Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes the club’s biggest problem under interim manager Michael Carrick is not a lack of running but the team’s failure to press opponents with enough aggression.
Rooney said United had been too passive when operating in a mid-block, allowing opposing teams to retain possession and play through their defensive structure without facing sufficient pressure.
“I think in many games, they’re quite happy to sit in a mid-block, and what does that mean? If you think of Mourinho in his first spell at Chelsea, his team was a typical mid-block team.
“But when the ball shifted from one side to the other, they would be very aggressive, they’d press forward, get tight to you, make it very difficult for you to play – it was a nightmare to play against them. I think now, Manchester United are in a mid-block, but they’re just not pressing forward. So they’re playing quite passively.”
United’s lack of intensity was evident during the first half of their encounter with Tottenham at Old Trafford, when Spurs pressed Carrick’s side. Although the Red Devils managed to turn the momentum before the break, Rooney felt they struggled to apply the aggressive pressing needed to disrupt their opponents.
“So, you’d want the players to press forward and get tight to opponents, but they’re not doing that, so opponents don’t find it difficult to play against them,” Rooney added.
“So, the problem isn’t that the players aren’t running, but that they lack that aggression, and they’re not pressing forward as Carrick might want them to. So, I think they’re just stuck.”
The former United captain warned that the team must address the issue or risk allowing visiting sides to exploit their passive approach at Old Trafford.
“They have to break out of this predicament, because if they don’t, then visiting teams coming to Old Trafford or playing against Manchester United will think, ‘You know what, if we just keep possession and then change the tempo, we can break them down.'”
