Manchester United fans have been in a troubling situation of purgatory since the sad departure of devoted, yet fearless leader, Sir Alex Ferguson. Since the Premier League began, the knighted Scotsman had been at the helm of the almighty Mancunian side, so it was no wonder that the reaction from fans was of great distaste that somebody new would have to take charge; it didn’t matter who it was. From the heckling in David Moyes’ direction to the pedestrian start under current coach, Louis van Gaal, Manchester United have been overwhelmingly poor of late. It, therefore, came as no gigantic surprise that van Gaal’s men were sitting on something golden as the transfer deadline drew near; the saviour being the neatly-kept Colombian trickster, Radamel Falcao.
It seems that in an event of mass panic, Manchester United specialise in the outright absurd. Robin van Persie was the sort of ideal, masterful European to grace the squad last season; the 28-year-old South American, Falcao, is not of identical calibre. His technique is different, his speed alters and his shooting ability is generally impeccable. However, he is gulfs apart from van Persie, who was arguably a great fit at Manchester United and a treasured member of the pack.
On loan from AS Monaco, many presumed that Falcao’s grace would be better preserved at Real Madrid, the palpable favourite, but obviously van Gaal had other designs. Despite being plagued with injuries on many prior occasions, Falcao was in van Gaal’s sights very quickly. Rumours since suggest, despite this, that the United boss could halt Falcao’s progression at the club by cancelling his temporary contract, if he should acquire another worrying physical ailment. With this in mind, surely Falcao was not such a prime candidate to bring Manchester United out of the gloom and rubble surrounding them after all?
Could it be that Louis van Gaal, the alleged ‘tactical genius’ of the World Cup made a decision based on the sheer glamour attached to signing such a player? The fact that any hope of buying some more consistent, decent defenders was neglected in favour of purchasing a player of such phenomenal prowess, though wholly unnecessary for the team, is telling.
Boss aside, Wayne Rooney has been very much appealing to his inner footballer, trying to harness all the vital skills he possesses on the pitch to truly shine. How can Falcao, therefore, be expected to proceed with unquestionable success if Rooney is the one with all the power? It might be time to admit that Falcao isn’t a good fit at the club.
His performances so far have been remarkably indicative of this. I was expecting a punchy start to the division; some sort of mark to make himself known fully on English soil. But no, so far, there has been much trepidation from the Monaco star; in his debut match, he didn’t even start the 90 minutes, and even then, he failed to contribute in any prominent way during Manchester United’s 4-0 victory against QPR. Furthermore, his most recent fixture against West Ham showed how weak and vulnerable he appears. El Tigre’s nature was to tiptoe around the pitch, devoid even of much of a light kiss on the ball.
Originally, fears were that Falcao would be too good for the team and eventually have to carry them, but this theory has already been shredded; his presence for van Gaal’s boys is virtually non-existent. This clearly outlines that he is far too pricey for what he is giving van Gaal in return. Falcao and the rest of United almost flow like ships passing in the night, and it’s not abundantly clear as to why.
Whether it’s lingering injury problems or the dreaded “World Cup Hangover”, Falcao just isn’t putting up much of a fight, and leaving Ángel Di María any and all scraps of opportunities on goal. After Rooney’s harsh, but perhaps by-the-book, red card awarded last Saturday against Sam Allardyce’s side, van Persie and Falcao will be expected to rise to the challenge in future fixtures. Falcao, I honestly feel, might not be up to this.
I couldn’t say for certain whether Manchester United is solely wrong for Falcao, but something is amiss. Could it be that Ligue 1 is just the more desired mould for Falcao? We might just have to be patient.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @lastwordimogen. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
Main Photo:
