From 4-4-2 to 3-5-2: How Moyes can revitalize and re-evolve United

David Moyes

It is less than half a season thus far, and David Moyes has been scrutinized from every angle possible by pundits from all over the world. His team selection, his tactics, his choice of personnel, and even his match day sartorial sense have all been under an intense scanner.

Moyes has carried on with the United traditions and continued with Sir Alex’s most favoured 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 (with a keen emphasis on the wing play) in his early salvos. It helps that Moyes had a similar blueprint at Everton too.

However, for United to evolve and Moyes to have that much-needed tactical flexibility, a 3-5-2 formation would provide the platform to surprise opponents and create players that are much more tactically aware and able to switch gears at a moment’s notice.

The need for an alternate formation stems from what has been a recurring theme in Manchester United’s recent seasons: whenever the team has struggled it has been on account of being overrun by a superior midfield – whether it was a 5-man midfield or a Unitedesque 4-man midfield (with much better suited midfield personnel). Until now, United have relied on their firepower in the final third to overcome the midfield glitches; but as is evident this season it is a stop-gap solution at best.

With United’s tactics more or less fixed, it is easier for the opposition to plan accordingly and stifle the midfield and thus, stop the service to the front two. Last week’s match against Cardiff City was a case in point. Chicharito hardly got to run behind the defenders or even got a touch inside the box as United didn’t have the quality to penetrate in behind a robust and pugnacious Cardiff City midfield – ably lead by the diminutive Chilean warrior Gary Medel! Incidentally, Medel and his Chilean compatriots did the same job against England’s insipid 4-4-2 at Wembley that very week on their way to a famous and well-deserved 2-0 win.

So the way forward is tactical flexibility.

A 3-5-2 formation would follow like this: three man central defence, two wing backs, two screening the back three (with one a ball-playing midfielder like a Carrick and the other a tackler like Jones/Fletcher/Fellaini), and three fluid attackers. The options available to United for such a formation are considerable:

Defence – Ferdinand, Jones, Vidic, Smalling, Evans

Wingbacks – Evra, Rafael, Fabio, Valencia

Midfield – Carrick, Fellaini, Jones, Fletcher, Giggs, Cleverley, Anderson

Attackers – Rooney, Van Persie, Kagawa, Hernandez, Welbeck, Nani, Janujaz, Young

A formation like this would be especially relevant in games against the teams lying lower in the table who have seemed to hit upon a successful formula to overcrowd the midfield and press United to the point of frustration. The same would also be more relevant in games where United are chasing their opponents. A 3-5-2 would then open up a different dimension altogether.

A fluid front three – say Kagawa in his preferred No.10 role, RVP and Rooney ahead of him would give United’s three marquee players their most preferred positions in the final third and thus, provide them their best chance to create an impact; and not worry about being shunted left/right/centre of the field to accommodate the orthodox formation.

Behind them they would be supported by two wingbacks – say Rafael/Valencia and Evra – who are adept in the final third at both ends of the field. Two in midfield – Carrick and Fellaini/Jones – would then be the pivot just behind the No.10 and do their understated yet effective jobs with little threat of opposition outnumbering them in the midfield.

A three man central defence on the other hand, would always have a spare man to close one of the wings/ deal with the crosses/ start the attack from the base without the pressure of being the last man standing.

The best part of the formation would be the number of options in the final third in either attack (three fluid attackers, two wing backs and one of the two midfielders sitting at the edge of the box for any spill overs or cut backs) or defence (three man central defence, two wing backs, two midfielders) in quick time.

The most significant threat to a 3-5-2 comes from a breath-taking counter attack or an opposition winger occupying the hole left behind by United’s attacking wing-back. To address the same would require not just good preparation but also player intelligence. The midfield duo should be able to read the game well enough to nip any fledgling counter attack in the bud and be supported by the fluid attacking trio in pressing from the top. With respect to the wings, one spare man from the three central defenders should be good enough to take on sharp, pirouetting, pacy wingers in a zone that is least comfortable for central defenders – along the channel.

As evidenced at Real Madrid; Mourinho transformed Madrid into free scoring goal machines through a change in the formation – swinging between 4-2-3-1 and 3-5-2. The options it provided Madrid in attack would be testified by Barcelona of all teams as the Catalan giants suddenly found out with Mourinho’s arrival that the tiki-taka could be dismantled in just two strokes – disrupt Barca with an extra man in midfield and then distribute play quickly to a fluid front three (Benzema/Higuain, Ronaldo, Ozil).

Of course, trying this formation against the better equipped sides would need sustained exposure to it – for Moyes and the players themselves. The tactical fluidity would not only benefit the team but the team’s individuals as their in-game intelligence would improve drastically and help them overcome their ‘one-tricky pony’ roles.

A 3-5-2 formation when played with precision and intelligence strikes fear on a mental level even before a ball has been kicked as you practically (and somewhat cockily) tell the opponent that you are going to attack from the word go – a philosophy much adhered to at United over the years; albeit with a different formation.

Moyes has got an opportunity to show his managerial credentials at the highest level and a tweak or two here and there would only enhance the artillery at his disposal. He has this season to come upon winning formula as he has the backing of the main men at United to settle in and provide a blueprint of future success. With United losing a part of their aura in the absence of Sir Alex Ferguson; it would be in the best interests of Moyes and United to add another crafty dimension to their game and strike fear again into the eyes of the opposition from the word go.