United's wingers have been under scrutiny for the entirety of this season, and rightly so. They have not been strong at all even when they've been given the opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. Where did it all go wrong? From Best to Giggs to Cantona to Ronaldo, United's wingers have been known to strike fear into the hearts of defenders, and now, defenders swat them away as if they aren't even there.
Let's look at some overall season statistics. We'll start with the winger who's made the most appearances for United so far this season, Antonio Valencia:
Games started: 37
Goals scored: 2 (FA Cup & EPL)
Assists: 6
That is all the statistics you need to look at for a winger. To say that Valencia has been horrendous would be an understatement. I understand that he broke his ankle in the 2011/2012 season and was out for 6 months but to perform so badly during an entire season whilst maybe 98% fit is inexcusable, especially when you're playing for one of the best clubs in the world.
From Valencia, it goes from bad to worse. Let's look at Ashley Young's stats:
Games started: 19
Goals scored: 0
Assists: 3
When I first saw the above stats, I thought that ESPN might have not realised that April Fools has passed. It was so shocking that I just stared blankly at the screen for about two minutes, for how could the stats of a WINGER be this bad? When United first bought Ashley Young in 2011, I was really excited because he was one if the best winger's in the league at the time but he has seriously underperformed during his stint at United and now I am questioning whether United would gain any profit from selling him at the end of this season.
United's best winger by far this season has been Luis Nani:
Games started: 11
Goals scored: 1
Assists: 2
Nani has the best games:goals ratio here. He has the undeniable ability to frustrate you and amaze you at the same time, with his subtle touches and strikes on goal (sometimes sailing way over the crossbar). Nani's only hindrance is that he is too inconsistent. He plays well in one game and is terrible in the next. He has been with United for 6 seasons now, and in 2 of those 6 seasons he was rated as being brilliant but he has faltered and gotten up only to falter again. It's frustrating for United supporters because we know that he has the potential to be one of the best wingers in the world, if only he were consistent. Ferguson criticised him earlier this season when we exited the Carling Cup for giving the ball away which let Chelsea score a late goal and knock United out. At the time I was shocked because I could not remember the last time Ferguson publicly called out a player for making a mistake in a match, but he was obviously very frustrated, and ever since then, Nani has not made many appearances for United.
With all that said and done, do you think that United should sell these wingers and get better ones or should we stick with what we've got and see how they do next season? Leave your comments in the box below or tweet to me @Chiara_MUFC
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