Is Wesley Sneijder The Answer? No.

It was with some relief that Wesley Sneijder’s name faded into the background after the transfer window closed in September, many seemingly focused more on Manchester United’s impressive start to the season. Rightly so, as fans should always put the club’s performance ahead of any paper talk. Those brilliant performances were never going to last forever though, and United slowly let their early season form slip, culminating in the humiliation dealt by Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday. Suddenly, the name Sneijder was back in discussion among United fans.

That, however, raises the question – Is Sneijder the hero we need, or is he the hero we want? There is little doubt that midfield is the most worrisome area of the squad, although the defense dilemma is not far behind. Sneijder is a midfielder, yes, but is he THE midfielder we need? While he would certainly be a welcome addition and create a plethora of chances for our wealth of attacking talent to finish, he is not the player that we so desperately need.

Instead, aim to kill two birds with one stone. Jog a few yards back from where Sneijder would play. That is where our focus should be. Back in August and September we were freely scoring, but we were also conceding far too many chances. Fortunately, most of our opposition was not blessed with the finer points of finishing. This cavalier approach was begging for someone to exploit it; enter Manchester City. While our defense has been suspect for much of the season, the midfield has done little to help. Not only do we fail to boss games in the center of the park, but in no way does our midfield shield the defense. The answer to so many of our problems is a world class defensive midfielder.

This is one position where we lack any presence. This was exactly what Owen Hargreaves was bought for back in 2007, but that obviously never worked out and we never replaced him. Michael Carrick is the closest thing we have to a defensive midfielder now, and he is just a makeshift one. He’s solid as a deep-lying playmaker and has proven he can break up the opposition’s play with interceptions, but he’s not the complete package for a deep role. We need someone who has those qualities, but will also give chase and not let an opposing player have a second of rest while on the ball. Someone who is not afraid to go into a bone-crunching tackle to win back possession. Think back to the days of Roy Keane. He looked possessed at times, desperately wanting to win the ball back, and more often than not he did. We’ll never replace Keane, but we can find someone who can play in his role.

Go back in time, back to May 2011. The stage is Wembley... who am I kidding? You already know this story. In the aftermath of that humbling defeat, the name Sneijder was on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but why? Fans seemed so concerned about creating chances, but you need to have possession to create chances, and we lacked possession. Barcelona had free reign of the midfield, passing their way through our team at will. Our problem was not that we weren’t creating chances, but that we didn’t have the damn ball! Not one player in our squad is an authentic defensive midfielder. We don’t have anyone who will endlessly harass the enemy. Imagine what a difference there may have been with just one player whose sole job was to not give Xavi or Iniesta a moment’s rest. Get them nervous; let them know their time on the ball is limited. Make them start second-guessing and misplacing passes. You can’t sit back on them waiting to intercept a wayward pass, because it won’t happen. What we needed that day was someone capable of winning possession and then starting an attack. That player wasn’t on the field that day; we didn’t even have any options to choose from.

Five months later we still lack that player in the squad. Where was the midfield assistance when Mario Balotelli scored the opener on Sunday? Nowhere to be found. Our defense was left exposed. Neither Darren Fletcher nor Anderson is a defensive midfielder, and sure enough neither was there when Balotelli got a glimpse of goal. Both are players who want to get forward, and as much as you try, you can’t get either to play a position that doesn’t come naturally. They’ll never be sound enough from a positional standpoint to perform in that defensive role against the toughest oppositions. United are calling for a player with the discipline to sit back and defend in a holding role. To not only give us a commanding presence in the midfield, but to also provide support for our defense. We should not be getting dominated in the midfield, and we most certainly should not be giving teams so many opportunities to strike.

Right now, the principle concern must be getting someone who can serve as an anchor in midfield. We have attacking players, but we lack a defensive presence. But who? Daniele De Rossi seems to be the popular choice. Yann M’Vila is another name thrown about. Lassana Diarra is yet another. I am not sure exactly which player fits the bill, only that the defensive midfield role needs to be filled. Whoever it is, they need to be top drawer. That’s not to say they must be a big name, hopefully Javier Hernandez taught you a lesson in that regard. Those who don’t have the intangibles of a player like Roy Keane, the burning desire to win the ball and attack, need not apply. Could we still do with Wesley Sneijder? Absolutely. He adds not only the ability to create, but also to score, from midfield, which is something we have been lacking for a few seasons now. However, signing a player like Sneijder should come second to getting the aforementioned defensive midfielder. There is a saying that you should always build from the back. Our midfield should not be the exception.