Midfield Of Fred And Pereira Isn’t Even Good Enough For A Mid-table Club

Reuters / Craig Brough

Manchester United have found themselves in a situation they aren’t quite familiar with as a result of their recent performances.

The post-Sir Alex Ferguson era hasn’t exactly been kind to the United supporters, which includes former players as well. Frustration grows as rival clubs overtake the Red Devil and the days of their former glory now seems to be a distant dream.

The latest disappointment came at the hands of Sheffield United on Sunday when a 10 minute comeback to put the scoreline at 2-3 after going two-nil down was humbled back down as the hosts equalised at the eleventh hour. The spoils were shared by the growing humiliation wasn’t as the Mancunians carried that back home alone.

As mentioned before, clubs legends are also frustrated by the displays of late. Especially Gary Neville who seemed to fire harsh criticisms left and right at the players. The Englishman was specifically disappointed with Fred and Andreas Pereira, neither having made a good string of performances since their debut.

“I’m disappointed with their away performances in general and the way they approach the games,” Neville told Sky Sports.

“Defensively the system didn’t work in terms of the back five in the first half. It looked like one team knew how to play it and the other didn’t.

REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity

“The midfield I’m not going into because Fred and Pereira is not a midfield,” he added. “It is not a midfield for a mid-table club let alone one of the top spending clubs in Europe, though they have got injury problems and other issues in that area.”

On the other hand, the midfield crisis at Old Trafford doesn’t end there. Paul Pogba’s return has been delayed as he recovers from injury, Nemanja Matic seems to have set his sights on finding another club and Juan Mata is well past his good days. Moreover, with Pogba’s future being under constant speculation, he can’t be expected to stay for long.

Meanwhile, Scott McTominay has been a revelation this season and could be seen as the only positive among the United midfielders. The 22-year-old seems to be the only consistent player in the middle of the park who isn’t looking for an exit.