 |
 |
 |
|
LONDON (AP) -Alex Ferguson must wish he could get Ruud van Nistelrooy back from Real Madrid.
There are still two weeks left of the transfer window. And let's face it: United badly needs a big target up front, especially with Wayne Rooney sidelined with a hairline fracture of his left foot.
John O'Shea isn't the answer.
Admit it, Fergie. He's a leftback.
Starting defense of its Premier League title against Reading on Sunday, United tried to thread passes through the Royals' organized defense but rarely threatened goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann and had to settle for a scoreless draw.
If Van Nistelrooy had been on the field to challenge the tall Reading defenders in the air, he might have scored or been able to hold the ball up and lay it off to the likes of Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.
And when Rooney went off with his foot injury at halftime, who was left to attack the heart of the Reading defense?
No one.
Ferguson put the tall O'Shea on as a makeshift striker midway through the second half. The Irishman can play adequately in the back four or in defensive midfield but doesn't have the guile or subtlety that Van Nistelrooy has.
Even when Carlos Tevez and Nani join the starting lineup on a regular basis and Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are fit again, they just won't be what the Reds badly need if they are to be a complete team.
United has plenty of talented players - Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs, Nani, Tevez, Solskjaer, Anderson and Saha - who are great around the edge of the box or running onto passes.
Saha apart, they are not big enough to deal with high crosses and lay them off to their teammates. But the French striker doesn't have Van Nistelrooy's nose for a goal opportunity. And the lanky Van Nistelrooy is scoring goals for Real Madrid these days instead of Manchester United.
Ferguson acknowledged that Rooney's injury hurt his team against Reading. But he says he has enough strikers and is not looking for any more.
