At the moment the bigger issue is how bad is Hobbs Hamstring. There is no-way they will take any risk with that OR Hobbs will be out as long as Macca.
Firstly, Chester was not played at RB and midfield just to keep him in the team, it was because Rosenior kept getting injured so Chester was the only realistic option at RB, and the midfield was ****e so he kept trying to sort it out by playing Chester there. Having 3 good centre backs is not a bad thing, that is an absolutely ridiculous argument. Every team needs 4 strikers, that is accepted, so why not 4 centre backs? I'm really pleased with how McShane has played in pre-season but you cannot rely on him to play like that every week, even if everyone was fit we'd need a 4th centre back. Injuries will happen. There will never be a scenario where Ayala would be sat on the bench all season. In modern football, being the 3rd choice centre back is more or less the same as 1st choice, because injuries definitely happen and you end up playing as much as the 1st and 2nd choice. The ideal scenario now is that we sign Ayala (or whoever else Nigel might have up his sleeve) and play him and Chester while Hobbs recovers. When he does recover he we have 3 good centre backs who are more than capable and whoever is fit and in form at the time can start. McShane can then focus on being 2nd choice right back and also double up as a centre back if needed. Ayala though, isn't as amazing as some make out. He didn't make Gerrard look **** last season at all, they were both good, but Ayala isn't as invincible and undroppable as some are making out. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
