Before the start of the World Cup, everyone had one thing on their minds: which formation would the incoming boss deploy at Old Trafford? The Manchester United fans had already witnessed a 4-2-3-1 formation struggle to win the Reds matches under David Moyes, and this was a cause for concern as this formation was the most common one deployed in modern football. However, with the recent failings of the team whilst using this formation, it seems certain that Manchester United need to get away from Moyes’ system once and for all.
Van Gaal, who is tactically very adaptable to situations, is a manager who is very fond of using the 4-3-3 formation when his team needs a victory. Thus, many thought that this is going to be the new formation at Old Trafford. However, van Gaal’s success at the World Cup with a different, more defensive, formation has started to create doubts over which system he prefers.
At the World Cup, he has used the 5-3-2 formation, with Daley Blind and Dirk Kuyt or Daryl Janmaat as wing-backs. When defending, this formation is very helpful as it leaves another spare centre-back, and the team can have more defenders behind the ball as opposed to the strikers trying to defend and giving away reckless free kicks. From an attacking point of view, this formation is heavily reliant on the width provided by the wing-backs, which is what Kuyt and Blind have been doing for their whole world cup campaign. The wing-backs providing width also means that van Gaal can let his star wingers, like Arjen Robben and Memphis Depay or Jeremain Lens, cut inside as frequently as they want. Van Gaal even gave Robben a free role in this world cup, which is partly the reason he has excelled.
Although in extreme cases, we have seen the 4-3-3 system be used by van Gaal in this world cup. An example would be the match against Mexico, in which the Dutch were trailing for the most part. As I said before, van Gaal only deploys this formation when he desperately needs goals for victory.
Personally, I think van Gaal will use the 5-3-2 formation at Manchester United, and I’m a big fan of how he utilizes his players in this formation. With the players available at Manchester United, I think that he can do wonders with this formation.
The three centre-backs could be a mixture of youth and experience, and I really hope that United sign Mats Hummels because he is the premium centre-back that we are searching for after the departures of Rio and Vidic. The wing backs can be United’s normal full-backs, or van Gaal can choose Antonio Valencia in place of Rafael as the right wing back. A hard minded midfielder, like Vidal, will be needed to provide assurance to the back four and his midfield partners, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera, similar to Nigel de Jong’s role in the Dutch side. Juan Mata can easily slot in to the place just ahead of the two midfielders, just like Wesley Sneijder does for the Oranje. Wayne Rooney can be given Robben’s free role while van Persie can be the talisman who leads the line for Manchester United.
Here is my starting line-up under van Gaal for next season:
I have made the assumption that Vidal and Hummels will sign for Manchester United before the start of the season, but if that doesn't happen, Carrick or Fellaini can easily slot in for Vidal while Chris Smalling or even Thomas Vermaelen (if he signs) can come into the side in place of Hummels.
What do you think of this starting line-up? Will United succeed under Louis van Gaal and his footballing philosophy?
Article contributed by: Mayank Tiwary
Twitter: @VanPerseing.
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