Quote:
Originally Posted by Lok
Van Gaal is a massive fan of all this statistical stuff.
But you're right, it's not working for us. So you've got to question whether it's because we don't have the players to make it work, or because the players don't want to make it work.
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I think it's cultural. We've traditionally been associated with attractive attacking football - 4-4-2 with attacking wingers. We're a destination for players where money isn't the ultimate master; we attract players who "settle" for 100k/week rather than going to the Emptihad for 120k/week. Players who want to play in front of 76000 fans, who understand and appreciate footballing tradition, who know that success at United will bring more reward than the basic 120k at city. Whether the current philosophy will work when set against that ethos, I don't know. I hope it will. I'd stick Rooney on the right wing now, go 4-4-2 with Blind and Herrera in the middle, Di Maria and Rooney on the wing and Falcao and Wilson up front. Why? It's something different. Rooney wants to get forward and we also have two wingers who can get forward and usually deliver a good ball. It also keeps Rooney away from the centre of midfield and allows Van Gaal to persist with whichever strikers he wants while putting proper midfielders in the middle. Crouch in a wig is a plan C that can come on and shake things up a bit but let's not sacrifice our footballing principles. We're boring and predictable and that needs to change asap.