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| Brown Was The Lone Positive For The Reds |
Sir Alex Ferguson will have to consider his team to be very fortunate to be still involved in this historic competition, but the United manager could very well be faced with even bigger problems ahead with his depleted squad.
With four crucial away games on the horizon, Sir Alex decided to use some of his fringe players for the match with Crawley, and most of them showed exactly why they are not challenging for a place in the starting XI.
With that coupled with the fact that key players are either nursing injuries or struggling with fitness, the United manager has to be worried somewhat.
Ji-Sung Park, Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand are all on the sidelines with injuries of some sort, and now the list could be growing as the da Silva's both limped off the pitch.
What was more concerning though were the players that stayed on, because to be brutally honest, there were not too many positives to take from the match - other than the fact that United are through to the Sixth Round, and the solid display by the stand-in captain.
Wes Brown showed the experience that was definitely needed because he almost single-handedly killed off countless half-chances from Crawley - and was full value for his goal.
Brown's partner in central defense, John O'Shea, also showed his experience and priceless ability to play anywhere in the back-four.
Both full-backs, Rafael and his twin brother, Fabio, were forced off with injuries in the second half, which saw O'Shea play at both right and left back.
In the midfield, Michael Carrick was again deployed as a holding midfielder with Darron Gibson and Anderson given the opportunity to scoot forward and help the United attack.
Gibson did his part and provided three top notch passes - which one led to the lone goal of the match - but the other two were wasted by Javier Hernandez and Gabriel Obertan.
With the introduction of Wayne Rooney, in the second half, Gibson dropped deeper to assist Carrick controlling the match, but instead, it allowed Crawley to easily bypass the forwards and for the midfield to be stretched.
Obertan and his counterpart on the other wing, Bebe, did not prove that they deserve to be considered to be included in the United squad for the upcoming matches.
Both wingers turned in below par performances, and besides on one or two occasions, neither of them showed the desire, skill or ability to wear the United shirt.
With that said, it is way too early to judge either player, because like Nani, they will need time to grow and mature into the roles that Sir Alex chooses for them.
Even though those young, usually energetic players did not put in commanding displays, their performances were not as concerning as a regular first-team player.
Concern
A lot of United fans allowed Rooney's goal against City to earn him a way back into their good graces, but his disinterested display was the most concerning of all against Crawley.
When Rooney was introduced at the break, one thought he would take the game by the scruff of the neck and United would waltz into the next round comfortable winners.
Actually the opposite happened, and United was more vulnerable when Rooney came on, because he was not into the match whatsoever.
There was a moment when the United No. 10 passed the ball, but instead of racing towards the box to get on the end of the end of Bebe's cross, Rooney was seen lollygagging around the pitch.
Even though Manchester United did not comfortably win the match, as they should have, the Reds are still through to the next round of the competition, which is something that not many Premier League teams can claim right now.
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