Are Brown And Heinze Playing For More Than Medals? …
Are Wes Brown and Gabriel Heinze playing for more than just medals as the season enters its closing stages?
The two defenders will be the focus of much hope and speculation as United’s injury curse grows ever more ferocious.
United must prepare for the Milan and Chelsea duels with their new first-choice defenders struggling for form at a time when their Old Trafford futures are in doubt.
Heinze is heavily tipped for a move back to the European mainland, to be replaced by Southampton’s Gareth Bale. Wes Brown, nurtured by Sir Alex since boyhood, is threatened by the emergence of Johnny Evans and Gerard Pique, youngsters of class waiting in the wings for their chance.
Losing one defender from a previously solid back line is unfortunate. To lose four starters from a title-chasing team might lead some to wonder about the power of Portuguese spell-binders.
“Effectively, we are operating with 12 players,” Ferguson confirmed. “We have even lost young Craig Cathcart for the season when he got injured earlier this week.”
Defensive disruption was automatic once Neville, Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra limped to the sidelines and United can thank the gods that such devastation did not occur higher up the field. A squad which still provokes disquiet despite the current success, was always heavy on defenders and lighter in midfield and attacking talent.
That said, the form of Brown and Heinze gives no reason for comfort. Both are normally reliable defenders tested at the highest level but recent games have raised question marks about their composure and ability.
Wes Brown is now as error prone as Heinze is sloppy. Brown is a better player alongside Ferdinand. Without him, the Longsight lad looks lost. His ’surrender’ to the muscular and awkward Viduka during the Middlesbrough draw provoked gasps of surprise. After all, this is a player long touted for his excellence.
Heinze’s passing, forward movement and tackling betray a rustiness or, heaven forbid, a collapse in standards, that few would have thought possible just two years ago when the Argentine was a sensation.
Alongside in-form colleagues, the players often give a fair account of themselves. But without a leader of the class of Neville, Vidic or Ferdinand, Brown and surprisingly Heinze, look shaky. Ticketless fans may well have to watch the game against Milan from behind the sofa, should the pair line up alongside John O’Shea, lucky to escape after a penalty area foul on Middlesbrough substitute Lee Dong-Gook in the last minute of normal time. If Evra fails to recover from the dreadful tackle committed by Sheffield United’s Kazim Edwards, United may field Darren Fletcher as their candidate to keep Kaka quiet!
No wonder AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti is grinning more than a Cheshire cat. “Ferdinand is an important player and his absence, along with Nemanja Vidic, could make it difficult for Ferguson to field an all-new central defensive partnership,” he confessed.
“If Ferdinand isn’t going to recover, that is a great advantage for us. And we have the advantage of playing the second leg at the San Siro.”
Looking further ahead, the “all-new central defensive partnership” will hardly provoke disturbed sleep among Premiership attackers either. The carnage that Everton and City could wreak on United’s title quest might lead to gnarled fingers in the weeks ahead.
Still, this is English football. Bloody Hell!
Can United’s ‘new’ defence cope. What do you think?
