Formation: 4-1-4-1: United’s
history is steeped in the 4-4-2 formation, but with the current squad and
injuries to van Persie and Wilson, I think it’s a better idea to play with one
striker. Moreover, the biggest problem in United’s attack this season has been
getting the ball from the midfield into the strikers, so why not add another
midfielder. Besides that, the strikers haven’t been able to work hard enough
off the ball to get into good position, so adding a midfielder and losing a
striker creates more space in my opinion.
Let’s begin with the obvious… De
Gea is the goalkeeper, that’s a given. He’s the clear cut number one, even
with the signing of Valdes back in the January transfer window. At this point,
my biggest concern with De Gea is if he signs a new contract at United.
Left Back: The two main
contenders for this position are Ashley Young and Luke Shaw. While Young has
played well thus far this season and has adapted to a new position,
transitioning from winger to defender, Shaw is just better. Shaw offers a
better understanding of defensive positioning and a better tackling ability,
something that Young has improved on but still hasn’t reached Shaw’s level.
Shaw is also a great player going forward with brilliant pace and overlapping
runs, including pretty decent foot skills, things we dearly missed when Rojo was forced to play in Shaw's spot against Sunderland. The goal for United the other week
against Swansea is exemplary of what Shaw can do to spark an attack; he linked
up with Fellaini in an overlap to break down the wing and eventually set up the
goal. Shaw loses the ball less per game due to bad controls and dispossessions,
while still offering a similar number of key passes. The best part about Shaw?
He’s still a teenager. Give him a couple years to develop with regular football
at top level competition and he could turn into a world class defender.
Left Center Back: The pool for
central defenders consists of Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Phil
Jones, and Paddy McNair. At the left side of central defense, Marcos Rojo is the
clear choice. In his first season with United, he’s looked like the most
confident player in the back line, both while going forward and while
defending. He’s able to push forward with the ball and distribute to the
midfield without fans worrying he’ll lose the ball and give up a goal on the
counter attack, which can’t be said for the likes of Evans or Jones. In
defense, his positioning has been sound for the most part and he’s been able to
cope with the physical nature of the Premier League. Rojo is top three in:
tackles per game, interceptions per game, clearances per game, and blocks per
game. In addition, he has 3.1 aerials won per game, second only to Fellaini,
who we all know for his aerial ability. He hasn’t been hurt nearly as much as
the other defenders, allowing for him to perform on a consistent basis. If
there’s any defender in the group for United who is a clear cut choice, it’s
Rojo.
Right Center Back: The right side
of the defense is far more convoluted. In right central defense, the most viable
options are McNair, Jones, or Smalling. I’ve discounted Jonny Evans because he
looks scared while on the ball and he’s been burned on defense far too often,
though he avoided disaster against Sunderland. Smalling looked good recently in
the matches against Burnley and Sunderland, scoring a brace to lead United to a
win against Burnley and controlling play well against Sunderland; but remember,
it was against Burnley and Sunderland. Smalling is a better option than Jones
pushing forward and looks more confident on the ball, but I still question
whether he can hold defensively. More to the point, he’s 25 and hasn’t shown
much progress in recent years. So for me, the choice is Paddy McNair. I’d
prefer to see McNair on the right side of the defense, the place where I think
he’ll eventually become a regular starter, but for now I say let him develop in
central defense due to my lack of confidence in the other defenders. Of the bunch, he’s the one with the brightest future. Smalling
is already reaching the age where he should be at his peak and Jones is young but
has been hampered by injury woes, possibly stalling his progress. McNair looks
great making strides into the opposition’s half, and while his defensive
ability is still developing and the statistics may not be there yet, he’s shown
the potential.
Right Back: So now that I’ve
already used McNair at center back, I’m left with Antonio Valencia, Rafael, and
Jones. Though Jones has played right back before and has experience in the
position, he loses the ball too often going forward by making passes into seemingly
no one. That leaves Rafael and Valencia. While Rafael has been injured this
season, Valencia has stepped in well, in much the same manner as Ashley Young,
switching from winger to defender. Despite what others believe, I feel he’s
done a pretty good job of getting up the wing and linking up with the
midfielders, as well as getting services into the box. True, his crosses
haven’t always been the best and perhaps some times he’s predictable, often
trying to simply beat defenders with his pace, but I still think he’s filled in
nicely. In my opinion, the alternative of going back with Rafael just offers no
upside. At this point I feel as though we know what we’re getting from Rafael,
so why go back to him when Valencia has been playing well for us?
Holding Mid: While van Gaal has
elected to use Rooney in this position for a number of games, it’s clearly not
his ideal role. As far as the other central midfielders are concerned, they’re
more of attacking players. Daley Blind is really the only option for this
position while Carrick is injured, which is a good thing because he is
exceptional at it. He’s able to orchestrate possession by switching the ball
from side to side, as well as offering incisive forward passes to create
chances. Several times, he’s shown his ability to score, often when United
desperately need a goal to salvage points in the dying embers of a game. Not
only can Blind attack, he can also defend quite well thanks to his experience
playing as a central and left defender. The combination of defensive mentality
with attacking ability found in Blind is the ideal quality for a central
holding midfielder. Blind has the best average of interceptions on the team,
has the 7th best average of tackles, but still is rarely
dispossessed or has a bad touch. His passing success rate is also just under
90%. How’s that for balance, LvG? It’ll be interesting to see what happens once
Carrick returns to full health, the two could play interchangeably in this
position or could play alongside each other should van Gaal go with two in the
holding mid.
Left Outside Mid: Since Young
didn’t make it into the left back role, he’s in consideration here, along with Adnan
Januzaj. As well as Young has played thus far this season, his age (almost 30) probably
means that this is the best we’ll see out of him. He’s done exceptionally well creating
chances, but I wouldn’t consider him a world-class talent and I doubt anyone
else would either. Still, Young has been one of the best players for United so
far this season. While other players have looked out of form, especially the
other wingers, Young has been quick down the flank and heavily involved with
the United attack. In addition, because of the playing time he got at left wing
back, his defensive capabilities have improved. Young was one of the best
players in the match against Sunderland, and I expect his good form to continue
against the next match against Newcastle.
Left Central Attacking Mid: Ander
Herrera, where have you been all season? Oh right, you’ve been on the bench.
Thanks van Gaal. When Herrera has been on the field though, he’s been stellar.
In just ten total appearances for United this season, Herrera has five goals!
Falcao would kill for that scoring record and he’s a striker. So Herrera
finishes his chances. He’s also tied for fourth on the team in assists with
three. I’d say five goals and three assists is a pretty decent output for just
ten games. You won’t see Herrera taking on defenders, he’s more of the type to
look for the pass that’ll cut open the defense. Rarely do you see Herrera lose
the ball to a defender, which only makes it easier to choose him for this
position. If van Gaal continues to use him consistently in the squad as he’s
done recently, I think Herrera could have the best remainder of the season out
of any of the United players.
Right Central Attacking Mid: To
go alongside Herrera, I’m going to turn to another Spaniard: Juan Mata. Louis
van Gaal has apparently forgotten about Mata, to the point where he’s actually
given Fellaini the start in attacking midfield ahead of him. While there’s no denying that
Fellaini helps create chances when the ball is lobbed into him, he doesn’t
really do that well with the ball at his feet. In my eyes, Fellaini is the
player United should bring on at the end of the game when they’re desperate.
Mata is far superior in possession, boasting five goals and three assists in
the Premier League this season with the third most key passes per game and just
under 90% passing success. So if van Gaal is dead set on playing a possession
style of attack, I’m confused why he’s still leaving Mata on the bench. Bring
Mata on, improve the distribution to the strikers, and United’s scoring chances
will increase. Right foot or left foot, it doesn’t Mata; there’s only Juan
choice in this position.
Right Outside Mid: So on this
side of the pitch I have the option to go with Januzaj or di Maria. United
brought Di Maria to the club last summer at a 59.7 million pound expense,
setting a British transfer record in the process. As such, it’s hard to leave
him off the team sheet. But I’m going to anyway. While he leads United in
assists this season, as well as key passes per game he doesn’t have that great
of statistics with regard to passing percentage or retaining the ball. He has
brilliant pace and technical ability that he showed with Madrid last year but
we’ve yet to see it, so it could be time to give him a rest to collect himself.
Enter Januzaj. Unlike the other players on this list, I can’t offer his
statistics for justification at this point because quite frankly, they just
aren’t that good. But he’s young, and you’d expect mistakes out of a young
player. What makes up for his mistakes is his pure tenacity and passion to win
the ball back when he does lose it. It’s clear that Januzaj has the potential
for stardom thanks to the form he showed last season, but he also shows his
love of the game and desire to win. So for now I can live with the mistakes,
the loss of possession and errant passes, because he’s taking players on and
looking for that perfect pass to spring someone on goal. While other players
are more comfortable making safe passes laterally or backwards, Januzaj is
almost always looking to go forward. In the game against Sunderland, Januzaj
created plenty of chances and rewarded my faith in him. He came on for di Maria
at half time and immediately improved the play on that side of the field. That
being said, if van Gaal can loan Januzaj next season to give him consistent
playing time, he could develop into a great player.
Striker: Rooney, no ifs, ands, or
buts about it. Van Persie looks like he’ll be out for an extended period of
time, so he’s off the list. I prefer Rooney over Wilson because of his experience and ability. Falcao is the only
other option and for me, it doesn’t seem like Falcao is ever going to return to
top form. He’s had poor control of the ball and hasn’t been efficient in
finishing, so despite the price to bring him in on loan I just can’t include
him in the lineup. Falcao did have some glimpses of skill in the game against
Sunderland, including the control he showed that eventually led to the go ahead
penalty goal. Still, I favor Rooney over Falcao. Though Rooney has mostly
played in the midfield in recent games, the last games against Swansea and
Sunderland show why he is one of the best in the striker role. He knows where
to be and when to be there; he knows which passes to attempt and when to have a
shot. Besides that, he’s the captain so there is no way you can leave him on
the bench unless he’s injured or needs a rest. If there’s any one player in the
United squad who is a must start (other than De Gea, of course), it’s Rooney.
So there you have it! Be sure to let me know if you disagree with the players or formation, I'd love any input.
Statistics from WhoScored.com
Images from Zimbio, Manchester Evening News, Press Association, Squawka, ndtv.com
Video from Januzaj44i on YouTube
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