Wayne Rooney demands tactical ruthlessness following a shock opening-day defeat, advising Michael Carrick to bench Luke Shaw to fix defensive overloads and inject aggression against Ipswich Town.
Manchester United's surprise 2-0 loss to Hull City on the opening day of the Premier League season has caused major concern among fans and pundits alike.
While Michael Carrick's side dominated possession, it was Hull who looked the more threatening side every time they got into wide areas and caused chaos inside the box.
Given this was a loss and a poor performance against another side that played with a three-back system, this will give Carrick a headache for future tactics.
The Red Devils will be taking on another newly promoted side, Ipswich Town, next in the Premier League as the club looks to avoid yet another defeat.
Rooney suggests that Shaw be dropped
Last season was the first time Luke Shaw had started every game in the Premier League for Manchester United, and he seemingly has overcome his injury issues. However, with Carrick's side set to play at least 10 more games this season in all the cups, the Englishman needs time to rest to avoid any relapses.
With that being said, in recent times, despite his technical brilliance on the ball, Shaw is slowly becoming a liability when defending. Especially against AC Milan and then Hull, it was evident how often opposition teams were consistently overloading United's left-handside.
This could be a tactical decision just as much as it could be an on-field decision, but the Englishman seems to tuck in very narrow compared to previous seasons, which is leading to the overloads. Either way, this has to be an issue that quickly gets resolved, as it leaves the team under pressure.
Wayne Rooney on Stick to United suggested an alternative way the club could line up against Ipswich.
He said: "I’d change Luke Shaw, and I’d play [Patrick] Dorgu at left-back. Be a bit more aggressive. I don’t think we can rely on him to play all the games, so when you’re playing against a newly promoted team at home, I’d play Dorgu at left-back.
“I would have kept Dorgu on and put him at left-back in the Hull game. I’d play [Matheus] Cunha off the left, and I’d play [Marcus] Rashford up top.”
Needs to be other tweaks
Many people have different opinions on what Patrick Dorgu's best position truly is, and it is a shame he was not tried at left-back during pre-season. However, the left-back position is not the only area that needs to be tweaked in this Manchester United side.
Up front, either Benjamin Sesko needs to start from minute one or Bryan Mbeumo, although not his best position, starts as the striker. Both players will offer the one thing that United missed against Hull, and that is a player making direct runs and playing as a focal point. As good as Matheus Cunha is, when he dropped deep, there was a huge void up front.
If Mbeumo were to play as the striker, that could lead to a first Premier League start for Shea Lacey on the right and then one of Cunha or Marcus Rashford on the left. While starting Lacey could be a risk, he offers a natural skill set on the right rather than forcing the two left wingers to operate on the right, or forcing Dorgu to be a winger once again.
Youri Tielemans looked off the pace against Hull, so that does give the potential for Kobbie Mainoo to start in his place, who looked tidy when he came on.
