Alert: 2016/17 Manchester United injury report

So now we're down to 2 CBs and 2 CMs. We're in deep shit now.

 

Unfortunately I could see using Rooney in the midfield.

 

Our misguided Scotsman would have thrown a fit [emoji4]

 

He should have been subbed off around the hour or 70 minute mark.

 

Not to mention you need to think twice before playing either of smalling or Jones injured or not.

 

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Still think he misses Thursday's game. Ligament strains usually don't heal that quick.

 

This is a lot more encouraging that the report that Eric had a "brace" around his ankle. He might be good to go for Thursday. But if there's doubt then let him heal completely for the return leg.

 

don't remember our injuries situation ever being this bad

worst thing is this means Europa league next year which means more injuries

 

We've had injury issues on defense for literally 5-6 years now. Why no manager has corrected this is beyond me.

 

That's why I've been saying we need to ship out Smalling and Jones. Both are average when healthy and they're never healthy.

 

That's the crazy part. This isn't Ledley King we're waiting on year after year to heal from injury. It's a pair of average at best CBs. And we've sacrificed our depth by holding on to these sicknotes for this long.

It's not directly tied, but it is somewhat falling to see Jonny Evans and occasionally Michael Keane out playing Smalling and Jones over the past couple years.

 

Try 10. Fergie once play a Carrick/Fletcher CB pairing. And he left 4 years ago now.

 

We've been through patches this rough, maybe rougher, before.

Ferguson started Rafael in midfield over Pogba because of numerous injury problems. Under Van Gaal OT was basically a MASH unit.

All we have to do is to draw at Celta Vigo this week and then win at OT the week after and then in Stockholm at the end of May and we're in, as Red Barber might have put it, catbird seat.

Nothing else matters right now but returning to the CL.

 

Really, that's all we have to do? With two of Darmian, Blind and Carrick as our center backs?

 

Doing it is the hard part, obviously. But the objective itself is clear -- return to the Champions League.

It's not "an" objective; it is "the" objective. All else literally does not matter at this point. Fourth or EL cup is literally irrelevant so long as it is one of those two outcomes. Accomplishing one obviates the need to accomplish the other. Let's be clear -- we can drop to sixth for all I care if we win the EL cup and we can crash out to Celta Vigo if we scrape fourth on the final day of the season.

Whether we can accomplish that objective is the right question to ask. The answer is yes. Whether we will do so in unanswerable right now.

Carrick will likely have to play CB on Thursday and that's a bad thing but he's actually been pretty decent as a CB going back to his Ferguson days. He's a massive step down from Bailly but it's not like we're asking Rooney to play center mid, as Van Gaal ludicrously did. Assuming no more bad news from the physios this is what we likely will have to go with to get through Celta Vigo on Thursday:

De Gea
Valencia Carrick Blind Darmian
Fellaini
Herrera Pogba
Miki Rashford Martial

Or maybe a 532/352

De Gea
Valencia Carrick Blind Darmian Young
Herrera Fellaini Pogba
Rashford Martial

This is not good, as Carrick+Blind does not scream Vidic+Ferdinand. But if our forwards can finally do their fukking job and take their chances well we can shift down a gear and protect Carrick and Blind after we've established a lead (hopefully without diving this time, Marcus). Herrera is criminally underrrated for his defensive work. Pogba has been disastrous defensively but we've begun to see in the last month a new Pogba who's doing his job defensively and offensively, brilliantly.

We lost focus today. It happens. But I have to believe the players will understand what's at stake on Thursday in Galicia and will be completely focused on the task at hand, as they were against Chelsea a few weeks ago.

To quote Gilma, we will win.

 

I agree Europa league title is the objective now. I think it's a 50 - 50 proposition with the injuries at the back and the lack of form at the front. Hope your optimism is right.

 

Any word on TFM?