It has been a pretty seismic few weeks at Manchester United.
The last fortnight has brought with it a serious change in playing
personnel as boss Louis van Gaal begins the long road to restoring the
club to its former glories.
That came to a head on transfer
deadline day as the club saw seven players leave in the final 24 hours,
with a further two arriving as the Red Devils’ summer spending smashed
through the £150m barrier.
The big question Van Gaal faces now is how to shoehorn all of these stars into his first XI. Following his own arrival just weeks before the start of the new season, Van Gaal quickly went about changing United’s familiar playing system, introducing a modified 3-5-2 system.
Despite United’s mass recruitment policy, there is every suggestion that the Dutchman will stay true to this style, but with new players have come further options.
United’s next fixture is at home to Queens Park Rangers – another side that have experimented with a drastic change in system – but just how will Van Gaal’s men line-up when the two meet at Old Trafford in 11 days’ time?
3-5-2
The formation that worked so well for Van Gaal during the World Cup with the Netherlands, it seems unlikely that he will scrap this system after just three Premier League games. While is has exposed just how frail United’s backline really is, it is arguably the ideal system with which to field all of his stars, as can be seen below.
Should Van Gaal stick with this set-up, then this is the likeliest XI he would play against QPR. Daley Blind has proven at both domestic and international level that he excels in a defensive midfield position, so his inclusion in a similar role here would provide Ander Herrera with a foil, allowing the latter to go forward.
The main casualty to this particular XI is Juan Mata. The Spaniard has arguably been one of United’s better performers in the early stages of this season and is tied with Wayne Rooney as top scorer with one goal. However, with Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie seemingly undroppable and Rooney the club’s new captain, there appear to be few options for the former Chelsea man.
4-1-3-2
It was perhaps a little surprising that United didn’t make a more concerted effort to bolster their defence during the transfer window, given its apparent frailties in the opening three Premier League games.
With the jury still out on whether Van Gaa's current crop of defensive talent is capable of playing in a system that is still quite alien to them, there is every chance that he will switch to a formation that compensates on that issue, without hindering his attack.
One such result could be a 4-1-3-2 formation that makes use of a single midfield pivot. With Blind operating in such a role at Ajax, it is likely that should Van Gaal’s men line up like this, then the Netherlands’ star will be deployed in this position.
It would also allow for all five of United’s attacking threats to be fielded at once, although in this instance it means that Mata is forced to an unfavoured wide role.
4-4-2 (diamond)
A third option – although not totally different from the formation mentioned above – is a 4-4-2 diamond.
If Van Gaal was to revert to a simpler system, this is perhaps the one he is most likely to use, as it once again allows him to field each of his attacking threats, while also ensuring that there is no room for confusion in his ranks.
The main aspect of this line-up is to offer the ‘free role’ that Rooney clearly seems to crave – irrespective of whether he is effective in it. As has largely been seen over the past two years, the Rooney-Van Persie partnership does not click as much as United would have hoped, so the solution is to offer the club’s new captain a role that allows him to come deeper should he choose, without detracting from his strengths in the final third.
The big question Van Gaal faces now is how to shoehorn all of these stars into his first XI. Following his own arrival just weeks before the start of the new season, Van Gaal quickly went about changing United’s familiar playing system, introducing a modified 3-5-2 system.
Despite United’s mass recruitment policy, there is every suggestion that the Dutchman will stay true to this style, but with new players have come further options.
United’s next fixture is at home to Queens Park Rangers – another side that have experimented with a drastic change in system – but just how will Van Gaal’s men line-up when the two meet at Old Trafford in 11 days’ time?
3-5-2
The formation that worked so well for Van Gaal during the World Cup with the Netherlands, it seems unlikely that he will scrap this system after just three Premier League games. While is has exposed just how frail United’s backline really is, it is arguably the ideal system with which to field all of his stars, as can be seen below.
Should Van Gaal stick with this set-up, then this is the likeliest XI he would play against QPR. Daley Blind has proven at both domestic and international level that he excels in a defensive midfield position, so his inclusion in a similar role here would provide Ander Herrera with a foil, allowing the latter to go forward.
The main casualty to this particular XI is Juan Mata. The Spaniard has arguably been one of United’s better performers in the early stages of this season and is tied with Wayne Rooney as top scorer with one goal. However, with Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie seemingly undroppable and Rooney the club’s new captain, there appear to be few options for the former Chelsea man.
4-1-3-2
It was perhaps a little surprising that United didn’t make a more concerted effort to bolster their defence during the transfer window, given its apparent frailties in the opening three Premier League games.
With the jury still out on whether Van Gaa's current crop of defensive talent is capable of playing in a system that is still quite alien to them, there is every chance that he will switch to a formation that compensates on that issue, without hindering his attack.
One such result could be a 4-1-3-2 formation that makes use of a single midfield pivot. With Blind operating in such a role at Ajax, it is likely that should Van Gaal’s men line up like this, then the Netherlands’ star will be deployed in this position.
It would also allow for all five of United’s attacking threats to be fielded at once, although in this instance it means that Mata is forced to an unfavoured wide role.
4-4-2 (diamond)
A third option – although not totally different from the formation mentioned above – is a 4-4-2 diamond.
If Van Gaal was to revert to a simpler system, this is perhaps the one he is most likely to use, as it once again allows him to field each of his attacking threats, while also ensuring that there is no room for confusion in his ranks.
The main aspect of this line-up is to offer the ‘free role’ that Rooney clearly seems to crave – irrespective of whether he is effective in it. As has largely been seen over the past two years, the Rooney-Van Persie partnership does not click as much as United would have hoped, so the solution is to offer the club’s new captain a role that allows him to come deeper should he choose, without detracting from his strengths in the final third.
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