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| photo by Petteri Sulonen | via PhotoRee |
In which Correspondent Ed questions whether Red Devils' bossman Louis Van Gaal knows what he is doing:
What happened to Manchester United? My son can still watch them but I sure can’t. How did a team with Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Radamel Falcao, and Juan Mata become so ugly? The best part of any United game these days is watching David De Gea save them from losing to teams like, say, QPR, by launching himself all over the pitch. No really, that IS fun.
So is Louis Van Gaal the problem? Is his system so inflexible that it’s taking the joy out of United even though it’s resulting in wins?
According to the press, LVG has commented (or at least tried to comment — someone needs to send him a Rosetta Stone asap) that the team scores more from a 4-4-2 than his chosen 3-5-2, but that the team also doesn’t set up well in the former. I think he means that the defense isn’t too good, and that they don’t have a good enough midfield. I could have told him that before they dropped a ton of jingle on that loan deal for Falcao. But I also think that the 3-5-2 doesn’t help on either side of the ball. Is that okay to say? I mean, this isn’t David Moyes we are talking about. LVG may just be beyond criticism.
But to continue, I’m just not sure the 3-5-2 is suited to league play. I think the international game is a bit less coached as there is less preparation by the players. The 3-5-2 may therefore surprise opponents more, whereas teams may be able to prepare better for it at the club level.
Of course, that’s just a theory and there’s not much evidence. Regardless, Manchester United needs to start doing something differently or I’m going to have to start watching Real Sociedad.
This is farlieonfootie for January 22.
So is Louis Van Gaal the problem? Is his system so inflexible that it’s taking the joy out of United even though it’s resulting in wins?
According to the press, LVG has commented (or at least tried to comment — someone needs to send him a Rosetta Stone asap) that the team scores more from a 4-4-2 than his chosen 3-5-2, but that the team also doesn’t set up well in the former. I think he means that the defense isn’t too good, and that they don’t have a good enough midfield. I could have told him that before they dropped a ton of jingle on that loan deal for Falcao. But I also think that the 3-5-2 doesn’t help on either side of the ball. Is that okay to say? I mean, this isn’t David Moyes we are talking about. LVG may just be beyond criticism.
But to continue, I’m just not sure the 3-5-2 is suited to league play. I think the international game is a bit less coached as there is less preparation by the players. The 3-5-2 may therefore surprise opponents more, whereas teams may be able to prepare better for it at the club level.
Of course, that’s just a theory and there’s not much evidence. Regardless, Manchester United needs to start doing something differently or I’m going to have to start watching Real Sociedad.
This is farlieonfootie for January 22.
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