Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has criticised Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal for leaving his side "unbalanced" after offloading a number of strikers in the summer transfer window.
Robin van Persie, Javier Hernandez and Radamel Falcao were all shown the door by Van Gaal and 19-year-old Anthony Martial was the only addition made to the strike force.
The additions of Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Memphis Depay have bolstered the midfield, but Scholes is concerned the Red Devils are now short up front, per BT Sport (via Jacob Murtagh in the Mirror):
The one thing with the United squad now is that they're short of goals. [They're] short of real top quality centre forwards who guarantee you goals. Van Gaal spoke last year about his squad being unbalanced and I think it's even more unbalanced now without top strikers. They've let three or four strikers go. I think if we'd have kept a Van Persie or a Hernandez it looks quite strong. They can score goals. Martial could be a real threat coming off the bench. I just think that's a mistake.
The 40-year-old midfielder-turned-pundit has a point. With No. 1 striker Wayne Rooney absent through injury, Van Gaal was forced to deploy the inexperienced Martial as the starting front man in Tuesday's 2-1 Champions League defeat to PSV Eindhoven.
The United substitutes' bench at the Philips Stadion was bereft of back-up strikers—unless Marouane Fellaini counts as a striker, a concept questioned by BT Sport's Gary Lineker:
Other than Rooney, 19-year-old duo Martial and James Wilson are the only other genuine strikers in Van Gaal's squad.
Martial made a terrific start to his United career as he came off the bench to score against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday, per Bleacher Report's Graham Ruthven:
But the young Frenchman cannot be relied upon to make a consistent impact in the Premier League and the Champions League, and the same is true of Wilson.
Thus Rooney is the key striker for the Red Devils and United could struggle in his absence.
While Van Persie is undoubtedly drawing to the end of his career and Hernandez never seemed to impress Van Gaal, it would perhaps have been a good idea to keep one or both of them at the club as they are proven goalscorers in the Premier League.
It is unsurprising that Scholes has issues with the lack of depth up front considering the numerous top-quality strikers he played alongside at Old Trafford.
For example in 1999 and 2008—the two years in which Scholes contributed to Champions League glory—United's squad boasted forwards like Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Rooney.
However, United have entered a different era now, and though they are undoubtedly short on strikers, they will have to get through it, and hope that Rooney can return to fitness—and stay fit—as soon as possible.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2567555-manchester-united-transfer-news-paul-scholes-criticises-louis-van-gaal-dealings
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