecutive blanks is not a possibility. Solskjaer (above) waited what seemed an inordinate amount of time to decide Edinson Cavani was fully up to speed for full Premier League duty and Mason Greenwood had a spell when he was not preferred.
In Rashford, Greenwood, Martial and Cavani, Solskjaer’s attacking riches should be the envy of most.
But as they head into Sunday’s derby, United’s current drift is typical of their general drift over the past eight seasons.
Yes, they lie second in the table but to trail the leaders by 14 points at this stage of a campaign is pretty much par for the United course since 2013.
They are still long odds-on to finish in a Champions League slot and they also have the Europa League as a possible route into the elite competition.
But if they were to finish outside the top four, having looked so strong in the middle of January, even those of us with a longstanding admiration for Solskjaer would have to admit defeat.
Considering the position of strength they were in, Solskjaer simply could not survive that grim scenario.