Hudson Magerstein's Roar Profile

j binnie – I agree with your mentioning of Rafael in the holding midfield role as he is a persistent and ankle biting player who works very hard to win the ball. As you mentioned though he can often be caught out of position because of his dire need to always win the ball. I think that van Gaal should look at Nick Powell to play in the midfield, sure he is young, but he has played at a high level with England at the under-16 to under-21 level. He also played a big role at Wigan whilst on loan, making 42 appearances and scoring 12 goals. If not Powell, than I don’t know who else. Cleverley lost the ball more times than he kept it on the weekend, and Fletcher seemed like he constantly needed 3-4 touches before he was fully in control.

I’m not sure of the Di Maria signing, of course he is world class, a great buy for any club! But, can he fit the system? An attack minded winger has been known to defend poorly (eg. Young ball-watching against Swansea for Routledge to win the ball and play Sigurdsson, and Valencia ball-watching on a corner for his man, Rodwell, to finish an unmarked header). A formation change seems the ideal solution to accommodate the forward talent United have.

Or play Di Maria in the midfield with Mata and play one holding midfielder, of course that can expose the three at the back more than they already have been. This signing will test van Gaal!

United need an Angel and need it badly

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I understand that it is not a new idea. For recent Man United sides though it is, not once in the last 5 years of Man United have they adopted 3 at the back.
Of course all players are expected to become defenders, but when has the responsibility of being a high pressing winger changed to becoming the last line of defence. What I’m saying is that our defence cannot be judged as yet, because the guy charged with the responsibility of being a wide attacker and the last line of defence is currently injured, no one can possibly hope that Ashley Young can play in either a back 3 or 4.

Exactly, change has begun, but is it truly needed. the 2012-13 Liverpool team finished 7th in the league, the very next year they finished 2nd. Yet they only brought in Mignolet, Toure and Sakho who had a major contribution to the team. And of the 9 players that left, only 3 had made more than 30 appearances for the club a year earlier – Downing, Shelvey and Carragher (who was also their most experienced defender).
2012 was also Rodgers first season in charge, he kept virtually the same squad that finished 7th to finish 2nd the year later.
Yes, change has begun at United, but, given time, is the change truly needed, given what has happened in the past.

Oh he definitely is not a comparison to Vidic in the air, but in comparison to Jones & Smalling, I believe he is a bit more commanding in the air (although being shorter than Smalling). He proved this at the World Cup with his goal. Mats Hummels would’ve been the perfect signing for United, but they couldn’t get him,in my opinion, in terms of talent, prospect, and immediate impact he will good for the Red Devils. But, as with any signing it’s what they do on the park that proves that.

The back three with the two wide players across the midfield/wing-back position, that van Gaal plays, doesn’t leave the defenders with only three at the back, it becomes five at the back when in defence. Obviously this didn’t work against Swansea, as the two wide guys were not good defenders (Young, Lingard, and Januzaj). When Shaw returns we have a guy who was made for that position and can drop back into defence if need be. What doesn’t work for United as shown in the first match, was that when we change into a 4-4-2, we are left with one of the 3, moving out wide and having to drop a wide guy back into defence, i.e. Ashley Young.

I don’t think change is “needed” at the club, but because the fans are so used to success, if a manager wants to stick around, he has to have an immediate impact. This is why players are demanded, van Gaal agrees his team is missing a few pieces, but I believe this is because he hasn’t got time to ‘breed’ what he has.