Anderson’s criticism screams knee jerk
During and following the loss to West Ham on Tuesday, I heard some extraordinary claims in regards to some of our players with Jonny Evans coming under exceptionally heavy fire. Yes his performance wasn’t the best and yes he has been in a rut but some of the things said were out of order.
Fans have their right to voice their opinions positive or negative, I wouldn’t be here writing this if this wasn’t the case but when a professional, current or retired, offers their opinion it garners special attention as has been the case when ex-Red Viv Anderson voiced his concerns on the current crop of youngsters.
Anderson, who works for MUTV, also picked out Evans performance as a cause for concern but the point that especially got my back up was:
“It was a hard night. It was a learning curve for these young lads and I don’t think they are quite up to the task as everyone seemed to think they were. The manager put his trust in six or seven 20 to 21-year-olds, thinking they were good enough to get a result, and it didn’t work.
It’s backfired on him [Fergie], you could see that in his face. He’s going to have to really think about the younger lads because they obviously can’t match up to his or this club’s expectations.”
Indeed the changes Sir Alex made did not quite come off as he expected but to call into question the ability of these youngsters off of this is ridiculous.
If we go back one year to the game against Besiktas at Old Trafford, there was a similar outcry following the 1-0 defeat but one of the players that came in for the most stick that night is now the talk of the town, Danny Welbeck. People criticised Rafael for his part in the goal but he is now most fan’s choice for number 1 right back. Gerard Pique and Nani played when we lost to Coventry in the same competition in 2007 again both have gone on to prove their worth.
A single game is rarely the making of a player and to call into question these youngsters ability after a poor showing is a shock to me especially coming from an ex pro. Not everyone that played on Tuesday will be a roaring success, that’s life but each and every player has ability. They wouldn’t be at the club if not.
Nobody is saying they should not be criticised I have done so myself but some of these youngsters have played a part in our Carling Cup triumphs for the past 2 seasons as well our FA Cup run in 2009 so to declare them to be not up to the task is ridiculous and screams ‘knee jerk’.
I look forward to looking back on this game and smiling as the players that have been deemed ‘not up to the task’ make an impact in the future.
Credit explained? Oi Malcom have a look!