Since July 1, 2013, when David Moyes began his job as a Manchester United manger, very little has worked for him; results have been shockingly bad, the team’s performances has been well below par and none of his recruits have hit the ground running.
While Moyes is fortunate to be at a club that values continuity and are trying to protect their manager as much as possible, he has to take a hard look at how he and his staff have been performing.
In the Liverpool game, David Moyes went with an offensive 4-4-2 formation. It just played to Liverpool’s strengths. Their famous SAS have been scoring at will this season but they have proven that they are particularly dangerous when attacking a high line.
The Reds thumped both Arsenal and Tottenham when the north London clubs played a high line ahead of the United game, yet Moyes went with the same suicidal tactic. The result could have easily been worse than 0-3.
Manchester City have frequently been employing the same tactic when taking corners; one player hits an out-swinging corner directed at the near post, another attacks it. If the angle is too tight, the attacker – usually Martin Demichelis – flicks it to the back post where a third player waits to score.
City have scored with this against a couple of teams, including Arsenal at the Etihad and just before the derby, against Fulham. In the last Manchester derby, there were a couple of identical threats when Manchester City took corners but United didn’t pay particular attention. In the second half, Dzeko scored by attacking a free near post.
When Moyes signed Juan Mata for a club record fee, he started playing him wide right because when everyone is fit, Mata’s best position is already taken by Wayne Rooney.
It looks like the best solution but there could easily try a better one; why not go with a diamond formation? Start Mata at the tip of the diamond, Rooney and Robin Van Persie can play as twin strikers in a system similar to the one Liverpool employ for Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.
Mata would be effective because he will have his preferred no.10 role, Rooney and Van Persie will also be happy because they will be playing up front.
While this plan does away with the traditional United wingers, no wide player has consistently performed well for Manchester United in almost three seasons, with the exception of Adnan Januzaj.
Januzaj has been one of the best players for United this season but he is not a winger whose game is dependent on pace. He is a multi-talented midfielder with a good passing range, ball control and trickery to operate in a more congested midfield role. Michael Carrick can still play at the base of the midfield with Marouane Fellaini or Darren Fletcher completing the diamond.
On paper, this formation solves the problem of how to get the best out of all Manchester United star players. The surprising part is that even if this formation looks better than the 4-2-3-1 currently used, Moyes has never tied it.
Looking at these and other easily avoidable tactical mistakes that could have helped Manchester United’s season, one can conclude that there is a serious tactical preparation problem at Manchester United.
The plane may fly past, the angry fans can be tamed by a few “marquee signings” and signs of progress but this fundamental problem is a time bomb for Moyes.
