Five things we learned from Manchester United's pre-season

Manchester United ended their pre-season run of games with a disappointing 1-3 defeat against Sevilla at Old Trafford in Rio Ferdinand’s testimonial. In the tour, where they travelled almost half way across the world, United played a total of seven matches; winning only two, losing three and drawing the other two.

Although, it might just be the pre-season, but still, this was not the start David Moyes would have been looking for the start of his Manchester United career. Looking at the positive, however, the more problems he uncovers before the start of the season, the better.

With the Scot’s first competitive match for United, the Community Shield against Wigan, just a couple of days away, let’s have a look at what we’ve learned from Manchester United’s preparation in the pre-season:

United’s formation

David Moyes has more or less employed the same formation, 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1, that United have feasted upon for the last couple of decades. The new United manager also seems to follow the same principles as Sir Alex by providing width to his sides by employing two fast wingers, whose responsibilities are to run at defenders with pace and feed the lone striker upfront, on either side of the pitch. This trio of attack is then supported by a player, playing in a free role, just behind the main striker, and in front of central midfield, in what they call these days as the ‘trequartista’ position. And then, we have the two central midfielders with a quartet of defenders behind them.

With other big teams across Europe preferring the modern 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formations, it remains to be seen if David Moyes can replicate the same kind of success with 4-4-1-1, which has now become almost obsolete, as was done by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Midfield Problems

It doesn’t require a mind of a genius or an eye of an eagle to notice that Manchester United have been struggling for a stable central midfield partnership for a couple of years now. And, as of now, nothing has changed this year as well. The result of which has been quite evident in these pre-season games where United’s midfield was frequently overrun by mediocre teams in Asia and Australia. David Moyes, however, identifies this problem and has already tried to sign Thiago Alcantara and Cesc Fabregas to plug that gap in midfield. But, to his dismay, he hasn’t succeeded in signing either of them, and there is now little time left to look elsewhere.

It must give David Moyes sleepless nights before the start of the season where they face Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool within the first five matches of the season. Considering the fact that United have, in recent seasons, made their major signing during late August must still keep hopes alive for Moyes to make his marquee summer signing.

The youngsters

Adnan Januzaj, Wilfried Zaha, and Jesse Lingard have been the only silver lining amongst the dark clouds that have surrounded Manchester United’s pre-season. Young and hungry, like luminous little lights blinking madly in the background, this trio of youngsters have caught the eye of every United supporter worldwide, and made them believe that all is not wrong after all.

Add to this trio the likes of Phil Jones, Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck, the Brazilian twins, and Nick Powell, who all have what it takes to climb the summit and build a home there. This club has always adored the talented youth, and that, perhaps, is their biggest secret of prolonged success.

Should David Moyes ever face any doubt, then the youth should be his answer.

The fitness

The pre-season games are less about results and all about building up the necessary fitness for the start of the new season. But, even after playing seven games, the majority of United players doesn’t seem to be anywhere near as fit as they should be with just a week away from the first league game.

In their last fixture, against Sevilla where they lost 1-3, United were easily overrun on all the areas of pitch, and despite being at home, shared the minority of the possession. There was no attempt to close the Sevilla players down, who passed the ball around with ultimate ease, and created chances at will.

This should be the most worrying factor for David Moyes, who needs to ensure that his players are in the best possible physical shape before the season starts next week.

The new manager

It has been quite unusual seeing someone else other than Sir Alex Ferguson in the Manchester United dugout after over a quarter of a century getting used to the great Scot. However, things have changed, and another Scot, David Moyes, has taken his place.

As said by himself, it has taken David Moyes some time to realize the magnitude of the task he faces after coming over from Everton to one of the biggest club in the world. And, to make matters worse, it hasn’t been an easy ride for him since he has taken over. With his major transfer targets deciding to either go somewhere else or remaining with their own club, and the ongoing transfer saga of Wayne Rooney, he would have already had few sleepless nights even though the season hasn’t yet started.

But, he probably should have expected that it wouldn’t be easy. And, the major factor for United this season is how Moyes handles himself in situation like these, where he needs to take a leaf out of Sir Alex’s book, who always kept calm rather than pressing the panic button which always helped him make the right decision, that would determine their destiny.