There’s a certain cruel irony in the way Manchester United are treating their midfielders this season. The fans have been craving a top-class player in the middle of the pitch for years, and finally see three signed in one summer, only to witness them either played out of position – or not at all.
Daley Blind, after a successful stint at the base of a diamond earlier in the season, has been dropped back into defence since his recent return to the side. With Carrick firmly installed in the engine room, it might be a positon he has to get used to. Di Maria, who supplied the much-needed dynamism and drive into United’s midfield, has operated as a striker in recent matches, struggling to get used to having his back to goal and attempting to discover space in an area of the pitch where it doesn’t exist. Not for the first time this season, they are puzzling decisions by Van Gaal. It’s the abruptly reduced role of Ander Herrera though that remains the greatest mystery.
Herrera has looked like the real deal since the moment he arrived. The first glimpses of him in pre-season were enough to suggest he was set to become a fans’ favourite at Old Trafford. They might have been meaningless matches but they showcased a player of immense ability and creativity. The sort of player the team has needed for some time.
Not since Paul Scholes was in his pomp have United had a midfielder who can add subtlety, control and invention in the way Herrera can. His greatest strengths lie in advanced areas, where his vision and quick passing can thread a way through tight defences, yet he is no slouch off the ball either, an endlessly willing runner who has already demonstrated a tenacity and aggressiveness in his tackling. Boasting sharper interplay than Rooney, and greater strength than Mata, his role in the team seemed assured.
It’s somewhat baffling, then, that after a strong start to the season when he formed a burgeoning partnership with Blind, a combination that brimmed with future promise, it has been so harshly stopped in its tracks. Injuries have been a hallmark of United’s season and they have played their part here too, consigning both Blind and Herrera to the treatment room for a while. It was long enough for Van Gaal to reconsider his midfield, with both players slipping down the pecking order, particularly Herrera.
Part of it may trace back to the defeat to Leicester City. Yes, that one. That 5-3 loss, and in particular the insane twenty minute spell when United completely forgot how to play football, seems to have affected Van Gaal considerably. Tactical changes have followed – the dreaded 3-5-2 has been forged, favoured and persisted with, despite widespread dislike and scant evidence of its effectiveness. It may provide greater solidity but offers far less adventure, excitement and goals.
Personnel changes have followed too. Carrick has returned (and mostly performed well), but more surprisingly Rooney has been slotted into midfield, a move which appeared temporary at the time but now has an air of permanence about it. He has played a long run of games in that position and coupled with Van Gaal’s assertion he doesn’t view Rooney as a striker, his new role may simply become his main role.
The most obvious outcome of that re-shuffle means there is no longer room for Herrera. The bench is the best he can hope for at the moment. It remains a decision difficult to understand. Rooney is exactly what you would expect him to be in midfield. His work-rate and energy is excellent, his long-range passing mostly impressive (although not often productive), and he provides a genuine goal-scoring threat from deep. There are though natural limitations to his effectiveness. Unfamiliar with the position, he often fails to move the ball quickly enough, taking several touches too many, slowing the play down when it needs to be speeded up. He can be wasteful in possession too, attempting cross-field passes when they are too ambitious and often unnecessary. With Van Persie and Falcao failing to spark so far, he’s been sorely missed at the sharp end of the pitch too.
Under Sven Goran Eriksson a decade or so ago, when he was the manager of England, there was a feeling he sacrificed the idea of the best team in order to accommodate the best players. Scholes, Gerrard, Lampard and Beckham were often squeezed into a midfield that simply did could accommodate them all – it was abundantly clear Scholes or Gerrard were wasted and ineffective on the left-wing, as was Lampard in a holding role. Not that it prevented Eriksson persisting with it time and again. Better options were ignored for the sake of the biggest names.
Van Gaal clearly isn’t starry-eyed about big names like Eriksson was. Neither is he obsessed with big reputations – his use and rejuvenation of Young & Fellaini is testament to that. Even so, there is an echo of Eriksson’s England thinking in Rooney’s re-positioning – it keeps him in the team while still allowing room for Mata, Di Maria, and either Falcao or Van Persie (or both). It’s a remarkable incredible line-up of attacking talent, but it’s simply not clicking. There’s little doubt there’s better options than Rooney in midfield, and that he would be better served further forward. It would present a difficult decision, though, over who to leave out. Mata or maybe even Van Persie would have to be sacrificed, something Van Gaal seems reluctant to do, despite the inconsistent form of both players this season.
Van Gaal wouldn’t be afraid to do it, perhaps like Eriksson was, but it’s clear he still feels that combining all those players together remains United’s best option.
The exclusion of Herrera is likely to be more complex than that though. Van Gaal has a habit of making judgments on players very quickly, the antithesis of dithering Dave last year. Danny Welbeck had been at United since he was nine years old bur Van Gaal sold him the month after he arrived at the club. Rafeal was swiftly considered to be too much of a liability, Lindegaard was instantly deemed not good enough, Januzai too lightweight, and Anderson…well, too Anderson.
Herrera’s not quite slid into that group but he’s not far off either, particularly when the expected arrival of Strootman (or similar) happens in the summer. Since a poor performance in Herrera’s initial comeback game against West Brom in October, when Fellaini replaced him at half-time and began his own mini-resurgence, there’s no doubt the Spaniard has fallen out of favour.
He has started only one match since then, and even when he has excelled as a substitute, most notably in the home game against Hull City when an outstanding performance saw him crowned man of the match, it’s not been enough to earn him a regular starting berth.
It’s unfortunate it’s happened at a time when he looks most needed. He might not be the complete midfielder but he possesses enough attributes to cure many of the team’s current problems: ponderous and predictable passing, a lack of speed and progression in the centre of the pitch, and an absence of tenacity and bite off the ball.
Van Gaal talks endlessly about seeking the right balance and striving for the perfect performance. From what we’ve seen so far, he’s unlikely to get it with the current formation of 3-5-2 or the midfield axis of Carrick and Rooney. When talking about transfers, he always refers to only recruiting players better than the ones he has already has. If he takes a look at the substitutes’ bench, he might find he already has one.
