The Manchester United supporting punters here in the Transfer Tavern have been less than impressed with their side this season, and after spending an absolute fortune on new recruits in the summer, they quite simply expected better.
One fan is in the Tavern enjoying one of the landlord’s top shelf cocktails and he thinks the United of this season have, at times, been worse than the team were under the management of David Moyes and believes the fans deserve better.
The Dutch manager seems to have a vendetta against the British press and his post-match interviews of late seem to sound like a man desperately clinging to his job.
Talk in the Tavern’s smoking area has turned to who has been the most disappointing players during the inconsistent 2015/16 campaign, and our writer Lee Clarke has decided to pick FIVE players who have been overrated at best so far this season for United…….
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE PLAYERS!
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Morgan Schneiderlin
The French midfielder was signed from Southampton and was dubbed to be the answer to United’s defensive midfield issues. How wrong could people be?
The 26-year-old has only made 18 appearances due to injury and when he has been available for selection he has failed to impress.
The outlay of £27 million is quite frankly way over the odds for such a seemingly ordinary player, the Saints no doubt were laughing all the way to the bank, when they received the hefty bid in the summer.
Given his age Schneiderlin should have plenty of time to prove his doubters wrong, but he needs to do something pretty quickly if he is to avoid being flogged by United.
Ashley Young
Okay so Young had been performing okay in an unnatural position before his cruel injury, which he suffered in the win over Liverpool but let’s not get carried away.
Having been at United since 2011, Young has failed to fulfil the potential which he so often promised during his time at Aston Villa and Watford.
He simply isn’t a United type of player for me and it is no coincidence that since Young’s injury, United have been forced to play a more natural wing-back in his position and have won twice and drawn once.
Young’s form this season is an example of an English player playing a few good matches and people jumping on the bandwagon all of a sudden.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson
The youngster is the latest to emerge from the glittering United academy with injury problems to several regular full-backs calling for van Gaal to rely on youth.
At 19-years-old Borthwick-Jackson of late has looked like a player who can step up and make himself a first-team regular, in patches, small patches.
Against Derby County, of the Championship, he looked really comfortable but in hindsight he was rarely tested by a below-par Rams side.
I don’t doubt that the Manchester-born player could be a first-team player for United in years to come, but let’s not get carried away.
His performance in the game at Bournemouth back in December was nothing short of shocking and he has a lot left to learn.
Memphis Depay
If there has ever been a bigger waste of £25 million imported into the Premier League from overseas, than that which United parted with for the services of Depay, then I am yet to see it.
It must always be deemed a gamble when signing players from the Dutch league because it is so substandard, but the Holland international simply hasn’t made the grade at Old Trafford.
From his 19 appearances this season he scored just once and has often found himself left on the bench, with van Gaal’s patience seemingly short with the player’s form.
At 21-years-old Depay is at the age where he should be fulfilling his potential but I just can’t see the boy getting to grips with life as a Manchester United player.
Anthony Martial
The most overrated of the lot is the French ‘boy-wonder’ Anthony Martial.
I need to be clear here when I say that in five or ten years time if could look incredibly foolish to have included Martial among this article, but I am willing to take my chances.
To label a player as the new Thierry Henry after one goal against a below-par Liverpool side is nothing short of absurd and if anything it is insulting to the Arsenal legend.
The 20-year-old has naturally gone off the boil a little bit since then – remember his exploits in front of goal were nothing to shout about at Monaco – and his performances up front have seen manager Louis van Gaal utilise him on the left-wing more often.
