Three Premier League games, two points, no wins: These are concerning times for United fans.
While the fantastical sums of money ($250M+ to be precise) spent on marquee signings this summer have given supporters a much-needed shot in the arm, reality on the pitch has quickly doused any flickers of optimism. Against such a back-drop, last weekend's last-minute signing of Radamel Falcao smacks ever-so-slightly of a diversionary tactic: yes, we’re playing very poorly, but look! New shiny thing to play with! Shiny and new!
Sure Radamel Falcao is a fantastic player, but was it what the Red Devils needed? (Photo: @ArteDelFootball | Twitter)
United’s problems are manifold, and they won’t be resolved by one exorbitantly priced Colombian. Remember, van Gaal still had aroud $250 million worth of attacking talent on the pitch at Turf Moor last weekend, and yet not only did United fail to score a solitary goal, they didn’t even manage more shots on target than their newly promoted opponents. Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Juan Mata and Angel Di Maria cost the Glazers three times as much as Burnley have spent on transfers in their entire 132 year history: you’d have been hard pressed to tell.
The Red Devils are currently suffering from something akin to what we’ll call “The Makelele Paradox.” Back in 2003, when Florentino Perez was assembling Los Galacticos Mk I, he signed David Beckham, but sold the less glamorous Claude Makelele - widely regarded as the player who made Los Blancos’ sea of stars tick. Shortly afterwards, Zinedine Zidane bemoaned to the press: “What’s the point in gold-plating the Rolls Royce when you remove the engine?”
While United didn’t sell their engine (they barely have one to flog in the first place), the general point remains: van Gaal has a grossly imbalanced squad, and United’s transfer window activities have done little to address the issue. Their starting 11 currently resembles a tastefully decorated Bel Air mansion, with seven bedrooms, a pool, indoor basketball court and generous servants’ quarters. All very nice, until you notice it’s built on a tower of half-burnt matchsticks.
An exaggeration? Not especially. For all their glittering riches up front, United look threadbare and make-shift further down the pitch. Van Gaal has two wing backs – Young and Valencia – trapped in limbo: they aren’t defenders, and are continually exposed as such. Yet the defensive duties they’re burdened with (and burdened is the word) blunts their confidence and freedom to run forward. Against Burnley, United were so narrow in the final third that time and again they were drowned in a Sea of Claret. Only in the last 15 minutes, when Young and Valencia were forcibly told to push on and overlap the midfield, did United begin to exert a degree of control. There are jokes all over the internet about the squad that the Red Devils have.
(Photo: @footballgenius | Twitter)(Photo: @footballgenius | Twitter)
Van Gaal’s centre back trio continues to play with all the confidence of a mouse at a hungry owl convention, either contriving to lose the ball in dangerous areas (see: Evans, Jonny) or simply hoofing it aimlessly up the field. They look neurotic in possession and downright panic-stricken without it; they aren’t defending cohesively, they’re continually making amends for each other’s individual mistakes. While this may partly be the upshot of a new formation, few would argue that the players deployed in that back three to date – Evans, Jones, Smalling and Blackett – are even remotely comparable in quality to United’s defensive units of the recent past.
In central midfield, van Gaal is currently reliant on a shadow of the former Darren Fletcher (who is yet to re-find his form after a long-term stomach illness) and a trio of players – Fellaini, Cleverley and Anderson – he tried his hardest to offload this summer. The end result is a lack of bite, precision and composure, while van Gaal desperately tries to shoe-horn in widemen Di Maria and Adnan Januzaj to fill the gap.
Luis van Gaal has struggled to find a formation that fits his players and it's simply because they don't fit where they're playing. (Photo: @Squawka | Twitter)
Yes, United’s new manager is dealing with an injury list longer than a Pink Floyd concept album, and that partly explains his botched team selection. One would expect that Ashley Young’s run at left wing back will end as soon as either Luke Shaw or Marcos Rojo becomes available; given Rafael’s injury history, however, Valencia looks a more permanent fixture on the right. While Michael Carrick is much maligned by many, his absence in midfield is being keenly felt; similarly, although the Manchester career of Ander Herrera is still in its infancy, he’s already demonstrated enough to suggest he can be the link between defense and attack that is currently lacking.
For United’s central defensive three, however, there is no savior lingering on the physio’s table. Ferdinand and Vidic are long gone, while Smalling and Jones are nowhere near the heirs apparent they were once considered to be (though the latter is fighting fires manfully). The biggest shock on deadline day wasn’t United signing Falcao, it was their failure to sign a central defender of comparable repute.
Ander Herrera is battling an injury, but has shown signs he can be the link that can spur an attack. (Photo:@FourFourTweet | Twitter)Ander Herrera is battling an injury, but has shown signs he can be the link that can spur an attack. (Photo:@FourFourTweet | Twitter)
Without a calm, composed and solid base, United are struggling to retain possession and build telling pressure on their opponents. Without width and overlaps on the wings, their efforts to get in behind opposing defences are hindered. Without a central midfield capable of winning the ball and distributing it quickly and accurately, their counter-attacking opportunities are stunted.
There’s little use in having an attacking quintet that costs more than the GDP of a small country if you can’t get the ball to them in the first place: that’s the conundrum van Gaal needs to solve quickly if United are to start winning again and remain a force within the English Premier League.
