Where did i say anything about taking Mata out of the side? On the contrary big son!
Our CM needs reinforcements. Vidal would be a dream signing, but we need many different options there also. You cant just play the same system all the time & expect the same results. Cleverley & Fellaini arent up to it for starters.
Strootman would be fantastic - dont know why you dont rate that lad as highly as most do..
With a flat back 4 (in a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-1-2), we can use the full-backs as wing-backs - like we've always done.
Moral of the story, we need better options than we have already & its a long season. If we lose key players - it affects the preferred system.
Its gonna take atleast a season or 2 for LvG to get the team shaped with the personnel & style that he wants, or he could just spunk a shitload of dosh on players now & not have to worry about personnel later..
Fair enough on Mata, but I'm not sure how you'd fit all of Strootman, Vidal, Herrera and Mata in the side tbh. Too many midfielders imo. We need more depth, yes, but they should be relatively cheap and bargain players, not players like Strootman who will cost large amounts of money. I do rate Strootman, but at about £25m, which it seems we almost certainly won't get him for and combining that with a serious injury, which people seem to be glossing over, he would be a poor option to pursue imo. With a flat back 4 in those formations, our defence would be very poor imo. We couldn't use wing backs and we never used wing backs. Our full backs attacked and got forward a lot, but they were still clearly full backs. Vidal, a top cb (Hummels prferably), at least one backup cb (Vermaelen (aerial advantage) /De Vrij) and a backup defensive cm (De Jong) would be fine imo. Then, we could also get di Maria for either wing back slot, midfield option or second striker if we really are attempting to buy him. If we do get injuries we can change the system, but it's still better to have a strong first XI in mind. We already have very good players like Kagawa, Welbeck and, if we sign Vidal, Carrick likely to be on the bench. Though it's great to have top players to replace other top players, it's more important to make sure all areas of the first XI are top quality first and have some good backups lined up instead. I'd feel pretty confident with Vidal, Carrick, De Jong and Fletcher available for the more defensive cm position, Herrera, Carrick, Kagawa, Cleverley for the other cm slot, Mata, Kagawa, Herrera, Januzaj, Lingard, Rooney for the cam position and Rooney, van Persie, Welbeck, Young (most likely staying after performances so far), Wilson, Januzaj all available for the 2 striking positions. The defence is where the major investment is needed imo.
