5 Biggest Issues Manchester United Need to Address to Finish in the Top 4
The cover of the latest edition of Manchester United fanzine United We Stand has it about right; the Red Devils are heading in the right direction—be that via long balls or otherwise—but are still lacking cohesion.
Having spent £150 million and jettisoned myriad players to rejuvenate United, it was always going to take time before Louis van Gaal got the team to jell. That they maintained a position among the top four for several months despite playing below their potential had many believing a Champions League berth was secure.
It's not quite worked out like that, and the Dutchman’s "philosophy" is being brought into question—though not necessarily for the right reasons.
The long-ball game that was successfully employed in the latter stages against West Ham United is not the problem. Nor is the fact the football has been dreary.
Players being played out of position and dire away form stemming from unnecessarily pessimistic tactics are among the contributing factors, and it's not a stretch to surmise that Van Gaal, as a consequence of injuries and tinkering, still doesn't have a preferred starting XI.
With just over a quarter of the season remaining, the top-four finish that should indisputably be the least United achieve this season, given the players at Van Gaal's disposal, is far from guaranteed.
The Premier League couldn't be much tighter between third and seventh at present, and the teams around United seem to be finding their respective grooves.
Southampton have rediscovered their excellent early-season form after going five league games without a win before Christmas; Arsenal appear to have learned how to win ugly; Mauricio Pochettino's high-intensity tactics have given Tottenham Hotspur a never-say-die attitude; and perhaps most worryingly, Liverpool are unbeaten in the league since their 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford on December 14.
There are many issues Manchester United, and by proxy, Van Gaal, need to address in order to finish in the top four. What follows are the main five.
No More Square Pegs in Round Holes
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Van Gaal's acknowledgement that United required pace up front led to Angel Di Maria, who is unquestionably at his best driving toward goal from midfield, appearing as a striker in January.
That experiment may be consigned to history, but it is a great example of the Dutchman not playing a player where he most effective.
Wayne Rooney is not a central midfielder. He has done nothing to prove otherwise over the course of this season. No matter how many "captain’s privileges" he has, according to ESPN FC, if his ability is deemed to be inferior to other players in his preferred position, he should be dropped—though his traits mean this shouldn't be the case, as will soon be made clear.
His first touch is not the best. His passing is wildly inconsistent. Ander Herrera, on the other hand, is a central midfielder. What's more, the Basque has an eye for a pass, and his presence would go some way making United's attacking play less cumbersome—as would deploying Rooney up top.
In his post-match analysis after the West Ham game, Bleacher Report's Paul Ansorge posed the following apposite question: "Why, when it limits his contribution in terms of goals, assists and chance creation, and he does not have the experience to cover the defensive aspects of the role, does [Van Gaal] persist with selecting his captain in midfield over...Ander Herrera?"
United fans will be hoping Herrera makes those "improvements," reported by Stuart Mathieson of the Manchester Evening News.
Antonio Valencia, somewhat surprisingly United's Player of the Month for January, is not a right-back. Seemingly devoid of self-belief and no longer able to take a man on, he chooses instead to stop, turn and pass the ball back where it came from or smack a cross off the shins of the opposition's left-back.
United aren't well-stocked at the position, but the erratic Rafael da Silva offers far more in both a defensive and attacking sense. For those who prefer statistics to observations, according to WhoScored.com, the Brazilian has produced just one fewer assist than Valencia despite only playing just over a third of the minutes of the Ecuador international.
Though a caveat must be issued because it came against fourth-tier opposition, Paddy McNair was excellent at right-back in the FA Cup fourth-round replay against Cambridge United, providing exactly the kind of support and final balls that have been missing from Valencia's game (although that would arguably be replacing one square peg with another).
Lose the Inhibition and Pick Up the Pace
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"We have to play more quickly, with a high ball speed. Then, and only then, can you disorganise the opponent," Van Gaal said ahead of United's game against Leicester City at the end of January, as reported by the club's Twitter account.
For all of United's possession this season—according to WhoScored.com, they've averaged 59.3 per cent per game in the Premier League, second only to Manchester City—teams have been happy to let them have it.
Incisive breakaways and penetrative passing are but a distant memory as United unadventurously recycle the ball along the back line until the opposition press and it is kicked into touch in a panic.
There seems to be an apprehension toward attempting killer balls among the players, almost as if they've been told to always go for the easiest, safest option available. But if United are to finish in the top four, the players are going to have to be more daring, which doesn't seem to be something on which Van Gaal is overly keen.
In the aforementioned game against Leicester, United raced into a 3-0 half-time lead. Perhaps affected by what happened in the reverse fixture—a game his team lost 5-3 after twice being two goals ahead in what was arguably their last entertaining performance to date—Van Gaal told his players to "kill the game" in the second half, as reported by the club's website.
His charges killed the game to such an extent he remarked that it was "too much," but that he said it demonstrates he believes that his team is vulnerable.
One has to wonder whether his safety-first policy is a reflection of fears about his job, given his predecessor, David Moyes, didn't spend half as much and was axed once Champions League qualification was an impossibility.
Profligacy in front of goal is something United need to be wary of. They lost the league title by virtue of goal difference in 2011/12, and given how close things are between the teams in third and seventh, it could well be that goal difference decides at least one of the final Champions League spots.
With Southampton and Arsenal both boasting superior goal differences, thanks in part to their respective demolitions of Sunderland and Aston Villa, United need to be merciless if they find themselves in a similar situation to the Leicester home game.
Maintaining the current restraint will likely invite pressure and be punished, especially by teams playing with pace. The speed of United's movement would increase if the ball was moved faster, and picking up the pace could result in more openings, with the opposition being worn down much earlier in a game.
The high, box-bound balls used to try and make a breakthrough against West Ham were the solution; United's need to resort to them is the issue, and something they could live to regret come the end of the season.
Find 'Balance'
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Somewhat related to the "No More Square Pegs in Round Holes" slide, United finding the "balance" that Van Gaal said was lacking upon his arrival at the club, as reported by Paul Wilson of the Observer (h/t the Guardian), will be integral if they are to finish in the top four.
By lining up for the team's 24th league game of the season with what could conceivably have been a five-man front line, you can't help but wonder if Van Gaal knows how he's going to achieve that.
Following Sunday's 1-1 draw at Upton Park, Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher (h/t Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News) highlighted United's immobility up front as a reason why they failed to pick up the three points:
"Why is [Van Gaal] not putting Rooney up off the front, with two strikers showing such a lack of movement? They had [fewer] touches today than De Gea."
Those static strikers to whom Carragher was referring, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao—whose partnership will be discussed in due course—though not entirely exempt from blame, have struggled because of the lack of service that comes as a result of United's slow build-up play, which in turn stems from the absence of balance.
Rooney's attributes and instincts make him ideal for one of the forward berths in the diamond system, which needs its strikers to make runs into the channel and stretch the play.
Van Gaal needs to play players who best fit the system rather than shoehorning as many of the best players he can into the team. Offsetting a central midfield of Di Maria, Rooney and Adnan Januzaj with Daley Blind at its base is not going to enable United to take control of a game.
United aren't going to get the best out of their stars if they aren't a well-balanced unit, which is something they're going to need to promptly become if they are to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Falcao or Van Persie, Not Falcao and Van Persie
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It was a beautiful dream, but the Falcao-Van Persie strike partnership looks destined to fail.
The partnership has hardly been disastrous—the duo had shown signs of being able to work together before the Colombian succumbed to an injury earlier in the season, most notably in the win over Everton in October—but it has been detrimental.
If Van Gaal persists with a two-striker formation, be it 3-5-2 or the 4-4-2 diamond, both Falcao and Van Persie are too rigid to be the strike partner who does the running and thus unable to work alongside the other without being a hindrance to the team.
There is an argument for dropping either—Falcao looks shorn of confidence, while Van Persie just looks downright uninterested—but one of them has to make way.
Some United fans will live in hope that a 4-4-2 with wingers makes an appearance before the season is out, which could make up for the forward pairing's lack of mobility, but implementing it at this stage of the season would be a risk, and as has already been deduced, risks are something Van Gaal appears unwilling to take.
With Rooney better off up top than in midfield and James Wilson needing game time and capable of performing the running role—he had solid, if unspectacular games partnering Van Persie against Stoke City and Liverpool—it would be wise for Van Gaal to make a change to his current first-choice front two sooner rather than later and bring some much-needed balance and pace at the top of the pitch along with it.
Away Form
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Though it was an away defeat that eventually sealed David Moyes' fate, United were relatively strong away from home under the Scot. Indeed, before he was sacked, his team had won 10 of his 18 away league games in charge.
At this point a year ago, United had won double the number of games on the road than they have this.
It is worth noting that home form has significantly improved upon a year ago, when it felt as though all the wrong records were being broken on a bi-weekly basis, but the fact United have won just three times away from Old Trafford in the league in 2014/15 is troubling—not least when you consider there are trips to Anfield, Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park on the horizon.
The long-ball fallout from the West Ham draw has deflected the attention away from what was another poor performance and, arguably, a good point—the Hammers are something of a bogey team for United and have already beaten Liverpool and Manchester City at the Boleyn this season. Regardless, with the quality they possess, United should be winning such games.
United's next league away trip is to Swansea City, who beat Louis van Gaal's team at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season.
Getting a win in Wales and from the visit of Sunderland and trip to St James' Park would give United some momentum before Spurs arrive at Old Trafford on March 15, which kick-starts a six-game run that also sees United face Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Everton.
With three of those fixtures taking place away from M16, maximum points in the two away games before the trip to Anfield are vital if United are to have any chance of finishing the season in the top four.
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