Formations to fit in Rooney, Van Persie and Mata?

Walters_19_MuFc

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I doubt Van Gaal will want to drop any of these players, and I can imagine he'll experiment with a number of formations to try and get these three to gel in pre season.

Van Gaal:

A system depends on the players – I've played 4-3-3 with Ajax, 2-3-2-3 with Barcelona and 4-4-2 with AZ – but a philosophy is for life.
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What system do you think Van Gaal could play to fit all of these players in?

I would like to try the 4-1-2-1-2 system we played a few times under SAF the season before last.

Something like:

De Gea
Rafael - Smalling - Evans - LB
CDM
CM - Kagawa
Mata
Van Persie - Rooney​


Left Back (LB) - Bags of energy, getting up and down the line, almost playing as a winger, as the full backs would be giving us natural width.

Centre Defensive Midfielder (CDM) - Having two attacking full backs will mean we'd probably need more of a dynamic player to cover for them. As well as being good on the ball and a good reader of the game, they also need to be quick across the ground.

Centre Midifelder (CM) - This player needs to be our all rounder. Box to box beast. Great at defending and attacking, getting into the box and getting some goals - something we've been missing of late.

Thoughts?
 
I'm almost certain he won't play that formation. He'll want some width. Rooney will probably have to play out wide, or be dropped. Mata/Kagawa will be the #10.
 
I'm not sure about Kagawa in that role. His recent performances playing as a CM where not encouraging.
 
I would like to see this:

RVP

Rooney-----Mata-----Januzaj


Hernandez

Welbeck-----Kagawa-----Valencia​
 
Van Gaal likes pacy wingers who make the pitch wide. I think his appointment is good news for Valencia and bad news for Mata and Kagawa.
 
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He has deployed narrow formations in the past, hasn't he? I see no reason why he wouldn't perhaps implement a diamond with Mata at the tip, behind Rooney and van Persie.
 
RustyS said:
I'm not sure about Kagawa in that role. His recent performances playing as a CM where not encouraging.
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Whereas everyone else on the pitch played to an incredible standard.
 
4-3-3 might work ok:

-----------------De Gea----------------
---Rafael---Smalling---Evans---New LB---
---------Carrick---------New CM---------
------------------Mata------------------
----Rooney--------------------Januzaj----
----------------Van Persie----------------
 
ivaldo said:
Whereas everyone else on the pitch played to an incredible standard.
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He had the most noticeable drop in performance after a run of very good performances towards the end of Moyes' stay here. He looked uncomfortable in midfield. Do you see him as a capable CM?
 
Crono said:
I'm almost certain he won't play that formation. He'll want some width. Rooney will probably have to play out wide, or be dropped.
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The width would come from the full backs and the forwards when they drifting out wide when we have the ball.
 
Can only see it working if either of Mata or Rooney are asked to operate as tucked in wingers.
 
Probably a 4-3-3 with mata or Rooney on one wing, the other in midfield. I have a feeling one of them will get sold. Also get a feeling he'll like Rooney more then mata because of his versatility and overall skill set, so he might prefer to form a partnership between rvp and Rooney, forcing mata to either play on the wing or just as a squad player.

Or he might experiment with a 5-3-2 with 2 wing backs that can change into a 3-5-2 like Juve.... Basically I have no clue where to begin thinking how he will want us to play or what players he'll want to keep. I'm only pretty confident in saying I don't think he'll like young too much.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
The width would come from the full backs and the forwards when they drifting out wide when we have the ball.
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Which will be too limited for his liking, IMO. Think you're getting the wrong idea in the first place by thinking "he won't want to drop any of these 3 players..." - he's a stubborn bastard about the way he likes to play. If any players are going to convince him to change his own system they're going to have to show some extremely special stuff indeed. Remember the players he's worked with before by the way.

He shunted Rivaldo to the left - this, when he was the Ballon D'or winner.
 
Too many people shoehorning names... a lot depends on the personnel, but assuming the squad stays as it is, I'd imagine or hope this is the preferred line up:

DDG
Rafael Evans Smalling Evra
Carrick Jones
Nani (3) Mata (2) Welbeck (1)
RVP (4)

(1) /Kagawa
(2) /Januzaj
(3) /Valencia
(4) /Rooney

​
 
Crono said:
Which will be too limited for his liking, IMO. Think you're getting the wrong idea in the first place by thinking "he won't want to drop any of these 3 players..." - he's a stubborn bastard about the way he likes to play.

If any players are going to convince him to change his own system they're going to have to show some extremely special stuff indeed. Remember the players he's worked with before by the way.

He shunted Rivaldo to the left - this, when he was the Ballon D'or winner.
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I didn't say he wouldn't drop any of the players, but he wouldn't want to unless he had to, and I can imagine he'll try his utmost to fit them in. If it doesn't work, I have no doubt that he will drop one of them.

He doesn't always play a 4-3-3. He said it depends on the type of players he's got at his disposal. We aren't really blessed with great wingers at the moment, therefore, he might go with something different. He did say his philosophy stays the same, though.
 
A 433 with Rooney as the wide forward out left is the only way. The other formations are just daft, they'll never work. Hopefully Van Gaal does what's right for the team.
 
ManUtddiamondvNewcastle_crop_exact.jpg




This is a pic of when we played a 4-1-2-1-2 against Newcastle last season, with Carrick, Cleverley and Kagawa in midfield, with Rooney the tip of the diamond, and RVP and Welbeck up top, who you'd ideally want them to be a bit wider.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
I doubt Van Gaal will want to drop any of these players, and I can imagine he'll experiment with a number of formations to try and get these three to gel in pre season.

Van Gaal:



What system do you think Van Gaal could play to fit all of these players in?

I would like to try the 4-1-2-1-2 system we played a few times under SAF the season before last.

Something like:

De Gea
Rafael - Smalling - Evans - LB
CDM
CM - Kagawa
Mata
Van Persie - Rooney​


Left Back (LB) - Bags of energy, getting up and down the line, almost playing as a winger, as the full backs would be giving us natural width.

Centre Defensive Midfielder (CDM) - Having two attacking full backs will mean we'd probably need more of a dynamic player to cover for them. As well as being good on the ball and a good reader of the game, they also need to be quick across the ground.

Centre Midifelder (CM) - This player needs to be our all rounder. Box to box beast. Great at defending and attacking, getting into the box and getting some goals - something we've been missing of late.

Thoughts?
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This is something very interesting, but what exact players would do the roles?

With Shaw (if) LB would be covered and with Rafael on the other side would still provide width even without proper wingers.

Question is who is that DM player and proper box to box?

And what with Januzaj?

Don't really remember matches in which we've employed that tactics, how did it look on the pitch, it looks like it could work very well?
 
I know this is a thread about Rooney/RVP/Mata but are fans taking for granted that Carrick will be a player that LVG likes?
 
If we try to shoehorn all 3 in then I imagine it will be Mata shunted out to the wide areas.
 
Red-Man-Walking said:
4-3-3 might work ok:

-----------------De Gea----------------
---Rafael---Smalling---Evans---New LB---
---------Carrick---------New CM---------
------------------Mata------------------
----Rooney--------------------Januzaj----
----------------Van Persie----------------
Click to expand...
That's more like a 4-2-3-1 if your playing Mata as a #10, but I think that can work.
 
There isn't one. This is long established. There is no formation that can get the best out of all 3 of these.
 
I don't care about fitting them in the team. I want the formation that will have the team playing at its best. Rooney is also the player whose feelings I am least concerned about.
 
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