Manchester United: simply not good enough

It's all gone wrong for Manchester United.

Dumped out of the League Cup at the semi-final stage by Sunderland last night, boss David Moyes is hiding his despair very well, simply saying that his team didn't play well enough. However, he must have been absolutely fuming over the way goalkeeper David De Gea fumbled a shot over the line in the last minute of extra time (when a save would have put United through); and he must have been fuming over some woeful penalty kicks in the shoot-out, of which Manchester United scored only one of five.

What's up? Let's have a look at last night's team.

David De Gea (goalkeeper). Mistakes will be made, of course, but De Gea has never truly inspired confidence and doesn't look to be a top-class keeper. He conceded Sunderland's only shot on target last night. 5/10

Rafael (right back): United have struggled to fill this position since Gary Neville got injured some years back. Rafael has some flare, but loses the ball too often and is not strong enough in the tackle or in the air. 5/10

Chris Smalling (centre back): Looks a little ungainly at times, making him slightly unpredictable in his touch. 5/10

Jonny Evans (centre back): Usually sure-footed, he seems to have lost some confidence. Some wayward clearances last night. 6/10

Alex Buttner (left back): Has neither the tackling strength nor the forward forceful movements of Patrice Evra, and was eventually taken off in favour of Evra. 4/10

Adnan Januzaj (winger): Has immense potential, but last night wasn't one of his best, though he did set up the goal. His shooting was wayward. Perhaps too much weight is being put on his young shoulders. 6/10

Michael Carrick (midfield): Over 32 now, Carrick remains an excellent passer of the ball, but is probably past his best. Never one to score many goals, this lack of contribution is hurting United currently. 7/10

Darren Fletcher (midfield): Coming back from injury, 120 minutes was a long stretch for him last night, but he was ineffective on too many occasions. Not what United need right now. 4/10

Shinji Kagawa (midfield): Not up to United's high standards at all. 4/10

Javier Hernandez (forward): Mis-control, mis-timed passes and poor shooting, Chicarito had a bad night, but then came up with a goal in the last seconds (he did  nearly miss from five yards, however). 4/10

Danny Welbeck (forward): Lacks power, pace and fizz, but doesn't have a bad scoring record. Not the answer, though. 5/10

Quite simply: they're not good enough. Sir Alex Ferguson may have seen this coming and got out at the right time. Poor David Moyes cannot really be blamed. This is a poor team. Juan Mata can't arrive too soon.