There was a moment, somewhere around 15 minutes into Manchester United’s insipid performance against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday, when Brazilian midfielder Anderson lofted a 50 yard pass forward. With space to turn on to his favoured left foot, and under no discernible pressure, the player had time to assess the situation before striking the ball a full 30 yards beyond the nearest United forward. After six years at Old Trafford, the only surprise in the moment was Anderson’s fitness to play yet another wasteful pass.
Deployed against Chelsea as the most forward of United’s curious midfield triumvirate, Anderson received the ball 46 times, made 36 passes – 32 successful – and lost possession on eight other occasions. He created no chances, took no shots and scored no goals. Plus ça change.
Impudence aside, Sunday’s wasn’t Anderson’s most slipshod performance in a United shirt. There have been plenty of those. On the day others – notably Ryan Giggs, Antonio Valencia, Tom Cleverley – were just as injurious, but after six years of increasing mediocrity, few can remember when Anderson reached his current low.
This season is the player’s career in a microcosm: just seven starts in the Premier League, 15 in all competitions. Sir Alex Ferguson is increasingly loathe to trust the former international, even on the sporadic occasions when the player is fit.
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