Overview of Tour 2014
Manchester United Football Club was probably the best European team in pre-season, which was completely unexpected following the antics of the last season and after being ousted from Europe for the first time since 1990. Having said that, this story is not an immense shock to the football world after the appointment of Louis Van Gaal as the manager and club legend Ryan Giggs as his assistant following the sacking of David ‘the wrong one’ Moyes. Having managed so many big clubs such as Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and after guiding the Netherlands to an improbable but highly deserved 3rd place finish in the recently concluded World Cup in Brazil, it hardly comes as a surprise. No United fan, or any football fan for that matter would say that LvG is not the right person to guide the 20-times English champions in the coming seasons. LvG, in his first presser as manager, made it crystal clear that he will imprint his philosophy, his personality and his system on the club and the club will have to make itself comfortable with that. No one can argue about his doing that in the pre-season and that it hasn’t worked wonders. The same set of players that failed so dismally under Moyes last season, who lacked positivity, urgency and the strong self-belief that every United team under Sir Alex Ferguson possessed for the last 26 years, has been completely transformed, given a new surge of life under the new manager. There have been two additions to the squad – Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera, both highly rated youngsters, and the deals may have been overpriced, but still, both have shown promise in pre-season and have given hope to the fans.
Manchester United started their pre-season in the United States by winning the Chevrolet Cup thanks to a 7-0 thrashing of LA Galaxy in LA. Galaxy are a very strong team, the champions and to thrash them like that showed that the manager had imparted the much needed confidence in the squad. It was a great win, but as ABUs will say, it was only pre-season.
Then followed the club’s participation in the International Champions Cup, which had the likes of Real Madrid, Roma, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Liverpool, Manchester City and Olympiakos, all big names in Europe. It all started with a 3-2 win over Roma, with 2 goals from Wayne Rooney and a sumptuous finish from Juan Mata. A penalty shootout win over Inter Milan followed and United were in pole position to top their group. The big one was against Real Madrid, a 3-1 triumph against the 10-time European champions, in front of a record 109,318 fans in Michigan. The final was a game of two halves, with United down 1-0 at half time to arch-rivals Liverpool, came back strongly to beat them convincingly 3-1 to win the ICC.
The new system
Van Gaal implanted a new formation at United, switching from the traditional 4-4-2 to an unconventional 3-5-2, which he used with the Dutch national team in Brazil too. Many questions were raised whether it would suit United, who always played with two wingers and 4 at the back, also did United have the right squad to implement the system, after veterans Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, 3 of the regular back four, left the club in the matter of days, and the lack of wingers who can defend, to play as the wing-backs. But the squad seems to have adjusted smoothly and successfully to the formation, pre-season results have shown. The attack has been exceptional, with Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata being the main threats towards the opposition. Reece James and Jesse Lingard showed great potential and will be knocking on the door of the first team. Ander Herrera has settled down very quickly in the center of the park and has left his mark there, something United were lacking for the past couple of seasons. Defense was in great shape too with Evans, Smalling and Jones performing well as the back 3 in all matches, leaving out the below-par first half against Liverpool. Tyler Blackett and Michael Keane, the academy pass outs have shown great promise, though the competitive fixtures might come too soon for them. Luke Shaw, the new left wing back, did well in the last two matches, overcoming fitness troubles. But the best of all, the relevation of pre-season was Ashley Young. Being one of those who had to endure some intense abuse from the fans for his dismal performances last season, Young has shown great resurgence under LvG, as a wing back too. His post match comments after the Madrid game (in which United just required a point to qualify for the final) which involved something like ‘We are United, we don’t play for a draw’ won many hearts back, displaying that the old winning spirit and never-say-die attitude had returned at the club.
Technical Aspects
What I like the most about this system is its versatility. During attacks, the wing backs rush forward, getting more bodies in the opposition box, while in defense, they remain at the back to block the crosses. Also this system makes it possible to take a wing back off and bring in a center forward in case we are searching for a late winner, keeping the stability in defense intact by switching to the conventional 4-4-2. This actually happened at the World Cup, when Bruno Martins Indi was taken off to be replaced by Klaas Jan Huntelaar in the 80th minute against Mexico in the Rd of 16, and the Netherlands scored two in the dying minutes to win 2-1, with Huntelaar scoring the winner.
Each system has some flaws and according to my observations, this one has some serious ones in the defense. Because of the 3 man defense, the center backs often tend to spread out leaving massive gaps in between each other, allowing the AMs to deliver killer passes easily to the forwards, who just have to hold their lines. When this happens, the central defender is caught in no-man’s land, leaving the goal to the mercy of the finish.
Looking forward to the 16th of August
Many will agree that inspite of a successful pre-season, United still need additions to the squad, mainly in the defense. 3 defenders have left at the same time, leaving big holes in the defense, and our starting back-line presently is inexperienced and injury-prone. It might be that some players will have to make way too, to strengthen the squad, with Nani, Cleverley, Anderson, Felliani, Kagawa and Chicharito the possible candidates.
All the big clubs have made great signings, with Arsenal leading the way, and it is improbable that our defense will cope against the very best in England unless we bring in new ones, proven at the biggest stage. Chelsea have been very smart in this window, making some high-profile signings and remaining inside the FFP bracket inspite of that. Liverpool also have managed some decent signings, and inspite of losing Luis Suarez to Barcelona, will be a force. City already have a great squad and pose a threat as it is. Tottenham and Everton are always knocking on the door of the top 4. So overall, it promises to be a great season, as is the case every time. I am confident that LvG’s United will make amends to last season’s heartbreak and finish in the top-4 which should be our realistic aim. But if we make some good signings in the remaining days, and the players play the United way, who knows, maybe Ander Herrera’s antics by selecting the no.21 jersey might bear the same fruit as a certain Robin Van Persie managed in his first season at Old Trafford. AMEN!
Atharva Kaluskar 