How Manchester United can stop Lionel Messi (without resorting to violence)

While all ideas have their good points there’s one major flaw in every single one of them – human error. United’s midfield has been arguably the most inconsistent department all season and there’s always a worry that whether it’s Fletcher, Carrick or Anderson tasked with trying to track Messi, it could end in disaster.

Playing Ferdinand anywhere other than centre back would be weakening our defence to a point where the likes of Pedro and Villa could well expose United and cause real problems.

Can we really trust either of the Brazillians not to get themselves sent off if charged with the task of marking Messi?
It’s difficult to ask a central defender to look after Messi as the diminutive Argentinean has the ability to drop so deep you ideally need a defensive midfielder to pick him up. Messi plays intricate one-twos with the likes of Xavi and Iniesta that mean midfielders can get caught ball chasing and lose track of him.

There may be credence to the idea of playing the midfield and defence a lot tighter to each other at Jose Mourinho did with Internazionale, granting Barcelona more possession but making it harder for them to create openings.

Personally I’d go for a five man midfield with Rooney dropping deeper and Fletcher sitting just in front of the back four, with Park the other man in the middle.

Of course this would mean dropping Michael Carrick who’s arguably been our best player in the latter stages of the Champions League, but I’d pick the energy of those three over the cool passing ability of the former Spurs’ midfielder.

Although Park is more suited to going forward than he is any defensive duties, he does have a tenacious quality that would be useful not just against Messi but also the likes of Iniesta and Xavi.

Some would argue that Anderson could do a job especially after his goal spree last night, but for me the Brazilian still represents a massive gamble in a game of this magnitude.

Desperate times require desperate solutions and while my idea is obviously far from perfect I just feel it may be energy and the ability to get stuck in -without needless fouls- that could give United the best chance of coping with the world’s greatest player. I’m not saying Park should be left to mark Messi alone, but with Fletcher in front of the defence and Rooney doing his bit in the middle, plus Vidic and Rio tracking any runs, if the spaces are tight enough, it could be an answer.

Am I chatting the sort of nonsense that would make Alan Green blush or is there a modicum of insight in my insanity? Feel free to comment or abuse below.

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