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Give Louis Van Gaal until Christmas 2015
I took Mrs Beast to Rome yesterday and unfortunately missed the game, (it is the last time she books the flights!). I did manage to watch the 30 secs we were on MOTD though, pointless. However all your posts have been helpful and I think Burnley was just Swansea part 4 from what I can tell, with a bit of spice thrown in by ADM. So no real change.
I've done the LVG thing to death, so if the club are going to back him and we are all loyal supporters then we need to pray his plan works and it's time to grit our teeth and be patient because we have no other logical option. He needs at least until Christmas 2015 for me, (as Moyes deserved at least until Xmas this year).
We have been treated to 20 years or so of top class displays on the whole, the past 3-4 years have seen a sharp decline in our performances and the entertainment has dipped markedly. We have to remember even the 2012/13 league winning campaign was not good football, it was mainly down to RVP having 4-5 months of inspired finishing and the team trading off the fear factor their predecessors had amassed. This has all diminished now, clubs expect to draw or beat Man Utd not survive a hammering, it's a level playing field and as such our performances are at rock bottom.
There are many ways to skin a cat and LVG is going about it in the most brutal way possible, no anaesthetic, and a rusty old blade. If this is what is needed then fair enough 5-3-2 is here to stay (it won't be 3-5-2 until the wing backs know what they are doing). Let's face it we have no choice but to trust and back the manager and if the club are prepared to do it with record expenditure and tolerance of such poor performances it must be a good ultimate strategy and I'm looking forward to sitting on the edge of my seat again one day.
We have a lot of players to come back and it will take the new signings time to settle and also time to adjust to his system so realistically it will be a few months before we see any improvement in our play. That said I think the manager needs to be bold here, we can't just lose or draw games we should be winning, the league is all we have to play for, so games need to be won whilst we transition. I would do 3 things for the next couple of games which I am confident will not be popular, however we will win those 3 games if we do it imo, (this is not a long term strategy it is just until the system is adapted to by our midfield and defenders):
RVP - Drop him for Welbeck (sorry GCU). RVP had 5 months of class, then after Christmas of his first season his performances dropped to where they are roughly today. He has moments of brilliance but he is not quick enough, injury prone and offers too little, he is very much like a Hernandez with touch - he can't keep onside anymore either. Welbeck will stretch teams, he hasn't been given a good run in his best position and RVP has been poor for quite a while now, injuries or not. Even the World Cup showed RVP up as offering very little, aside from Spain game with his header it was a pretty underwhelming display from him in Brazil. RVP is playing because of his reputation, yes he gets poor service, but you need to create some chances yourself as the main striker. If you can't and we don't have the players to serve then an alternative needs to be used. Welbeck has many faults, but he is a pain, quick, and would work well with my two other decisions below.
Rooney - I have slated Rooney enough, more and more people are coming round to my way of thinking with him, the three most important people in recent years haven't though and we are suffering as a result (Moyes, LVG & Hodgson). Making him captain for Utd & England for me borders on insanity. He has done absolutely nothing to merit that honour. His performances at the start of last season were better, but to the detriment of the team imo - most of his goals were freekicks or penalties and we could have signed Baines for those! You need more from a key position, since being made captain his performances have become even worse which frankly I didn't think was possible from a player of his ability. Time to give Januzaj a run in his place, he will bring movement, retain the ball, needs games to develop and most importantly will link up better with the team.
Mata - Never should have signed him, he can't run and barely creates, he is a luxury we can ill afford. He may be starved of service but players in his role are typically busy and a sponge for the ball, he hides and can't break free to get the space he needs. The best alternative for me is Fellaini, he needs to come in for several reasons. He will be an outlet for our CB's when they have no short option, at the minute we just turnover possession with our aimless punts forward, whilst the CB's learn their role at least Fellaini would be an outlet. Fellaini deserves a chance in his best position, Mata has had many and delivered a nominal amount, just the presence of Fellaini will give the opposition something to think about, it will free up space for ADM and Januzaj, it will allow our quicker players to work off the scrambles around him and we will create shed loads of chances. Not to mention when our wing backs do cross the ball we will have somebody that can win a header or create space for our better footballers, its too easy to defend against us currently he changes that (although not ideal long term as it is negative football, the performances can't be worse so why not).
We can't have it both ways with these 3 star players, on their days they are top class, but those days are few and far between. Bringing in the 3 alternatives I suggest may seem odd/crazy to many of you, but I would put everything I own on us scoring more goals and creating more chances if we swapped them over.
IF LVG is sticking with this formation the football is going to be painful to watch for a while to come, so we may as well be winning as we do it. RVP doesn't have long left in his career, Rooney has been given far too many chances, its kind of like we are rewarding failure with him, Mata just isn't mobile enough for this formation. We all complain about how slow we are, but if our 3 main men going forward are as slow and prone to ineffective displays as these 3 then this is what we get. The service is bad, but so what, those 3 players should be making things happen between them and they simply don't.
Now I know a lot of you may love all 3 or at least one of the 3, but we should try something different, we should give players a fair chance, those that have pace and presence (Fellaini), that can pull the opponents into places they don't want to be, or attract 2 players instead of allowing them to be marked out of games with one man.
The likes of Welbeck & Fellaini are not ideal Man Utd players, but this isn't an ideal time for Man Utd - we need to give them a chance especially as Rooney, RVP & Mata seem to be doing very little. There are many aspects of the game we need to improve, I don't for one minute think LVG will do this, but we are missing a trick here whilst the squad adapts to the new system, we will win whilst learning and create chances, instead we look devoid of anything. Injuries etc, I understand, but give Januzaj, Welbeck & Fellaini a chance and we will win the games we are currently drawing.
P.S - It will be tempting to destroy certain parts of my post in isolation and I can play devil's advocate myself, the point is we all see a major problem with our displays, the only way that changes is the players in the system, because the system won't change and even when our injuries clear up we still lack pace and effect in those 3 key positions. Also to those of you that keep telling me to go and support someone else, jog on, I couldn't be more passionate about our team and want us to succeed. I want each and every player to do what they are paid to do, but the sad fact is they are not doing it and it is only right they receive criticism as we are not slow in giving praise when it's due. If we get it right in the final third it will spread confidence throughout the whole team, the midfield and defence will adapt to their roles much quicker if they have movement and options ahead of them.
Cheers for reading guys.
The Beast
31 August 2014
I agree with some of your assertions but not your solutions. We lack pace all over the park. The formation appears not to be working. Many players are not playing well. I struggle to see how we play RVP' Rooney, Mata, and ADm in the same side.
However, when you suggest swapping mata for Fellaini I have to disagree. If we resort to lumping it up to the big man there Weill be a riot. I agree on Rooney, my views have been well documented. RVP is another thing though. He is not fit, hasn't been for a while and it shows. Why fit, I think he is still1 of the best strikers around
My own solutions are more to do with the players. We need Shaw and Rafael as full backs / wing backs. I would play 4-1-3-2. I would ask the fullbacks to bomb forward and have the sitting midfielder protect, almost as. 3rd CB. I think with traditional CBs, the ones we have would start playing better in a systems they are used to. Not sure who can sit, I still rate Carrick to do that and also bring the ball out of defence. In terms off a middle 3, Herrera, Januzaj plus 1 and up front, I would have RVP and ADM. Alternatively, ADM can be 1 of the middle 3 with Rooney or Januzaj joining RVP up top. I don't see where Mata fits in and the still leaves us short in midfield and we still have work to replacing players in the next few windows.
So, full backs providing overlaps and more width, a sitting midfielder, 3 across the middle who have pace and urgency and 2 up front.
31 August 2014
If I was to drop any striker it wouldn't be RvP. He's by far our best striker. Play Rooney where he plays best, in the hole. Partner Welbeck with Van Persie or sell Welbeck and bring in a top striker.
31 August 2014
I think your right in saying the individual points you make would be easy to slate, BUT... the problems you have raised are bang on. The lack of pace and movement up front certainly is a problem and with welbs and januzaj your right in saying this could correct this (i will throw in wilson as another option ).
And with big wig it does give us a genuine outlet for the lads at the back when they are knocking those balls up from the back.
So i for one wouldnt dismiss your ideas outright.
And you shouldnt be made out to be less of a fan for pointing out the things you dislike at present.
Thanks for the post bud. It was an interesting read