Man Utd Legend Puts ‘Schoolboy’ Star on Blast As Fatal Flaw Exposed by Hull
Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney tore apart the “schoolboy” defending performed by Luke Shaw during Saturday’s damaging defeat to Hull City. Yet, more concerning was the grim pattern which the 2–0 reverse followed.
United were outmuscled, out-thought and outplayed by the newly promoted Tigers in Yorkshire. Semi Ajayi gave the hosts a deserved lead in the 17th minute from a corner before Nobel Mendy doubled that advantage on his debut with another set-piece goal.
Rooney took particular issue with United’s attempts to rebuff the second dagger in the 38th minute, blaming Shaw for playing Mendy onside by dropping too deep too early when failing to defend a wide free kick.
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“This is schoolboy defending from Luke Shaw,” United’s all-time top scorer seethed on Match of the Day. “Man Utd had a good line, Hull would have been waiting for this all day, Luke Shaw drops in, he’s five yards behind his backline and if the ball is good enough, which it was, it’s impossible to stop.
“Hull had a gameplan, they were getting balls into the penalty box, picking up second balls and Man Utd found it very difficult.”
Hull Provide Blueprint for Man Utd Opponents
Beyond a failure to defend set pieces, Rooney highlighted how Hull became the latest side to cause United all sorts of issues from open play by simply lining up with a pair of wingbacks. Leeds United had great success against Carrick’s side last April with this system while AC Milan romped to a 4–2 preseason victory taking advantage of the same flaws.
The ultimate irony is that Ruben Amorim spent his entire 14 months as Manchester United head coach trying (and failing) to get the Red Devils to play that formation themselves.
“I watched the AC Milan game last week and they [Hull] played the same system,” Rooney pointed out. “They played with wingbacks and Man Utd really struggled to deal with that. Maybe Hull have seen that game last week and changed it and I think fair play if that’s the case because they looked a really good team today.”
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As United captain Bruno Fernandes bitterly pointed out, Hull went through the entirety of preseason playing with a back four rather than the back five which flummoxed his teammates on Saturday. Tigers boss Sergej Jakirović explained that the change of approach was made to specifically take advantage of the space vacated by United’s left back: “Because Manchester United is coming very high with Luke Shaw.”
Shaw is given licence to charge up the pitch from defense to support the attack, with Carrick gambling that the reward of his extra endeavor going forward outweighs the risk of United being outnumbered at the back. By playing with wingbacks—who are naturally wider and more attack-minded than normal fullbacks as they have an extra center back behind them—Hull had the players in the perfect position to take advantage of Shaw’s wandering after a turnover.
“When we steal the ball, we are very vertical, very quick. In those transitions, we try to switch the side because our wingbacks are completely alone, and then get numbers in the box,” Jakirović bluntly explained. “We had two very good chances, and also we didn’t allow any one-to-one 100% chances from them.”
Fellow promoted side Ipswich Town are United’s next opponents. Given the success Hull had in a back three system, their tactically savvy coach Gary O’Neil may be inclined to adopt a similar approach. Carrick’s attempts to plug the gaps in his side are just one of the issues he faces
Teething Problems in Man Utd’s Evolution Under Carrick
After a half-season spent steadying the ship in the wake of Amorim’s disastrous tenure, Carrick had targeted this season as a chance for evolution. The one thread of positivity running through United’s post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise has been a consistent ability to hurt teams on the counterattack. What no manager has been able to regularly inspire is any other reliable route to success.
The acquisition of an entirely new midfield duo had offered hope of United bringing a sense of control to games against teams like Hull who would be prepared to cede possession. Yet, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos were repeatedly bullied off the ball by Hull’s hulking figures, who snapped into tackles in the middle of the pitch rather than sitting off entirely.
On the rare occasions when the hosts were willing to pass the ball around their own half, United failed to take advantage of what looked to be a shaky backline.
“They [United] sat in a mid block, didn’t get any pressure on the ball,” Rooney lamented. “I think they won two balls in Hull’s final third, there needs to be more energy in the press, how they go and win the ball back. Today was all too passive.”
United did duly force just two high turnovers, the fewest of any Premier League club across the opening two days of the new season.
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