Sir Alex Ferguson has relegated the £18,000,000 midfielder to the reserve squad. Indefinitely?

Seemingly in response to his own poor judgement and poorer attitude, the Manchester United boss has banished the Brazilian midfielder to play with the reserve team this week. In late January, Anderson reportedly missed practice and Sir Alex fined him a whopping £80,000 for missing the training session. He was then left out of the squad that faced Hull City that weekend, and hasn’t been seen in the first team since the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.

The 21 year old has had a rocky season and has not been afraid to voice is discontent with the amount of playing time he has received, which has led to several reported incidents where he has butted heads with the Gaffer. It has also been widely rumored that Anderson was to go out on loan in the January transfer window to either Lyon or Paris Saint-Germain, but he was held back as an insurance policy against the seeming non-recovery of Owen Hargreaves. Perhaps this lack of a loan deal was what triggered Anderson’s latest tantrum and conflict with Sir Alex.

It is important to note that Thursday’s reserve assignment, could have been just that, an assignment to help keep him fit since he has not played for 3 matches. It could also have been intended to send a message and signal the beginning of the end for midfielder that has showed so much promise. Let’s hope Anderson can ride out this tumultuous period, learn from it, and move on. I believe he could be a fixture in the midfield for many years to come if he can find some consistency and learn to be coached.

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