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NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 07: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson looks on before the Barclays Premier league game between Newcastle United and Manchester United at Sports Direct Arena.
Time and time again, Sir Alex Ferguson has been praised for his ability to re-develop and produce young and thriving teams from seemingly nowhere. The start of last season saw a new breed of fast, exciting and attacking football from United, something that came as a surprise to some – regardless of United’s reputation for playing with width and pace, the sort of football we got to witness was something we hadn’t seen in a while. As usual, the excitement was over exaggerated and we came down with a bit of a crash, but nevertheless, the start of the season showed how much good a few new faces and fresh legs can do.
The start of this season has been a bit slower; with some of the new faces taking a little longer to settle down, the current crop of players adjusting to a new formation, and the likes of Scholes and Giggs losing another half-yard of pace. Robin van Persie has clearly settled in very well, and while Kagawa’s impact has been slightly disappointing for some, he’s had his spells where he’s been vital and has also bagged a few goals. Obviously Alexander Büttner and Nick Powell have both had limited first team chances – but both impressed when they were given their chance against Wigan, and similarly to Kagawa – improvements will be made.
Early signs suggested that, with the emphasis on the arrival of Kagawa, United would be looking to deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation. Two sitting midfielders to protect the defence, two wingers, an attacking midfielder (Kagawa’s role), and an out-and-out striker up top. The arrival of Robin van Persie created doubts over the role of Kagawa at United – with an extra forward upfront many felt that Kagawa would be the man who would be pushed out of his proper position. In fairness to Fergie, the majority of time Kagawa has spent on the pitch has been in the role just behind the striker – but if the formation deployed against Newcastle and Cluj is going to be used more often, then there’s no doubting that Kagawa’s role will be restricted.
Although United have started the season with the 4-2-3-1, Ferguson’s suggested that the success of the diamond 4-4-2 shape we’ve used in the last two games, makes him want to experiment with it in future matches. “I wanted to try the diamond again after some success against Cluj,” he said after United’s most convincing performance of the season against Newcastle yesterday. “It worked very well for us. Obviously there were moments in the second half when we felt we had to change. The diamond closes off the midfield. The only problem is when the ball goes out wide, how far your midfield gets separated. The football we played from the central midfield positions through Cleverley, Kagawa, Rooney and Carrick was terrific.
It certainly seems as though he’s keen to test it out, and rightfully so, given its success. I thought both Rooney and Cleverley were excellent, with the pair working back and forth effectively and efficiently – and I certainly don’t think it was a coincidence that Patrice Evra had his best game in as long as I can think. With Cleverley tucking in alongside him when we were withstanding pressure, we looked a lot harder to break down. Again, it’s not likely to be coincidental that we looked the strongest at the back we have so far this season in the new formation, even though I’m sure having David De Gea back does make a difference.
Yet, even with the advantages of playing this new, slightly refreshing and surprising, system – I don’t think it suits us in the long run. We’re renowned for playing with pace and width, and Sir Alex even admitted the disadvantages to the system in terms of the midfield getting beaten if they play within a close proximity to each other. With the state of our midfield, regardless of the refreshing sight of Tom Cleverley in there, I don’t like the sound of anything that could make us even more vulnerable at the centre of the park when in certain situations.
Ultimately having your best players on the pitch from the start of the game is key, and we get that with this shape in the sense that we can start both Van Persie and Rooney, but we’re making heavy losses in order to accommodate both of them at once. The reaction to the signing of Shinji Kagawa – from those who have seen him play, not the clueless commercial asset bandwagon jumpers – was one of ecstasy simply because they know what he can bring us. We need to allow Kagawa time to develop at United and, eventually, I see us building our team around him.
Clearly that won’t happen when he’s not playing in his preferred position, and seeing him compromised in a deeper midfield role is depressing simply because he’s ineffective there. If kicking up a fuss over one player bothers you, then the same will happen with the likes of Nani, Valencia and Young. There are situations when width is needed and with this formation we wont get it. While Sir Alex is keen to experiment and he has every right to do that, you hope that the formation just becomes another possibility stored in the locker, for use when needed. In the short-run it’s a feasible option, but in the long-run you hope sanity wins and the 4-2-3-1 we’ve seen previously this season is developed further. Remember, patience is a virtue.
