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Manchester United’s ‘biggest problem’ is the defence, according to club great Rio Ferdinand.
The Red Devils have conceded 25 goals in all 15 English Premier League games played so far this season – a stat which makes them the sixth worst team defensively.
Following their 2-2 draw at home to Arsenal on Wednesday, Jose Mourinho’s men dropped to eighth in the English topflight log.
And Ferdinand who featured for the Old Trafford giants for 12 seasons claims United’s slow and steady drop is not farfetched from the fact that they parade an inconsistent backline.
“At the moment, the biggest problem in the team is in it’s defence because you don’t know who is going to play,” Ferdinand told media during his recent visit to Nigeria with Guinness.
“For all the best teams in the world, before their team sheet comes out you could name like nine or ten players who would start easily.
“During my era, the fans already knew that [Nemanja] Vidic and I were going to be in the central defence. This was applicable in other departments of the team, we knew ourselves and this created a bond among the players as we gave the desired results.
“When you play together all the time, it’s like a marriage and when you are together all the time, it becomes second nature and you create a solid relationship. That is a relationship I don’t see in Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United and that is the biggest problem.”
While refusing to compare his own class of United to the current squad, the former England international provided a way forward for the team.
He added: “Also, the best teams have players who sacrifice their games for the team, it’s not about ‘I’ but ‘We’ and that is a big difference.
“Rooney could have scored more goals but he sacrificed part of the games for the team to win trophies not to win individual awards or to score more goals.
“I won’t compare my era with the present team but it is completely different. People feel I criticise Manchester United but the fact is that I am a United fan and I want them to win.
“As a pundit I have to say what I see, if I see rubbish, I will say its rubbish, if I see good , I will say it’s good and that is how it’s supposed to be because I wouldn’t be true to myself and to the audience
“The solution is for Mourinho to change how his team is playing and change the result of the team and we will say positive things.”
United will look to bounce back from two consecutive draws when they take on Fulham on Saturday.
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