As the van Gaal restoration project rolls on into its second year, there remains an unnerving sense that the club, manager and playing staff are yet to get on the same page. United’s frantic deadline day and their unrealistic pursuits of some of Europe’s best players are further evidence of this.
Not to be perturbed by their desperate and ultimately failed signings of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao, United once again tried to lure the continent’s brightest talent to Old Trafford. Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, even Neymar and Ronaldo were all linked to the club over the summer. The misplaced obsession with star power was always unlikely to reap real dividends. This lesson should have been taken on board last summer as the best signings last season were the energetic Ander Herrera and the versatile Daley Blind, neither of whom arrived amid much fanfare.
Early on it appeared they had learned from previous mistakes and their transfer activity started brightly. Memphis Depay has all the trappings of an exceptional young winger. Matteo Darmian has slotted seamlessly into right-back and is arguably United’s best player of the season so far, while Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin look to be very useful this season and beyond. The final question remaining was how the David De Gea situation would be resolved.
If United’s grand plan was to force Madrid into overpaying for De Gea or forcing them to jettison Bale in some kind of swap, then that was incredibly misguided. For all of Bale’s troubles at the Bernabeu it was incredibly unlikely Madrid could be strong-armed into a deal they did not want to make, for a player that wants to leave United and will do so for free next summer, or at a heavy discount in January. Regardless of who was at fault for the final collapse, United should have seen the writing on the wall and moved on. This whole saga should not have made it to deadline day in the first place.
But the De Gea storyline was not the only questionable move. The decision to sell Javier Hernandez may have been obvious to anyone who had watched the Mexican play for the past two seasons, but the timing of the deal could not have been worse. In his short time as manager van Gaal has sold or released Danny Welbeck, Falcao, Van Persie and Hernandez. Leaving only Wayne Rooney and the expensive, but unproven French youngster Anthony Martial as the squad’s only genuine strikers. One potential option in Adnan Januzaj was loaned out to Dortmund. Apparently a handful of appearances was enough for van Gaal to realise his talents were surplus to requirements.
The random movement of players and shifts in formation is telling because it seems that either the manager or the United boardroom are not entirely sure of the blueprint going forward, which means the team is in the dark as well.
The 4-3-3 that was used to great effect at the end of last season has ostensibly been thrown out. So far this season the three man comination of Herrera, Carrick and Marouane Fellaini has been replaced by a two man shield in Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger/Carrick, with the extra man pushing forward into a more traditional No.10 role behind the striker. On the surface this is fine. Teams have to adjust and adapt their tactics to the personnel.
The problem is that now that Januzaj is gone, the squad’s natural No.10s are Rooney (who is desperately needed up front) and Juan Mata, whose move out to the right-flank made sense last season, but seems a poor fit in this scheme. If the plan was to move to a 4-2-3-1, then it beggars belief that Mata was not considered for the position, given that is exactly where he excelled during his time at Chelsea.
With Memphis, Januzaj and Herrera all getting a crack at the role before Mata, it appears that van Gaal’s preference is for the Spaniard to remain out on the right. Surely it would have made more sense to push the deal for Pedro before Chelsea’s interest grew too strong, with the plan of a setup with the former Barca star on the right, Mata centrally and either Memphis, Januzaj or Ashley Young competing for the spot on the left?
The other (and more sensible) option may have been to have built on last year’s 4-3-3. The problem with this is that neither Schneiderlin nor Schweinsteiger have the physical and aerial ability of Fellaini in and around the 18-yard box, nor the creativity of Herrera in the final third. Both new arrivals fit more naturally into the deeper lying role occupied by Carrick, leaving United with three very talented players to fill one position, whilst the less talented Fellaini earns selection due to his ability to support Rooney up front.
On paper, the Red Devils have the look of a side with a bunch of super talented square pegs for a round hole system. To make matters worse, their superstar goalkeeper wants out of the club and has been deemed “mentally unfit” to play. It is far from a crisis, but a disturbing situation nonetheless.
So where to from here? After three goals (one an own-goal and one a deflection) in four games, it is clear something needs to give. One easy move would be to switch Mata centrally, in behind Rooney. Running the attack through the Spaniard could be an easy solution to some of United’s woes, including Rooney’s isolation up front. Mata’s move would free up the right-wing position for someone like Young, or even the exciting Andreas Pereira.
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The next problem is what to do about the deep lying holding-midfielders. Playing a solid defensive shield makes sense against the league’s best teams and toughest away trips. But showing that kind of respect to Aston Villa, Swansea and Newcastle seems unnecessary and overly cautious. Playing Herrera as the more advanced of two screeners would allow United to be more assertive in possession and allow his excellent understanding with Mata to bloom. If that is the case then van Gaal will have Carrick, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger still competing for one spot, which seems to have been a key driver in switching from last year’s 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1, seemingly bringing us back to square one.
At the risk of over complicating things, it might be time for van Gaal to give his players some more freedom and just let them go about their business. United are not short of talent going forward, perhaps the best way to harness that is to give the side the freedom and confidence to play their own way. If this happens, then maybe the chaotic activity in the transfer window will begin to start paying dividends.
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