From The Telegraph:
‘After the
signing of Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United's search for a new striker has long been billed as the definitive move of this winter's transfer window. But as his defence unravelled against Manchester City on Saturday, Sir Alex Ferguson will have wondered what happened to the back line that he thought was safe and complete. United's problems started and finished in defence.They were all over the place. So bad it was untrue. Not just individual errors but a sense that three of the four were pulling in one direction and Laurent Blanc in the other. The standards of defending that this club have set in the last decade had disappeared, you just could not say that you were watching the performance of a great United side.
Ferguson spent £33 million to solve a problem in defence that was all too evident last season. But the problem is not really with Ferdinand, it is with his 36-year-old defensive partner, Blanc. The Frenchman has had a glorious career and he still reads the game better than anyone else, but the Premiership is just too quick for him. And that means he cannot allow himself to be exposed to pace.
Blanc takes one of two options when United defend and neither of them involves running. He will either retreat to the sanctuary of his 18-yard box, which means there is no space in behind him for quick players to exploit, or he pushes so far forward that he does not have to involve himself in any defensive rescue acts. And that leaves the clearing-up to Ferdinand.’