Di María's position at United

Kill 'em all said:
During the MUTV interview he mentioned that he's very likely to play as a left sided midfielder in a midfield 3 like he was playing at Real Madrid, van Gaal also referred to Di Maria as a midfielder.

abHwOU2alE.png


I think van Gaal will most likely try something out similar to this. At times the formation changes to a front 4 when Ronaldo goes inside the box and joins the striker and Di Maria floats to the left side of the field.
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Will be glorious - though I think we may be looking at Januzaj, Mata (or dare I say it, Rooney) rolling in from wide forward. I don't think our shopping trolley has Ronaldo in it.
 
I think it comes down to, do we want to play better football, or do we want to have an extra match winner on the pitch at all times. i dont understand the formations where mata is out wide and di maria is in cental midfield, i understand he was good there last season, but that was to accommodate bale and ronaldo, we dont have wingers of that quality, he IS the winger of that quality. Why would we completely negate our 37m pound no.10 who was the bees knees 6 months ago, when we can play them both in the same lineup. Its 1 of rooney or van persie up top for me, once you make that decision the side comes together by itself rather nicely.
 
Oo0AahCantona said:
I think it comes down to, do we want to play better football, or do we want to have an extra match winner on the pitch at all times. i dont understand the formations where mata is out wide and di maria is in cental midfield, i understand he was good there last season, but that was to accommodate bale and ronaldo, we dont have wingers of that quality, he IS the winger of that quality. Why would we completely negate our 37m pound no.10 who was the bees knees 6 months ago, when we can play them both in the same lineup. Its 1 of rooney or van persie up top for me, once you make that decision the side comes together by itself rather nicely.
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Di Maria was absolutely fantastic playing in left CM last season. Much better than when he played as a left winger for Madrid, where he was still quality but not very consistent with his performances. I would say that on average, Di Maria playing in a 3 man midfield would average a 8-9/10 rating each match, while he would fluctuate between a 6-9/10 while playing on the wings.

But Mata is important too, so I hope we can accommodate the two of them without sacrificing their performances!
 
I know Rooney is not Ronaldo and Januzaj not Bale, but if we would like to switch to a 4-3-3 and employ Di Maria as a CM.
Rooney could do a role similar to Ronaldo and changing postitions making it 2 strikers upfront or drop in AM. Di Maria would be flexible and could take the position at left wing. That would allow us to change from intial 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2.


-----------RvP----------
-Rooney----------.Januzaj----
----Di Maria----Herrera---
-----------Carrick---------

-----------Benzema---------
--Ronaldo-------------Bale
------Di Maria------Modric-------
-------------Alonso-------
 
Take a look at Real Madrid's games towards the end of last season: front three of Benzema, Ronaldo, Bale/Isco, and middle three of Khedira/Alonso, Modric and Di Maria. Do you think we could play like that (do we have the players)? Admittedly Ronaldo and Bale are very fast, but Isco isn't.
 
Oo0AahCantona said:
I think it comes down to, do we want to play better football, or do we want to have an extra match winner on the pitch at all times. i dont understand the formations where mata is out wide and di maria is in cental midfield, i understand he was good there last season, but that was to accommodate bale and ronaldo, we dont have wingers of that quality, he IS the winger of that quality. Why would we completely negate our 37m pound no.10 who was the bees knees 6 months ago, when we can play them both in the same lineup. Its 1 of rooney or van persie up top for me, once you make that decision the side comes together by itself rather nicely.
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As far as we can possibly tell atm midfield is Di Maria's best position. That's why we wouldn't just use him as a winger, or at least not always.

I still think we're simply going to continue with the 3-5-2 and play Di Maria as one of the CMs. I know that formation is getting less and less popular here but it would allow us to play all of our best players in their best positions, so...
 
sullydnl said:
As far as we can possibly tell atm midfield is Di Maria's best position. That's why we wouldn't just use him as a winger, or at least not always.

I still think we're simply going to continue with the 3-5-2 and play Di Maria as one of the CMs. I know that formation is getting less and less popular here but it would allow us to play all of our best players in their best positions, so...
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a midfiled of Di Maria and who? Herrera? I think he would work better in a midfield 3.
 
......................De Gea
Valencia..Jones/Smalling...Rojo/Evans....Shaw
......................Carrick (Blind if we sign him)
............Herrera...........Di Maria
.........................Mata
...........RVP.......................Rooney

I think this is how we could play 4.3.3 with the current personnel.

Di maria and Herrera are very forward-thinking players with great industry so you'd have a great platform to add impetus to the attack. Mata loves linking the play with players who can run beyond him and he's too important a goal source for us from central areas to drop.
 
izec said:
I know Rooney is not Ronaldo and Januzaj not Bale, but if we would like to switch to a 4-3-3 and employ Di Maria as a CM.
Rooney could do a role similar to Ronaldo and changing postitions making it 2 strikers upfront or drop in AM. Di Maria would be flexible and could take the position at left wing. That would allow us to change from intial 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2.


-----------RvP----------
-Rooney----------.Januzaj----
----Di Maria----Herrera---
-----------Carrick---------

-----------Benzema---------
--Ronaldo-------------Bale
------Di Maria------Modric-------
-------------Alonso-------
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Why do that though when you could play mata a/m and Di Maria on the wing. Just seems to be that the most balanced team with everyone playing a natural position we could play leaves only one space for RVP/Rooney unless one of them gets a lot more comfortable out wide. Rooney has played there but he's always done more defensively there than attackingly.
 
Ash_G said:
Why do that though when you could play mata a/m and Di Maria on the wing. Just seems to be that the most balanced team with everyone playing a natural position we could play leaves only one space for RVP/Rooney unless one of them gets a lot more comfortable out wide. Rooney has played there but he's always done more defensively there than attackingly.
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If Rooney out wide or Mata, where is the difference? They are both central players, but Rooney is a bit faster, has better workrate and is the captain. I wouldnt mind Mata, but at least one of RvP/Rooney/Mata has to play out of position or sit on the bench
 
izec said:
a midfiled of Di Maria and who? Herrera? I think he would work better in a midfield 3.
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Yep, why not Di Maria and Herrera (for now at least)? Both are very industrious players and Di Maria looked strong defensively last season when I saw him.

Lets not forget, in our last game LvG was so desperate for creativity in midfield that he threw Januzaj in there beside Cleverley (unless I'm imagining things). In that context a Di Maria-Herrera midfield would be fairly logical for now at least.
 
izec said:
If Rooney out wide or Mata, where is the difference? They are both central players, but Rooney is a bit faster, has better workrate and is the captain. I wouldnt mind Mata, but at least one of RvP/Rooney/Mata has to play out of position or sit on the bench
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I meant Mata in a/m though and Di Maria wide- both their natural positions. If injuries happen/we want to be more defensive I could understand Di Maria over him centrally but otherwise for me its a straight Gerrard/Lampard situation with Rooney/RVP. Two similar to have them both in and outside of the diamond which is a possibility (but you lose the potential width Di Maria can bring) or the 352, the only way to fit them both in is either with one out of position where others are better equipped to play there.

I don't expect it to happen and am sure we'll try to fit them both in via a diamond but I think the 433 with mata and di maria would be idea.
 
daniel9988 said:
Di Maria was absolutely fantastic playing in left CM last season. Much better than when he played as a left winger for Madrid, where he was still quality but not very consistent with his performances. I would say that on average, Di Maria playing in a 3 man midfield would average a 8-9/10 rating each match, while he would fluctuate between a 6-9/10 while playing on the wings.

But Mata is important too, so I hope we can accommodate the two of them without sacrificing their performances!
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so weve bought another central attacking midfielder.
 
I honestly think our problem is not the midfield lacking courage, its just lacking a creative spark. Every single competitive game this season has resulted in us having the lions share of possession but not being able to do anything with the ball. If Di Maria is playing on the right side of a 3 man midfield we have to sacrifice someone. Either Herrera plays as an out and out DM and we use Mata and Di Maria or Mata loses his place and we buy a DM.
 
KiD MoYeS said:
For me, the best option currently is:
Herrera Mata Fletcher
Januzaj Rooney di Maria​
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Seeing Fletcher next to those names is like seeing Rab C Nesbitt on a dinner table with the Royal family.

Stands out like a sore thumb and doesn't fit in.
 
Oo0AahCantona said:
I think it comes down to, do we want to play better football, or do we want to have an extra match winner on the pitch at all times. i dont understand the formations where mata is out wide and di maria is in cental midfield, i understand he was good there last season, but that was to accommodate bale and ronaldo, we dont have wingers of that quality, he IS the winger of that quality. Why would we completely negate our 37m pound no.10 who was the bees knees 6 months ago, when we can play them both in the same lineup. Its 1 of rooney or van persie up top for me, once you make that decision the side comes together by itself rather nicely.
Click to expand...

You'd play him there because he's really good at it. He doesn't need to play as winger to give us width, assists and key passes he can do all of that from that "wide man in a midfield 3" position. What he isn't, is a prolific goalscorer. Which is why keeping three of Mata, Januzaj, Rooney and RvP on the pitch is a good idea.
 
sullydnl said:
Yep, why not Di Maria and Herrera (for now at least)? Both are very industrious players and Di Maria looked strong defensively last season when I saw him.

Lets not forget, in our last game LvG was so desperate for creativity in midfield that he threw Januzaj in there beside Cleverley (unless I'm imagining things). In that context a Di Maria-Herrera midfield would be fairly logical for now at least.
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This is what I was getting at before, I think well try it at least as it has the potential to play some lovely stuff.

The 3-5-2 has been accused of being defensive or boring, which is one thing that line up certainly would not be.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
It's very good but Di Maria is a much better midfielder than he is a forward IMO. As a forward/pure attacker he can be frustrating. As a midfielder buzzing about all over the pitch he's brilliant.
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Edgar Allan Pillow said:
This.
AdM offers so much more from the middle with his speed, flexibility and workrate that would be under utilized as inside forward.
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Annahnomoss said:
Hope we play him in the central midfield. He is the clubs most expensive, and biggest signing in history so playing him in his best position is a must.
At Real he played with Xabi Alonso as a deep lying playmaker behind him and Modric/Isco next to him. Di Maria is much better defensively in the central midfield role than people give him credit of.
Herrera has played as a deep lying playmaker and can of course play as a more offensively minded central midfielder.
I can't see why we wouldn't be able to get a working central midfield with what we have. The issue is of course that we don't have any wingers of any quality then.
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Agreed.

We have two ways to go now. First is a classic 4-2-3-1:
------------RVP-----------

Di Maria – Mata – Januzaj

----Herrera---Carrick

The main flaw of this system is that both Herrera and Carrick are not suited to a midfield of two. Mata is best high up the pitch. We could play Rooney instead of Mata but from what I’ve seen from him for some time I don’t want him to come deeper.

Therefore, we should go with a proper 4-3-3:
-------------RvP----------

-Rooney-----------Januzaj----

----Di Maria----Herrera---

-----------Carrick---------

This will give us a lot of control in midfield, with players capable of defending and attacking (Carrick needs to stay deep though). This is the best we get from all of those players bar Rooney (we can also try Welbeck in that position). Another plus of this is that we can easily switch to 4-4-2.

Di Maria is a pretty good winger, but he is much, much more effective and useful for the team in midfield, and that’s where we should play him.
 
This piece by Michael Cox is advocating a move to a 4-3-1-2 to accommodate Di Maria in his best position:

http://www.espnfc.us/blog/tactics-a...gaals-tactical-evolution-at-manchester-united


The suggested formation would look something like this:

abHwPHOaoD.png

With Carrick (or possibly even Jones) playing the holding midfield role alongside 2 energetic players, this system would seem to offer the tactical variation Van Gaal is fond of; Carrick dropping deep and splitting the CB's would allow Shaw & Rafael to push on and the side would immediately be transformed into the 3-4-1-2 shape we are currently using. Obviously a lack of pace might be a concern with the selected front 3, but this should be partially offset by Di Maria's bursts forward from deep (Herrera also made those runs at Bilbao). Welbeck (assuming he's still here) could always be brought into the front 2 though, if more pace in behind was needed, and Kagawa, Rooney, and Januzaj would probably be well-suited to any of those front 3 positions.

An ancillary benefit of switching to a system like this, is that it would more-or-less mean the end of the continued involvement of any of Young, Nani or Valencia.
 
Oo0AahCantona said:
I think it comes down to, do we want to play better football, or do we want to have an extra match winner on the pitch at all times. i dont understand the formations where mata is out wide and di maria is in cental midfield, i understand he was good there last season, but that was to accommodate bale and ronaldo, we dont have wingers of that quality, he IS the winger of that quality. Why would we completely negate our 37m pound no.10 who was the bees knees 6 months ago, when we can play them both in the same lineup. Its 1 of rooney or van persie up top for me, once you make that decision the side comes together by itself rather nicely.
Click to expand...
We're putting him there because it's where Do Maria himself said he's most likely to play for Manchester United.

@Get In Scholesy

Di Maria went back to Spain after he signed his contract so not really sure.
 
Kill 'em all said:
We're putting him there because it's where Do Maria himself said he's most likely to play for Manchester United.

@Get In Scholesy

Di Maria went back to Spain after he signed his contract so not really sure.
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Did he? There's pictures of him going to lunch in Manchester in the MEN, saying he's staying at the Lowery hotel
 
Borys said:
Agreed.

We have two ways to go now. First is a classic 4-2-3-1:
------------RVP-----------

Di Maria – Mata – Januzaj

----Herrera---Carrick

The main flaw of this system is that both Herrera and Carrick are not suited to a midfield of two. Mata is best high up the pitch. We could play Rooney instead of Mata but from what I’ve seen from him for some time I don’t want him to come deeper.

Therefore, we should go with a proper 4-3-3:
-------------RvP----------

-Rooney-----------Januzaj----

----Di Maria----Herrera---

-----------Carrick---------

This will give us a lot of control in midfield, with players capable of defending and attacking (Carrick needs to stay deep though). This is the best we get from all of those players bar Rooney (we can also try Welbeck in that position). Another plus of this is that we can easily switch to 4-4-2.

Di Maria is a pretty good winger, but he is much, much more effective and useful for the team in midfield, and that’s where we should play him.
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I think we are best off trying to use our huge squad depth to adjust the selection to the opponents. We just have so many great options right now that for every tactic and match up the best possible selection would differ.

Not many teams can line up so completely different, tailor made for the opponent like us. Kagawa is much better defensively as an AM than Mata and he's better as a pure counter-attacker as well. He was our second best winger defensively last year after Valencia and he is the one who stood out as the best suited against a high press against Bayern.

Rooney and Welbeck are good solid options as winger for a counter-attacking team as well, Welbeck displayed that as well in the CL before. Januzaj/Mata are by far the best options we have when we want to dominate the game and unlock a tight defense. But defensively both of them are poor and could cost us when we defend 95% of the game.

Defensive line-up against a high press where you need great possession keeping to handle the press.
------------------DDG----------
Rafael-----Jones-------Evans------Shaw
-----Di Maria-Fletcher-Herrera----------
---Mata-------------------------Kagawa--
-------------------RVP---------------------

Regular counter-attacking/defensive line up
Rafael-----Jones-------Rojo-------Shaw
-----Di Maria-Fletcher-Herrera----------
Welbeck----------RVP------------Rooney

Against teams we dominate and want to beat

Rafael-----Jones-------Evans------Shaw
-----------Fletcher----Herrera
---Januzaj-------Mata-------Di Maria----
-----------------Rooney-------------------

Not that these are the perfect examples of how it has to look, but I think it shows that we can put out a lot of different formations which would be the best for different match ups/situations.
 
Borys said:
Therefore, we should go with a proper 4-3-3:
-------------RvP----------

-Rooney-----------Januzaj----

----Di Maria----Herrera---

-----------Carrick---------

This will give us a lot of control in midfield, with players capable of defending and attacking (Carrick needs to stay deep though). This is the best we get from all of those players bar Rooney (we can also try Welbeck in that position). Another plus of this is that we can easily switch to 4-4-2.

Di Maria is a pretty good winger, but he is much, much more effective and useful for the team in midfield, and that’s where we should play him.
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It's a bit unbalanced imo. Rooney drifting out wide will not work and we have 2 good #10 in Mata/Kagawa, yet we are playing Januzaj there. Why not use the AM's we have?
 
Hopefully just not in a 3-5-2.

He would work well in a midfield 3 or as a winger / inside forward
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Midfield diamond could be a option!

................Rooney..................
....................Mata..................
.........Di Maria.........Januzaj...
Shaw..........Carrick.......Rafael
.....Rojo...Jones...Smalling.......
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If we were going to do a midfield diamond would it not be easier to do it with a 4-4-2 though? Our defence would be far more comfortable and we'd have RvP in the team too....
 
We need him as a winger more than a CM, Herrera can do the job, albeit worse, in CM that Di Maria would do.
 
sullydnl said:
If we were going to do a midfield diamond would it not be easier to do it with a 4-4-2 though? Our defence would be far more comfortable and we'd have RvP in the team too....
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I don't know mate. Not sure wither way. LvG seems intent on his 'philosophy' and so I think we can see more of 3-5-2. Mata was best with Drogba in front and Rooney takes that spot here. Don't want to shoehorn all 3 together.
 
Based on what Van Gaal said, left midfield in 433/4312, a runner who can also go wide left and beyond Mata. He should work well together with Shaw/Rojo.
 
sullydnl said:
If we were going to do a midfield diamond would it not be easier to do it with a 4-4-2 though? Our defence would be far more comfortable and we'd have RvP in the team too....
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Without a doubt. I don't actually know any teams that have played a diamond that way, with one up top.

That wouldn't actually work too different to a 3-5-2 with Di Maria/Mata/Herrera. If Jones was the DM for instance I think the difference is marginal and something which could be minimised by playing a high line for instance. I think the diamond system there looks better because it's easier to imagine the space in front of the defence being adequately covered, but the truth is you can cover that space in a three man defence also - for example by playing a higher line or having defenders who step out of the three to make a challenge.
 
People are forgetting the main clue lvg gave us was when he name dropped di maria as a top class winger to use in a 433.

However, where we will play him will, i think depend on who else we get in window. If we get vidal i think the plan will be 433 with him as a winger. No more purchases he wil be the cm.

The *plan* i think is to have...

........Back 4........
........carrick........
...herera..vidal......
Jan...............ADM
...........roo...........

However, the squad imbalance is still there so what will most likely happen...


....jones..evans..rojo.....
Val......................shaw..
.....herera..vidal...........
...........mata................
....roo..........ADM........

If we dont get vidal then adm will be cm,


Its a mess either way...
 
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