Reality check for the Mad Genius
Swansea had never won a league match at Old Trafford. United had never lost the opening home fixture since 1972. United had won all their pre season friendlies. So,when a certain Mr Brendan Rogers commented a few days back that Louis Van Gaal will be surprised by the quality and depth of the premier league teams, the manager who has won the league in Spain, Germany and Netherlands, as well as the UEFA Champions League, must have dismissed the comment as a deliberate mind game on Rogers' part. But, at the end of 90 minutes against the Swans to kick off the premier league, Van Gaal was in for a rude shock. And by the end of 90 minutes, it seemed nothing has changed from the Moyes era. And like the 4-1 victory against Swansea in last year's opening match, this 1-2 defeat was also termed "business as usual" by most pundits. Just that the meaning of "business as usual" had a 180 degree change as far as United are concerned.
With 9 players including Van Persie unavailable for selection, it was never going to be easy for United. With Van Gaal handing league debuts to Lingard and Blackett, it was a new look United side with Van Gaal's favoured 3-5-2 formation. This was classic Van Gaal style of management. He is known to promote youth, and his exploits with Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, as far as youth development is concerned, are very well documented. In the first 20 minutes, United dominated possession, but did not look threatening going forward. A striking aspect of their play was the continuous use of long balls by the back 3. And although Lingard's debut was cut short by an injury, the manager persisted with the 3-5-2 formation with Januzaz replacing Lingard in the right wing back position.
But,when Ki Sung Yeung scored for the Swans in the 28th minute, it exposed United's old defensive frailties. Laid off brilliantly by Sigurdsson, Sung Yeung slotted home the ball coolly giving De Gea no chance at all. The goal showed the danger of playing with 3 at the back, especially when the players who are tasked with protecting the back 3( Fletcher and Herrera in this case) are not physically dominant enough. The success of this formation as demonstrated by Netherlands during the recently concluded World Cup owed a lot to Nigel De Jong shielding the back 3. United simply did not have someone like De Jong to do the dirty work. The Van Gaal era started off with a bruise and United were soon doing the chasing.
And with the goal, the Swans started to play more confidently. They looked organised, and the hunger and will to track back to defend was there for all to see. At the interval, Van Gaal changed to 4 defenders. Nani replaced the highly ineffective Javier Hernandez. United looked much better at the start of the second half. Januzaz, with his trickery and speed, started to look dangerous. And United's pressure was rewarded with a goal, when newly appointed club captain Wayne Rooney slotted home Mata's corner. This was his 174th league goal and he now stands just 1 goal short of Thierry Henry's tally in the all time goal scorers list. The goal seemed to have rejuvenated them and soon the confidence was back. Rooney also struck the post with a beautiful free kick which gave the Swansea keeper Fabianski no chance of getting to the ball. If only the ball had dipped a little more, the end result could have been so much different.
But just when it seemed that United are growing in confidence, Sigurdsson scored for Swansea. Once again the defence was caught off guard. Wilfred Bony, the Ivorian, took a quick free kick, which surprised United, and soon Sigurdsson slotted home the goal which turned out to be the winner. In the last quarter of an hour, United despite all the possession, did not threaten enough. Without Van Persie, the attack looked impotent. Mata could not get involved in the game enough. They desperately need Van Persie back as well as a couple of high class signings if they are to challenge for a top 4 finish this year.
In a way, the result is good for the manager. He now has more clarity in the areas which needs further strengthening. Throughout the summer, United have been linked with Vidal and Di Maria. A quality winger and a full action central midfielder are exactly what United lacked in this match. Along with these 2 positions, if Van Gaal decides to persist with his favourite formation, he will also a need a ball playing central defender. As someone correctly said, "It does not matter how it begins, what matters is how it ends". And this is true for any league. But Van Gaal has a lot to do, if he wants to be in the top 4 of the table when it all ends. And all the Red Devils across the world will wait to see the mad genius' next move. The next match day can't come soon enough.
With 9 players including Van Persie unavailable for selection, it was never going to be easy for United. With Van Gaal handing league debuts to Lingard and Blackett, it was a new look United side with Van Gaal's favoured 3-5-2 formation. This was classic Van Gaal style of management. He is known to promote youth, and his exploits with Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, as far as youth development is concerned, are very well documented. In the first 20 minutes, United dominated possession, but did not look threatening going forward. A striking aspect of their play was the continuous use of long balls by the back 3. And although Lingard's debut was cut short by an injury, the manager persisted with the 3-5-2 formation with Januzaz replacing Lingard in the right wing back position.
But,when Ki Sung Yeung scored for the Swans in the 28th minute, it exposed United's old defensive frailties. Laid off brilliantly by Sigurdsson, Sung Yeung slotted home the ball coolly giving De Gea no chance at all. The goal showed the danger of playing with 3 at the back, especially when the players who are tasked with protecting the back 3( Fletcher and Herrera in this case) are not physically dominant enough. The success of this formation as demonstrated by Netherlands during the recently concluded World Cup owed a lot to Nigel De Jong shielding the back 3. United simply did not have someone like De Jong to do the dirty work. The Van Gaal era started off with a bruise and United were soon doing the chasing.
And with the goal, the Swans started to play more confidently. They looked organised, and the hunger and will to track back to defend was there for all to see. At the interval, Van Gaal changed to 4 defenders. Nani replaced the highly ineffective Javier Hernandez. United looked much better at the start of the second half. Januzaz, with his trickery and speed, started to look dangerous. And United's pressure was rewarded with a goal, when newly appointed club captain Wayne Rooney slotted home Mata's corner. This was his 174th league goal and he now stands just 1 goal short of Thierry Henry's tally in the all time goal scorers list. The goal seemed to have rejuvenated them and soon the confidence was back. Rooney also struck the post with a beautiful free kick which gave the Swansea keeper Fabianski no chance of getting to the ball. If only the ball had dipped a little more, the end result could have been so much different.
But just when it seemed that United are growing in confidence, Sigurdsson scored for Swansea. Once again the defence was caught off guard. Wilfred Bony, the Ivorian, took a quick free kick, which surprised United, and soon Sigurdsson slotted home the goal which turned out to be the winner. In the last quarter of an hour, United despite all the possession, did not threaten enough. Without Van Persie, the attack looked impotent. Mata could not get involved in the game enough. They desperately need Van Persie back as well as a couple of high class signings if they are to challenge for a top 4 finish this year.
In a way, the result is good for the manager. He now has more clarity in the areas which needs further strengthening. Throughout the summer, United have been linked with Vidal and Di Maria. A quality winger and a full action central midfielder are exactly what United lacked in this match. Along with these 2 positions, if Van Gaal decides to persist with his favourite formation, he will also a need a ball playing central defender. As someone correctly said, "It does not matter how it begins, what matters is how it ends". And this is true for any league. But Van Gaal has a lot to do, if he wants to be in the top 4 of the table when it all ends. And all the Red Devils across the world will wait to see the mad genius' next move. The next match day can't come soon enough.
Think LVG knows we need three more signings.. Even since the America tour... You are spot on in pointing out where we need them. Rvp and wazza are two key players this season... Herera will need at least till the January window to settle in with the physicality of the league. Can't wait for match day two!
ReplyDeleteKartik