@Rich_H_1989 thanks for taking the time to read my quite long post. But my initial question remains, what is "freedom of expression", is it measurable? I'm glad you mentioned Memphis and Mata. How is Memphis restricted by LvG? One of our main attacking plays is creating chances for him to go 1v1. He's always looking to do that, he even does it when there's no supporting overlap from the FB and he knows he's going to bump into a two man wall. Then he looks up to sky frustrated...
Doesn't Mata have freedom of movement? From what i've seen till now he has absolute freedom to influence our game wherever and whenever he thinks he can create something good. Some of our fans watch Silva and then believe that somehow it's LvG who restricts Mata. The truth is there are very few players who enjoy Mata's freedom of movement. The problem is, at least imho, that Mata can't dribble like Silva and he isn't as good as Silva in tight spaces. His first touch, when being pressed, is almost always backwards because he wants to find space and then takes one or two more touches in order to turn around and face the goal.
I'd like to add Martial. When he came and played in Rooney's role, we suddenly understood that in LvG's tactics the forward can actually score goals, create numerical advantages by moving to the sides, play with his back to goal and generally influence our game. That's why i'm saying that maybe it's only the tactics to blame.
For the same reason i think that, maybe, our zombie passing can be explained by the lack of our creative players' ability to protect possession when being closed down and, most importantly, get past defenders in order to disorganize the opposition defense. The problem isn't the "few times" they'll concede possession, the main issue is they struggle when they are marked. You said you play football, let me ask you: You are a midfielder and you have two options, play a forward pass into space and then make a run in the box for support or play it safe. Out of 10, how many times would you play that forward pass, if it was a teammate who gets dispossessed quite easily?
Another scenario, the winger in your team has possession and wants to cut inside. You consider if he'll get past his marker in order to move out of position and join the attack. Wouldn't you feel more "optimistic" if that winger was Sanchez, Robben, Bale or Hazard?
When was the last time we played a ball into space and our player got to it before the defender? Everyone praised Blind for his long pass in the Sunderland game but the thing is that Blind and the midfielders are searching for these long balls forward. It's the others who can't beat a defender and get first on these balls more regularly.
All i'm saying is that we can blame the manager's instructions as much as we want (for example, i too believe that this set of players would do better in a more counter attacking system but i would keep them compact and disciplined, i agree with LvG that we don't have enough quality to defend and attack for 90 minutes in a very high tempo) but in the game, on the pitch the players have decisions to make and as human beings they have doubts.
When the class of '92 was at its peak everyone knew that Giggsy could torment the opposition FB, that Becks could aim for a single hair in the forward's head and still find the target, that Scholes' long shots could drag defenders and create spaces in the box etc. This creates confidence in the team and urges players to take risks. Yes, you'll pass into space on the left without even raising your head cause Giggs might still get there first. You'll move out of position and rush into the box cause you have faith that Beckam will find you with a perfect cross.
Just remenber Liverpool back in 2014. They were constantly playing first time balls into space because they knew that Suarez-Sterling-Sturridge would get there first and after that they would find a way to get past their defender 8/10 times. And as the season progressed they we feeling almost invincible. We don't have that right now, it's clear as daylight. And although i disagree that it's all van Gaal's fault i agree with everyone who says that it's his problem to solve.
