Back in December I got some stick for defending Sir Alex Ferguson for fielding a makeshift three man defense against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Some readers seemed to think that I was a 3-5-2 advocate, when in fact I do not feel it is effective in top level football anymore. Forwards are withdrawn to the flanks and cut inside to attack, so there is little need for a three center halves, with one effectively spare – but that is for another blog/discussion! My defense for Ferguson was based on the fact that United were suffering from a defensive injury nightmare with Van Der Sar, Vidic, Ferdinand, Brown, Evans, O’shea, Neville, Rafael and Fabio all unavailable for selection. Could it be that Chelsea are now experiencing similar problems?
