Louis van Gaal has come out fighting over supporters’ criticism of his 3-5-2 formation, accepting that the players might be more comfortable with 4-4-2 but pointing out that whenever Manchester United take the field that way they have their coaches’ asses twitching on the bench.Sir Alex Ferguson gave the nation squeaky bum time, his successor appears to prefer an Americanisation for a state of tense nervousness. “I know that with 4-4-2 the stats are giving positive results, we have won more with 4-4-2 in a diamond, but when you analyse the games then we have twitched our ass on the bench,” the United manager said before tonight’s trip to League Two’s Cambridge United in the FA Cup fourth round.
“I said to my players I was squeezing my ass but I knew that was the wrong expression,” Van Gaal said. “I meant I have twitched my ass on the bench because we were out of balance. We won against West Ham playing 4-4-2 for instance but all the time it was twitching your ass and I don’t like it.
“After I switched the system we won nine in a row [actually eight, then three draws] then we lose one game and the discussion about the system start up again. It’s ridiculous.”
United supporters who attended the Premier League victory against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road at the weekend were partly to blame for reviving the conversation, chanting for a return to 4-4-2 and urging the team to attack with more conviction. Van Gaal claims he did not hear the chants and would not have taken any notice anyway. “I do not have to take into account 600 million opinions,” he said. “I cannot listen to what the media are writing or what other people are saying because they are never at the training ground or attending the team meetings. It is my job to analyse the games, communicate with the players and then make a decision with my staff.
“I do not feel the players are completely comfortable with the new system yet. I would like them to be more comfortable but we are working on this in the middle of the season so we are doing a lot of things during the matches.”
Van Gaal’s claim he is working out new ideas on the hoof, so to speak, also applies to his questionable gamble at Loftus Road of employing Ángel di María as a striker.
“It was something I wanted to try, because we needed pace up front to stretch the game,” he said. “When we play 4-4-2 Di María can play left midfield, in the 3-5-2 we haven’t seen him so much because he has been injured. Then he came back and I tried him as a striker, because when you have pace in that position you stretch the pitch and make a bigger space for your midfielders. I tried it in a game because I didn’t have the chance to do it in the preparation at the beginning of the season.”
Di María was not a conspicuous success in an unfamiliar advanced role so he will be glad to hear Robin van Persie is available again for Friday’s cup tie, along with Luke Shaw. United’s problems are mostly in defence, with Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans and Ashley Young injured.
Van Gaal may use the game to give Víctor Valdés his debut in goal, though he denies having reached a decision. “I have read in the media that he shall play, and I thought that a little strange, because at that point I had not made up my mind or spoken about it,” he said.
The United manager has been researching his League Two opponents and is expecting a difficult game. “When you see Cambridge and analyse them they play very direct with long balls,” he said. “They have five or six players above 1.9m so for us it will be difficult to defend. That’s why you have to prepare yourself very well.
“It will not be so easy to beat Cambridge United. It never is when players have it in their minds that they are up against a weaker team. It is better to treat all your opponents the same but not always easy to achieve.
“I keep reminding the players that we are not playing against a weaker opponent, and it does not matter who we play, when we lose we are out. That is one of the reasons small teams often do well in cups. The FA Cup is full of surprises and we have to make sure we are not the surprise.”
By Paul Wilson, Guardian
