Interesting Times at Manchester United.

It’s an interesting time at Old Trafford, just how far can they go this season?

The boss
The recently appointed Louis van Gaal is the envy of many managers, not just because of his glittering CV featuring silverware at many of the worlds greatest clubs, but also because of his position with Manchester United for the coming season.

It was never going to be easy replacing Sir Alex, and I think it didn’t take the Board at Manchester United long to realise that David Moyes was perhaps not the man to fill significant contours left by Ferguson’s arse in the Old Trafford hot seat over the two previous decades. But Manchester United are a proud club who value longevity, and they gave the Scott every opportunity to succeed before his eventual dismissal.

Significant contours: Moyes might have found this seat intimidating.

Moyes’ season at Utd will only have strengthened LvG’s position; with Utd still smarting from no European competition this season, a place in the top 4 is likely to be his minimum target this season. But LvG is a winner, and he will be targeting the Premier League trophy in his first season – possibly citing Liverpool’s title charge without European distractions last season as inspiration.

Louis van Gaal is similar to Ferguson in several key ways (although very different in  others); already in pre season we have seen many of Utd’s players perform better than they did at any point last season. This might be because some of them are playing for their futures at the club, but  crucially van Gaal commands respect in the dressing room and his players give 100% in every game for him. The fire has been well and truly re-lit under the backsides of the Utd squad, a fire that had been extinguished for a year under Moyes but is burning as brightly as ever again.

Formation
The new manager brings with him a change in formation. Utd fans will have grown up watching their teams spreading the possession with very competent wingers.

Ronaldo: One of Manchester United’s “very competent” wingers

Van Gaal has changed the way the team line up, to a 3-4-1-2 formation with wing backs. For me, this is a really interesting approach as it completely goes against my way of thinking. I am of the school of thought that you set up the team according to the players you have – play to your strengths – and centre back is not one of Utd strengths.

Has LvG identified this as a weak spot, and tried to overcome this by crowding the area? Utd have lost 2 of the best centre backs the Premier League has ever seen this summer. Jones and Smalling aren’t ready to take on that responsibility yet, I do hope that this is their season because they have so much promise and it will only be good news for England, but I think they both need a season on loan away from the spotlight where they can  play every game and build their confidence back up. Evans is decent, but hardly of the same calibre as Rio Ferdinand and Vidic. I believe to play this formation he needs at least one, preferably two quality new centre backs of a significantly better quality to their existing personnel.

Shaw is a brilliant addition at wing back and should occupy that position for Utd for at least the next decade. Seeing Ashley Young busting a gut to cover that position in pre-season is encouraging also, and he might just have saved his career at Old Trafford. Right wing back might need some attention, Rafael still has plenty of room to improve but I think he would benefit from someone more established ahead of him to learn from.

I have not seen Herrera play much, but he sounds like a quality addition at CM, again a position he should occupy for the next 10 years. The other CM position needs strengthening, but if they do end up getting Vidal then they would really be in business!

Mata will have a storming season tucked in behind RvP and Rooney, but in the two front men LvG has a unlikely area of concern. RvP and Rooney don’t seem to link up very well, with the number of passes they complete to each other sometimes only in single digits over 90 minutes. It might not help that both are amongst the front runners for the arm band, but if LvG can get them singing off the same hymn sheet then those front 3 will be formidable.

The stage is set for Mata to have a great season

Deadwood and acquisitions

Parts of the squad are stale, and, not that money is an issue, but significant funds can be generated, and wage budget freed from their sale.

• Fellaini – is an awkward customer but just doesn’t fit.
• Nani – after some early promise, has regressed.
• Anerson – what a waste of money.
• Kagawa – he was so good at Dortmund, what a shame he hasn’t been able to continue that in Britain.
• Valencia – I just don’t really like him, if I’m being honest.
• Jones/Smalling – both have a future, but one of them (maybe Jones) should go out  on Loan this season.

Utd need a few quality additions rather than a massive overhaul. They have significant funds and offloading the above will free up even more. They can afford to go big. I think these 3 players will turn Utd into a serious force for years to come.

Chellini and Vidal would turn Utd into a serious force; drastically improving the back 3 and giving Herrera a world class central midfielder to play  alongside. It would cost a lot of money, but Utd have a lot to spend.

A double raid in Turin.

Do Barca need to further balance the books? They are in the middle of a significant overhaul at the moment and they might be tempted with a bid. Dani Alves would thrive in that right wing back position, and there would be no better role model for Rafael.

Barcelona squad overhaul

 

Prediction
Utd aren’t’ far off. They now have the right manager, a big budget and they are still a desirable team to play for. A few smart additions in the right positions and they will be a force, but the transfer window is not getting any younger and they need to start getting some players to sign on the line.

Prediction; they might still be a little short of a challenge this season, but they will regain their position in the top 4, be a force in the cups and could well win the league next season.

FCHP World Cup Preview

With not long to go now until the World Cup Kicks off, the Footballs Coming Homepage will look at the runners and riders at this years competition, and give some tips for who to look out for.

Favourites

The usual suspects:

Brazil are firm favourites. They have the added incentive of playing at a home tournament, and this generation of players have a taste for international glory after beating Spain 3-0 in the final of the 2013 Confederations Cup. Phil Scolari has done a magnificent job since returning to manage his home nation. He will be hoping that he can repeat the success of his first spell in charge, which saw him lift the world Cup in 2002. Their 23 man squad has quality in every position, and Scolari will have decisions to make throughout the team. In particular; Dante, Luiz and Thiago Silva at CB, and Paulinho, Fernandinho, Luis Gustavo and Ramires competing for one or two defensive midfield roles.

One to watch: Neymar with the Confederations Cup

Argentina are in a good side of the draw and can avoid most of the big guns until the latter rounds, although any team having to chose between Aguero, Palacio, Higuain and Lavezzi, to partner Messi upfront would be contenders – regardless of what side of the draw they are in. A lot of the focus is on Messi going into the tournament, who, by his own incredible standards, hasn’t had what he would consider a great season; scoring only 41 goals in 44 appearances. He has never really consistently put in the performances for Argentina that we are used to seeing for Barcelona, and was often marked out of games in Diego Maradona’s Argentina team in the 2010 World Cup.

One to watch: Many believe Messi needs a big performance at a World Cup to truly be considered the greatest of all time.

Spain are perhaps not the firm favourites we are used to them being, but write them off at your peril. They are the holders, and will not give up their trophy without a fight. There are a lot of familiar faces in the squad, and this is likely to be the last World Cup for and number of the 23. They want to go out with a bang by retaining the World Cup, having also picked up a couple of European Championships along the way.

One to watch: Spain scored an early victory against Brazil, securing the services of Diego Costa who could have played for either nation. With an over reliance on midfield to score goals, Costa will certainly act as a focal point for Spain’s attacks.

FCHP Tips

Watch out for these teams:

There are some obvious teams to write about here (Germany, Italy, Holland.. even England!), here are some teams you might not have considered.

France have an exciting team, and a harmony in the squad that has been missing from recent campaigns. Deschamps, who captained France to their 1998 World Cup Victory, has not been afraid to leave big name players (such as Nasri) out of the squad in favour of a stronger team mentality. They destroyed Jamaica in their final warm up game, a match which really showed the depth of their squad.

Deschamps 1998

This isn’t the strongest squad Portugal have had in recent years, but realistically this is Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup at the peak of his powers. He is in a similar boat to Messi, where many feel he needs to taste international glory before being considered one of the best ever.

Belgium undeniably have one of the strongest squads in the tournament. There is depth throughout the team, with Mignolet or Courtois in goal, Kompany leading from the back, Hazard (x2) supplying Benteke and Lakaku upfront. They are in the same side of the draw as Argentina, but I expect them to have a good run until the two nations meet. This will be a great learning curve for a lot of these players, look out for them in the 2016 Euro’s.

A taxi driver told me this week to stick a bet on Chile reaching the last four. They are not a team I know much about and so hadn’t really given them much thought. With Vidal and Sanchez they have two of the worlds best players in their positions, but before they can be talked about as one of  the top four teams in the tournament they need to negotiate their way out of a group including Spain and Netherlands. We know from the England vs Chile match this season that they are no pushovers, and the conditions favour the South American teams.

Could this be the tournament for an African team to make a big impact? The Ivory Coast have a very strong squad, and the heat of Brazil is not likely to prove a problem. Any team boasting Yaya Toure and Drogba should be feared, and with an impressive supporting cast including inform Gervinho and Kalou, as well as familiar faces such as Bony, Tiote, Aurier and Kolo Toure – there is experience and quality throughout the squad.

Golden Boot

Ignoring Messi and Neymar, the following players might fancy their chances of coming away with the golden boot:

Benzema looks to have continued his club form in the warm up games for France. He could have scored many more against Jamaica, but left the field with 2 to his name and an assist. He has shown early signs of forming a good partnership with Giroud.

Expect Ronaldo to drag Portugal deep into the tournament. This might be the last World Cup where he can really impose himself on the tournament, so I expect big performances.

His time?

Drogba Doesn’t seem to age. In the games I have seen him in this season, he is still making a nuisance of himself and popping up with goals.

One to watch:

Di Maria, who could be one of the players of the tournament. He has had an excellent season with Madrid and will not be in the limelight; Di Maria might find space with the opposition focussed on Messi and Aguero.

 

I hope that has got you in the mood for what promises to be an excellent Tournament. I can not wait!