The Reasons Why Javier Hernandez Is Struggling At United

Since the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final against Barcelona, Javier Hernandez hasn't really looked the same type of devastating player he for the first eight months of Manchester United career.

Chicharito has had a rough start to 2011/12

Yes, Chicharito, as he is more commonly referred as, scored a couple of his typical predatory poacher goals against Bolton Wanderers, but before that and since then, there hasn't been that contagious smile on his face.

After displacing Dimitar Berbatov in the starting XI last season, Hernandez, himself, now faces stiff competition and may not be considered first choice unless there is some sort of improvement, especially with the recent form of Danny Welbeck.

There are a few reasons that might be causing this "sophomore slump," and those are: fatigue, one-dimensional and being far too timid because of strong past of injuries.

Since joining Manchester United in the summer of 2010, Chicharito has not had a proper rest and it could be catching up with him. If he's not playing every week for the Reds, he's jetting off to play for the Mexican national team, and that's usually long, tiresome trip.

In the last 24 months, Hernandez has become a cult hero on both sides of the Atlantic, but he's already an iconic figure in his home country, as he has scored 22 goals in 31 appearances for the Tri-Colors. All but one of those appearances have come in the last two years, and that's a lot of football - almost too much - when you couple it with his 51 matches he's already played at United.

Patience
One of the most frustrating things is that Hernandez is one of the fastest players on the field, but since that terrible day at Wembley Stadium, he hasn't been able to adjust to the defensive adjustments made to play against him.

Center forwards are trained to play off the shoulder of the second-to-last defender to get the advantage with a long ball over the top or a through ball. Hernandez is doing this, but when they're stepping up to catch him in an offside's position, he isn't trying to be one-step ahead of them, mentally.

Because of his ability to win headers in the six-yard box, a lot of people mistakenly think that Chicharito is a much bigger and taller player than he really is. He stands at around 5'8", and the big donkey defenders are becoming much more physical with him to kill off his athletic advantage - and that's may be taking its toll on him, as well.

Contact
Besides Sir Alex Ferguson reacting so quickly to get him signed up before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Hernandez's size was perhaps the only deterring factor as to why other clubs didn't go in for him before. Last season, the 23-year old was on a strict regiment to build up muscle, which he certainly did, but he, like anybody else, doesn't like to take little knocks and pulls from less skillful defenders.

Since he has rejoined the Reds in late July, after a summer filled with football, Hernandez has suffered three injuries - a concussion and two leg contusions. The former is often a scary injury for a young player, because they are out of football, completely, for a minimum of two weeks and their return is dependent on when the post-concussion types of illnesses end. This, along with the brutal challenges he has faced, could very well make him timid or shy going up for a header, which takes away his "it" factor.

This is more than likely just a minor blip that Javier Hernandez is going through, but he needs to change his approach to make himself less predictable if he wants to keep his place in the starting XI for Manchester United. (Updated: 10/11/11 07.49am)