Louis van Gaal Should Look to Counter 'Long-Ball United' Accusation on the Pitch
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal opted for an unconventional approach to his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, vocally defending his side's playing style, but the 63-year-old should be more concerned with doing so on the field of play.
Van Gaal presented journalists with a four-page tactical dossier of statistical evidence defending criticism from West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce, who coined the phrase "Long-ball United," according to BBC Sport.
This came after United's 1-1 draw away to West Ham on Sunday, with Daley Blind's late equaliser the result of Carl Jenkinson's poor clearance of a long ball.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
"Van Gaal very indignant. Ended up telling us to take it off him. "Copy it and present it to Big Sam." Here is one: pic.twitter.com/kHsc4gjU9s
— Daniel Taylor (@DTguardian) February 10, 2015"
While Van Gaal's statistics are relatively convincing, United's style has changed dramatically since the beginning of the manager's tenure.
Instead of a rather manic, vocal approach to stemming this criticism, Van Gaal should look to convince his detractors by improving his side's performances on the pitch.
The Misuse of Players
Van Gaal is, naturally, well within his rights to utilise a long-ball approach at United, although it may jar with the fabled Manchester United way, which BBC Sport's Simon Stone evaluated last year with words from former manager Sir Matt Busby:
"'All those lads you see going to the factory in Trafford Park, they come to watch you on Saturday,' Busby told [Bobby] Charlton. 'They have boring jobs, so you have to give them something they will enjoy.'"
Van Gaal's style may not be the most enjoyable, but it can be effective—the Red Devils are still fourth in the Premier League table, of course.
However, with the personnel at his disposal, it doesn't need to be that way for the United manager, and Van Gaal can counter Allardyce's jibes by restoring his most effective players to their most effective roles; at this juncture, many are suffering due to their misuse.
As Mark Ogden wrote for The Guardian last week, a spell on the sidelines with injury, coinciding with a sea change in Van Gaal's tactics, has marginalised creative midfielder Ander Herrera:
"[W]ith Van Gaal’s tactics becoming increasingly risk-averse during that period, Herrera’s disappearance from view hints at the manager believing the player to be too adventurous and creative to fit into his ‘philosophy'...in a nutshell, Van Gaal is not an advocate of free-thinking, off-the-cuff football.
"
Juan Mata is another player to have suffered of late, with his last four Premier League games heralding an average of one chance created each, according to Squawka; the No. 8 is regularly bypassed in a direct style.
Perhaps the most alarming is the move of formerly prolific, goalscoring centre-forward Wayne Rooney into a central-midfield role—admittedly a role he has proved effective in—as part of what seems somewhat of a vanity project for Van Gaal.
Without Rooney as United's striker, the side are devoid of a consistent goal threat.
Rooney's positional switch has lead to experiments with Robin van Persie, Falcao and James Wilson, who have scored a combined 14 league goals this season to Rooney's eight.
Furthermore, Marouane Fellaini has served as an attacking safety net, with Van Gaal opting for the lofty Belgian with 20 minutes to go in the draw with West Ham on Sunday.
After the game, Bruce Archer of the Express quoted the manager on Fellaini's contribution to the side: "I have done that already a lot of times with Fellaini, so that is not new...With him we have more power...[We] have to win that second ball otherwise I will always have to line up players like Fellaini."
At present, and in this current style, Fellaini is threatening to become United's key player and, as United's shabby performance at the Boleyn Ground showed, this is not the way forward for Van Gaal.
Instead, the manager should turn to Rooney in this attacking role and restore the vitality of another misused figure.
Embracing Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria was signed on a club-record £59.7 million deal in the summer, firmly underlining the former Real Madrid man as one of the side's most important players—and rightly so, given his performances for the La Liga side.
On this evidence, the 26-year-old should be United's key man, not a player like Fellaini.
Against West Ham, Di Maria struggled to gain a foothold on the contest with a regular shifting of his role by Van Gaal; he played wide, central, reserved and advanced at different stages of the contest.
This indicates a pattern that has developed as United enter the second half of the season, with Van Gaal seemingly unsure of his best-fitting system and, as a result, Di Maria's best role.
The manager would only need to take cues from a contemporary to solve the latter conundrum and perhaps give him an indication of the way forward at Old Trafford. Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti had uncovered the midfielder's most effective position prior to his move to United.
This was succinctly analysed by Paul Wilkes, for FourFourTwo ahead of Madrid's tie with Barcelona in March of last year:
"Ancelotti initially decided the 4-2-3-1 was the best option without [Sami] Khedira, but away victories over Espanyol and Real Betis with Di María on the left of a midfield three caused a rethink. 'Yes, for the moment we will keep playing with the 4-3-3 formation,' said the Italian in a press conference. 'It gives us a good balance because all of our three midfielders work well enough.'
"
As Wilkes continued: "With [Xabi] Alonso and [Luka] Modric already in the centre Ancelotti wants someone with energy, drive and athleticism. With Di María as a central midfielder, Ancelotti has the right blend."
In this left-central role, supported by Khedira—standing in for Alonso—and Modric, Di Maria was awarded Man of the Match in last season's Champions League final win over Atletico Madrid.
It may be a simplistic crystallisation, but Van Gaal has the players to fill the roles of Alonso as the deep-lying play-maker and Modric as the creative hub in Daley Blind and Herrera, respectively.
In a central role, as at Madrid, Di Maria would provide United with an energy and drive.
Rafa Benitez
Van Gaal's approach to Tuesday's press conference drew many comparisons with former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez's infamous 2009 outburst, as transcribed by The Guardian, following criticism from then-United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who questioned the Reds' nerves amid their title charge.
"I was surprised by what has been said, but maybe they are nervous because we are at the top of the table," Benitez opened:
"But I want to talk about facts. I want to be clear, I do not want to play mind games too early, although they seem to want to start. But I have seen some facts. On 1 November, they played Hull and Mr Ferguson had a two-match touchline ban and a £10,000 fine after confronting Mike Dean, the referee, for improper conduct.
We started the Respect campaign, and that was when [Javier] Mascherano was sent off [last season] at Old Trafford. The referee [Steve Bennett] was the referee when they played against Wigan—he could not see the handball against Wigan by Rio Ferdinand, he did not give a penalty. They won the game and they won the title in this game.
"
Benitez took the view that United were favoured by the Premier League officials and arguably fell for Ferguson's mind games—Liverpool lost out to United in the title race that season.
Allardyce and West Ham, United's unlikely top-four rivals this season, may well be looking to gain an advantage with mind games of their own.
Van Gaal may have already fallen for it, and Allardyce could have planted the seeds of more tactical doubt at Old Trafford, but the manager can instead use this as stimulation for an on-field statement of intent.
Benitez's words effectively undermined his success on Merseyside, as he was focused equally on the media as on the field of play.
Louis van Gaal would be wise to avoid this approach during his tenure at Manchester United and opt to prove his critics wrong with performances on the pitch.
Statistics via WhoScored.com, unless specified.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
