Louis van Gaal will take control of his first Manchester United training session tomorrow, after he arrived back from this years World Cup competition where his Holland side finished in third place. The 62-year old Dutchman has already made a massive impact on the club, without even taking charge of a single minute of football.
Last week we brought you this potential 4-3-3 formation that United could use if certain signings arrived, and this time we thought we’d try out the 5-3-2 formation that Louis van Gaal deployed with his Holland side in Brazil.
As you can see, there aren’t many personnel changes. The three centre-back system certainly offers a lot of solidarity defensively, but its going forward where it looks like the struggle will come from. An alarming lack of pace could be the main issue, but my that midfield looks strong.
What changes to this line-up would you make? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
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i love this information but i prefer winger on the pitch and LVG help united with the defensive.the defensive are week
Right now, United don’t have ANY suitable wingers – Which is why this formation will get serious consideration unless we sign someone like Di Maria, Cuadrado, Depay or Reus. None will be easy to acquire, even Depay.
The only wide attacker we have right now that the club should persist with is Januzaj, and he’s still a work-in-progress – At age 19, he’s not yet as effective as Giggs and Ronaldo were at 17… He lacks that consistent impact that assures him of a starting place just yet.
Agree with most of that…main difference being Januzaj is tactically more aware and technically more advanced than Giggs and Ronaldo were at that age; his footballing brain, vision and his ability to execute a defence splitting pass are far superior; but, he sadly lacks the pace to play as an outright winger; and, while he is remarkably tough, he isn’t yet strong enough to play through the middle a la Paul Gascoigne. I do see him as a future CAM or no 10 but it will be almost impossible to keep him happy on the bench or in the reserves for very long.
This formation absolutely requires that Vidal signing, or someone similar. Based on the skills of Mata and Hererra, Carvalho would be a good option – As would Jordy Clasie, who is amazingly solid as a DM for a small young guy.
The biggest issues in my opinion are:
– You need much more solid CBs than Jones, Evans and Smalling to pull this off, and really, to play 3 at the back, you need FIVE good CBs on the roster. United need someone experienced to come in – Having Evans as the most senior CD isn’t good. If they land someone like Hummels, Mangala or Miranda, then they’ll be way better off – de Vrij would help too, as he commits so few errors for a young defender.
– This formation leaves players like Januzaj with nowhere to go. This formation is bad for attacking midfielders in general, and that’s arguably United’s greatest strength. Both for the current squad, and the youth coming through (Januzaj, Lingard, Powell, etc).
The biggest plus with this is that it makes fielding Rooney and RVP together really easy… But I’ll be surprised if Van Gaal just instantly goes that way rather than demand Rooney adapt to playing as a wide attacking in 4-3-3… Frankly, Rooney played just fine in that exact role in United’s all conquering 2008 team.
De Gea
Hummels Jones
Rafael Shaw
Schweinsteiger
Robben Herrera
Mata
Van Persie Rooney
youve got a good imagination if you think robben & schweinsteiger are coming, hummels very unlikley as well.
We won,t play this systeem at United, v Gaal made this because of his weak defence at the WC.
So you mean to say we have a strong defense ? Remember those two rocks we used to have in Vidic and Rio, well they’re gone. We have a very weak defense as of today. I agree with Bryan Robson that we need to bring in better defensive cover. Apart from that, a box-to-box high workrate central midfielder is essential for united. People keep saying bring in carvalho, here’s my take on the matter.
I think United will sign Vidal this summer. Juve want to sell, and Man United is the only interested party for the 27 yr old. Therefore it seems silly for us to pay his full release clause. I think United will hold off on the deal until juve bring the asking amount down to 25-28 mil pounds. I have a hunch we will be seeing another defensive midfielder join the Reds in January, the not-so-well-known 23 yr old Kevin Strootman. He is not valued ridiculously high and is Van Gaal’s other favorite (the first one being RvP ofcourse).
Whatever happens, Glory Glory Man United ! ! ! Together We Stand
there will be no vidal or hummels.
I also think we need William over Vidal because of the age difference.. But also love our wide players.. Adnan
100% we will not be playing this formation
—————–De Gea——————
Rafael—–De Vrij—–Jones—–Shaw
————Vidal—–Herrera————-
——————Mata———————
Rooney———-RVP————Januzaj
This is what I want to see this season! And I think this is the most realistic line-up. But if we get more players, we have a lot more opportunities to choose between. ;)
a good line up but i would prefer evans or vermaelen instead of jones.
De gea
Jones de vrij Evans
Rafael Shaw
Vidal Herrera
Mata Rooney
Van persie
it would be nice.
5-3-2 Formation
De Gea
Jones Hummels De Vrij
Rafael Shaw
Rooney Vidal Herrera
Di Maria Van Persie
de vrij is a right sided cb who can also play right back.jones just isnt solid enough, therefore swap jones for de vrij, put hummels left side cb & buy vlaar for the cb, alternatively keep hummels cb & buy vermaelen for left sided cb. Better still buy both for flexibility.
I agree with Dan; none of our centre backs are experienced in playing 5 (3) at the back; its a system that requires rigid discipline and organisation; totally unsuited to the fragile, injury prone, over excitable Jones; who is too often apt to be marooned upfield, having lost control of the ball at his feet; or chasing after an opponent like a kitten with a ball of wool; he is totally unable to handle the demands of zonal marking; Shaw’s attacking instincts and duties would also be severely compromised because of Jones lapses. Smalling is more imposing but Evans is the toughest of the lot but again, injury prone and neither a commanding organiser or a sweeper, unable to carry the ball out of defence or launch an attack in the way that Hummels does for Dortmund and Germany.
We really couldn’t play solidly in this formation unless we had the likes of De vrij and Mangala or Jan Vortigen (who can all play full back as well as cb) flanking Hummels with a tall, powerful, athletic, technical, box to box midfielder like Schweinsteiger or Kheidira able to slot into defence or a dm like Carvalho or Mascherano, or Vidal, all of whom would be able to drop back and help protect a rather slow Hummels or allow him to carry the ball forward when necessary.
Although Mata has the vision and range of passing to be able to play a quarter back type role he isn’t a Pirlo or a Scholes; neither he nor Kagawa (even less so) are versatile, multi functional players and are really only at their most effective and productive when playing in the no 10 role; playing a rigid 5-3-2 formation would make both players pretty redundant; the 4-3-3, 4-1-3-2 or 4-3-1-2 formations would make far more effective use of their talents and abilities.
A couple of other things occur; although the current wingbacks provide width, with no wingers there would be little opportunities for an overlap, meaning take ons would have to be decisive and crosses reliably accurate; also, neither Shaw or Rafael, though gifted dribblers, are comfortable tucking into midfield like Daly Blind, Contrao or Felipe Luis on the left or Lahm (who of course can play virtually anywhere) on the right.
In conclusion I really can’t see 5-3-2 working without the acquisition of several experinced, world class performers at huge expense….highly unlikely that Van Gaal would risk wasting time, effort and points on trying to make it work with our current personnel therefore I doubt it will happen; it would be too big a cultural and tactical change, really only suited to (frankly) more intelligent, technically gifted, adaptable players…It maybe possible as a long term project through the youth and Academy system but VG is only with us for 3 years and he will cut his suit to fit his cloth.
LvG’s preferred formation is 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 though. Signing Di Maria and Vidal will be vital.Rooney will play when RvP is unable too. Mata and Kagawa will flourish in the hole. And yes, we will see 5-3-2, but I expect 4-3-3 to be the main formation.
4-3-3:
…………………RvP
DiMaria…………………..Januzaj
…………………Mata
……….Herrera……Vidal
Shaw Hummels Evans Rafael
…………………DDG
4-5-1
………………..RvP
DiMaria……..Mata……Januzaj
……….Herrera…Vidal
Shaw Hummels Evans Rafael
………………….DDG
———————— RvP
DiMaria——–Mata / Rooney——–Januzaj
———Herrera—————Vidal / william
–Shaw——Hummels——-Devrij /Indi——-Rafael
—————————DG
indi is a left cb who can also play left wing not right were youve put him., but he has signed for porto. no chance of getting vidal,di maria or hummels.
Congretualetion Man Utd for the lineup ,this is what we have been waiting for , Now I am geting happy to see my favarity club buying quality players. And it is our hope that we shall challenge other teams this season. Go ahead LVG
jones,evans n smalling out..that all..
I think that formation is quite alright but the defence combination should be changed at list the likeness of Hummel’s and Miranda would suit the formation
I would go for a 4-2-1-3
—————–De Gea——————
Rafael—–Jones—–Hummels—–Shaw
————Vidal—–Herrera————-
——————Mata———————
Rooney———-RVP————Reus
This would be a perfect team for United next season.
i can see 3 players utd wont be signing & jones isnt good enough if you want to qualify for the champions league
@disqus_ygWEuqYM00:disqus Man-U may fail to buy Reus but at least its making good moves for Hummels and Vidal though there may be still some obstacles
Who told you that ? the press or online blogs ? it hasnt come from any reliable source like utd or sky sports. i would like both those players but dont believe the hype. Theyre not coming !
I agree with Dan. Smalling Jones and Evans not United quality and all too injury prone. We need to bring in someone like Hummels, maybe De Vrij and maybe try Keane if were going 3 at the back. Strootman will more than likely be bought as defensive midfielder in Jan, so either someone will be bought through from reserves, or someone cheaper like Clasie as backup. I cant see Vidal coming as theres issues with his knee, and cant see Utd paying £35 million for him. I hope Januzaj, Powell, Lingard, Wilson and Lawrence are given a chance. I think 3-5-2 with flying wing backs will probably be used mainly, and 5-3-1-1 against the top 4/5 sides. Its all exciting stuff!
daley blind will cover strootmans position til january.
No pace in that side. Need to sign Reus and also play Januzaj, None of those centre halves are good enough to play in a 3. Sign a class centre half and Vidal and you can play 4 at the back. Anyone who thinks United should sign di maria should be run over by a steam train.
I think LVG need to promote some academy player to senior level these season which most German bundesliga and la liga team usually do.
Gk de gea
cb hummels
cb de virj
rb rafael
lb shaw
cmf schweinsteiger
cmf vidal
rmf mata
lmf herera
amf rooney
cf persie
the formation is good but still we need wingers like di maria to make the job done
do u guys notice that hummels is slow?? just wanted u noticing that + this formation lacks pace and its somehow one dimensional which can be exploited or kept at bay as seen against agentina . hope we mount a title challenge this season. GGMU!!!
get Evans out of there. we will play next season with ten men… that is all
evans & jones are both crap.
I’d maybe try Valencia as right wing back
This is not my prefered line up but a more realistic outcome.
………………………………………de gea…………………………………….
……….smalling/jones………..vlaar/jones………………evans/vermaelen………..
raphael/valencia………………………………………………………………..shaw/blind
………………………………blind/de jong/carrick………………………………………..
………….herrera/mata……………………………………herrera/januzaj……………..
……………………………………………mata/rooney……………………………………..
………………………………………RVP…………………………………………………….
hummels and di maria, rooney out
or rvp out
Smalling must improve the accuracy and distribution of his passes. Too many of his passes go to the opposition who exploit his generosity and set up dangerous counter attacks. Jones will neutralise anyone, anywhere. Evans is solid but should avoid fouls in the box and thereabouts. Rafael would have given a far better account at the back for Brazil in SWC. The back four have youth, potetial, experience, talent, ball sense, determination, fearlessness and speed and they are not fazed by big names. They must be gel as a unit. One for all and all for one sort of mentality.Relieved that DannyWllbeck is not on the list – he’s overrated.
lvg has always played 4 3. 3. World Cup was an exception. Listen to his interviews!!!!! He played that way in World Cup due to the limited abilities of his players.
we need more new player if united want top 4next season