LOUIS DEFENDS BALANCING ACT
LITTLE more than 24 hours after claiming to take a more cerebral approach to football management than his contemporaries, Louis van Gaal suddenly developed a previously undetected degree of modesty.
It revealed itself after he was asked, in the wake of the win over Crystal Palace, if he had a clear vision of what was required to rebuild Manchester United — a task he said on Friday could take him three years. ‘When I say I have a clear vision I’m considered arrogant,’ he said. ‘But when you see what I have done in my career you have to know that I have a vision and that I’m very confident. I don’t think that is arrogant. It is self-confidence. It’s a big challenge but I knew that in advance. Otherwise I could have chosen another club.’
Right now the challenge seems a daunting one, particularly when he has to keep tinkering with his team to carve out the results that are just about keeping them in contention for the Champions League places.
If he had an idea of how United would play at the start of the season, circumstances have forced Van Gaal to adapt. On Saturday he unveiled the third formation in only 12 games in charge, with Wayne Rooney in central midfield alongside Marouane Fellaini in a 4-1-4-1 line-up that had Michael Carrick deployed in front of a makeshift back four.
On a day when Daley Blind and Patrick McNair were partnered in central defence, the extra protection provided by a five-man midfield ensured a first clean sheet in six games. But it numbed United’s potency in attack and that was something even Van Gaal acknowledged after Juan Mata’s deflected, 67th-minute goal had secured a stuttering victory.
‘It’s too much I think, I agree,’ he said of yet another formation change. ‘But I’m looking for the balance and when you see the last four matches, we have had more balance because we haven’t conceded many goals. But we don’t score so much. With the other system we scored a lot of goals.
‘I said at half-time to Rooney and Fellaini that you have to play higher up in support of Van Persie. I had to correct them.’
He might have corrected them but Angel Di Maria, so brilliant when he first arrived from Real Madrid, remained a subdued figure. Van Gaal hooked him, as he did the equally ineffective Adnan Januzaj. The Dutchman insisted it was a consequence of negative Palace tactics.
‘Di Maria has played in a very small space,’ he said. ‘He is a dribbler but sometimes you cannot dribble. You have to make it a passing game and Di Maria is not a player who wants to give a pass every time he gets the ball.’
A lack of balance will remain an issue until Van Gaal can add quality to his defence. But he takes some encouragement from the fact that his side are only two points adrift of the Champions League places despite a difficult start and despite the fact they have taken only 16 points from 11 games. United had 22 points at the same stage last season under David Moyes.
‘Of course we need to raise our level,’ he said. ‘But it’s also a matter of getting over a lot of injuries. I’ve never had so many injuries in my career. It’s crazy but it’s what I have to deal with.’
SUPER STAT: David de Gea kept his 50th clean sheet on his 144th appearance for United.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-1-4-1): De Gea 6; Valencia 6, McNair 6.5 (Fletcher 90min), Blind 6, Shaw 7; Carrick, 7.5; Januzaj 5.5 (Mata 63, 7), Fellaini 5.5, Rooney 6, Di Maria 6 (Wilson 71, 5.5); Van Persie 5.5.
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Blackett, Vermijl, Herrera. Booked: Valencia. Scorer: Juan Mata 67.
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1): Speroni 6.5; Mariappa 6, Delaney 6, Dann 6, Ward; McArthur 6.5, Ledley 6.5; Puncheon 6, Chamakh 5.5 (Bannan 80), Bolasie 6 (Gayle 80); Campbell 6 (Doyle 90).
Subs not used: Hennessy, McCarthy, Kelly, Fryers. Booked: Delaney, Ward, Bolasie.
Man of the match: Michael Carrick. Referee: Chris Foy 7.