3 Things We Learnt From Man Utd vs Sunderland

3 Things We Learnt From Man Utd vs Sunderland

kayode OGUNDARE

@kaybaba99

 

Obviously some people misread my article last week titled VAN GAAL GUILTY AS CHARGED to mean that I had lost confidence in the Dutch manager and want him sacked. No, absolutely not!

I was just venting my anger at the silly rigidity of van Gaal to hang on to a system which was not working and his obstinate refusal to see that he was the magnet attracting undue criticism to himself.

After injury forced his hand to play Wayne Rooney as a forward in a 4-4-2 formation against Sunderland on Saturday, we have learnt the following from the 2-0 victory:

4-4-2 IS BETTER: The team set out in a 4-4-2 formation with Rooney and Radamel Falcao upfront; Ander Herrera, Danny Blind, Di Maria and Andy Young across the middle; while Jonny Evans, Marcos Rojo, Chris Smalling and Antonio Valencia lined up at the back and it was obvious that the team had more balance to deal with the opposition.

On the rare occasions that Sunderland broke through, United quickly regrouped to win the ball back and massed in the opposition half. It was obvious, and I hope LVG saw it himself, that the players were more comfortable in their skin playing this formation and I sincerely hope he would continue in subsequent games. I think a good coach plays to the strength of his team, no?

 

ROONEY IS BEST AS A FORWARD: The injury-enforced absence of Robin van Persie saw Rooney play in a more advanced role upfront and his two goals, even when it was obvious he wasn’t at his best, was testimony of how and where Rooney should be playing. 

The Englishman is that rare breed of player who can play in a variety of positions and is always willing to help wherever the coaches needed him but to permanently confine Rooney to a deep-midfield role while ignoring the fact that he’s primarily a striker is like trying to inhibit his talent.

Rooney’s two goals on Saturday means he’s now the only player in Premier League history to have scored 10 goals or more in the last 11 seasons. Perhaps if he had played all through the season as a striker, he would have reached this milestone earlier and, perhaps more important, he would have equaled and probably broken Sir Bobby Charlton’s 249-goal record by now. 

He’s currently on 227 from 467 appearances and could be closer to breaking the long-standing goals record now than ever if he gets to play as a centre-forward.  

 

THE TEAM IS IMBALANCED: I alluded to this fact in last week’s piece when I said, inter alia, that: “The truth, which van Gaal may be unwilling to accept, is that some players are not just Man United ‘standard’ and reveal revolution to reposition the team will start when those players are shown the exit door. ”
Last week, I fell short of mentioning names but I will go the whole hog today and call out someone like Jonny Evans, an international player with Northern Ireland who made his United debut as far back as 2007 but still plays with the average intelligence of a 10-year old.
If, after 195 games in all competitions, Evans cannot raise his game then it is crystal clear that his future lies elsewhere outside Old Trafford. There are other substandard players out there in the team but Evans’ horrible mediocrity even against an average team like Sunderland on Saturday really irked me and I wont hesitate to show him the door if I were van Gaal.

I’m of the firm belief that Manchester United may not yet be where they belong but they are on the right trajectory and LVG is the man to take them out of the woods into a new era. However he must be open to new ideas and willing to listen to voices other than his own

March 4, 2015

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