Right, I'll put my hand straight up here and admit that I was less-than-convinced when Louis van Gaal was initially mooted as being the favourite to get the manager's position at Manchester United. A behemoth of a manager no doubt, but could a 62-year-old manager who's never managed in England before genuinely motivate both himself and the team sufficiently in order to make up the ground we'd lost this season? Not to mention the fact that he's tied up with other commitments until at least the last week of June, and possibly even later should Holland progress at the World Cup finals. Throw in his penchant for falling out with everybody - including himself - at almost every club he's been to, this decision was a risky one from the off. However, anyone with even a passing interest in football could see the benefits of his appointment: disciplinarian, assertive, tactically-adept, passionate, oozing football intelligence, one of the most respected figures in the game - van Gaal has a lot going for him.
Now that he's finally been announced as our next manager, the next obvious step for fans is to see how he can influence our set-up and take us back to the pinnacle of both domestic and European football once again. van Gaal's philosophy is well-known now: winning the largest number of possible titles available whilst playing attractive football with the maximum number of players trained at the club. His footballing doctrine develops even further to demand that the team is more important than the individual and that the players have an obligation to meet and defend the ideas and demands of the club. To the supporters of Manchester United who are sceptical of van Gaal's appointment (I was initially one of them), this will be music to your ears. It's a philosophy that was founded in Ajax, developed in Barcelona but there's no doubting its pertinence to Manchester United either: it is 'The United Way'.
Whilst some of these ideologies are adhered to off the pitch, van Gaal's footballing system on the field of play has predominantly been a variation of a 2-3-2-3/5-2-3/4-1-2-3. Like everything with the Dutchman, every minor detail is finely tuned and each member of the system has specific roles which they must adhere to if they want to feature in his XI. The system is based on a set of positions, lines and triangles for perfect coverage of the pitch at different stages of the game. Players must always be in a position to receive the ball when in possession, and without the ball, players must apply pressure high up the pitch in order to force his opponent into relinquishing possession. Again, music to the ears of United fans who've championed our need for more assertive possession in games and also our need to press high up the pitch against opponents. (Rigorous training of this tactic on the training field should also enable our players to cope better with the pressing game of the opposition, an area which we've struggled immensely in recent years.)
Expectations and demands of the team as a whole are non-negotiable, but it's what van Gaal expects of each member of his team individually is what makes the system ultimately work. The formation is split into six segments: goalkeeper, centre-backs (x2), deep-lying playmaker, full/wing-backs (x2), central midfielders (x2), wide-attackers (x2), and centre-forward.
Goalkeeper:
Verdict: Sorted.
Centre-backs:
Verdict: van Gaal will definitely look to buy an experienced centre-back. Evans could well prosper under his tuition as he's an archetypal van Gaal CB with his technique, positioning, passing and movement. Smalling is another who van Gaal might develop beyond recognition. He has the majority of what van Gaal seeks, he just needs to be more commanding. Jones is one who's gone off the boil recently and it'll be interesting to see how he develops. His flexibility in recent years has hindered his progression.
Deep-lying playmaker:
Verdict: I can't see van Gaal being entirely content with the type of players already at United ready-made to take up this role. All have varying traits which suit the position, but I see van Gaal wanting a better quality option here. Fabregas remains a target.
Full/wing-backs:
Verdict: van Gaal may be quite content with his right-back options in Rafael and Varela (he would do well to remember to Rafael's ill-discipline which cost United against van Gaal's Bayern back in 2010, however) but he'll definitely be after a new left-back. Everyone expects Luke Shaw to arrive and he'd fit the bill perfectly. I'd expect Evra to move on and Buttner to stay as back-up (he may well play more than expected with Shaw being phased into the role).
Central midfielders:
Verdict: There's no denying the lack of depth in quality in this department. Apart from Mata and Kagawa, the others aren't good enough to propel us forward. Some have mooted Cleverley as one which van Gaal may develop but Tom hasn't progressed in three years now and time is running out. I'd expect van Gaal to improve this area of the field, most definitely. Kroos is one who would fit perfectly.
Wide-attacking midfielders:
Verdict: It's scarcely believable that, when you read through that list of players, barely any of them have set the world alight this past season. Januzaj obviously was the shining light (and Mata and Kagawa fleetingly) but the rest underwhelmed. I don't think too many tears would be shed if van Gaal decided to trim this area of his squad, starting with Young and Valencia.
Centre-forward:
Verdict: van Gaal will be delighted with this area of the squad. Two of the best strikers in Europe in van Persie and Rooney, a manager's delight in Welbeck, a ruthless finisher in Hernandez and a great youth prospect in Wilson. Macheda will be moved on in the summer and I'd expect Henriquez to get another loan move next season. Should Hernandez move along (he surely won't be happy playing 4th fiddle again this season), I wouldn't expect van Gaal to sign a top quality replacement.
All-in-all, van Gaal must be enthused with the squad at his disposal. Yes, Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world and one which every manager would consider managing, but van Gaal isn't a fool either. He wouldn't have taken the job unless he's convinced he can deliver trophies. The spine of the squad is still very strong and van Gaal will be excited by the prospect of introducing new youth products into the set-up, not to mention reinvigorating the careers of players such as Cleverley, Smalling and Jones.
In summary, I see the following as being the winners and losers in van Gaal's regime:
Winners:
Now that he's finally been announced as our next manager, the next obvious step for fans is to see how he can influence our set-up and take us back to the pinnacle of both domestic and European football once again. van Gaal's philosophy is well-known now: winning the largest number of possible titles available whilst playing attractive football with the maximum number of players trained at the club. His footballing doctrine develops even further to demand that the team is more important than the individual and that the players have an obligation to meet and defend the ideas and demands of the club. To the supporters of Manchester United who are sceptical of van Gaal's appointment (I was initially one of them), this will be music to your ears. It's a philosophy that was founded in Ajax, developed in Barcelona but there's no doubting its pertinence to Manchester United either: it is 'The United Way'.
Whilst some of these ideologies are adhered to off the pitch, van Gaal's footballing system on the field of play has predominantly been a variation of a 2-3-2-3/5-2-3/4-1-2-3. Like everything with the Dutchman, every minor detail is finely tuned and each member of the system has specific roles which they must adhere to if they want to feature in his XI. The system is based on a set of positions, lines and triangles for perfect coverage of the pitch at different stages of the game. Players must always be in a position to receive the ball when in possession, and without the ball, players must apply pressure high up the pitch in order to force his opponent into relinquishing possession. Again, music to the ears of United fans who've championed our need for more assertive possession in games and also our need to press high up the pitch against opponents. (Rigorous training of this tactic on the training field should also enable our players to cope better with the pressing game of the opposition, an area which we've struggled immensely in recent years.)
Expectations and demands of the team as a whole are non-negotiable, but it's what van Gaal expects of each member of his team individually is what makes the system ultimately work. The formation is split into six segments: goalkeeper, centre-backs (x2), deep-lying playmaker, full/wing-backs (x2), central midfielders (x2), wide-attackers (x2), and centre-forward.
Goalkeeper:
- retain possession of the ball
- conductor, leader and organiser
- avoids risk
- excellent technical ability (with feet)
- quick reactions
Verdict: Sorted.
Centre-backs:
- always in a position to receive the ball
- speed of thought with the ball; disciplined without the ball
- "killer mentality"
- conductor, leader and organiser
- aerially dominant
- agile
Verdict: van Gaal will definitely look to buy an experienced centre-back. Evans could well prosper under his tuition as he's an archetypal van Gaal CB with his technique, positioning, passing and movement. Smalling is another who van Gaal might develop beyond recognition. He has the majority of what van Gaal seeks, he just needs to be more commanding. Jones is one who's gone off the boil recently and it'll be interesting to see how he develops. His flexibility in recent years has hindered his progression.
Deep-lying playmaker:
- always in a position to receive the ball
- capacity to direction of the game
- conductor, leader and organiser
- passing accuracy - short, medium and long
- authoritative
- charismatic
- self-confident
- change of pace - ability to play in three different speeds
Verdict: I can't see van Gaal being entirely content with the type of players already at United ready-made to take up this role. All have varying traits which suit the position, but I see van Gaal wanting a better quality option here. Fabregas remains a target.
Full/wing-backs:
- always in a position to receive the ball
- game intelligence to know when to "go in"
- disciplined and responsible
- confident
- dynamic
- comfortable in attack and defence
Verdict: van Gaal may be quite content with his right-back options in Rafael and Varela (he would do well to remember to Rafael's ill-discipline which cost United against van Gaal's Bayern back in 2010, however) but he'll definitely be after a new left-back. Everyone expects Luke Shaw to arrive and he'd fit the bill perfectly. I'd expect Evra to move on and Buttner to stay as back-up (he may well play more than expected with Shaw being phased into the role).
Central midfielders:
- always in a position to receive the ball
- exploit the space created by teammates
- assertive in attack and defence
- disciplined and responsible
- technically proficient
- passing accuracy - short, medium and long
- excellent dribbling skills
- change of pace
- goalscorers
Verdict: There's no denying the lack of depth in quality in this department. Apart from Mata and Kagawa, the others aren't good enough to propel us forward. Some have mooted Cleverley as one which van Gaal may develop but Tom hasn't progressed in three years now and time is running out. I'd expect van Gaal to improve this area of the field, most definitely. Kroos is one who would fit perfectly.
Wide-attacking midfielders:
- always in a position to receive the ball
- acumen to close spaces as a team
- press high, force mistakes, reclaim possession
- make the pitch as wide and deep as possible
- create chances - accurate crossing
- excellent dribbling skills
- change of pace
- goalscorers
Verdict: It's scarcely believable that, when you read through that list of players, barely any of them have set the world alight this past season. Januzaj obviously was the shining light (and Mata and Kagawa fleetingly) but the rest underwhelmed. I don't think too many tears would be shed if van Gaal decided to trim this area of his squad, starting with Young and Valencia.
Centre-forward:
- retain possession
- create chances
- acumen to press high up the pitch
- "killer mentality"
- disciplined and responsible
- high work-rate
- aerial prowess
- right and left-foot finisher
- change of pace - ability to play at three different speeds
- dominant in personal duels
- technically excellent
Verdict: van Gaal will be delighted with this area of the squad. Two of the best strikers in Europe in van Persie and Rooney, a manager's delight in Welbeck, a ruthless finisher in Hernandez and a great youth prospect in Wilson. Macheda will be moved on in the summer and I'd expect Henriquez to get another loan move next season. Should Hernandez move along (he surely won't be happy playing 4th fiddle again this season), I wouldn't expect van Gaal to sign a top quality replacement.
All-in-all, van Gaal must be enthused with the squad at his disposal. Yes, Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world and one which every manager would consider managing, but van Gaal isn't a fool either. He wouldn't have taken the job unless he's convinced he can deliver trophies. The spine of the squad is still very strong and van Gaal will be excited by the prospect of introducing new youth products into the set-up, not to mention reinvigorating the careers of players such as Cleverley, Smalling and Jones.
In summary, I see the following as being the winners and losers in van Gaal's regime:
Winners:
- Evans
- Kagawa
- Mata
- van Persie
- Evra
- Carrick
- Fletcher
- Fellaini
- Young
- Valencia
- Hernandez
- Varela
- Cleverley
- Powell
- Lawrence
- Bebe
- Zaha
- Wilson
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