Knowing he was going into a week with a string of interviews coming up, Gary Pallister wasn't in a buoyant mood Monday night, when he switched off his TV. Having watched his Manchester United being shot to splinters against Crystal Palace, he knew what kind of music he was facing. But first he listened to Erik ten Hag once again bemoan the injury situation at Old Trafford.
Fielding Casemiro and Jonny Evans against Palace was the 14th pairing of centre-back this season for "The Reds". Forming a legendary partnership for many years with Steve Bruce, Pallister knows only too well how important stability in defence is.
"You can't just put it down as an excuse. The back four has been absolutely decimated. We've got to the point where Casemiro was centre-half and as we saw on Monday night, Casemiro is not a centre-half. The knee-jerk reaction to it is that he should retire. Have a little bit more respect for the guy," Pallister told Tribalfootball.com.
"I was very lucky, I played alongside Steve Bruce, Dennis Irwin and Paul Parker for a large part. Then Gary Neville while Peter Schmeichel was always in goal. That back four pretty much stayed the same. We very rarely got injured. Just like the back four at Arsenal with Adams, Bould, Keown, Dixon and Winterburn.
"You get used to each other; you understand each other. You're in sync together. You're aware of weaknesses and strengths. You can almost react off knowing how they're going to react. It builds up that confidence in your back four and your defence that you can keep playing sheets. United have not had that all season."
A floodgate of goals
With Palace putting four past United on Monday, it took the tally to a whopping 81 goals conceded for Ten Hag's men this season. A number not seen since 1976/77 and Old Trafford legend Pallister believes at least one player would have prevented that.
"I think Lisandro Martinez has been a huge miss. He's a fan's favourite and I think he sets a kind of tempo. He's ready for a war and he gets the fans riled up. He can smash into people, which we don't see too much of nowadays in today's football. But he loves a fight.
"On top of that, I think he's a great passer of the ball as well. So, him missing most of the season has been a problem. Missing Luke Shaw has also been huge. He's a shoo-in at left-back if he's been playing. He's a terrific player," Pallister continues, highlighting just what kind of players United are missing.
While Casemiro had all sorts of problems in the United defence Monday night, Joachim Anderson was once again bossing the Crystal Palace defence. Does Pallister see him as prospect for Manchester United?
"Well, according to the press, we're looking at a few players. They're talking about Branthwaite from Everton as well. Could they be that type of player to come in and forge a career? All these guys need to be looked at strenuously during the close season.
"There are some big decisions to be made around Manchester United. I think that's why they've brought Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS in. Apparently, they're going to deal with the football side of things, so I would imagine they're going to have a very busy summer."
Stick with the gaffer?
When Gary Pallister joined Manchester United it wasn't all rosy as the team finished in the bottom 10 twice under Sir Alex Ferguson. The board held their nerve, stuck to "Fergie" and the rest is history. But will they also stick with Erik Ten Hag?
"Back in '89, after Ferguson signed five players including myself, at one stage that season we could have gone into the relegation zone. We had some tough times to come through and that builds character in players and in the manager as well.
"The game is different now from what it was 1989-90 and people are expecting success straight away because Manchester United are one of the biggest, if not the biggest club in the world."
- Gary Pallister was speaking to Tribalfootball.com on behalf of sports betting site Victor Chandler
