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Van Gaal: The man with a reputation
Louis Van Gaal arrived with a big reputation behind him. His tactical acumen was well documented at the World Cup when he single-handedly masterminded The Oranje to the semi-final. Perhaps the biggest talking point coming out of the Netherlands' campaign was his use of a 3-4-1-2 system. What was also telling was his tactical flexibility. Two substitutions and the Netherlands would suddenly turn to a 4-3-3. He has this great knack of getting the best of his players and to do that, he was never afraid to change systems.
He stayed true to that reputation and made a bold announcement saying he will be using a 3-5-2 at Manchester United, or a 3-4-1-2 as he likes to call it. Pre-season was going to be more pivotal than ever as the Manchester United players would need to adopt to playing this formation before the start of the season. Everything looked good in Pre-season as United swept aside everything opponents threw at them, the likes of Madrid, Roma and Liverpool.
Cut to the season. United have struggled against supposedly inferior teams like Swansea and Sunderland. The defeat against MK Dons was humiliating. It has all gone back to square one. The signing of Angel Di Maria for a British record fee has delighted United fans all over the globe.
A Champions League winner, a World Cup finalist and a player respect throughout the world for his pace, dribbling skills, crossing and vision. United forums everywhere have been buzzing with talk that Van Gaal may now opt to move to a 4-3-3 with the arrival of Di Maria. But will van Gaal, who is known to stick by his system and philosophy abandon it so early into the season. Here is a look at the pros and cons and both the 3-4-1-2 and the 4-3-3.
3-4-1-2:
It is an attacking formation as it allows you to have up to 7 attackers when going for the kill, whilst also allowing the team to have a solid back three for defence. The formation worked well in the pre-season against good teams. United looked much more comfortable in possession than they have in previous seasons. They were defensively sound as well, albeit with a scare or two every match. The norm was maintaining a high defensive line and squeezing opponents to the midfield area where their midfielders would be pressed and forced into errors.
The most pleasing take away from the pre-season was the fluid passing and movement. The build-up play would start from the back. It would almost always go through the centre with the central defenders playing an important part in the build up phase. van Gaal believes that building play through wide areas restricts options and decreases passing options.
There was a fluency to their play. Lots of movement from players meant that defenders would be drawn out of position paving way for through balls. Every players would have different passing options when on the ball. It was typical van Gaal style. He always talks about 'provoking’ the defenders out of position with intelligent movement, which would in-turn create space. Unlike previous seasons, the over reliance on wingers was also gone. The team were confident in moving the ball about in tight areas centrally and opening up the defence. All this bode well for the upcoming season.
But alas! All that positivity coming out of pre-season disappeared in no time come the real tests. The fluency in passing, movement, lateral runs, were all gone. Players like Fletcher and Young who looked in rejuvenated form in pre-season have been liabilities. The real tests against premier league quality team has shown just how much more work van Gaal needs to put in for this current system to work. Injuries to both first choice wing backs, Evans and Carrick has not helped too.
The defence has been a mistake waiting to happen. They have lacked any real coordination and the lack of a leader has been telling. They have struggled to build from the back when pressurized by opponents. The mistakes they made when Sunderland pressed them were comical. They looked well unaware of how best to deal with situations on and off the ball.
But perhaps van Gaals' biggest concern would be the 1-2 of the 3-4-1-2. Mata, Rooney, van Persie. They were one of the biggest reason why Van Gaal decided to use a 3-4-1-2. We saw them line-up against Sunderland and all three looked totally off the boil. They rarely combined together and failed to conjure up any real chance between themselves. The players behind them did not do their cause any good by giving them the ball very late in the build-up phase when the defence would have already settled deep. But there was no pace, no trickery, no take-ons from them. The reasons for their displays maybe varied and they may settle in and wreak havoc soon. But the Sunderland display was demoralizing.
Rojo and Di Maria may prove to be two more pieces of this seemingly unsolvable puzzle that is Manchester United. The signing of Rojo indicated that van Gaal was intent on sticking to his guns- the 3-4-1-2. He is an attacking left back who could fit in well at left wing back and is also capable of filling in at left centre back. A good player who would surely shore up the young United defence. But the signing of Di Maria indicates that a change of formation maybe on the horizon. It's difficult to see him fitting in into the current formation. He played in midfield against Burnley due to the lack of other midfielders, but that will reduce his efficiency. The best fit for him will be the role Robben played for The Netherlands. Just wide off the centre forward, looking to cut-in and take on central defenders. His pace and work rate may be the catalyst United need right now. But that means dropping one of Rooney or van Persie which van Gaal doesn’t seem too keen to do. Either way, Di Maria will not solve the problems behind him in defence and midfield.
4-3-3:
The 4-3-3 may prove to be an easier nut to crack for both the players and the manager and fans may finally get over the nightmares of the three man defence confusing each other to submission against good attacks in the premier league. There is no manager in the world who knows the 4-3-3 better than van Gaal(Sorry Cruyff), which should help as well.
Right now though, even the 4-3-3 presents many a conundrums. For one, it takes van Gaal back to the task of playing Rooney, Mata and van Persie in their best positions. He just cannot do that in a 4-3-3 where there is only one designated central player, maybe two. To add to that, there is Di Maria as well. Fitting in all four of them in a 4-3-3 is quite tough.
Carrick, Herrera and Di Maria in a midfield triangle seems well balanced. Carrick the deep point of the triangle, the deep playmaker who shields the defence. Di Maria and Herrera can be the left and right 'shuttlers' respectively, tasked with box-to-box duties. Both are very good fits for the roles. Di Maria has played that role for the Champions league winning Madrid team last season to great effect. He was the link between defence and attack.
It's ahead of them where the problem lies. van Gaal has no wingers and he cannot play any of the triumvirate on the wings . Neither of them have the pace to play on the flanks. This was the very reason why van Gaal chose a 3-4-1-2.
But big and controversial decisions are always on the cards with van Gaal around. There are chances he may drop one of the two big strikers and play one of them up top. Janujaz and Di Maria on the wings means pace, dynamism, trickery, lots of good crosses and great vision. Carrick, Herrera and Mata in midfield looks good on paper with Mata being the apex of a midfield triangle, the most attacking midfielder.
But for all the aforementioned difficulties like playing players out of position, dropping one of the two big strikers etc, means that it is very unlikely he will switch to a 4-3-3 so early into the season. It would also mean that a whole pre-seasons would have gone waste. And we all know van Gaal sticks to his philosophy, not to mention that fact that the 4-3-3 also presents many challenges of its own.
4-3-1-2?
It may not be screaming 'I'm a van Gaal formation'. But the least you expect from him is tactical flexibility. With the arrival of Di Maria, the frailties in playing a 3-4-1-2 and all the compromises to be made for switching to a 4-3-3, the 4-3-1-2 is a possibility. It may turn out be a bold yet sensible one as it achieves the best of both the worlds i.e 4-3-3 and 3-4-1-2.
You still have Rooney, van Persie and Mata in their best positions. You have Di Maria in his best role as the left 'shuttler' linking defence and attack. A back four of Rafael, Jones, Rojo and Shaw seems solid too. Add in a good defensive midfielder with more mobility to replace Carrick and van Gaal may have just the formation he needs.
Conclusion:
At this point, the 4-3-1-2 is still only conjecture from my part. While the 4-3-3 has obvious difficulties, the main being- United is short of personnel to play on the wings. I personally see van Gaal sticking to the 3-4-1-2 for some time. Players returning from injuries, new signings and the amount of work van Gaal will put in behind the scenes may mean that the formation may prove to be a success. But for all we know, he may play different formations based on opponents and render this article moot. Almost 1900 words later, all I can say is that van Gaal has huge challenges ahead and this may prove to be the toughest job he has ever taken up. The formation and tactics he chooses will prove to be one of the most important of all his decisions.
