The year is 1970, two Englishmen, John and Ben, are at a dusty pub, watching Pele lift the third World Cup. Frustrated at England’s performance, John passes a prophecy, “One day, there will be a White Pele, withpotential to be the most lethal striker this country has seen. He will come close to breaking the goal scoring record at one of the biggest clubs in the world, but will then be asked by his manager to regularly play behind the right back when the team is attacking, ruining him as a striker for the country.”
“Go home, John.” Ben says, “You’re drunk.”
Drunken John was a better soothsayer than Paul the Octopus.
One has to think whether David “The Chosen One” Moyes’ short spell in charge of Man United would’ve been ever shorter, had he shoved Wayne Rooney out wide as often as Louis Van Gaal has done this term. Luckily for the Dutchman, in football, as in real life, reputation does precede you more often than not, and he does have an impressive resume. We can see that not only with the (comparatively) prolonged patience in the fans, but also with the players, most of who have come out to defend Van Gaal’s tactics and backed his vision.
Although that is a great sign for future growth, a modern day football club can’t survive without immediate results. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Ed Woodward’s bank-breaking deals with sponsors would have a clause that would drastically affect the sponsorship amounts if United fail to qualify for the coveted Champions League (Then again, rocket scientists probably do have better things to do). A quick look at the last 10 Premier League fixtures this season, and you can see why United fans, and everyone at Old Trafford hoping for a hefty Christmas bonus, should be a lot more worried than they are.
United have 6 tough opponents in their last 10 games, all of whom finished above them last season – Tottenham, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton and Arsenal. That is easily the toughest run in of all the teams that would look to challenge for the 3rd and 4th positions, with Chelsea and Man City steadily drawing away from the pack in a two horse race for the title, after Mourinho’s little milk drinking horse from last season seems to be responding brilliantly to the drink. Add to that United’s troubling away form, the need to make the most of the fixtures now could not be more pressing (they welcome Burnley, Sunderland and Leicester to the Theatre Of Dreams in the next 4).
So where does the problem lie? It’s not so much the scapegoat defence, who have conceded only 5 goals in their last 10 games in all competitions, with help from the man in super human form – David De Gea. It’s the much hated formation and corresponding team selection, that has left even the best pundits scratching their heads. With firepower that boasts the likes of 2014 FIFPRO World XI player Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao, Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata (amongst others!), United’s most reliable goal scoring route has been hoofing it long to Marouane Fellaini. In fact, United have the second highest number of long passes played (1,861)in the Premier League, second only to Burnley (1877).
One of the main reasons for the big names misfiring is their playing in positions alien to them. The club’s 3rd highest all time scorer, Wayne Rooney, has been pushed to a deeper role, resulting in an embarrassing statshowing he hasn’t had a single shot on target in all of 2015. A little further up, where Rooney would be licking his lips (no, this is not a fat joke), last year’s Champions League finals’ man of the match, Angel Di Maria, is often playing with his back to the ball, when his biggest strength is playing out wide and taking on defenders.
It is understandable that Louis Van Gaal wants to establish the style of football he is most comfortable with(read: one that doesn’t make his ass twitch). He feels his team is “out of balance” when playing 4 – 4 – 2, despite “stats showing positive results”. Having said that, it would serve a lot more purpose to play players best suited to the formation, in positions that will bring out the best of their ability.
Considering his current go-to formation after temporarily laying off the 3 – 5 -2, of a 4 – 4 -2 diamond, he has enough options at his disposal after the 150m summer spend to have world class talent in each position. World Cup finalist, Daley Blind, without doubt is the best bet for the holding midfielder role with his great passing range and ability to break up play. Once Carrick is fit again, Van Gaal has a welcome headache of picking between the two. The right side of midfield is begging for the currently overlooked Ander Herrera, who has won tournaments with Spain atUnder-20 and Under-21 level and represented the nation at the 2012 Olympics. Angel Di Maria can best show his prowess out wide on the left, where he can take on defenders, cut in to unleash his venomous strikes, or put in his pin point crosses. Former Chelsea no. 10, Juan Mata can play at the top of the diamond, supplying the balls to strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, who show a lot more understanding between them than Persie and Falcao do.
This also leaves Van Gaal with options to choose from on the bench. He can bring on Falcao and Fellaini in case he needs a more direct approach. He can also turn to the youth options of Wilson and Januzaj in case he needs to inject pace up front. Januzaj raised eyebrows around the world after his brilliant performances last season, none more so than on his full premier league debut, when he scored both goals as United rallied from a goal down to beat Sunderland. Wilson burst on the scene after some fantastic performances at the u-18 as well as u-21 levels for United. He, like Januzaj, scored a brace on his first start for the first team, in a 3 -1 victory over Hull City at Old Trafford. He has also scored a goal already this season, in a 2 – 0 win against QPR. Wilson has a lethal combination of pace and a powerful shot and is definitely making the misfiring stalwarts, Falcao and RVP, work for their starting spot. The promotion of youth football is an important policy for Van Gaal, the club and it’s supporters, who have already seen a potentially great center back unveiled this season in Paddy McNair.
But as seen in the past, Van Gaal is known to be stubborn in his ways. Whether he changes his line of thought, to what seems to be a more rational and obvious line of approach, only time can tell. But it’ll be interesting to see how much longer it’ll take for Manchester United to make their climb back to becoming one of the most formidable sides in European football, and if it will be Van Gaal who will be the man that will lead them to that, they certainly don’t have much time left.
Karn Rateria is a part of the @Football_P family. You can follow him at @KarnRateria
