Expectations were sky-high during pre-season where we used our then 'average side' fused with academy youngsters and won quite comfortably against the likes of Real Madrid and Liverpool. Supporters began to believe we could challenge for the title after the likes of the DI Maria, blind and Rojo were bought In.
But 6 months down the line, fans had to accept that the FA Cup was our realistic chance of getting a major silverware. Something, am sure Van Gaal himself would be disappointed with.
The questions on the lips of most United faithful are asking include: What is to blame for our relatively poor season? Is it due our ill luck with injuries? Tactics? Or to the fact that the personnel we have are not just good enough.
This brings me to the question of tactics which I think has been a great source of debate among the Manchester United community. I am talking basically about the 3-5-2 formation which seems to be the 'default formation' for Van Gaal
Lets carefully compare and contrast between the tactical approach of the Dutch team at the recent World Cup. With what we are seeing now. At the World Cup Van Gaal employed the same 3-5-2 formation but back then he had an Arjen Robben who was on top form of his game.The Dutch mostly dominated possession but it was frustrating that Van Gaal was content to leave 3 v 1 at the back, with none of the three centre-backs stepping forward into midfield to force opposing teams backwards.
The three Dutch centre-backs spent much of the game playing unambitious passes to one another. Doesn't this passing look familiar?
The Netherlands’ general strategy was to bypass Sneijder, finding time on the ball in deep positions before launching balls over the top of the defence for Robben and Van Persie. The first two goals they scored against Spain were very similar in terms of build-up. The brilliant Daley Blind received the ball in space on the left, and swept the ball over the top of the defence for both goals. The pace of Arjen Robben and the aerial prowess of Van Persie made them Good targets. Remember Fellaini (aerial prowess) and Di Maria (pace)?
Now let's examine why the 3-5-2 experiment failed at Manchester United.
The lack of a true defensive leader at the back was a huge contributing factor. At the World Cup, the Dutch had a Ron Vlaar (not the poor defender at Aston Villa) who was probably the best defender of the tournament. He was able to organize his defence, provide cover for the inexperienced Stephan De Vrij when he was caught out of positions and make vital interceptions (never mind his bad penalty). In fact it's fair to say the World Cup version of Vlaar reminded us of Vidic in his hay days.
Let's come back to Manchester United, you will probably notice that none of our defenders are leaders. None of our current defenders have the balls to command and organize their defensive area. This leads to silly mistakes being committed resulting in 'cheap' goals being conceded.
The other huge factor should be the very poor form of Di Maria. Di Maria stats may disagree (13 assist and 3 goals) but his all round play in his first season was very poor. Apart from his first 3 games where he was great, it's fair to say that Di Maria turned into the 'Ashley Young of the 2013/2014 season' ( a player who never looked like beating an opposing player). The difference between the Di Maria at Real Madrid/ Argentina and that at Manchester United was quite huge. It was like United had bought a 'counterfeit version of the real Di Maria'. Am sure Van Gaal was dissapointed, he had wanted to turn Di Maria into the devastating 'Arjen Robben' we saw at the World Cup. But sadly it didn't work out.
But let's see how Van Gaal, Di Maria and the 3-5-2 system do next season especially with the arrival of 'better defenders'.
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