Manchester United have been struggling with their Central midfield play since Paul Scholes’ retirement back in 2012. The likes of Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverly were barely keeping the United midfield intact. But finally, Executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward has put a couple of midfield signings out of the hat in Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria. Dutch international Daley Blind, who normally plays a left back role,could also fit into the defensive midfield role.
to start the 2014/15 Champaign. Louis Van Gaal has implemented the 3412 formation which was successful in the 2014 World Cup with the Netherlands National Team. But it was clear in the first 3 matches in the Barclays Premier League that United’s wing backs, played by natural wingers in Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia were struggling to go forward. Many might argue that United have signed Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo who are able to play wing back, United’s centre backs position is so thin that United would not have a true backup for wing back positions. But the most troubling aspect of United’s play is linkup play, with the 3412, the linkup lacks between the back 3 the wing backs and the midfield. The 352 on the other hand, lacks the linkup between the midfield and the strikers.
United currently only have 2 quality wingers in the squad, Angel Di Maria and Adnan Januzaj. It is unlikely that wing play would be sustainable for Manchester United. Therefore, the 442 diamond formation would be the ideal system to maximise players’ talents. New addition Daley Blind will make the ideal candidate in the defensive midfield role, while Angel Di Maria and Ander Herrera would be in perfect position to linkup with Juan Mata. Herrera and Di Maria can easily run on the outside of Mata to support the attacking play.
The major misses in United’s midfield play had been movement and continuity, and it it is important for the players to string a variety of passes together for that to happen. The newly acquired talent in the summer transfer window will hopefully boots the confidence of the players in the squad, especially the likes of Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie. Daley Blind and Angel Di Maria have already on the international stage how impactful they can be facilitated the attack of their respective teams on the national side.
Football need to be played in segments, and the final third is the area where United struggled the most in the past 3 league games. It is sad to say that United looked uninterested in the game against Burnley, the likes of Juan Mata was walking around pulling up is socks and walking around the pitch instead of looking to help his teammate Darren Fletcher in defensive midfield. However, playing Juan Mata in deep central midfield position is also a problem as he could not play the free flowing Football in the centre attacking midfield role.
Louis Van Gaal’s philosophy is all about players’ positioning on the attack, the passer will always have at least 2 options for a pass. United have yet to execute Van Gaal’s philosophy, players would either run out of position, or the midfield player simply fails to find a pass. The passing vision of Daley Blind and Angel Di Maria can hopefully United find their feet.
There is no doubt more enhancements must be made in the January transfer window to enhance United’s midfield play, a mix of experience and youth will likely do the trick. Youngster James Wilson have shown his fearless personality in his debut match last season vs. Hull City, netting 2 goals in the process. The likes of Marco Reus and Kevin Strootman have been favoured targets to move to Old Trafford, adding pace and fluidity to the currently slow and confidence lacking midfield.
Louis Van Gaal is a manager that is bold and would not be afraid to experiment with different tactics that best fit the squad. Repetition is essential for Manchester United midfield to rediscover their glamorous past, there is definitely no short cut to success, and I do not believe that money buy titles. Football is a game of trust, players need to have an understanding of one another to generate title winning performances. Winning titles have been the tradition of Manchester United Football Club, it shell be achieved by adding a combination of quality and confidence.
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