Manchester United have a wing problem. This season, they have endured a bit of a "creativity drain," which has led to David Moyes's current crisis.
Simply put, its frustrating watching Antonio Valencia hit cross after cross right off an opposition defender and out for a throw in. It baffles me how with his one move, Valencia is able to run down the flanks so easily, leaving multiple defenders in his wake.
However, although his economical dribbling skills are almost admirable, his final ball skills border on the pathetic. Somebody needs to tell Valencia that crosses are supposed to pass the first defender.
Sure, he may win eight corners a game, but statistics like those are irrelevant if he isn't doing his job as a winger - creating goals. If he doesn't do this job, he's nothing more than a waste of space.
On the other wing, Ashley Young has endured the worst season of his life, having already experienced a couple of atrocious seasons in the United red.
Whilst he seems to have experienced something of a renaissance of late, scoring back-to-back goals in the League Cup and Premier League, he has never looked up to the standard required of a Manchester United player.
So what can United do? The answer appears in the form of 18-year-old Belgian winger Adnan Januzaj, who has taken United by storm. Moyes has had a tendency to start Januzaj on the left wing in order to accommodate the under-performing Valencia. However, against both Tottenham and Sunderland, Januzaj tore the opposition apart from the right.
Given that he is left footed, he was able to bamboozle his opposition left-back by alternating between cutting inside and crossing. Januzaj's two-footedness seems a godsend in the face of the horrifyingly one footed Valencia.
Januzaj adds an air of unpredictability to the game and isn't afraid to go on his weak foot. While he has been fantastic on the left, Januzaj would be even more potent playing on the right wing. Given the current occupant of that role, Januzaj can do very little harm by comparison.
Without prolific striker Robin van Persie and ephemeral Wayne Rooney, United have looked completely out of sorts this season. To be completely frank, the United squad doesn't look too special without their crown jewels in the team.
While it's hard to blame Moyes for United's abysmal start given the injuries to his two most crucial players, Moyes needs to step out of his comfort zone. He needs to do out with the old and in with the new.
Januzaj looks twice the player Valencia is at the moment. Moyes needs to take a chance and give Januzaj the right wing role for the good of the United team and the 300 million fans worldwide.
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