Few days ago I blogged about what formation Barcelona should use this season to maximise their potential given the players they have. I ended up a with a 3-4-1-2, deduced from the brilliant system Louis van Gaal used with The Netherlands for virtually the whole world cup, regardless of the opponent. And it worked! As a result, the Dutch squad overachieved and van Gaal was already drawing dreamy glances from Old Trafford.
Manchester United find themselves in a precarious
situation now. After the legendary reign of Lord Moyes, they are out of the
Champions League and face an uphill task to reorganise their squad in order to
challenge domestically and crawl back into the coveted top-4. Ironically their
performance off the pitch during the same period in the sponsors’ market has
been blockbuster. And that only adds a further weight of expectations on the
coach and the players after the fine mugging job pulled off by Woodward.
Chief among the on-field problems for the club is
the major issue of reorganisation of personnel and how to setup the team.
Should he continue with the same formation of yesteryears or is it better to
change to the brilliant 3-4-1-2 he engineered to perfection with his country?
Pivotal to answering that are three key points:
1. Two of United’s three
best players, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney, are world class strikers and
must be played simultaneously and as such.
2. The third amigo, Juan
Mata, should be played in the hole.
3. The team needs
restructuring at the back and in midfield.
Wayne Rooney is a phenomenal player. Although he
hasn’t done any justice to the ‘White Pele’ title that was brandished on him,
he has contributed significantly at least at club level, scoring 17 and
assisting 10 goals in the league last season - from midfield. That’s right. The
farce of playing Rooney in the ‘number 10’ role despite the number on his back
must end. It’s a travesty that it has gone on so long. While wise old coaches
who have infinite times more knowledge than this amateur blogger have played
him there, in my opinion Rooney is a natural striker and that’s what Mourinho
was going on about when he attempted to lure him to Chelsea last season.
Football is a game of opinions and everyone has a different interpretations of
things. Mine is that United would benefit if Rooney is paired with
van Persie upfront.
Juan Mata is a curious little fellow. If ever there
was a player that demonstrated what being played in the right position can do
to a player’s confidence and performance, it is him. In my humble opinion,
Manchester United should build their team around Mata. He’s younger and will
possibly hit greater heights than the two strikers in front of him. Juan Mata
has statistics to stake his claim. At Chelsea he scored 12 and 20 goals
respectively in his two full season and assisted at least three dozen per
campaign. He won the best player award at Chelsea both times. All, from that
‘number 10’ position. His position on the field must not be up for debate. In
his natural habitat he is worth 50 million Pounds. Elsewhere, probably 15.
Elsewhere, in midfield and defence, it is a
different story. At the time of writing this article, it has been long
confirmed that Man Utd have signed Andre Herrera and the arrival of Nigel de
Jong looks very much on the cards. If they sign de Jong, with those two the
team would have added two very good players who would be starting week after
week. That leaves only the defence with much sorting out to do as they already
have one of the best young goalkeepers guarding the net.
Having added the 19 year old Luke Shaw to the
ranks, Man Utd have taken a small step in the right direction but their
centre-back conquest needs to take shape soon if they want to avoid further
embarrassment. Strengthening in that area is a must for Manchester United.
While I understand that it is not a case of fantasy football, the three best
options for the CB position currently are Mats Hummels, Mehdi Benatia and
Raphael Varane. Depending on availability and other factors, the club should go
all-in to get at least one of the three elite players.
Turning my attention back to the principle subject
of this write-up, if van Gaal indeed decides to play 3 at the back, as he
himself suggested he would, this is what the current team without the possible
ins and outs might look like.
‘The beauty of playing with three centre-backs
complimented by wing-backs on either side is that the team can easily switch
from a 3 unit defence to a 5 unit defence without major alteration.’
This squad ticks ‘almost’ all the boxes in my opinion. There is quality,
industry, and most importantly, balance. It is filled with tireless players who
are known to put in a defensive shift whenever required. To some extent,
however, it lacks one of Man Utd’s trademark characteristic: pace. As I said,
this is a preview with only those players that United have on their books at
the moment. They have announced their intent and capacity to add to the squad.
With the funds available, trust van Gaal to add to his cast before he prepares
to dazzle at the Theatre of Dreams.
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