Manchester United appeared shorthanded over the weekend during their 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur following the dismissal of right back Rafael.
David Hammons writes about the challenges in picking a bench with no fullbacks, and how United's lack of depth in that role might affect them in the coming weeks.
Manchester United were forced to rely heavily on their defensive linchpins to extend their impressive streak against Tottenham, but it could have been very, very different this time around.
On top of reclaiming the top spot in the standings, the Reds also elongated their impressive unbeaten streak over Spurs to 20 Barclays Premier League games – 24 overall – but unbiased bystanders, including a somewhat troubled-looking Sir Alex Ferguson, would have thought it was Tottenham who were the holders of that streak.
Based on this performance, the Gaffer witnessed first-hand that he may have his worked cut out for him if United are to claim the title this season with the very depreciated squad options he currently boasts.
Unfortunately, the highly-entertaining, end-to-end match has been given an unnecessary black eye because of Mike Dean’s deplorable decision send off Rafael, which compounds the limitations of Sir Alex’s squad.
Harry Redknapp, who has been hell bent on getting David Beckham’s signature on a short-term loan deal, showed that his side is filled some of the better players in the Premier League.
Young Rafael’s dismissal will certainly leave Sir Alex short at right-back options for United’s match against Birmingham City next weekend, so it will be very interesting to see which player gets to fill in for the Brazilian.
Some may have picked up on the very conspicuous decision by Sir Alex for not selecting a full-back, or an utility defender for that matter, to United’s substitute bench for the match against Tottenham.
The only defenders that Ferguson named to the bench were Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans, and neither of those young central defenders could have handle either of Tottenham’s wingers’ – Gareth Bale or Aaron Lennon – pace.
Wes Brown’s falling out with the manager on this summer’s tour of America coupled with John O’Shea’s injury and Gary Neville’s lack of pace has kept all of them out of the squad against Spurs, and the lack of depth could very well have well cost them a point.
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