Is Falcao's Man Utd time at an end?

It was the Preston fans who chanted "what a waste of
money" at Radamel Falcao on Tuesday night.
But you could not really blame Manchester United
manager Louis van Gaal if he thought the same after
the expensive striker's latest ineffective display.
Time is running out for the £6m loan signing from
Monaco, who has until the end of the season to
persuade Van Gaal to fork out £43.5m to make his
deal a permanent one.
Right now, the chances of that happening look
minimal, at best.
Far from justifying his £265,000-a-week wages,
Falcao has scored just four goals in 19 games for
United, and has completed 90 minutes a mere four
times in five and a half months at Old Trafford.
Preston 1-3 United
Are United better off without him? They were against
League One side North End, who led until Van Gaal
hauled off the Colombian after an hour and saw his
reshaped team fight back to win 3-1 and reach the FA
Cup quarter-finals.
And with only 13 Premier League games and the rest
of United's FA Cup campaign left of the season, maybe
the real question now is how many more chances will
Falcao get?
"Another night of nothing from Falcao," pondered BBC
co-commentator Martin Keown as the 29-year-
disappeared from the Deepdale pitch.
"You wonder if you will see him again in a Manchester
United shirt. I don't think he has offered much at all."
Tamed by a League One defence
Falcao certainly did not offer any shots against
Preston, either on or off target. It was the same story
in United's last Premier League game against Burnley
as well.
The worry for United, but maybe especially for the
player himself, is just how easily he was marshalled by
a League One defence.
For a player who has starred for Colombia and been a
leading light in Portugal, La Liga and Ligue 1, his
movement was poor, and too easily tracked by
Preston's three central defenders.
When partnered with Robin van Persie, as he has been
recently, that lack of raw speed has left United looking
blunt up front, and he fared little better on Tuesday
night when leading the line on his own.
Falcao at Manchester United
Appearances: 19 Minutes played: 1,148
Goals: 4 Minutes per goal: 287
Assists: 4 Bookings: 2
Lack of service at Deepdale was a factor in his failure
to shine again.
He was rarely involved and had only 26 touches, but
he looked slow on the ball when he came looking for it
outside the box and did not react quickly enough
when he was inside it either.
"He just did not have the pace to get away from the
Preston defence," said Keown.
"Is he fit enough? He's trying to prove he should be
here in the long term but it's just not coming off for
him."
United have an option to
activate a £40m buy-out
clause for Falcao (left) who
earns £265,000 a week
Still chasing full fitness
Falcao missed last summer's World Cup because of a
serious knee injury and the more you see of him, the
more you wonder how much of a toll that is still
taking.
He has been hampered by a calf injury in recent
months but even when injury free, that long lay-off
means he is still chasing full fitness.
More than any other position, strikers need sharpness
but Falcao seems short of that, and has done since his
arrival.
Van Gaal questioned his fitness in December when he
declared his deadline day signing was only able to play
for 20 minutes at a time.
At the time he was using him only as a substitute, and
the situation did not seem to improve when he left him
out of his squad completely for United's 1-0 home
defeat by Southampton on 11 January, then said he
preferred 19-year-old James Wilson up front against
Stoke the following week.
Falcao has found the net since then, in a 3-1 home
win over Leicester, but his overall contribution will have
done little to convince Van Gaal that he is a part of his
team's long-term future.
Van Gaal's other options
If Wilson has the pace that Falcao currently lacks,
United's other striking options have other attributes
the Colombian is also without.
Van Persie has greater guile in the area; Wayne
Rooney is a better passer and harder worker outside it.
Both look more of a goal threat than Falcao, which
makes it even more inexplicable that Van Gaal
seemingly prefers the latter to operate in midfield.
Marouane Fellaini is only an emergency alternative but,
as he showed against Preston, he has the aerial power
to make a difference when needed.
Where Falcao fits into all of this is unclear.
An uncertain future
The suggestion from Falcao's agent Jorge Mendes at
the start of the year that his client may not be at Old
Trafford at the start of next season is looking even
more likely with each passing week.
Mendes's assertion that Falcao "will play in one of the
very best clubs in the world next season whether that
is United or not" does not look quite so nailed on.
For more than £40m, let alone his weekly salary, you
would presume there will be few takers based on what
we have seen so far on these shores.