Eyebrows were raised when Warren Joyce’s team selection saw Wilfried Zaha named on the bench and not in the starting eleven when Manchester United entertained Middlesborough at Salford City Stadium.
There has been a lot of talk regarding Zaha lately due to the lack of first-team opportunities he’s been given since joining from Crystal Palace. Rubbish rumours from social media suggested he was caught sleeping with Moyes’ daughter when in truth, he is simply not fancied by the manager yet.
Zaha arrived aged 21 without any Premier League experience. Despite the poor form of our wing players in general, it was never a certainty that Moyes would throw him into the first-team. The two starts he’s made have come in the FA Charity Shield and League Cup and in neither did the England U-21 stand out.
It’s a big jump from Championship football. Expectations are higher and some fans can be cruel. Moyes is monitoring the situation and, like Sir Alex Ferguson with many young players, is waiting for the perfect moment to break Zaha in.
Tonight against Middlesborough Zaha replaced Federico Macheda and added urgency to Joyes’ side. He showed no lack of confidence, running at defenders with some brilliant jinks and turns. The main downfall from his performance was decision making.
The game finished as it started at 0-0. United were by far the better but just couldn’t take their chances. As for Zaha, he put a decent cameo on show.