---
title: "Are van Gaal’s latest formations paying off?"
canonical: "https://readmanutd.com/2015/02/03/are-van-gaals-latest-formations-paying-off/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
section: "Articles"
published: "2015-02-03T20:45:32Z"
modified: "2015-04-13T23:32:47Z"
---

# Are van Gaal’s latest formations paying off?

Only a few times this season,  Manchester United dressing room has been spared of a large amount of injuries, but the last time that was the case, Louis van Gaal sent an unorthodox starting eleven to the Old Trafford pitch against Southampton. The sole player unavailable for selection that afternoon was Ashley Young, who has been a good reason throughout the season and pre-season for van Gaal to continue with fans’ unfavourable 3-5-2 formation. Despite Young’s ineligibility, prior unconvincing results and performances against Tottenham & Stoke, the array stayed the same, as did the lack of resoluteness which caused injustice to those rare but quality chances that the United attack managed to create. However, even more important than the frustrating result and the fact that the Reds didn’t have a single shot on target , was the indication of what Louis van Gaal considers as his strongest side.

Bearing in mind, that Marcos Rojo would have been a strong option (presumably in place of left centre-back where Daley Blind was playing) for that fixture if he wasn’t declared as ‘not completely ready’, the team that started that game was ‘unbalanced’ to say the least.

[![team](https://media.readmanutd.com/readmanutd/2015/02/team.png)](https://media.dave.sport/readmanutd/2015/02/team.png)

Questionable positions of some players (Rooney in midfield, di Maria in Robben ‘World Cup role’) didn’t help against a solid and very organised defence, but Louis van Gaal persisted with that idea in the upcoming matches and doesn’t seem to think this is where the problem lies. Standard and already described problems occurred, which brought the debate of having both Michael Carrick and Blind on the pitch at the same time, along with shy and unproductive Mata. In the end, the selection itself proved to be of a lesser significance to a feeling that van Gaal simply didn’t believe in Antonio Valencia’s abilities at right-back against strong opponents, which would be riskier move he had to take with goal of releasing the attacking threat on expense of the defence and, in the end, to win the game.

United unfortunately lost narrowly and it wasn’t completely unexpected following the developments of the game. However, after the most recent win against rock-bottom Leicester, Valencia may have established himself at a more defensive position ahead of Rafael and his mysterious case, so we may have seen the last of the back three.

Looking at long term, 3-5-2 formation doesn’t bring a lot (or any) cheers of approval from the United community and Louis van Gaal after long period of stubbornness admitted:

> *”We are at the point that we are not creating to much chances, so now I return back to the shape of 4-4-2, but I hope that we improve the balance.”*

Lack of consistent and top quality options when it comes to centre-back and wing-back roles (defence must prove to be reliable to attack to be effective) and worrying indicators when it come to passing statistic (United have the lowest proportion of forward passes in the league) convinced the manager to relieve the players and the Old Trafford faithful with more common ‘thesis of philosophy’. The Performance against Leicester was a step in the right direction, but a lot of work remains ahead of van Gaal’s coaching team.

To put it simply, Manchester United just need start playing the Manchester United way, with pace, thrive and idea and it seems old-fashioned three-at-the-back system cannot bring that to the current roster of players. It is to be seen whether this “Copernican revolution” is just the newest caprice from the Iron Tulip.

“The curious case of Ander Herrera” as the fans like to call it is the subject for another occasion. While some followers point out that Herrera ‘should be first name on the team-sheet’ when it comes to midfield, the manager doesn’t share that view at the moment and it remains to wait the future denouement. After Carrick’s injury and back-four reversion which opened one new place in the midfield, yesterday’s game was the perfect chance for Herrera to book his place in United’s first eleven for foreseeable future, but van Gaal unexpectedly gave his trust to Adnan Januzaj which brings deeper and more complicated thoughts about the manager-player relationship.