Jamie Carragher has told Sky Sports that Manchester united will no longer sign on loan striker Radamel Falcao after another poor performance against West Ham United at Upton Park this weekend. West Ham on the other hand produced a quite impressive performance and in the end was rather unlucky to not take all three points against the Red Devils. The impressiveness of their performance against the 20 times English Champions was all the more impressive due to the loss of both James Collins and Winston Reid at the back. The absence of the two centre backs may have placed greater criticism on Falcao’s performance, as he was up against defensive midfielder, Cheikhou Kouyate, the entire night. The stand in centre back won every duel with the Colombian striker and was named the man of the match come full time. But, he was perhaps expected to have quite a bit of trouble on his hands when the teams were announced before kick-off.
“I don't see Falcao staying at the end of the season and it’s something Manchester United will have to address in the striking department.” Carragher told Sky Sports
"Van Persie and Falcao were just jogging up field, ambling up and they didn’t cause a makeshift West Ham back four enough problems. United have got big problems at that end of the pitch. There is not enough movement from the front two, there’s no sprint, spark or energy."
United have got big problems at that end of the pitch,” Carragher added. “Everybody talks about United needing a centre back and that defensively they're all over the place, but they've got one of the best defensive records in the league.”
“Granted, a lot of that is down to the goalkeeper, but the problems are at the other end of the pitch and there’s no way I see Falcao staying.”
While I can agree with Carragher’s assessment on Falcao’s future with Manchester United and the fact that United’s movement up front was completely inadequate, I can not say that Falcao has shown a lack of effort. He competes for every ball and runs his socks off when the ball is in the attacking half. However, it is quite obvious that he is uncomfortable with Louis Van Gaal’s system. When he is in the box any threat that he has been throughout his career seems to be non-existent. This sentiment was apparent after a miss midway through the second half that I would have bet he would place coolly into the back of the net had he been playing for any of his former sides. In the end, Falcao may not be at United come next season. However, I do not think that he has lost any of his talent. Coming off an injury he is a bit rusty and perhaps chose the wrong side to revive his career.
Source: DSG
