Three mistakes in Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal's philosophy
Manchester United are hardly in a crisis. Even after the loss against Southampton they sit pretty at 4th position, having survived the festive period and maintaining an 11-match unbeaten run. Surely there is no need to panic for Louis van Gaal’s army.However, fans have expressed their criticism on their play against the Saints as they failed to register a single shot on target for the first time since 2009 against Arsenal. It is not the loss that disturbs the fans but the manner of it. There is no shortage of quality but certainly there is a lack of quantity. Which is why the crisis seems ever so worrying. Playing at Old Trafford where they have lost only once since the start of the season, they should have made hay of Southampton’s defenders. They could not break a compact Soton defence and paid their price.Van Gaal in his post match interview said that United dominated the game but did not create much and that they scored a goal which was very disappointing. We can say that United dominated the possession, but chances were far from satisfactory for a team that possesses such attacking threat. Saints did not create much either and scored with the only shot on target in the match.Having said that it never was a see-saw battle between these two teams. It never looked like a top 4 clash – devoid of counter attacks, creativity and more importantly intensity. When we match Louis van Gaal and David Moyes, there is a hugeShared. Van Gaal is a proven manager, winning trophies at the highest level while David Moyes wasn’t.Moyes had the same number of points, 37 after 21 games last season yet there is no talk of sacking Van Gaal. The difference is Van Gaal talks a great game, instills belief and his trophy haul gives the fans hope of something special. He will keep his job for at least a couple of years no doubt but after 6 months with the club, here are some of the mistakes that the Dutch master has committed:
#1 The 3-5-2 Conundrum
After the draw against Burnley at Turf Moor, Van Gaal shunned the 3-5-2 formation which never looked like working with a team who have been accustomed to playing 4-4-2. After a run of 11 undefeated matches, Van Gaal has returned to his beloved formation and the problems have creeped in slowly.
Natural wingers taking on full backs is a lost art now. More often than not it’s full backs versus full backs. Manchester City play with full backs who maraud opponents defences and provide support to their attacking players. Even Chelsea and Southampton do it. In today’s world, players on the flanks regularly cut inside and provide more creativity to the team rather than delivering crosses and taking on defenders (take the case of David Silva).
The fullbacks spend more time on the opponent's half than their own as it seems as if they have taken over the jobs of wingers. Manchester United have seen some of the game's finest wingers in George Best, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Nani etc. who have thrived and excelled in a 4-4-2 formation and with Angel Di Maria they still posses one world class winger at their disposal. 3-5-2 deploys natural wingers Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young as wing backs and they have to do a lot of work defending down the flanks which takes a lot out of them.
But the most important fault in this system is that it leaves too much space behind the wing backs exposing the central defenders. Yes, we can blame United’s injuries or lack of quality defenders but you can bring any world class defender from any club, and there is a high chance that they will still suffer with three central defenders.
The cohesion lacks and offside trap fails more often than it is supposed to. In the match against West Brom, Rafael while attacking a long ball left space behind him for Andre Wisdom to run into that space and pull back the ball for Stephan Sessegnon who provided a perfect first time finish. This is one instance, but we have seen many such cases this season for United.
The English Premier League is very pacey, quick and attractive. With 3 at the back, United are very susceptible to fast fullbacks especially against stronger teams. They have suffered against teams who like to pass it quick and slick and can unlock their defence with utmost ease.
Reverting back to 4 defenders at the back will help the central defenders and offer more stability to the team. Van Gaal is an experienced campaigner though and will understand the situation but if his arrogance persists, United will suffer no matter what.