Carragher: Blind Will Help Man. United's Attacking And Defensive Games

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher will be right here each week to cast his expert eye over the forthcoming Premier League games.

The Liverpool legend will have his say on the teams, players, managers and stories surrounding Sky’s live fixtures – and in this column he discusses Monday Night Football opponents West Brom and Manchester United.

So read on for his thoughts on Daley Blind’s impact for The Red Devils, whether Louis van Gaal’s men can win the title, and Baggies boss Alan Irvine…

Is Daley Blind the answer to Man United’s midfield problems?


CARRA SAYS: The bigger tests will come when United take on Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool over the next month or two, but Blind has looked very neat and tidy with the ball so far. He has been brought into the team to do the role Nemanja Matic does so well as Chelsea – sit deep and offer protection to the attacking players in front of him – and you can see he is a clever footballer.

His dad, Danny, was also a very cultured and intelligent player who had a great understanding of the game, albeit at centre-back rather than in midfield, and Daley looks to have soaked up a lot of that wisdom. He is able to play in a number of positions and never seems fazed or overawed by anything, while he is a very athletic player as well so can get up and down the pitch if needs be. Blind looks like a very good signing, especially at around £14million.

You played behind the like of Lucas and Javier Mascherano at Liverpool. How much confidence does a good, solid holding player give you as a defence?

CARRA SAYS: It gives you a lot of confidence, especially if you are a relatively young and inexperienced defence, something Man United are at the moment. But the likes of Wayne Rooney, Angel Di Maria and Robin van Persie should be happy to have Blind around, too, because he has the ability to start attacks from deep.

So when United play against the lesser teams most weeks and dominate possession, Blind should stamp his authority on the game from an offensive point of view, while when they come up against Chelsea, Man City and the like, he can snuff out their attacks. I think Blind will be crucial for United under Louis van Gaal.

With United not in Europe and out of the Capital One Cup, is this where their freshness could tell?

CARRA SAYS: United will certainly be fresher than the teams in the Champions League, who have at least another four games in that competition. Whether Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City end up qualifying for the knockout stages or slip into the Europa League, that is even more games to cope with, while United’s only action apart from the Premier League will be the FA Cup. They have whole weeks to work on tactics and team shape and to sort out any niggles their players may be suffering with, so I would expect them to get stronger as the season goes on. That’s quite a thought when you consider that, despite people saying they have had a poor start, they are fourth in the table and above Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton. Still, I can’t quite agree with Rafael and say they are capable of winning the title this season as, for me, Chelsea, the standout team so far, and Man City are the only realistic challengers to top the table.

Credit: skysports.com