He singled out Pereira for phrase though. Said he was the "only good thing" about our second half performance.
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I thought he would actually shuffle the teams about as we don't know if Bastian can play with Carrick or Morgan can link with Herrera. Bastian and Herrera are having to try and link up with players who might not even play next season. Wilson looks hopeless, Adnan is not progressing. Perreira looks the business though. The defence was all over the place which then doesn't make Smalling look good. I know which team their talents would look better in. Will be interesting to see how the team cope with Barcelona. I fear for some of them.
I think the defence only looked bad because everything in front of them was disjointed. Schweini (I'm getting tired of typing it out in full) and Herrera didn't complement each other too well today and because we had less control of the game they were exposed a bit more. I can only remember attacking contributions from McNair. I thought Evans played well. I agree with you about trying different midfield combinations though. Hopefully he will mix it up in the next two games because he hasn't got any more games to try things out before the season starts. Is this the fewest games we've ever played in preseason? As for Adnan I think he is suppressing his natural instincts a tad which is taking away the excitement.
The fact he isn't mixing it up is a worry for me. I think Bastian is cover for Carrick and Ander would link better with Morgan. LvG thinks it is better we only play 4 games in pre-season, the amount of experimenting he needs to do with this squad to get us up and running straight away is immense. These 4 games might not be enough. Di Maria, Rojo are coming back, is he going to chuck them straight in or is it going to take ages for them to play and get as he says match rhythm?
Best combo would maybe be Schweini or Carrick, Morgan and Herrera.
He tried Carrick and Morgan and then Scweini and Herrera which is not too bad cause Herrera is a CM. IDeally he would play as a nr. 10. But he still has 2 more games to see which combo is the best in midfield. Cant remember which midfield combinations we had vs America.
He tried Carrick and Morgan and then Scweini and Herrera which is not too bad cause Herrera is a CM. IDeally he would play as a nr. 10. But he still has 2 more games to see which combo is the best in midfield. Cant remember which midfield combinations we had vs America.
This quote from the post-match presser sums up why I think Van Gaal has his doubts about Hererra:
"It was a threat always and that was not necessary. Our positions in midfield was not so good as in the first half."
"It was a threat always and that was not necessary. Our positions in midfield was not so good as in the first half."
I personally don't feel Ander is at his best in a midfield two. I don't think its surprising that most of his best football came for United on the right hand side of a midfield three. That, to me, is where he excels. He's not a number 10, he's not a number 6, he is a box to box midfielder. Herrera can play as part of a double pivot but you lose a lot of his attacking impetus using him in that way. I'm not certain if Herrera is as good in a midfield two as Carrick, Schweinsteiger or Schneiderlin. Van Gaal's apparent departure from 4-3-3 in favour of 4-2-3-1 will likely result on Herrera returning to the subs bench this season.
I'm just going by what I've seen other posting, but apparently he directly came out and said Schweinsteiger played bad today, but didn't say anything negative personally about Herrera?
Well in 4-2-3-1 you usually have a player who has a bit more defensive work and a CM who tends to go a bit forward and in this case Herrera would be that CM. He doesnt need to play as a part of double pivot. in 4-3-3 he basically played a CM too.
That's correct. He didn't name Hererra. Although he only named Schweinstieger in response to a question about his individual performance.
Herrera needs to do much more defensive work in a 4-2-3-1 than he does in a 4-3-3. In a 4-3-3 if the right handed centre midfielder advances to form a triangle with the right back and right winger, the left handed centre midfielder can come across to support the anchoring midfielder to prevent our midfield being overrun. It allows both the left and right handed midfielder more freedom to get forward, depending on where the play is. In a 4-2-3-1, the '2' centre midfielders act as the cover for the #10. Whereas in 4-3-3 the two box to box midfielders share attacking duties and also help out in defence, in a 4-2-3-1 the #10 has virtually no defensive duties and that means the two behind him have to be far more disciplined. Herrera can play that role but its not his best role, and its very questionable if he's as good at it as Carrick, Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin.
4-2-3-1 can easily be transformed in 4-3-3. As in 4-3-3 in 4-2-3-1 you have wingers too whom can Herrera help in attack and form triangles while one player, nr. 6, stays a bit behind to cover or to be free for the ball.
As you said it yourself in 4-3-3 he'd have some defensive duties too.
I disagree that a #10 in a 4-2-3-1 would have no defensive duties. Especially if Van Gaal employed 4-2-3-1, who instructs the team to be as compact as possible when not in possession. Players roles play a much bigger part than formations. If Van Gaal lined the same 11 players up with either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, I would predict the instructions of each player would be the same in each formation. Especially as he seems to favour a defensive midfielder, box to box, and an attacking midfield in his 3 man midfield anyway, so his 4-3-3 is very much a 4-2-3-1 anyway, and more of a 4-5-1 when not in possession.
Depay has done virtually no defending as a #10, he's like a shadow striker. Likewise Perriera and Januzaj in that position.
All I heard was: "The only highlight was the goal from Pereira". I.e. nothing about any of the general performances being good.
I always said there is something about him that van Gaal doesnt like. I still maintain the fact he will be in and out of the team throughout the season. He is a caf favourite, but i think that he isnt perfectly suited to the way van Gaal wants his midfielders to play.
I may be wrong but I predict that will change when we are up against tougher opposition than Club America and San Jose Earthquakes.
The formation in the last two games looked more like 4-4-2 to me, with how close Memphis and Rooney were playing together. It would get torn apart by the better PL sides. I'd be surprised if Van Gaal persists with it into the season.
Not that again, LVG said he wanted Herrera to adjust his game, he did it and was a regular started in the 2nd half of the season.
This.
He name-checked Pereira twice. The first was the quote you mention there but he also referred to him when he was asked about Schweinsteiger's performance:
"
If someone ask specifically about a certain player then he has to give an answer. Perreira has been good in both games and has scored. He will praise him. Somebody should ask why the man who is supposedly going to be our main striker hasn't scored. Hopefully he will be doing that once the season starts.
what is LVG trying to get at, it f###### makes no sense. Bastian is not a DM, Herrera is not an DM they are both CM who can get forward with the ball. Carrick and Morgan are DM. pair 1 of each and you have the balance hes looking for. Herrera is not to blame, LVG is. understand the abilities of your player and put them in positions that compliment them and that will get the best out of their abilities. i can not believe LVG is having a go at Herrera again, the best midfielder we have had in years and hes shitting on him, he must be more of a muppet than caftards just because hes got shiny new toys. Carrick and Herrera partnership has been far better than the shower of shite midfield that has been served up so far in preseason. sort yourself out and the positioning of the players, Depay, Blind etc
edit: a bit ott oh well, were getting mauled against barca
Pre-season means absolute feck all, both individual player and team performance wise. You only have to look at our performances last summer to see that they translated into nothing, when the season started.
I agree, I have mentioned that before. In that case he shouldn't be so damn critical. It's about getting players fit. I wish he would switch the teams round a bit. I am not sure he will learn much from these lineup, keep to the formation that started working last season. It will be interesting what he does in the last two games.
I think he wants to set out two balanced teams with enough quality in each halves. If we decided to play 4-3-3, with Herrera playing the first half, then the second half team would be significantly weakened, and it wouldn't be fair on the entire half eleven. Playing the 4-4-2 allows him to evenly spread the quality a 4-3-3 doesn't.
Being critical is important, otherwise the players might assume they're playing well, given we've won two out of two.
A bit?
Van Gaal obviously has his doubts about Herrera, otherwise he wouldn't have gone through a period of time when he was barely used last season and we prefered Rooney in midfield to him. However he gave him a fair chance towards the end of season and I'd like to think that he can see that Herrera took it and impressed. I don't think he hates him to the extent where he wouldn't be keen on giving him a proper chance next season. With the selection we have in midfield he will obviously have to fight for his place, everyone will, but he is well capable of making himself a permanent fixture in the side.
Problem is he hasn't been setting two teams where the quality is balanced. The first half team is loaded. Then Smalling, Bastian and Herrera have had to carry the 2nd half team. The first game they did. Yesterday Perreira showed what a talent he is, but the rest of the kids a mile off being in the first team. He should have mixed it up a bit more. He has to pick near full teams for the next two games. This is why I am worried about only 4 pre-season games.
How on earth are people using pre-season fitness workouts to conclude Van Gaal still doesn't like Herrera?
Hopefully. Although the closing fixtures, without Carrick in the team, left a bit of a bad taste. I haven't watched the pre-season games but here's hoping Hererra has done enough to wipe those games from Van Gaal's mind.
Of course they need criticising. Maybe he was getting at some of the kids not grabbing their opportunities. Who knows what the logic with LvG is. Not sure he know himself sometimes.
God only knows. All that matters is that they get fit. I just wish he had changed the teams round a bit. Picking them like this is might just put in some of the kids heads that they don't matter and they are definitely just the second string.
Mainly because he was so harsh about our second half performance.
Although it's also fairly obvious we've been playing an A (first half) and B (second half) team in both the games so far, with Hererra playing for the second string. So there's that.
You think his 3rd captain is someone he considers part of the B team?
Yes. So long as he sticks with this silliness of playing a left-footed CB in every game anyway.
There's no doubt that the first half team is his perceived best XI, surely? Isn't that obvious? Fairly sure he's said as much too.
Seeing as Blind played ahead of Smalling and Schweinsteiger was on the "second string", I'm not entirely sure.
Only on paper. It isn't as great as you'd think when you factor in different aspects such as age, experience, position etc. It has three new signings, all of whom are still quite relatively young. Blind is playing in a position he's never played for us. Carrick is coming off a long lay off, and Rooney seems to be severely out of form.
I think you worrying a bit too much. Pre-season, like you've said, is an opportunity for our players to gain match fitness, and not a lot more. The quality of the opposition is so poor that you'll never truly be able to determine much from player/team performances. If we're expecting to learn much more from these games, then we're clueless. Other than gaining match fitness, pre-season allows the youngsters to mix in with first teamers, and allows new signings to learn a bit about their new team.
Last season was enough proof that he prefers a left footer on the left and not that he always will play one there.
How's there no doubt? I think it's about balance. He doesn't want to play 2 new CMs at once and wants to combine a less mobile CM with a very mobile one. Hence the Carrick schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger Herrera pairing.
If he's said the 1st half team is his main 11, I've missed it. You have a link?
Bitterly disappointed for Chris Smalling in that case.
I don't think he sees Schweinsteiger starting games for a little while yet. I suspect he'll use him cautiously enough until he's a bit more acclimatised to the league.
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