Angel not enough for the Devils


Fifteen days into the season, three premier league matches, a league cup match later, and United are still without a win. The same team which cantered to the championship in 2012-13 are struggling to beat teams which have otherwise never be discussed in the same breath as them. A top four finish looks well and truly beyond them. Two hundred million pounds have been spent and a manager has been sacked, but United seem to have lost it all. And today, against Burnley, it could and should have been worse for United. If only Burnley had a couple of quality attackers, the scoreline instead of being 0-0, could easily have been similar to the one we witnessed on Tuesday night.

              With United’s newest sixty million pound buy Angel di Maria starting, there was new found hope for the fans. And even with suggestions pouring in from pundits for a reversal to a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, Van Gaal persisted with the 3-5-2. And the results were horrific. Time and again, Jonny Evans and the others showed their incompetency. Losing the ball in dangerous occasions became a norm, and if not for the brilliance of De Gea and the poor finishing of the Burnley strikers, United could easily have been a couple of goals down by halftime. Evans looked like the same school boy defender that he was when City thrashed United 6-1 at Old Trafford in 2011. He had seemingly improved a lot over the last couple of years, but provided no evidence of that improvement today. The shambolic performance made it very clear that neither of Jonny Evans, Phil Jones or Blackett are capable enough of leading the defence. And even with the impending arrival of Daley Blind, as I write this, Louis Van Gaal has just about 24 hours to strengthen his defence.

But what was more worrying was the lack of cohesion among the front three. Persie, Rooney and Mata were never on the same wavelength. The transition from defence to attack was too slow. With every passing match it seems that Juan Mata was indeed a panic buy by United. And although I am not sure whether he was carrying any niggles, Mata looked too slow to create any trouble playing in the hole behind the strikers. United had 60% of the possession in the 1st half and had only 1 shot. Burnley had 6 shots on goal. This pretty much tells the story. Everytime United had the ball, precious time was wasted passing the ball sideways. The success of 3-5-2 depends on fast and direct attacks. Holland thrashed Spain 5-1 doing exactly the same. We saw absolutely nothing of that sort today which would suggest that United are going to do the same in the near future. On the wings, as compared to the previous matches, Young showed considerable improvement going forward. But defensively he looks susceptible. Once he comes up against a top notch right winger, he will be brutally murdered. And although defensively better than Young, going forward Valencia looked every bit  the one trick pony that he actually is.

The only positive from this match was Di Maria’s performance in the first half. He showed that he has everything required to succeed in the premier league. The speed, the range of passing and the acceleration was in full display in the first half. If Mata would have converted the chance that Di Maria created, it could have been one of the goals of the season. But, he too tired as the second half progressed. It is not for nothing that the premier league is called the toughest in the world. Adjusting to the pace of the league will take him a few games. But once he does that, and the chemistry between Mata, Persie and Rooney begins to gel, United will surely have a fearsome front four capable enough of destroying any team.  And for that, Van Gaal will have to get his formation as well as many other things right. He asked for time and patience to get his philosophy in place, and the United fans and the board will definitely grant him that. But in today’s world, when you are managing the biggest and the most followed  football club, you can only have so much of it.

Comments

  1. Enjoyable read Paul..Good stuff!

    Agree that United's passing was largely sluggish. Also the comments on lack of cohesion between the front 3 - spot on. Van Gaal has repeatedly pointed out that he's a slow starter, lets hope its only the start which is slow at United too.

    On the whole I think you've been a little harsh on United in your assessment of this game. You mentioned the Mata chance, RVP missed a good one too. And towards the end United were the only team threatening, albeit without the conviction of old. Certainly didn't deserve a defeat. Having said that, I'm hoping I don't have to start feeling relieved about picking up a point at Burnley! For every United fan looking for a turnaround, its definitely more hope than expectation right now.

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