‘What’s he supposed to do?’ Troy Deeney says teammates not helping ‘sorry’ Man Utd ace, blames one in particular

Add as preferred source on Google

The extent of the problems at Manchester United becomes clearer to Ruben Amorim with each game to the extent that he’d probably like them to stay hidden for a while now!

Man Utd are firmly rooted in 15th position in the table and arguably need a win against Ipswich to soothe their fears of being dragged into a relegation battle.

The players are suffering from a crisis of confidence, the chances are rarely created, and when they are, not taken with aplomb while the defence looks shifty and nervous.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
13	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	26	8	9	9	31	32	-1	33
14	EvertonEverton	26	7	10	9	29	33	-4	31
15	Man UtdManchester United	26	8	6	12	30	37	-7	30
16	West HamWest Ham	26	8	6	12	30	47	-17	30
17	WolvesWolves	26	6	4	16	36	54	-18	22

However, some of it is self-inflicted too, and on BBC’s Match of the Day, Troy Deeney broke down the travails of one such player who’s being let down by his teammates.

Troy Deeney breaks down Rasmus Hojlund’s struggles

It is easy to look at Rasmus Hojlund during the game, or at his stats, and conclude that the Dane is a non-factor in games and that assessment would be true to an extent.

Hojlund had fewer touches than Onana vs Everton and the performance of Chido Obi after coming on offers some hope of an alternative.

However, it has perhaps become too easy to pile on Hojlund as the problem in this team, something which Troy Deeney broke down expertly in his analysis for BBC Match of the Day 2.

Deeney pointed out some of the good runs he makes only to be outnumbered 5 vs 1 or worse when he inevitably loses the ball.

When there is support, the ball played to him is more hopeful than aimed, leaving Hojlund in a no-win situation.

Deeney said: “He’s willing to run but doesn’t get the service. There’s no synergy between the passer and him. The rest of the team looks at him and loses confidence.

“He makes good runs but what’s he supposed to do with some of the balls he receives? At 21-22, you don’t know your body, your game. You need coaching, help but you need confidence from your teammates.

“There’s a little bit of me that feels sorry for him but you need to help him, keep feeding him balls and he’ll learn the hard way.”

Deeney calls out Joshua Zirkzee

Deeney mentioned how the teammates are losing confidence in Hojlund which is a sorry state of affairs because it’s not like the rest of them are firing on all cylinders.

He particularly mentioned Joshua Zirkzee for his questionable body language during a moment in the Everton game which summed up the struggles.

Hojlund was running alone on a transition opportunity and was pushed off the ball as three defenders converged on him.

As United lost the ball again, Zirkzee threw his arms in the air and expressed frustration at Hojlund, something which Deeney didn’t like.

He said: “This is what’s happening now. Zirkzee, who hasn’t been great himself, is giving the body language of everybody else [of frustration]. He’s on his own all the time.”

With the pressure from outside already enough as it is, the players need to support each other, and that is even more important in Hojlund’s case who showed in his first season that he’s a confidence player.