Manchester United, somewhat unfathomably, blew a two-goal lead at home to Everton this weekend and surrendered the title chasing initiative back to Manchester City in the process. The main thing that I took from the game, though, was just how poor Patrice Evra was, and surely his time as an Old Trafford regular is in danger of coming to an abrupt end at the end of the season?
Sir Alex Ferguson stated last week that the club were exploring the possibility of sending reserve team left-back, Fabio, on-loan next season to either Benfica or Sporting Lisbon. While most, myself included, initially treated this move as little more than a chance to grant a promising young player the opportunity of more first-team football, on second glance, perhaps there’s something far more substantive at hand going on here.
Patrice Evra’s decline in recent months has been sharp. What began as an end-of season blip last term simply hasn’t threatened to turn around anytime soon this campaign. To be it quite simply, he is a liability these days.
Evra, at his prime, was one of the world’s greatest left-backs, but that seems so long ago now. The Frenchman has always struggled against genuine pace, most notably in his battles against Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon, who has torn him apart on many an occasion, and he was always susceptible to the high ball in behind the back four, but he’s developed some worryingly new deficiencies to his natural game this season.
His positioning is the main stumbling block, or rather lack thereof. He’s pulled out of position far too often and far too easily for a top quality defender. Liverpool’s winner in the FA Cup clash this season that saw Dirk Kuyt latch onto an Andy Carroll flick-on being a prime example.
Against Everton, Tony Hibbert, a defender not known in particular for his delivery from wide areas, much rather his penchant for a nosebleed in the opposition’s half, emerged from the thrilling draw with two assists, which tells you everything you need to know about the space that he was granted down the Manchester United left by Evra. He made Tony Hibbert look like Cafu and I haven’t seen a defender do that since Liverpool’s tragic Rafa Benitez signing Josemi in a Merseyside Derby I went to yonks’ back.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]
Manchester United’s season has been characterised by defensive fragility – against Manchester City, Newcastle and Athletic Bilbao they’ve been made to look extremely ordinary. It’s clear that while Evra may be the biggest culprit and the most obvious repeat offender, as a collective throughout the season, the defence have come up notably short on more than one occasion.Evra has had a difficult season, what with the Luis Suarez racism case hanging over his head for far too long due to dithering by the FA as they sifted through contradictory information from Damien Comolli and Dirk Kuyt.To an extent, there are legitimate reasons for his poor form, but with the player in question about to turn 31 years of age in May, he’s the wrong side of thirty to stage a dramatic comeback. The slump has now become the norm, and at a club that demands excellence as a bare minimum, a full campaign of indifferent form was always likely to find him in hot water with concerns to the safety of his position on a long-term basis.The recent rumours doing the rounds have linked the club with moves for both Everton’s Leighton Baines and Valencia’s Jordi Alba. The Spaniard in particular is an interesting prospect, and is likely to start for Spain at left-back during the European Championships.Alba has been converted to the position after previously playing as a winger, much like Real Madrid’s duo Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao and England’s Ashley Cole. He remains on Barcelona’s radar, but with Gareth Bale prioritised as the clubs long-term successor to Eric Abidal, any move may hinge on Daniel Levy’s reluctance to part with such a prized asset in the summer in what promises to be a period of great upheaval at White Hart Lane off the pitch.Turning to Leighton Baines, he has been one of the league’s stand-out left-backs for quite some time now, alongside Liverpool’s Jose Enrique. His delivery from both dead balls and from wide is exceptional.
At 27 years old, he represents a sound purchase as he enters the peak of his career and he looks as if he’s got the requisite style and composure to make the step up aswell as the ability to cope with the pace of the continental game. The only potential hurdle to negotiate is the premium that clubs have to pay for English talent, with Everton in particular known to drive a hard bargain as they seek to ease the burden of their seemingly never-ending financial strait-jacket.
Perhaps it’s the fact that Fabio, due to his lack of football, has never been seen as genuine threat by Evra. Maybe the Frenchman has grown complacent in his assuredness of his importance to the side.
However, one thing remains certain, Evra’s form has simply fallen way short of what’s required both at home and abroad this season and I for one would be staggered if the club weren’t to recruit a top class left-back in the summer to challenge Evra’s supremacy. Fabio’s expected departure will leave open the position of understudy once again at the club, something Evra looks in danger of becoming unless he turns things around sharpish.
You can follow me on Twitter at JamesMcManus1
[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]
