He has been hailed as his team’s best signing of the season – by none other than Paul Scholes. The media have hailed him for his performances. There was uproar when he was benched for consecutive weeks. So what has happened to Ander Herrera?
He played the full ninety minutes against West Brom at home. How he managed to stay on the pitch for the entirety of the game, and Louis Van Gaal did not see the need to substitute him is baffling, because it was arguably Herrera’s worst performance in a Manchester United shirt.
Ander Herrera’s performance was Cleverley-esque. He was making simple mistakes continuously. How many of his passes were misplaced? As with the rest of his team proving possession is nothing without chances – plenty of passes are meaningless, when they are not going to your own players.
Herrera cannot be blamed for the overall performance of his side – no one was on top of their game, for various reasons – but had Herrera focussed, there certainly would have been more chances created.
So, what is the issue for Ander Herrera and his lack lustre performance? It cannot be knocked confidence. Despite the brief benching scenario earlier this yea, Ander Herrera has been a constant in the starting eleven. The partnership of Herrera and Mata has been hailed; and they had deserved the praise.
But it could be complacency. As he no longer has to warm the bench, he does not have to work for his place. As Louis Van Gaal has tried to stick with the same starting eleven (injuries aside – something Herrera is not suffering from at present) Herrera does not have to worry about fighting for a place. Now he should, as it is becoming an issue.
If Louis Van Gaal can relieve Robin Van Persie of his penalty taking responsibilities on the basis of one missed pen, he can drop Ander Herrera on the basis of one poor performance.
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