Manchester United legend Paul Scholes was considered to be one of the greatest midfield maestros of his time, but the former England international does not believe that the current Red Devils team is one where he would like to play football.
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Manchester United have been having a torrid time with their forwards, in the last couple of matches, this season, and that has been evident from their inability to score goals against arch-rivals Manchester City and even Championship side Middlesbrough FC.
Scholes however, maintained balance in his criticism of manager Louis van Gaal’s setup, by saying that the Dutch coach has drilled his side into an excellent defensive unit.
“The style is not something that Sir Alex Ferguson would have adhered to,” Scholes said to BBC Radio Manchester. “‘I actually think the team is brilliantly coached to defend. I think the hardest thing to do is to coach scoring goals, creativity and to have players who are off the cuff.”
Saying this, Scholes also added that he himself would not have liked to play under that system, as he believes that it stifles the more creative players.
“There’s a lack of creativity and risk. It’s a team now you wouldn’t want to play against because they’re tightly organised,” continued Scholes. “But it seems he [Van Gaal] doesn’t want players to beat men and it’s probably not a team I’d have enjoyed playing in.”
Scholes slams English youth system
Louis van Gaal’s tactics was not the only thing that Scholes critiqued, on his radio interview, ahead of the shoot of a documentary on Salford City FC, a non-league club that he co-owns with fellow teammates and former Manchester United players Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, and Ryan Giggs.
In fact Scholes went on to criticise the current youth setup in England, as he believes that most of the top English clubs are nursing more young foreign talents, rather than the indigenous ones.
“You look at Under 16s, Under 17s and it’s absolutely riddled with foreign players,’ said Scholes. “What chance does that give to young English players? It gives them virtually no chance.
“You look at Chelsea and Arsenal’s youth teams and you do well to spot an English player. It’s really sad. There are hardly any players to play for us. It’s nowhere near what it should be and you can see why we struggle.”
Manchester United have had a hectic run of fixtures, having played more than 15 matches in the last two months. The lack of creativity might also be something that can be attributed to fatigue. However, we may never get to know the answer to the Red Devils’ sudden drop in form, until they get a proper mid-season break.
