“The transition from Everton to United has been difficult at times as I have hard decisions to make. Everton are a great club and I was proud to manage them. I can’t deny Manchester United is on another level.”
These were the words of the new Manchester United manager David Moyes, who already seems to be feeling the pressure of the Old Trafford hot-seat.
A lack of any noteworthy transfer activity, bids being made public, dirty laundry being washed in public with the ongoing Wayne Rooney saga, only two wins from six pre-season games; David Moyes’s hair surely must have gotten greyer in the past 40 days.
But like Moyes said he has inherited the Champions of England who won the league by 11 points. So while Mr. Ed Woodward tries to get the deals (we would prefer players rather than sponsorships) done soon, Moyes can only work with what he has in front of him.
Based on the pre-season let’s take a brief look at what the fans can look forward to from the coming season.
Manchester United lined up in a 4-4-1-1 formation last season with Rooney dropping off Robin van Persie. Sir Alex Ferguson tried experimenting with the diamond too, in order to accommodate Shinji Kagawa and Rooney in the same side but it didn’t prove to be much of a success.
With six games played during pre-season and based on his Everton days, we can safely say that Moyes prefers to play with one up top.
Manchester United lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation against AIK during their last pre-season match, with Michael Carrick as the deepest of the central midfielders and van Persie up top. The wingers and wing backs were given the license to bomb forward making it a 2-3-2-3 formation when the team attacked.
Carrick, who arguably was United’s most important and consistent player last season, will surely be the lynchpin of this United side. As Jonny Evans started an attack from the right playing the ball into Rafael, Carrick the deepest of the midfield three, dropped in the vacant space to provide cover.
The wingers join in to support van Persie making it a front three, with Ryan Giggs and Anderson behind them.
In the attacking third of the field, the wingers have bombed forward making it a front three and Patrice Evra and Rafael have pushed into midfield knowing Carrick will provide the required cover.
In the below attack, we can see Anderson and Giggs as the playmakers with the responsibility of threading through balls to the front three.
With seven players in attack, Carrick drops deep and makes it a back three providing cover for Vidic and Evans. The ball from Anderson fails to find Van Persie and is cleared to safety.
The team that played against AIK: Lindegaard; Rafael, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Carrick, Anderson, Giggs, Zaha, Nani, Van Persie is nearly full strength bar the absence of Kagawa, Rooney, Tom Cleverley.
With Moyes supposedly after Leighton Baines (to offer and attacking threat to the left flank), Fellaini and Fabregas (to bolster the midfield and prevent it from getting over-run) although the later being highly unlikely, it seems that the above system is the one that Moyes has finalised – a flexible 4-1-2-3 with wingbacks pushing forward, a sweeper playing in midfield and a fluid front three.
With a more European look to the United formation, it is now up to the board and the new Chief Executive Ed Woodward to get Moyes the players he needs.