Falcao's Folly

When Manchester United signed Radamel Falcao on loan at the closing hours of the summer transfer window, there were a multitude of reactions from the fans and press. The fan base mostly had a feeling of overall excitement after the signing with the hopes that Falcao would return to the form he showed before his knee injury. The press was more skeptical. Falcao missed the World Cup because of his knee injury and there were questions raised about whether or not Falcao would ever return to his peak form. Regardless, United had signed one of the world’s best attacking players. Or so they thought.

In his 16 games in the Premier League, Falcao has managed four goals and four assists for United, with his first goal coming against Everton in October. As noted by Ian Darke of ESPN, none of these goals have come against a team in the top eight of the table. Granted, these numbers really aren’t that poor for the typical player, but for a player of Falcao’s pedigree and cost and at a club as big as United, you’d expect the production to be much better. Most recently, after going down a goal early in the second half of the FA Cup match against Preston North End, van Gaal elected to sacrifice Falcao to bring on Ashley Young. Soon after, Herrera was able to finish a controversial goal and Fellaini able to capitalize on a rebound opportunity, with Rooney eventually sealing the result with a goal on a controversial penalty. After Falcao came off the field, it looked as though Fellaini was turned into a makeshift striker. What’s worse is that Fellaini actually looked better than Falcao had. Fellaini, known mostly for his ability to win the ball in the air, was able to control play from the striker’s role more so than Falcao had done.

In many of his games, Falcao has looked lost. He seemingly hasn’t learned how to link up with another striker, leading him to make runs where he shouldn’t. When he does receive the ball, he fails to settle it and bring it under control. Rather, the ball is bouncing around, inevitably leading to a change of possession. Many times this season, I’ve found myself keeping track of Falcao’s +/-, i.e. the number of times he keeps the ball or wins it back versus the number of times he loses it. In each of these instances, the minuses dwarf the plusses. When compared to the other natural strikers on the team like Rooney and Robin van Persie, Falcao hasn’t been able to do enough for the team. Even his physical play, holding off the defender and controlling the ball so other players can advance up the pitch, has been lacking. Perhaps he has yet to adapt to the physical nature of the Premier League, but Daley Blind left Ajax to join United and has thus far been able to handle the change.

Falcao has found it difficult to adapt

 to life in the Premier League. 

(Photo cred: NY Daily News)

It’s unfair, though, to place all the blame on Falcao. At times, the delivery into the strikers has been abysmal, with plenty of passes being long balls or drilled into feet, passes that are difficult to control. In Falcao’s defense, Robin van Persie has looked out of sorts this season as well. So, yes, some of the blame can be shifted onto the midfielders for not providing quality distribution. But where Falcao has failed and where van Persie typically delivers is the ability to finish. Van Persie has scored ten times in 23 games compared to Falcao’s four goals in 16 games. Van Persie delivers, on average, close to a goal every two games, while Falcao delivers, on average, a goal every four games. Some pundits have reasoned that Falcao needs a more consistent run in the team. Back in December and January, however, Falcao received several consecutive starts, and his goal output was roughly the same. At what point does LvG say enough is enough and look for options in other players, perhaps changing to a lone striker formation or bringing in James Wilson to play alongside RvP? Playing with a lone striker would also open up the possibility of using the natural wing players in the squad, like Januzaj or Ashley Young.

Unfortunately, there’s undoubtedly pressure from the higher ups to play Falcao because of the steep price United pay to bring him in on loan back in the summer and the outrageous wages he receives. Then again, the higher ups should realize by now that they will not be utilizing the option to purchase Falcao outright at the end of the season, a transfer that would cost over 40 million British pounds. Based on his form this season, there’s really no reason to pay anywhere near that amount to secure his services.

If United want to continue to challenge for a top four finish in the Premier League and an FA Cup victory, something will have to change within the attacking play. Up next in the FA Cup for United is a match against a squad in Arsenal who is finally finding its footing with the return of Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil. If United persists with the current squad layout, I don’t see them being able to keep up with Arsenal in terms of goal scoring, especially with how questionable United’s defending has been this season. I say bring on Wilson and have him play with RvP. Wilson offers the pace and drive that Falcao lacks, two qualities that would do wonders for a struggling United attack.