The imminent return of a number of players from injury is good news for Manchester United, though it also throws up a welcome challenge for Erik ten Hag.
United’s unfortunate injury record has certainly been a contributing factor to their lack of consistency so far this season, but it is not the only excuse, with a number of poor performances also to blame.
It is easy enough to say that when everyone is fully fit United will suddenly see an improvement on the pitch, though that argument conveniently overlooks the fact that they fundamentally haven’t been good enough so far.
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Even when available, stars such as Raphael Varane, Casemiro, Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford and Antony simply haven’t been good enough and do not necessarily deserve a place in the team. Yet United will only get consistency on the pitch when they have it in their side as well, with Ten Hag already pointing out he believes having a core of 13 or so players available all the time will bring the improvement they crave.
It is also important that Ten Hag has a nucleus of players he can trust to perform every week, which does not always mean the biggest names should start. Just look at Scott McTominay.
The Scotland international was one of those who could easily have left the club in the summer, yet against all the odds, he has earned a place back in the team, making the most of the chances he has been given. McTominay might not be the archetypal Ten Hag midfielder, and there are still doubts over his best role in the United side, but he makes up for his shortcomings through his sheer workrate and commitment to the cause.
The 26-year-old did not start any of the first four matches of the Premier League season but has since started six of the last eight, using the injury situation to his advantage and forming a key part of Ten Hag’s squad.
It is even more flattering when you realise United have won seven of their nine Premier League matches in which McTominay has featured this season and lost all three that he hasn’t been involved in.
United have been much better with McTominay this season
McTominay’s issue has always been transparency in his role. While you know what you will get from him, you also know exactly what you won’t get either. In the long run, he is still not a midfielder they can rely on to start every week, but he brings real squad value in the same way that Nicky Butt, Ji-Sung Park and Darren Fletcher all did during their time at the club.
It is also telling that Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer found a role for McTominay, just as Sir Alex Ferguson probably would have, though their downfall came from their reliance on the academy graduate amid a lack of quality alternatives at their disposal.
Just this week, Solskjaer praised Harry Maguire and McTominay as unsung heroes of the United side. “I knew they had it in them,” he told Nettavisen. “I think it’s these types of people who get paid for their efforts and get paid back for what kind of people they are… They are the kind of people you want in a team.”
Yes, they could have both left in the summer window, but recent results suggest United would have been worse off if they had.
Two years after Solskjaer was sacked, his midfield favourite still remains as important to the squad as he ever was, and just because he isn’t a player who should be starting every week doesn’t mean he should be moved on either.
Football is a team game and McTominay remains a vital team player.
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