Former Manchester United defender Mike Duxbury has criticised Premier League champions-elect Chelsea for their negative brand of football.
Chelsea stand to confirm their title win against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge this weekend but have come in for some criticism after their defensive performances against United and Arsenal recently.
‘Ultimately, you can’t argue with it, because the end result is, they will win the league, but I have to say that Chelsea’s style of football hasn’t impressed me lately,’ Duxbury exclusively told RetroUnited.com. ‘The way they celebrated their draw against Arsenal was a bit silly… I thought United played quite well at Stamford Bridge the other week. Tried to attack and take the game and in the end it was a mistake that was their downfall rather than Chelsea doing anything well themselves. You would have thought that they would have wanted to have send a statement out, being so close to winning the league.’
Duxbury believes United’s recent stutters will not harm them too much and that the club is on course to return to the Champions League. ‘It’s hard to see them throwing it away now,’ he says. ‘The most pleasing thing is that they’re playing good football again, well, aside from the Everton game of course.’
Mike has featured on this website a few times this season and a recurring theme has been that he feels in order for his old club to challenge for the title next season, they need better defenders, and it is an opinion he still holds.
‘(We should sign).. ones that can defend! That would be a start, haha!’ Duxbury said in an exclusive Facebook webchat for RetroUnited on Tuesday. ‘We’ve lacked some basic defensive knowledge and tactical awareness this season, I think they should concentrate less on going forward and more about the basics. They’re given protection by the midfield, it should be easier for them, but maybe the role of the defender is changing and players need to be aware of that and in tune with it.’
United next play against West Brom on Saturday, knowing that three points will make their position in the top four virtually guaranteed.
