Breaking Down Deep Stubborn Defences

It’s amazing how many people seem to be writing Cleverley off because of his injuries at a young age. Now, not for one second do I think he’s the next Scholes. Scholes was a class apart, while Cleverley has the potential to be very good. But Cleverley still has a large part to play in the future of this club, in my opinion. Even SAF has said he could potentially go on to become England’s best midfielder (I disagree there – I rate Wilshere higher, but that’s another debate).

I think Cleverley is key to us unlocking a stubborn defence at the moment. Scholes has been simply awesome since his return; our possession play has vastly improved, he releases the ball to the wingers at just the right time with a perfect pass and you can see how much the likes of Rooney, Valencia and Carrick love having him in the team. When in doubt, give it to Scholes.

But sometimes, we come across a stubborn defence and struggle to break them down. Rooney drops off to play possession football with Scholes and Carrick. Welbeck often does the same. Hernandez has no space to work with. We rely on the wingers (especially Valencia over the past couple of months) to get around the defence and put in cross after cross. Eventually, an opening comes and the strikers are able to get on the end of one. Away to Blackburn was a good example of this.

I think Cleverley should play in these games. Not because he is better than Scholes (he isn’t), but because Scholes plays very deep, alongside Carrick. We are more like a 4-2-3-1 with Scholes in the team. Because Scholes is so deep, he’s not able to thread balls through the centre and create chances – all he can do is give it to the wingers to work their magic.

What I’ve noticed about Cleverley in his last few appearances is that he gets right into the opposition box, playing 1-2s and trying to unlock it through the centre. He is brilliant at this, as are Rooney, Welbeck and Nani. The three mentioned also seem to be better at it and more willing to do it when Cleverley is alongside them. He doesn’t play as deep as Scholes when we’re up against a stubborn defence. He takes the initiative and makes things happen in the box.

I’ve nothing against Scholes, he’s my favourite player and our football is better when he’s on the pitch. I just think when we’re lacking attacking threat through the centre, Cleverley should come on off the bench for him or perhaps start if we know the game will be like that.