So, Do the Reserves Start Playing 352?

gooDevil

Worst scout ever
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Surely we won't do it wholesale, but I would expect it could only be helpful for the reserves to start working on 352 and using it during certain games.

Perhaps we won't change the academy (U18s down) system, few enough of those players make it to the reserves anyway.

But wouldn't a player like Wilson, Andreas Pereira or Rothwell benefit from a healthy dose of 352 in order to help their chances at making the United squad proper?
 
4-2-3-1/4-3-3 is a good system for developmental purpose at every club.No need to change that.
 
Didn't Van Gaal say that this season he will pay attention to first team only and not look to change things at academy or reserves level? Besides, his preferred formation still remains 4-3-3 and he is going with 3-5-2 because of so many #10 in the squad.
In the end, formations are as good as players on hand. Instead of being rigid about formations, I think better way is to be flexible about formations and have underlying philosophy same (what LvG preaches). So, reserves and academy should play the formation which suits the players we have at those levels.
 
Depends what type of squad the reserves have. Reservea is about development more than philosophy. Tactics change over time, good players have the ability to adapt anyways.
 
I'm not saying van Gaal is going to tell Joyce he has to play 352.

I mean, if you're Joyce, do you show the kids some 352 for their own sake?
 
4-3-3 is perfect for young players to play in as it teaches them about passing triangles, playing in short distances with each other, and defending as a team, closing down spaces and keeping things tight. Plus, it helps them develop their movement and positioning. All of those concepts can be easily transferred into van Gaal's system regardless of what formation he plays.
 
I don't know, I think we should definitely teach 433 with other formations, but is it so similar to 352 you don't need to work on 352?

I would think the CBs and wingbacks would especially benefit from the differences in 352 from 433 or 4231.
 
Might as well do both along with a bit of proper 442 as well. Can't hurt their development as long as they stick with one formation for the majority of games.
 
in my eyes, a unified system makes bringing in youth much easier. Look at spain, you can take any young player and drop him into the squad and he knows what the system is
 
First let the first team set in that system for a while.

If they do then the reserves should try and copy it. It will only help.
 
No. And i think while manager may have some input, it's other stuff's job to figure out the best formation and players for Reserves.
 
It wouldn't be worth doing it until U21 level. Before then the focus is very much on developing the players' abilities as individuals, rather than drilling them in strategies and formations.

Personally I'd say no, anyway. I don't think Van Gaal plans for us to play 3412 in the long run, it's just his response to the imbalances in our squad.
 
Brightonian said:
It wouldn't be worth doing it until U21 level. Before then the focus is very much on developing the players' abilities as individuals, rather than drilling them in strategies and formations.

Personally I'd say no, anyway. I don't think Van Gaal plans for us to play 3412 in the long run, it's just his response to the imbalances in our squad.
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I'm only referring to U21 level.

I'm also only talking about using it occasionally.

You don't think it should be played at all?
 
gooDevil said:
I'm only referring to U21 level.

I'm also only talking about using it occasionally.

You don't think it should be played at all?
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Haha yeah sorry, not sure how I missed the fact that it said 'reserves' in the title.

I don't think it would be helpful to play it occasionally - the players wouldn't actually be able to familiarise themselves with it that way, it would just be a needless disruption for them. And as I say, I don't see LVG sticking with it in the long term so there's no point in the U21s adopting it properly either.

It's a perfectly reasonable suggestion, but that's just my two cents on why it wouldn't be worth bothering with.
 
Assuming that LvG will be trimming the first team squad and a handful of reserve players will be in contention for first team spots I would expect some degree of alignment between the two teams whatever that style may be.

Most of the reserves train with the first team squad anyway so they will have to get to used to 352/433 or whatever.

I think LvG's comments about separating the Academy from the first team would be U/16 and below...the U/18's, U/21's and first team I see all adapting to the same philosophy. He will want players coming through in the next 2/3 years who already understand what he wants.
 
If Joyce is playing 3-5-2 for next season it would be interesting to see how he's gonna line up.I would imagine its to be something like this:
J.Pereira
McNair/Love - McConnell/Grimshaw - Blackett
Janko/Love - Pearson/Goss - Rothwell/Willock - Varela/C.Evans
Harrop
A.Pereira/Weir - Wilson/Fletcher​

Seems to fit our U21s I'd say since we don't really have a natural winger in the squad.
 
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Considering our first team footballing approach was apparently defined by always picking two speedy wingers, you could argue that our reserves/U-21s have been playing a different brand of football to the first team more often than not. Janko aside, I would struggle to name even one conventional winger at that level in recent years. Even Januzaj tended to play centrally.
 
Brightonian said:
It wouldn't be worth doing it until U21 level. Before then the focus is very much on developing the players' abilities as individuals, rather than drilling them in strategies and formations.

Personally I'd say no, anyway. I don't think Van Gaal plans for us to play 3412 in the long run, it's just his response to the imbalances in our squad.
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Isn't that Van Gaals argument on why English players aren't as well educated as their European counterparts though? Given that their European counterparts are constantly learning new formations and switching positions to make themselves more adaptable? (starting from a very young age). Not saying you aren't correct on this, but I can't see it harming them to change formation and try something a bit different. It all helps their development.
 
RedSky said:
Isn't that Van Gaals argument on why English players aren't as well educated as their European counterparts though? Given that their European counterparts are constantly learning new formations and switching positions to make themselves more adaptable? (starting from a very young age). Not saying you aren't correct on this, but I can't see it harming them to change formation and try something a bit different. It all helps their development.
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I've watched Ajax and Barca's youngsters played at different levels and they used mostly the same formation 4-3-3/4-2-3-1.About switching positions we've done that for years at every age group.I don't see any United youngsters around that not be able to play 2-3 different positions effectively except for the GKs.
 
khoazany said:
I've watched Ajax and Barca's youngsters played at different levels and they used mostly the same formation 4-3-3/4-2-3-1.About switching positions we've done that for years at every age group.I don't see any United youngsters around that not be able to play 2-3 different positions effectively except for the GKs.
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Fair play then. I stand corrected! :)
 
I think the idea would be to become flexible; adaptable to a number of formations rather than having a set one which could be used for a variety of opponents and situations.
 
RedSky said:
Isn't that Van Gaals argument on why English players aren't as well educated as their European counterparts though? Given that their European counterparts are constantly learning new formations and switching positions to make themselves more adaptable? (starting from a very young age). Not saying you aren't correct on this, but I can't see it harming them to change formation and try something a bit different. It all helps their development.
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We make a big deal about ensuring that most players have played a number of different positions over the course of their progression with us, to give them versatility and a well-rounded game. But there's not been much emphasis on formations and formation tactics before.
 
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