Have to question those substitutions, was Herrera not doing the job required? Was Shaw injured again?
Louis van Gaal's tactics
- Thread starter NL Max
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Herrera was booked and Carrick is better defensively. The first half was enjoyable but not what van Gaal wants, he likes control over the match. We gave away too many chances.
Shaw must be injured or felt something, he just came back and van Gaal doesn't like Smalling as a LCB. You could see why he doesn't like this, so that was probably forced.
Januzaj for Rojo made sense. Rojo was also booked and we were chasing the game.
Shaw must be injured or felt something, he just came back and van Gaal doesn't like Smalling as a LCB. You could see why he doesn't like this, so that was probably forced.
Januzaj for Rojo made sense. Rojo was also booked and we were chasing the game.
He has tactics?
Really good post and I thought this when he was talking about balance etc but you've put it perfectly. It actually fills me with a bit of confidence.
But as one journalist wrote I think a lot of our problems this season has came because he doesn't trust the defence.
It's one of the reasons why I still want him here next season because I think he has a plan and doesn't just freestyle things. With Moyes I don't think he had a plan at all. It all seemed a bit 'kamikaze'.
Here's to hoping we qualify for Champions League because I'm sure we'll be much better next season.
But as one journalist wrote I think a lot of our problems this season has came because he doesn't trust the defence.
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It's one of the reasons why I still want him here next season because I think he has a plan and doesn't just freestyle things. With Moyes I don't think he had a plan at all. It all seemed a bit 'kamikaze'.
Here's to hoping we qualify for Champions League because I'm sure we'll be much better next season.
Interesting post but that doesn't fill me with confidence going forward with LvG, kind of the opposite effect for me actually 
It all seems too robotic.
Good post though NL Max.
It all seems too robotic.Good post though NL Max.
Thank goodness for RvP's injury, we now have stumbled into our most efficient configuration, namely speaking the ONE striker up front!
Great post and you are right that he explained a lot of this already but it is still very helpful insight. I think part of his problem is the British mentality. Fans, people, pundits, and by extension players in Britain are not used to think that much about football. This is not because they are stupid but it simply is not the preference. The chaos, drama and emotional instinctive playing style is the preferred approach and I include Fergie in that. I admittedly loved it and my favorite side is still that United '99 team but I also acknowledge that this very same approach is the reason we did not, nor any other British team for that matter, produced a true all conquering side on a European level over the past 20 years. Every time a team from these shores do well in Europe is usually because they defended really well and were very resilient when we saw Barcelona, Bayern and even Dortmund for a short period go out and outplay other European giants.
I put this down to the lack of tactical structure that is favored by the British mentality and also made a necessity because of the nature of the Premier League in a chicken and egg scenario. I have and remain very excited about seeing a team that can "potentially" be very dominant and that could go against Barcelona and Madrid and not aim to defend to get something. Having said that, to achieve that level, you need the right players, cooperation of board and the people upstairs and most importantly, continuity and practicing the system until it becomes second nature to the players which is my main concern. Barcelona or Bayern can do that because they come up against opponents of more or less the same ilk. In England, the variety could not be bigger, one week you're at Stoke where you need to head the ball more in one half than you do in an entire season in Spain and the next week, you're playing Arsenal or Swansea. Add to it the extremely emotional nature of the British game with the fans and pundits and it is extremely hard for players to follow a structured intellectual approach during games.
I am more willing to take the risk and wouldn't switch Van Gaal for a Mourinho or Ancelotti by any means. I just feel that the reward of his methods can be extraordinary even though I accept that he's up against the culture of club and more importantly of an entire country. With a Mourinho, we most likely would be doing better and of course I would take that happily as it's better than 99% of the teams out there but with Van Gaal, I feel that there is a chance that he will reach or at least lay the foundation for somebody to reach the 1%. Even though that chance is relatively small, I definitely want to give him as much time as possible to see if it comes through.
I put this down to the lack of tactical structure that is favored by the British mentality and also made a necessity because of the nature of the Premier League in a chicken and egg scenario. I have and remain very excited about seeing a team that can "potentially" be very dominant and that could go against Barcelona and Madrid and not aim to defend to get something. Having said that, to achieve that level, you need the right players, cooperation of board and the people upstairs and most importantly, continuity and practicing the system until it becomes second nature to the players which is my main concern. Barcelona or Bayern can do that because they come up against opponents of more or less the same ilk. In England, the variety could not be bigger, one week you're at Stoke where you need to head the ball more in one half than you do in an entire season in Spain and the next week, you're playing Arsenal or Swansea. Add to it the extremely emotional nature of the British game with the fans and pundits and it is extremely hard for players to follow a structured intellectual approach during games.
I am more willing to take the risk and wouldn't switch Van Gaal for a Mourinho or Ancelotti by any means. I just feel that the reward of his methods can be extraordinary even though I accept that he's up against the culture of club and more importantly of an entire country. With a Mourinho, we most likely would be doing better and of course I would take that happily as it's better than 99% of the teams out there but with Van Gaal, I feel that there is a chance that he will reach or at least lay the foundation for somebody to reach the 1%. Even though that chance is relatively small, I definitely want to give him as much time as possible to see if it comes through.
Herrera didn't pull up any trees in the first half last night but I don't understand him coming off rather than Blind. In this game we were looking shakey because Blind wasn't playing well, not because he wasn't being protected enough. Putting Carrick alongside him was overkill when a straight swap would have solved the problem. Way over-cautious for me in such a big game where we had a chance to make a statement.
It definitely is more robotic than what we are used to but it has produced as many top teams if not more than the risky approach we are accustomed with. The ultimate example is probably that Barcelona team who played like clockworks and never seemed to tire because they approached the game with such a precise understanding and application of movements and positioning. Of course it helped that they had Xavi, Iniesta and Messi but Real Madrid had Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo at one point and never reached the same heights. I am not suggesting that we can become like them with a more structured approach but if we get even close, we can have a really top team.Interesting post but that doesn't fill me with confidence going forward with LvG, kind of the opposite effect for me actually
Good post though NL Max.
I disagree with that. If it's true, then why on earth would Van Gaal allow our centre backs to play with so much freedom? Why does he continue to allow our midfielders to push so far up, our defenders have no options off the ball?
If anything needs addressing, it's our approach play. Yes, our approach play starts from the back, but that stems from the movement ahead of them. If there's no, or limited movement in front of them, what do you expect them to do?
P.S. We were playing long balls before Fellaini when further up the pitch, because we suffered the same thing we're suffering from now - good build up play.
Thanks again for all the nice posts.
I think he doesn't trust the defence either. What I've written is what he's aiming at, not what we're seeing yet. He's in trouble this season because the squad is too unbalanced for his 433 formation (not enough defensive players) and our back 4 aren't great. At Holland he used the 352 to shore the defence up, for us it didn't quite work out as intended. Now he's in a spot of bother because he lacks good centrebacks and defensive minded midfielders, this is vital for him because they are non-risk players who can't make mistakes. A 2 striker formation offers defensive balance, as the opponent can't press our defence without being 1v1 at the back vs RvP/Rooney/Falcao. With a 1 striker formation we're more likely to be pressed up high, Fellaini solves this problem by always being available for a hoof up. It's all being done to protect our defence, that's why I'm sure with some more transfers we won't see this again.
Herrera got taken off because he was booked and if he loses possesion (which he is more likely to, because he's a risky player in a non-risk position) he couldn't correct this himself and his teammates wouldn't be in the right defensive shape. I predicted he was being substituted at half time before I saw Carrick. Blind wasn't booked and was our 3rd defensive minded player (because Fellaini played higher up the pitch) so he was never going to get substituted.
The first half might've been entertaining, but not what he wants from a game so I knew he was going to change something. As a supporter I would do things differently for sure, but then again I'm not van Gaal. I understand his decisions though and it's quite fun to see the progress being made if you know what to look out for. It all makes a lot more sense too, I can't predict what van Gaal is going to do but I'm more of a captain hindsight.
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That's exactly what I thought.
I'd be on board had we seen anything close to resembling that at his time here. I'm not suggesting he goes, I think he should at the very least be given the chance to make a difference in the duration of his contract. But it doesn't make it easy for me at the moment with the football I've seen for the last several months or the philosophy I've read from the OP.
We'll see I guess
A lot of apologetics for a manager who hasn't deserved much on the basis of his confidence in the players. So far it has been completely mediocre with signs of players actually regressing. playing tactics which Moyes' Everton would be embarrassed by, and sidelining real talent like Rafael, Mata in a deluded exercise to control the match which we used to do even without these shit tactics
Schalke are now on the list of teams I've gotten depressed/excited watching because they looked interested in playing pass and move football in a way Van Gaal seems to be against.
The rest of your post is excellent, so I don't need to comment too much on that. However, there's something about the last paragraph that called for a reply.
You seem to imply that if we had Mourinho or Ancelotti as our manager, we might not be able to set us in position to grab that extra 1% should they build their own (hypothetical) teams at United. Can I ask you why you would feel that way? I'm asking the question because both Mourinho and Ancelotti reached the Promised Land of Europe for a combined total of 5 times, and they also won several pieces of silverware all around and everywhere they went since the early 2000s. At the same time, both men didn't have to go radically against a country's culture in order to achieve success in England. Meanwhile, Wenger is the prime example of someone who is building something that goes against a country's culture. He's doing good right now, yes, but it hasn't led him towards the Promised Land of England nor Europe in nearly 11 years. In the end, it is a steep price for very little return of investment in Wenger's case. Would it be worth trying the same at United?
Balu's prediction from a few months ago coming through 
The way I see it, if van Gaal could handpick his own XI, he would probably have the most exciting team playing the most exciting way in World football.
But the danger is, he doesn't trust this team and he won't get the chance to build an exciting team here if he doesn't finish top 4, because the players won't want to sign.
But the danger is, he doesn't trust this team and he won't get the chance to build an exciting team here if he doesn't finish top 4, because the players won't want to sign.
Don't think he trusts the defence and he actually mentioned it earlier in the season. If we had a really good defence we he would pick an attacking side ahead of them.
I think Wenger and Klopp may have something to say about that.
LVG likes to keep possession first and foremost, I don't think his style at Bayern was very exciting tbh.
It wasn't according to their fans, that was one of the reasons they got fed up of him.
Reading the opening post, there are a lot of similarities to Mourinho's style.
I think I should have been clearer by what I meant with the 1% because I think you have the impression that I meant European success by it which is my bad. What I mean though is domestic and European dominance. A team that doesn't go into big European games worried about stopping opponents but looking to outplay them like Barcelona and Bayern did recently. Mourinho and Ancelotti's teams do a job in the sense that they see what they have, get few players in and extract every last ounce of the capabilities of these players to achieve success planning for each game as it comes. None of their teams would be called pace setters or part of that super elite club.
Of course if I was given the choice between Wenger's Arsenal and a Mourinho team, I would pick the latter but as a Manchester United fan I don't see why I should settle for that with the finances and status we have. I want us to either be or aim to be a dominant force like the Milan team of the '90s, Barcelona of mid '00s or the late Bayern team. With Mourinho, I feel the best we can achieve is a "normal" top team and I hope that makes sense. With Van Gaal, I feel there is a chance we can be more than that either with him or thanks to his foundation. I hope that makes more sense.
@NL Max, it's good to see you explain van Gaal's attacking approach well, but I would like to see you explain how van Gaal sets up his team, defensively, as most do not even focus on that at all.
From what I've read, he wants his teams to not really press high up the pitch as that can allow the opposition to stretch our defence vertically. He prefers the team to organise themselves positionally and stop the opposition from passing the ball out through the middle, thus forcing them to play a long ball forward or play the ball out wide where his team can start pressing as a team to win the ball. However, from what I've seen, he apparently wants his players to man-mark the players who can receive the pass whilst having one of the players try to win the ball instead of keeping themselves organised in the middle. The methods I read made sense and worked very well in my mind and in practice here and there, but what I actually often see is quite suicidal unless we play players with lots of stamina, strength, and aggression. He may have had them in Ajax, and he tried to get that into Barcelona, but since then, he hasn't had that, and his teams haven't been quite solid as a result (remember our 3-3 draws against them in 1998/99 and how we would open them up with our 2009/10 team in both matches). With Pep, players don't press in a man-marking manner but as a team, which is why their pressing game works so well. With Mourinho, his teams defend deep into their half in an organised, energetic manner, which is why they're so tough to open up.
From what I've observed, van Gaal's defensive setup is quite chaotic and heavily reliant on the players' physical qualities. This wasn't the case in the World Cup with the Netherlands and AZ Alkmaar, where he set the team up to be very well-organised, but with other teams, he seems to let the players themselves defend rather than give them a defensive plan like how he gives players an attacking plan. Sometimes, he wants us to be organised, but then he wants us to win the ball quickly and man-mark the opposition. There's no set defensive plan from van Gaal, and this is one of the reasons why we seem to open up a few times.
From what I've read, he wants his teams to not really press high up the pitch as that can allow the opposition to stretch our defence vertically. He prefers the team to organise themselves positionally and stop the opposition from passing the ball out through the middle, thus forcing them to play a long ball forward or play the ball out wide where his team can start pressing as a team to win the ball. However, from what I've seen, he apparently wants his players to man-mark the players who can receive the pass whilst having one of the players try to win the ball instead of keeping themselves organised in the middle. The methods I read made sense and worked very well in my mind and in practice here and there, but what I actually often see is quite suicidal unless we play players with lots of stamina, strength, and aggression. He may have had them in Ajax, and he tried to get that into Barcelona, but since then, he hasn't had that, and his teams haven't been quite solid as a result (remember our 3-3 draws against them in 1998/99 and how we would open them up with our 2009/10 team in both matches). With Pep, players don't press in a man-marking manner but as a team, which is why their pressing game works so well. With Mourinho, his teams defend deep into their half in an organised, energetic manner, which is why they're so tough to open up.
From what I've observed, van Gaal's defensive setup is quite chaotic and heavily reliant on the players' physical qualities. This wasn't the case in the World Cup with the Netherlands and AZ Alkmaar, where he set the team up to be very well-organised, but with other teams, he seems to let the players themselves defend rather than give them a defensive plan like how he gives players an attacking plan. Sometimes, he wants us to be organised, but then he wants us to win the ball quickly and man-mark the opposition. There's no set defensive plan from van Gaal, and this is one of the reasons why we seem to open up a few times.
@mazhar13
Van Gaal has never been the best at setting teams up to defend. I actually find it quite hard to decipher what he wants from Manchester United in regards to defending. Obviously this season is all about it: Fellaini up top for a hoof, slow play (not intentional!) to make sure they at least don't lose the ball where it could hurt us and killing off games when we lead. This season probably isn't a good representation of his defensive ways, after Leicester he put the handbrake on in order to protect our glass backline. He doesn't have the defensive midfielders he likes either so he's gone all out to protect our backline at the cost of our attacking talent. This means we can't press like he usually does either.
He normally used to press opponents up high as a team so they hoof it forward, for which he always had players to defend against. This tactic won't really work well vs everyone in the PL though. Man marking he usually does against the big threats of the opponent. Fellaini took Fabregas out of the game, he literally followed him everywhere. I think (speculation alert) Valencia was instructed to follow Sanchez everywhere aswell, which might explain why he thought he had a good game apart from his assist to Welbeck.
He plays high risk-high reward. If his offensive game works, he doesn't need to defend as much. His defenders usually have to be exceptionally good for his offensive tactics to work, as they're 1v1 alot (like Real Madrid and Barcelona). We've seen that if he isn't happy that the handbrake comes on and he indeed will set us up to be hard to beat. This is his pragmatism, he can organise his defence if he needs to but he doesn't like this.
So if we ignore this season because his squad is limitting him, I think he will want to do this next season: He will want to play a high risk game vs 'relegation fodder' where he presses opponents up high as a team so they lump it which his 4 defensive players can deal with. If the opposition has a great defence he'll set us up for the counter to lure them out. Man marking depends on the opponent, I don't think he always does it as extreme. It seems to vary.
He will basically look at the opponent their strenghts and adapt to this. He's matured alot and really learned the defensive side of football alot better, I haven't learned what he has though.
I never found articles about his defending, this is just what I've seen with my eyes from him. My eyes are not great though so I could be completely off.
Van Gaal has never been the best at setting teams up to defend. I actually find it quite hard to decipher what he wants from Manchester United in regards to defending. Obviously this season is all about it: Fellaini up top for a hoof, slow play (not intentional!) to make sure they at least don't lose the ball where it could hurt us and killing off games when we lead. This season probably isn't a good representation of his defensive ways, after Leicester he put the handbrake on in order to protect our glass backline. He doesn't have the defensive midfielders he likes either so he's gone all out to protect our backline at the cost of our attacking talent. This means we can't press like he usually does either.
He normally used to press opponents up high as a team so they hoof it forward, for which he always had players to defend against. This tactic won't really work well vs everyone in the PL though. Man marking he usually does against the big threats of the opponent. Fellaini took Fabregas out of the game, he literally followed him everywhere. I think (speculation alert) Valencia was instructed to follow Sanchez everywhere aswell, which might explain why he thought he had a good game apart from his assist to Welbeck.
He plays high risk-high reward. If his offensive game works, he doesn't need to defend as much. His defenders usually have to be exceptionally good for his offensive tactics to work, as they're 1v1 alot (like Real Madrid and Barcelona). We've seen that if he isn't happy that the handbrake comes on and he indeed will set us up to be hard to beat. This is his pragmatism, he can organise his defence if he needs to but he doesn't like this.
So if we ignore this season because his squad is limitting him, I think he will want to do this next season: He will want to play a high risk game vs 'relegation fodder' where he presses opponents up high as a team so they lump it which his 4 defensive players can deal with. If the opposition has a great defence he'll set us up for the counter to lure them out. Man marking depends on the opponent, I don't think he always does it as extreme. It seems to vary.
He will basically look at the opponent their strenghts and adapt to this. He's matured alot and really learned the defensive side of football alot better, I haven't learned what he has though.
I never found articles about his defending, this is just what I've seen with my eyes from him. My eyes are not great though so I could be completely off.
Good post @NL Max, but what do you think of the idea that's being mooted around that he's getting more cautious as he ages? Somehow I doubt we will see the high risk game that you have mentioned and we have seen in the past from his sides. The biggest disappointment for me so far is that he hasn't built on pre-season when all the players seemed extremely comfortable on the ball albeit under little pressure. Now all our players seem to shit themselves and going for the safe pass when I envisaged LvG would be more similar to Guardiola that he would encourage players to trust each other's touch with their passing.
I've noticed that, when his teams defend, he often has his midfielders push up to the player holding the ball in the midfield area. This seems to go against how he wants his teams to set up so that they don't open up through the middle. Whenever we played a diamond or 3 at the back with 1 defensive midfielder, we'd rarely see that defensive midfielder push up. However, ever since he went with this 4-4-1-1 recently, Blind hasn't really been the defensive midfielder I expected him to be, instead playing more aggressively than I expect him to. Carrick in the 2nd half against Arsenal played as I expected Blind to play. I'm not sure if it's Blind's aggression is down to Blind himself or due to van Gaal's instructions, but when he was at his best in midfield, it was when he wasn't playing with aggression.
@NL Max Judging by how you think van Gaal will play next season, is it similar to how Mourinho is setting up with Chelsea?
@MelvinYeo @LawCharltonBest
Van Gaal definately has matured and doesn't play attractive football at all costs anymore. We're seeing the evidence of this. I doubt he's given up his ways though or he must've changed alot about his playstyle. He can now set up teams to defend well (something which he couldn't do in the past) and frequently uses this if he doesn't trust his defensive balance. He tried to play attacking football at the start of the season and it wasn't that bad, but the biggest enemy was ourselves because we kept getting countered.
I don't think we'll know this untill he has a selection he's happy with. It's not only that we're defensively weak, but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot by having defenders who aren't great on the ball and not much midfielders who can help them out. I think we indeed might play cautious againt top sides next season (unless he believes his attacking ways are the most effective vs a certain opponent). I don't think this necessarily is a bad thing but will indeed be a good thing he has learned over the years. Time will tell, or someone else with a better understanding of him than me
@mazhar13
I know the moments you mean, I found that odd aswell. Blind would never go against the team plan, so I think he was instructed to do so. I think something went wrong and that more players were supposed to join in but didn't. Giving away space like this is very odd indeed. Blind indeed isn't the best for that either, he has his brain to make up for his lack of athleticism, but he's never been an aggressive box-to-box player. It might've been the gameplan, as I stated in the OP he doesn't like 2 defensive midfielders but wants a box-to-box player and out of Carrick and Blind, Blind probably is the least bad at box-to-box in his eyes.
Van Gaal definately has matured and doesn't play attractive football at all costs anymore. We're seeing the evidence of this. I doubt he's given up his ways though or he must've changed alot about his playstyle. He can now set up teams to defend well (something which he couldn't do in the past) and frequently uses this if he doesn't trust his defensive balance. He tried to play attacking football at the start of the season and it wasn't that bad, but the biggest enemy was ourselves because we kept getting countered.
I don't think we'll know this untill he has a selection he's happy with. It's not only that we're defensively weak, but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot by having defenders who aren't great on the ball and not much midfielders who can help them out. I think we indeed might play cautious againt top sides next season (unless he believes his attacking ways are the most effective vs a certain opponent). I don't think this necessarily is a bad thing but will indeed be a good thing he has learned over the years. Time will tell, or someone else with a better understanding of him than me
@mazhar13
I know the moments you mean, I found that odd aswell. Blind would never go against the team plan, so I think he was instructed to do so. I think something went wrong and that more players were supposed to join in but didn't. Giving away space like this is very odd indeed. Blind indeed isn't the best for that either, he has his brain to make up for his lack of athleticism, but he's never been an aggressive box-to-box player. It might've been the gameplan, as I stated in the OP he doesn't like 2 defensive midfielders but wants a box-to-box player and out of Carrick and Blind, Blind probably is the least bad at box-to-box in his eyes.
It's kinda funny that I'm saying this, but today's performance from Chelsea under Mourinho and against PSG made your point look a lot more explicit. I can only hope Van Gaal will do just what you wrote either through him or through his legacy.
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Haha indeed that was lucky. The funny thing is Courtois could have come out for that corner and Chelsea went through and people would be talking about how his cautious approach proved the smart approach. It happened many times and he was successful with it many times so I am not saying that it doesn't work. It just doesn't sit well with me when we are described and every English team gets described as tough to beat and hard workers. On the papers they talk about heroic performances and fighting spirit when I look at Barcelona and Bayern and they're known for actually outplaying opponents and making you worry about them. t's all great and fine if you are at a disadvantage financially like Atlético Madrid but for us and Chelsea for that matter, we should aim for more in my opinion.
The funny thing is that under Fergie we had that mentality of going to outplay the opposition but because of tactical inferiority in the beginning of the decade and individual quality against Barcelona in 2011, it backfired and on that particular occasion, I wished we had a Mourinho. So I can see the merits of approaching a game like an underdog if in particular circumstances, we happen to be inferior. But long term, I want us to aim to build a team that has an identity and clear style of play that makes other teams need to be resilient when they face us. Mourinho is never going to achieve this. Van Gaal, Wenger, Guardiola are few of the managers who have the mentality to achieve this aim. I am not saying that Van Gaal is going to achieve it of course but at least I like that he shares the same ambitions.
The funny thing is that under Fergie we had that mentality of going to outplay the opposition but because of tactical inferiority in the beginning of the decade and individual quality against Barcelona in 2011, it backfired and on that particular occasion, I wished we had a Mourinho. So I can see the merits of approaching a game like an underdog if in particular circumstances, we happen to be inferior. But long term, I want us to aim to build a team that has an identity and clear style of play that makes other teams need to be resilient when they face us. Mourinho is never going to achieve this. Van Gaal, Wenger, Guardiola are few of the managers who have the mentality to achieve this aim. I am not saying that Van Gaal is going to achieve it of course but at least I like that he shares the same ambitions.
@NL Max
Do you think it is possible next season Louis van Gaal will use Angel di Maria for the 10 position in a 4-3-3 like the one used against Spurs with Angel di Maria driving forward from LCM assuming we sign Depay for LW and Januzaj finds form as a RW? Or is Angel di Maria definitely only a winger for Louis van Gaal?
Do you think it is possible next season Louis van Gaal will use Angel di Maria for the 10 position in a 4-3-3 like the one used against Spurs with Angel di Maria driving forward from LCM assuming we sign Depay for LW and Januzaj finds form as a RW? Or is Angel di Maria definitely only a winger for Louis van Gaal?
We're definately playing 433 next season, but like mentioned before it's always with 2 defensive minded midfielders. This leaves only the CAM spot Di Maria could play in.
Since we've (currently) got Mata, Herrera, Fellaini and Rooney competing to play there aswell I find it unlikely. I think he will be used on the right wing mostly, competing with Januzaj. It's possible though, van Gaal likes multifunctional players so he can tinker with formations/gameplans for each match. We could see him there occasionally but he'll mostly play as a winger, that's why he was brought in. I think van Gaal finds him a bit too wastefull for the role.
It will depend on who will leave (of the CAM's we have) and how much competition he's up against for the amount of gametime he'll get there. My personal guess? Not very much.
No, it leaves Di Maria on the left central midfield spot. Mata is off in the summer, and Rooney is our best striker. I see it as possible we'll play without a CAM next season.
ITK?
Everyone seems to think that because he's not been playing while Herrera and Blind were in midfield his career must be over.
Yeah people are just making up some weird stuff. Another example is Di Maria not wanting to be here anymore
A 442? And leaving out his favorite player, his number 10? I'd be very surprised to see this as he's never done this because this breaks his own rules stated in the OP.
Rooney won't be our fixed number 10 but I have a hunch, since he's undroppable, that he'll sometimes play there. This to fit in RvP/Wilson or a new striker.
Mata seems like his perfect #10. My guess is that he's too lightweight for this season and has to do more defensive work. He could be off though.
I think he was meaning left of a midfield 3 but dont think he's read your other posts regarding LVGs set up and the qualities required.
Ah, didn't know that about the number 10. A 433 to me is one dm and two cms. Otherwise I use 4231 to indicate the acm. Thats why I picured him on the left in a midfield 3. Sounds like AdM wont be featured a lot in cm then.
And no, I'm no itk. If we are to play with an acm next season his chances of staying increases surely (mata).
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