Analysis: Manchester United 2 Tottenham 3

Premier League, Saturday 29^th September 2012

This was truly a game of two halves. Tottenham dominated the first, United went beyond domination in the second. Vertonghen and Bale gave Spurs a 2-0 half time lead, before Nani, Dempsey and Kagawa quickly scored in succession. Although United will have felt they did enough to get a point from the match, the first half performance was worse than anything witnessed at Old Trafford in many years, and there will surely be a big inquest at Carrington this week in order to avoid it happening again. Here are some comments on the match:

Rooney and van Persie

The introduction of Wayne Rooney at half-time for an unfortunately woeful Ryan Giggs was the catalyst to change the game. He gave the team a kick-start with his neat touches, perfect passes and inspired movement. In particular his role in unsettling the Tottenham defence enabled the United midfield behind him to take control of the game, and allowed Paul Scholes to produce a second half passing master class. Perhaps the main encouragement to take from Rooney’s introduction though, other than his scintillating form, is the way in which he partnered Robin van Persie to such good effect.  As @manutd24 on twitter put it, ‘Rooney came on and gave van Persie wings’. This statement perfectly describes his effect. While van Persie looked isolated and lacking in mobility during the first half, the second half was a different story. The creation and movement of Rooney enabled the Dutchman to take up better positions, to run with increased energy into the channels, and to become a bigger threat. Meanwhile, the Dutchman’s running facilitated a creative and dangerous Rooney. It is with wetted appettites that we should wait for Ferguson to choose to start them together in a fixture soon.

Intensity and tactics

United were completely lacking in intensity in the first half, no doubt a highly contributing factor to the result. Giggs was not only ineffective, but enormously sloppy. Carrick, Scholes and Kagawa failed to have any influence in the attack and were devoid of energy, something a more centralised dynamic setup may have provided. Van Persie was lacklustre in running into the channels up front also meaning less space behind him for the creators to be ineffective. And all of this contributed to Spurs dominating. This diagram shows the difference in Spurs passing between the two halves. The contrast is quite incredible. As Alan Pardew once said, tactics and formation mean nothing without intensity. And United completely lacked any intensity in the first half meaning they were quite simply never going to compete. It was worrying, and a capitulation on even the poor display versus Liverpool last week. Let us hope they improve.

Meanwhile Ferguson’s tactics can be called into question. His reliance on width meant out-of-form Giggs and Nani started wide, something that had little impact. Giggs and Evra in fact on the left-side didn’t exchange a pass once, a sign of the ineffectiveness of United’s wingplay. Ferguson would’ve perhaps been better in choosing a more centralised formation that gave United more pace and drive, something akin to the 4-3-1-2 that United used successfully against Newcastle in midweek.

Going Forward

The first half was abysmal and is a concern baring in mind the simarlarly poor first half against Liverpool last week. Meanwhile Ferguson might be questioning his tactics, and must surely be looking to either a 4-4-2 or a central-focused formation in the future. Shinji Kagawa in particular was ineffective in this 4-4-1-1 and only became useful when he moved wide in the second half. The second period did however provide some positives, and United must grow from that. Intensity and creativity are essential, and both were missing in the first half. Perhaps the most exciting thing to look forward to though is a Rooney and van Persie partnership; together they looked a potent weapon, something teams will fear. Bring it on.

Ratings

[4-4-1-1]: Lindegaard-5, Rafael-5, Ferdinand-6, Evans-6, Evra-5, Nani-6, Carrick-6, Scholes-8, Giggs-3, Kagawa-7, Van Persie-6

(Rooney-9*, Welbeck-6, Hernandez-6)

*Man of the match

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4-3-1-2 can be beautifully Red

4-3-1-2 is probably my favourite formation in football. It attacks with a dynamic purpose that is coupled with subtle creativity, whilst it defends with vigour to limit space and win the ball back quickly. Sir Alex Ferguson has now used this formation a couple of times recently in pre-season and in the league cup, and could be possibly looking to it as a future progression from United’s typical concentrated wide-play.

This diagram shows a basic outline of a 4-3-1-2 formation. In essence, the back four is a typical back four, except the full-backs are often required to be wing-backs in order to compensate for the lack of forward width in the formation. Often one of the three midfielders will be more defensive, acting as cover for the swashbuckling full-backs and as support for the centre-backs. The central midfield players are particularly important at prompting attacks quickly; because of the lesser wide threat in this formation it is important that the team attacks with speed and directness so that the opposition cannot simply block their path through the middle with clever positioning. The player behind the strikers is archetypally the creative hub of the team, but the midfielders behind him need to assume that creative role should the attacking midfielder be marked out of the game. The two strikers have to do a lot of running into the channels, often exploiting the width either side of them and also pushing the opposition defence around out of position so that the central midfield players have space to work in.

An example of this formation in terms of current Man United players would start with a standard back three combination, perhaps de Gea, Ferdinand and Vidic. The full-backs, for example Evra and Rafael, would be given even more license to push forward like they both already do well. The defensive midfielder could be the energetic Fletcher, or the excellent positional-wise Carrick, whilst the other two central midfielders could be the dynamic, complimentary Anderson and Cleverley. Attacking midfield could be adopted by the crafty Kagawa or the visionary Rooney, whilst the probing forwards full of running could easily be tasked to Welbeck, Hernandez or van Persie.

The primary benefit of this formation is that it would solve United’s main perceived weakness, that is the potency of the midfield. The emblematic successful style of play in today’s game is based around possession, as typified by the great Barcelona and Spain sides. A 4-3-1-2 requires good ball-playing midfielders who can keep possession for sustained periods. These players don’t need to be big and strong, because the main defensive play of the team comes through possession, positioning and pressing. Ferguson himself is clearly a fan of passing midfielders as shown by his trust in Scholes and Carrick, and his distinct lack of interest in buying a destroyer-type midfielder. United’s academy is also bringing through plenty of young talent that are very good technically without being dominating physically, the likes of Jesse Lingard, Tom Cleverley, Davide Petrucci and Larnell Cole for example. It certainly appears United are favouring a good technical, passing midfield, something that can be achieved through a 4-3-1-2 set-up.

The question that an adoption of 4-3-1-2 would raise is about United’s indoctrinated wing-play. United have always played a style with width, and currently Nani, Valencia and Young are all integral parts to the attacking play. Perhaps these players will soon leave the club. Perhaps Valencia may become a wing-back. Perhaps they would act as an alternative to the 4-3-1-2 system. Perhaps Ferguson would only use a 4-3-1-2 system after the era of his current wingers. One thing is certain though; a shift to 4-3-1-2 would see a dramatic transferral away from United’s ingrained wing-play, and there would be ramifications for the squad to go with that.

In summary, 4-3-1-2 at its best is fluid, effective and brilliantly dynamic to watch. United’s squad appears to be suited towards fitting into such a style, and it may be the future that Sir Alex Ferguson is moulding the team towards. I would love to see this style become beautifully Red. Would you?

Analysis: Manchester United 2 Newcastle United 1

Capital One Cup, Wednesday 26^th September 2012

The re-branded League Cup, now the Capital One Cup, continued its third round yesterday as Manchester United hosted Newcastle United. A thoroughly enjoyable game saw United play some incisive football to eventually overcome the Magpies. Darren Fletcher’s first start in almost a year saw him captaining the side, whilst Wayne Rooney also returned from injury. Anderson and Cleverley both scored long overdue goals whilst Papiss Cisse pulled one back for Newcastle. Below are the main talking points:

Fresh-faced youngsters

The League Cup always provides an opportunity for the manager to measure the development of his youth players, and he did this again with his selection against Newcastle. Whilst the forward-minded players were picked mainly on who needed game time, Ferguson selected three young players at the back in Marnick Vermijl, Michael Keane and Scott Wooton alongside new Dutchman, Alex Büttner-there was only 110 minutes of first-team experience in the defence. The trio of under 21s acquitted themselves well against the strong forward line of Newcastle. Vermijl attacked with purpose and confidence, although made some obvious errors and was too easily beaten for Newcastle’s goal. Wooton was mostly solid, but at times bullied by Shola Ameobi, and his marking was sloppy for the goal conceded. Keane was the most impressive of the three youngsters, always communicating with his teammates and looking confident on the ball too. Büttner again proved himself exciting when pushing forward, and solid in defence against the pacey Obertan, a promising performance. Ferguson will certainly be happy with the development of these players as they settled into the first-team. They are ones to watch.

Dynamic midfield

The trio of Darren Fletcher, Anderson and Tom Cleverley provided a dynamism to the Man United midfield, something often missing in the calmer playing styles of Carrick and Scholes. United lined-up in a 4-3-1-2 formation, a central-focused setup that allowed these three midfielders to take control of the game. Fletcher was superb in protecting the defence and hustling the opposition of the ball, something United often lack. Anderson and Cleverley showed terrific energy in pressing forward and picking passes, and both did superbly well in bursting forward for early chances before scoring their respective goals. This midfield had a busyness about it and a confidence that has been rarely seen so far this season. If Fletcher, Anderson and Cleverley can maintain this impressive form then the midfield area for the Reds suddenly looks incredibly more secure.

Going Forward

This match was vital in giving minutes to players who needed, and of course it gave a chance to eye up United’s young defenders. The stirring midfield display satisfied the hunger of many fans for the Reds to excel there, and there will be widespread hope that Fletcher and Anderson in particular keep fit and move swiftly along the road to full match sharpness. The game also held plenty of positives for Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck as they worked superbly and tirelessly all evening. United now need to continue this form into the coming matches and build on what was an encouraging performance.

Ratings

De Gea-7, Vermijl-6, Keane-6, Wooton-5, Büttner -7, Fletcher-8*, Anderson-8, Cleverley-7, Rooney-8, Hernandez-7, Welbeck-7

(Powell-7, Tunnicliffe-6, Brady-6)

*Man of the match

Analysis: Liverpool 1 Manchester United 2

Premier League, Sunday 23^rd September 2012

This visit to Anfield came amid the drama surrounding recent truths about Hillsborough, and therefore tributes to the Hillsborough victims preceded the match. United, with acts of respect from Ryan Giggs and Sir Bobby Charlton, played their part in remembering those who died at Hillsborough. The team from Manchester however struggled to play any significant part for the majority of this match. It took a red card for Liverpool to give Sir Alex’s men any kind of foothold, and only then did they labour to a win as Rafael's stunner and a Robin van Persie penalty overturned Gerrard’s goal for Liverpool. Here’s the analysis:

Encouraging defensive signs

Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans reignited their successful defensive pairing from last year for the first time this season against Liverpool, and were for the most part superb. Ferdinand marshalled the defence commandingly, and snuffed out several Liverpool chances. Evans partnered him with vigour, and looked sharper than Vidic has done in recent matches; perhaps the Serbian will face a battle to regain his place in the team. Rafael on the right-side also had his best game this season as he prevented Borini from causing any significant trouble down his flank, whilst also getting forward to great effect in scoring his goal. It must be noted however that Patrice Evra on the left was once again patchy in his performance, and had Raheem Sterling been better in his decision-making, United may have paid the price. There is cause to celebrate a good defensive display, but again there are warning signs over Evra’s performances.

Ineffective game-plan

United’s game-plan was to attack Liverpool directly on the counter-attack, something that this diagram demonstrates. These tactics however proved highly unsuccessful. United’s directness bypassed Kagawa completely and left van Persie completely isolated up front. The ball barely reached the wingers, and when it did Nani’s decision-making was atrocious, whilst Valencia was also relatively poor. Everything about the first-half game-plan went wrong and the visitors only improved at half-time as Scholes came on and helped take advantage of the extra-man, but even with that helping hand United remained unconvincing. The individual displays from United’s attacking men simply did not match the high work-rate of the Liverpool players, but the game-plan was also ineffective in this formation. To successfully implement a direct counter-attacking game then United need to spread the play better and get Kagawa involved more; this simply did not happen at Anfield.

Going Forward

A performance as poor as this cannot be repeated often if United are to have a successful season, and they only won this match because of the extra-man advantage. On the attack, something United have generally impressed at this season, United must learn to counter-attack far more effectively. The displays of Ferdinand and Evans as a defensive pairing was a positive from this game though, as is the undeniable fact that United have won 5 out of their 6 games this season, an impressive feat no matter what the performances. Long may the team keep racking up the wins.

Ratings

Lindegaard-7, Rafael-7, Ferdinand-8*, Evans-7, Evra-6, Carrick-6, Giggs-5, Nani-4, Valencia-5, Kagawa-5, Van Persie-5

(Scholes-6, Hernandez-6, Welbeck-6)

*Man of the match

Analysis: Manchester United 1 Galatasaray 0

Champions League, Wednesday 19^th September 2012

The welcome back to elite European competition for Manchester United was more arduous than anticipated, but nevertheless resulted in a good three points. After Michael Carrick’s early goal the Reds struggled to impose themselves, and Galatasaray became a constant counter-attacking threat. United’s defence was excellent in the second half however as Galatasaray were nullified. Here are the main talking points:

A faltering engine room

Whilst Galatasaray were very impressive in midfield area, only Michael Carrick was truly effective for United as he broke forward to score a superb goal early on. Paul Scholes, whilst simple and efficient, laboured through the match until he was substituted, something perhaps attributed to the fact this was his second match in a week. United’s defence was solid, and the attack fluid if not lacking a killer touch. However the engine room in midfield was guilty of giving the ball away far too often, and did not successfully prevent any counter-attacks from the Turkish side. This is an ongoing concern for Sir Alex’s side, and a big part of last season’s disastrous European campaign. The side on the whole were sloppy, and this was characterized by the faltering engine room.

One solution to this midfield conundrum may in fact be the return of Darren Fletcher. It was heart-warming for any fan to see him return to action after ten months out, and whilst his passing was erratic, his positional play immediately showed the Reds what they’ve been missing while he’s been out. Perhaps Fletcher’s dogged determination and defensive capability may be a turning point in United’s fortunes in midfield.

Another problem on the night was, as Ferguson commented, United’s frivolity with the ball. The team as a whole didn’t keep possession well, something essential in European competition. Better ball retention would’ve prevented Galatasaray forays forward, and is necessary in the forthcoming matches.

Penalty drama

This match saw plenty of penalty appeals, many turned down. It is still a mystery as to why UEFA’s extra officials behind the goal appear to do nothing, and again they were not helpful in assisting the referee to give what should have been four stonewall penalties (two apiece) yesterday. The referee did however give one penalty, to the home side, and Nani stood up to take it. Everything about his stuttering run-up suggested he wasn’t going to score, and indeed the goalkeeper saved it. This made it three penalty misses out of three for United this season, not to mention the three out of four missed in pre-season. Sir Alex himself has admitted that in future he will need to plan who takes penalties before matches (stick to van Persie or Rooney please.) But this particular penalty hoo-doo at the moment needs addressing. Penalties are gifts and need to be taken full advantage of. United don’t want to be missing out on vital goals this season because of poor penalties.

Going Forward

Three points to start off this season’s Champions League campaign is nothing short of ideal, and the perfect platform to push on and achieve early qualification for the knockout stages. Sir Alex will need to be wary of the apparent defensive weakness of his midfield, but perhaps Darren Fletcher is the catalyst to change that. This game will not live long in the memory, but lessons can be learnt from it, and hopefully it will be the beginning of a successful season in the Champions League.

Ratings

De Gea-8, Rafael-7, Evans-7, Vidic-7, Evra-6, Carrick-7, Scholes-6, Nani-6, Valencia-6, Kagawa-6, Van Persie-6

(Fletcher-5, Hernandez-6, Welbeck-6)

*Man of the match

Analysis: Manchester United 4 Wigan 0

Premier League, Saturday 15^th September 2012

A return to domestic action this weekend saw United cruise to a win over Wigan, a game including debuts and goals for Alexander Büttner and Nick Powell. Javier Hernandez missed an early penalty as United struggled in the first half, but after raising the tempo in the second Wigan were no match, and the Reds ran out easy winners. Below are some key observations from the match:

Tempo was key

United returned to a 4-4-2 shape with Carrick and Scholes in midfield, and Welbeck and Hernandez up front. The first half was a sluggish affair, partly because of the pedestrian pace at which Carrick and Scholes were dictating play. Half-time was a turning point though as United returned from the dressing room with heightened energy levels, and began to move the ball quicker, hence creating plenty of chances. Also important in enabling United to play with more vigour was Wigan’s poorness in possession, gifting the ball to a player in Red far too often, something that allowed more risks to be taken. This match though showed the importance of United taking the game to the opposition; the first half was simply too slow, and could’ve been costly had United allowed Wigan to gain any more of a foothold. The increase in tempo was necessary for United to put Wigan to the slaughter. This video wonderfully captures the rise in speed and urgency in United's 2nd half pressing game.

Formation theories

Sir Alex decided to revert to a 4-4-2 formation, rather than the 4-2-3-1 he has been operating recently. It appears the 4-2-3-1 is a move aimed at accommodating Shinji Kagawa rather than a permanent tactical shift, and due to Kagawa’s absence against Wigan, United moved back to a 4-4-2. In this formation, Welbeck and Hernandez pressed extremely well from the front, but further back Scholes and Carrick were at times lacklustre in their defensive duties, and against a better team United may have found themselves overrun. Ryan Giggs was at times sloppy on the left and if it wasn’t for the excellence of Büttner on that flank Wigan could’ve threatened dangerously down that side. It remains important that when in the 4-4-2 United’s midfield retains its shape and keeps its urgency in winning the ball back. The 4-4-2 meant a more direct threat than in a 4-2-3-1, something that suited Welbeck and Hernandez running the channels, and was a welcome variation that will be useful in the games ahead.

Going Forward

There were appearance landmarks all round; Ferdinand’s 400^th game, Scholes’ 700^th, Giggs’ 600^th in the league. It is good to see these experienced players still performing well, but Giggs and Ferdinand will have to beware the sloppiness that at times nearly cost them against Wigan in their passing and defensive concentration respectively. It was a positive game for Danny Welbeck who looked far more at home up front than on the left as he has been playing recently, and there were good encouraging debuts for United’s new boys. With an almost fully healthy squad, United have plenty of options to refresh the eleven ahead of Wednesday’s game with Galatasaray, a welcome situation.

Ratings

Lindegaard-7, Rafael-6, Ferdinand-5, Vidic-6, Büttner-7, Carrick-6, Scholes-7, Nani-6, Giggs-5, Welbeck-8*, Hernandez-7

(Van Persie-6, Powell-7, Evans-6)

*Man of the match

Analysis: Southampton 2 Manchester United 3

Premier League, Sunday 2^nd September 2012

The Reds visited St. Marys looking for 3 points to sign off with before the international break, but it almost wasn’t to be. United were very nearly undone by Southampton, but two late goals from Robin van Persie (completing his hat-trick after an earlier goal) sealed a dramatic win. Here are the main United-related talking points from this fixture:

Midfield lacked

The partnership of Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley in central midfield (for the first time) has been many people’s ideal combination, but it failed to live up to its billing. Cleverley, as good as he is, is not the type of player to control the tempo of a match, and he struggled to impact the game finding himself on the peripherals. Similarly, Shinji Kagawa was barely involved as the match progressed-he and Cleverley were mostly pressed out of the play by Southampton’s three in midfield. These two players work well in possession, but struggled to influence this game, and Kagawa in particular relies on a controlling midfield behind him otherwise his effect becomes nullified. Michael Carrick was also poor in this game, his first in midfield this season. He completed the most passes in the match (115), but was still erratic at times and perhaps needs more games to work his way into the season.

Paul Scholes was a contrast to these displays when he arrived into the game with an hour gone. He pressed the play very well whilst bringing a control to the midfield. His passing was varied and effective, and he was the catalyst for the change in performance that enabled United to go on and score those important late goals; he remains an important asset to the squad.

Meanwhile, it is also worth noting the performance of United’s wingers. Antonio Valencia was once again solid, putting in good crosses and providing a vital direct threat on the right flank. Danny Welbeck however was once again mostly ineffective on the left-side. Whilst he showed plenty of energy and intent, that is clearly not his position. The introduction of Nani on the left illustrated this, as the Portugese brought a wider and more direct threat to Southampton.

Defensive foundations

No side has ever won the league with a dodgy defence. Centre-back partnerships have been vital to title wins, whether it be Bruce/Pallister, Stam/Johnsen, Terry/Carvalho or Kompany/Lescott. But perhaps the best partnership of the new era has been Ferdinand/Vidic, and their reunion in defence was a welcome sight on Sunday. Both performed admirably, and with a run of games they will  surely provide that essential bedrock to the United team.

United’s full-backs on the other hand are still raising concerns. Rafael and Evra are both potential weak links in the back four. Both players are very effective attackers, and their positioning is generally ok, but concentration errors in their game cause United problems. The two of them were at fault for the Southampton’s goals, and they were also too often bypassed by the opposition winger. There is no easy solution, but there is an area of concern for United in the full-back position.

Going Forward

Lindegaard came into goal looking confident in the air, and the return of Ferdinand and Vidic was more than welcome. The midfield need to become a bigger presence away from home, but goals are coming. Van Persie was terrific, and his hat-trick was a delight to witness. The Dutchman is a brilliant goalscorer and is seemingly already becoming a vital part of the team. It will be exciting to see how his United career progresses. United can now take stock of a sticky start to the season and look to press on after the international break.

Ratings

Lindegaard-6, Rafael-6, Ferdinand-7, Vidic-6, Evra-6, Carrick-6, Cleverley-5, Kagawa-6, Welbeck-6, Valencia-7, van Persie-8

(Scholes-9*, Nani-7, Hernandez-7)

*Man of the match