Wednesday 11 March 2015 17:47, UK
Radamel Falcao made a shock appearance for Manchester United's U21 side against Tottenham on Tuesday night.
Sky Sports pundit Terry Gibson was commentating on the game and has given us his conclusions from the striker’s performance at Old Trafford - suggesting the striker lacked sharpness and is unlikely to be offered a new deal by Louis van Gaal...
What will Falcao have got out of his 72-minute run-out?
It was a surprise to see Falcao playing, but we need to find out how that decision came about first. It may well have been him who wanted to play, we just do not know, because he looked disappointed when he was brought off with 20 minutes to go. I thought he was only going to play half a game - which is what we were told - so it was surprising to see him come out for the second half.
Everything about him last night, like his attitude, especially to the younger players, was fantastic. He tried as hard as he could, but unfortunately he could not do a thing right. His sharpness, confidence and touch just were not there. In the past that was all so assured, last night the ball was bouncing away from him, he was getting frustrated with his performance.
It was tough to watch a player who I have so much respect for and who at one stage I thought was the best striker in the world – either foot, great in the air, movement, determination, strength, speed, absolutely everything – struggle so much.
I genuinely felt for him and neither he or United got anything out of last night’s game whatsoever, other than a run-out. He would have been better off with an extra half an hour’s training with the fitness coaches, which would have had the same impact as that run-out with the U21 team in front of people watching him going through a tough time.
What exactly is wrong with Falcao and is there a future for him at United?
It is a complete and utter lack of confidence and belief. He was trying and working hard. There were a couple of instances where the Falcao of old would have scored a goal.
I cannot see a way back for him at United, but I hope that somewhere, someone will give him the time and respect to help get his career back on track. He’s still young now, but it’s tough for him coming back from a long serious injury at a new club.
Are United to blame for his lack of form in front of goal?
When you start at a new club as a big player like Falcao, then I think they have to show respect to a world-class player. It would have been hard at first as he had not been playing regularly anywhere – he also missed the World Cup with that injury – but I think United needed to show him how much they appreciated him, how keen they were to get him back to full fitness.
And there should have been a specific fitness programme in place to help him, while at the same time making sure he is getting fit, his confidence is good and he feels that the club want him to succeed.
But the way it has been handled from the start until now, where he came in, was on the bench and everyone was itching for him to get on. Then he was getting taken off in games and not getting selected for matches when people expected him to get a little run going, before being left out.
Will Tuesday’s display have helped his chances of featuring against Tottenham on Sunday?
That decision will have nothing to do with the game. The idea was to get his confidence back last night and even if he had scored three or four goals, it would only have been in a reserve game against youngsters. So I am not sure it would have been the answer to his confidence problems, not when you are a player like Falcao, who has scored goals in massive matches.
And so it will be interesting to see what happens at the weekend as if he was playing last night, then why was Juan Mata not?
Will United turn Falcao’s loan into a permanent deal this summer?
I very much doubt United will now take up the option to keep him next season - which is what most people tend to think - and there would have to be a huge turnaround in form for that to happen.
People say it only takes a goal to kick-start things, but it does not – it is almost like a depression and you need more than one goal, you need people around who believe and support you, and it is tough for him to get a game in the first team at the moment.
United are not doing particularly well, but they have Wayne Rooney up front, Marouane Fellaini has been playing there too. Robin van Persie is injured at the moment, and he probably thought he would get a little run while he was injured.
So it is not just a question of getting one goal – that will help – but he needs to have his confidence rebuilt from scratch. Confidence in his knee, ability, touch, in front of goal and to just feel in general better about the world than he does at the moment.
