1. Di Maria
Is it his confidence? Is it the culture? Could it be the price tag? Whatever it is, Di Maria has not settled in the way most United fans and pundits would have expected. His touch is mediocre, he isn’t beating his man, his wand of a left foot is toothless and he looks short of self-belief. To be substituted at half-time, at home, for a 20 year old must surely be the nadir of what has been a fantastic career. It was only 9 months ago that he was man of the match in the Champions League final – he could never have foreseen the mediocre months that followed. Van Gaal has said “In Holland, Spain and Germany I had the same experience with players. We have to give him time, not just Di Maria but all the players. We wait and see.” With 11 games to go this is surely a commodity that neither Van Gaal nor Di maria can afford.
2. Januzaj
Much has been made of Januzaj since he broke through to the first team. For all Moyes’ obvious faults and failings, Januzaj was a massive plus. Last season he looked like he was going to be a Ronaldo in the making (maybe that’s too much for any young player to live up to), but so far this season he has failed to impress. Like a young Ronaldo his decision making is suspect at times, and you feel that the forwards become weary of him cutting inside and shooting at every opportunity. But, against Sunderland there was a swagger and a maturity about the way he played. He ghosted past players with purpose and delivered telling passes. Although he set up Rooney with a re-bounded shot, he can feel good about his contribution as it was more than Di Maria has done in months.
3. Rooney
Where is Rooney’s best position? Midfield? Number 10? For me it’s as a number 9. Think back to the 2009 – 2010 season, that’s the season where Rooney stepped out of Ronaldo’s shadow and became world class in his own right. For whatever reason he wasn’t happy, probably because he wasn’t as involved in the play, but he was devastating. He was in truth the best number 9 on the planet. It has since become fashionable to become a 10 or a false 9, but Rooney is best as a finisher. He can cause problems to defenders with his strength – he’s as strong as a bull when he wants to be – and with his incredible movement, neither of which are utilised as a number 10. Too many times we have seen him drop deep, pick up the ball and hit a diagonal pass to the right of midfield, and too many teams that we see cut it out as it is something anybody can spot. Move him forward, tell him to stay forward and the goals will come. Louis, he’s your 20 goals a season man.
4. Falcao
With Rooney in mind, it is with great sadness that we will have to say goodbye to Falcao. He’s world class, without doubt he is, but he just doesn’t fit in at United. He looks lost, his touch is poor, his positional sense is still there and so is his movement but he doesn’t hold the line like he should. You could argue that if he had Beckham, Giggs, Keane and Scholes behind him that he would have better service. I would counter that and say that I could play in front of that midfield and expect to score a few goals, anyone could, you would just have to stand still and the ball would hit you. But that’s not the point, we don’t have that midfield, we don’t have those sorts of players so we need something different. We need a bull with strength and his name is Rooney.
5. Formation
Never once under Sir Alex, did we have a spell where we spoke about the formation so much – maybe after a few chastening defeats in Europe, but never in the league. We knew how we played – 4–4–2. And boy did it work. Under Van Gaal we have played 3-5-2, 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 and variations of each. For my money we have to play 4-3-3 as it is a formation familiar to the team and one that will get the best out of the squad. With a midfield of Blind, Herrera and Mata and a forward line of Di Maria/Januzai, Rooney and Young you have enough guile, pace and strength to trouble most teams in the Premier Leage. The surprising thing is, if Van Gaal chooses this formation, this is the formation that he knows best. This is the way his Ajax, Holland (pre world cup) and Barcelona teams played. This is the blueprint that he left for Guardiola. For the sake of United, let’s hope that he sticks to what he’s good at and what he knows.
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