Manchester United hero pours cold water on Old Trafford ambitions ahead of derby weekend, with Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City installed as Arsenal’s closest challengers
Paul Scholes has delivered a blunt verdict on Manchester United’s prospects this season, declaring flatly that there is “no chance” of his old club mounting a genuine title challenge. The Red Devils are preparing to face a Manchester City side now being reshaped under new head coach Enzo Maresca.
United travel into this weekend’s derby fixture searching for consistency, but the club’s most decorated academy graduate believes the gap to the division’s leading pack remains too wide to bridge, regardless of how the Manchester Derby itself unfolds.
“Defensively they’re not good enough”
Speaking ahead of the game, as reported by CaughtOffside, Scholes named City as Arsenal’s principal rivals for the Premier League crown this term. He dismissed the notion that United — or indeed Chelsea — could realistically force their way into that conversation.
“They (United) will be top four, but don’t be expecting a title challenge, no chance,” Scholes said. “It’s obvious that defensively they’re not good enough. They are going to concede goals.”
The former England midfielder pointed to a piecemeal approach in the transfer market as part of the problem, suggesting Michael Carrick’s recruitment has addressed individual areas of the pitch without solving the team’s core issue at the back.
“Recruitment wise, it seems they’re sorting it section by section,” he explained. “They did the forwards last year, very good, they’ve done the midfield this year, we still don’t know if that will work.”
Scholes did offer a note of cautious optimism over two of United’s newer midfield additions, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba, suggesting their partnership could eventually offer some defensive protection even if the back four itself remains unchanged.
“There are players in there potentially who could be good, Santos and Baleba, we don’t know how good they will be,” he said. “If those two come together they might help the team defensively.
“But the back four has not been touched and they’ve not been touched in years and they’ve not been good enough for years. So how you expect that to get better I don’t know.”
City’s new era under Maresca sharpens the contrast
Scholes’ prediction lands at a pointed moment for City, who enter the derby in the early weeks of life under Maresca after the Italian succeeded Pep Guardiola in the summer.
It is a City side still finding its rhythm — a Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and a draw at Everton have accompanied the transition — but one Scholes nonetheless rates as a genuine contender for the title, in a way he is not prepared to extend to United.
That distinction underlines just how far Scholes feels his former club still has to travel.
Arsenal have made an ideal start to the campaign, winning their opening five league fixtures, while City have shown signs of responding to their early setbacks.
United, by contrast, have already suffered a surprise defeat at Hull City this season, a result that will have done little to challenge Scholes’s pessimism.
Looking further ahead, the 51-year-old suggested wholesale defensive rebuilding may have to wait until next summer, provided Carrick remains in position and the season progresses reasonably well in the meantime.
“I’d expect next summer, hopefully Michael is still there and they have a decent season, I think they’ll have a new back four next season,” Scholes said.
“It’s almost conceding this year that we’re not going to challenge for the league. That’s not Man United.”
