Early Season Woes
Literally don’t know where to start. Just two weeks ago the
team were arriving back in Manchester winners of the ‘inaugural’ international
champions cup and hopes for the new season were high. Look at the state of
affairs now. The old adage that a week in football may seem like a year could
not apply more fittingly in this situation. Within 14 days or 336 hours or
1,209,600 seconds, Manchester United
have gone from winning every preseason game and being genuine title contenders,
to the laughing stock of the whole English Premier League (and League 1 at that
matter!). Oh the joys of being a football fanatic.
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| "I am not shocked by our 4-0 loss to MK Dons" You should be Louis, you should be |
Where has it gone wrong so drastically? How can a team go
from beating the European champions, all be it in a friendly, to tragically
getting HUMILIATED by a club that are less than a decade old? There are
honestly no exact answers. Yes, preseason results mean nothing. That is a
given. But surely the signs of improvement during the warm up games should have
at least emanated into the first few performances. This was not the case. The
matches against Swansea and Sunderland, two bankers to the media and most
pundits alike, were awful displays reminiscent of last years’ woes. The season
is still young but wholesale changes are needed if this football club are to
get anywhere near the heights us fans are accustomed to, let alone demand.
What needs changing?
Formation
I think the biggest change that must occur is the 3-5-2 formation. Although many people raved about it before the start of the season, including myself, it clearly isn’t working. That is not to say it won’t but after three games in it definitely isn’t. If everyone is fit then this formation allows the possibility of playing Van Persie, Rooney and Mata up front without difficulty. The only problem is a large amount of players at the club that are not able to play in these new positions. You cannot play wingers as wing backs, you cannot play a sweeper who is uncomfortable with the ball at his feet and you definitely cannot play a bunch of reserve and youth team players in this formation. The latter was probably the most surprising. Louis Van Gaal even said himself that the first team was the priority when asked at the start of his tenure “will you in-still this formation throughout the academy?” His answer was swift and decisive – yet he went back on his word with devastating effects.
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| 3-5-2 will work with the right players! |
Another point about this particular formation is how Angel
Di Maria can fit into the new fold. The club do not need a repeat of last
January were they spent upwards of 40 million pounds on a player and played him
out of position week in week out. Personal opinion dictates that the new
Argentine cannot fit comfortably into the 3-5-2 system, and ultimately to get
the best out of him a switch to the more trusted 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 may have to
be implemented. Perhaps the greatest problem at the moment is the stubbornness
of a manager who may stick with the new formation asking for time to make it
work. Don’t get me wrong, having a different tactical setup is a bonus. There
will be periods of the season when the wing back formation can be utilised
correctly with the right personal. Shaw and Rafael are excellent candidates to
play these roles but both are currently injured. Therefore at the moment it
clearly isn’t working. Hopefully the British record signing may force the hand,
and the mind, of a certain Dutchman.
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| The normal 4-4-2/4-3-3 formation can definitely be used as a back-up |
Personnel
Perhaps the simplest change that the club needs is to stop playing the drivel that has plagued the team for many years now. The likes of Tom Cleverley, Ashley Young, Anderson, Marouane Fellaini all must follow Nani out of the door. All of them are not good enough, some were never good enough and ultimately they will never be good enough for Manchester United. It might be difficult to sell but regardless just DO NOT PLAY THEM. Of course the base of most squads requires suitable ‘squad’ players capable of fitting in with the superstars. Just ask the likes of Wes Brown and John O’Shea, two players who in recent history have provided the manager and the team with solid 7/10 displays whenever called upon. But there is a fine line between with these players and those that are not good enough to don the red shirt. Perhaps this may why the club is struggling – too many average players with not enough world class talent of yesteryear.
On the other hand the signings are beginning to accumulate
and although there is one world class addition the rest are not of that ilk. So
this might have to be the way. Liverpool proved as much last season. We must
build a competitive squad capable of performing through the limited stars that
we possess. Not wanting to sound harsh but as an average player you give the
ball to those such as Luis Suarez or Steven Gerrard and ask them to win you the
game. It will definitely have to be that way. The fans, the players, the staff,
everyone involved with this football club must begin to realise that the tide
has turned and we are not the biggest club in England anymore. We aren’t even
the biggest club in Manchester. Gone are the days were the two centre halves
are the best on the planet, gone are the days of a certain midfield quartet and
certainly gone are the days of lifting silverware after silverware. The quicker
the club realises this, the better.
