The sight of Ashley Young lining up at centre-forward for the second half of Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur was the latest head‑scratching positional move by Louis van Gaal.
A feature of his rollercoaster tenure has been his penchant for trading places. Since summer 2014 the demand has been for players to expect a peripatetic existence in which they move across defence, into midfield, on to the wing and up front to lead the attack: as has been Young’s experience.
As the now departed Ángel Di María said of his time at the club: “I started a game in one position then the next game in another. I scored goals playing in one position, then suddenly the next game I was picked to play in a different position.”
Counterintuitive ploys show imagination and an ability to think laterally but they have to work. Otherwise it is egg-on-face time and Van Gaal could make several omelettes. Young, a winger, is not the only one of the United squad for whom recognised positions have become foreign.
Daley Blind
Positions under Van Gaal Left-back, centre-back, midfielder
When United win Blind is held up by fans as the 5ft 10in smooth operator who partners Chris Smalling in central defence. When they lose badly, as at Spurs, the cry goes up he is no gnarled stopper.
Did it work? Like Antonio Valencia and Juan Mata, Blind has not embarrassed himself but, as with Valencia and Mata, United can surely do better in central defence than the Dutchman.
Memphis Depay
Positions under Van Gaal No10, winger
Depay arrived in the summer as the Eredivisie’s top scorer in PSV Eindhoven’s championship triumph. He was given a prolonged run as the No10 – in pre-season and at the campaign’s start – but has not been seen there since.
Did it work? Depay can lack a killer touch and the ability to know when to pass and when not to. So the answer is no.
Ángel Di María
Positions under Van Gaal Central midfield, second striker, winger
Van Gaal made the Argentinian the British record £59.7m signing in his first transfer window after talking Di María up as a jet-heeled, world-class winger. Then, the manager did not know what to do with him. Di María’s debut was as a left-sided central midfielder at Burnley on 30 August of last season. He performed well but from there was never allowed to settle.
Did it work? Mutual acrimony followed and Di María was sold last summer.
Marouane Fellaini
Positions under Van Gaal No10, second striker, winger, midfielder
Van Gaal admires Fellaini but is still undecided where the player is best deployed. The Belgian prefers a more advanced role, though it is difficult to find a United fan who agrees.
Did it work? For the naysayers (of which there seems many) he is the emblem of all that is wrong with Van Gaal’s United, wherever he plays.
Ander Herrera
Positions under Van Gaal Central midfielder, winger, No10
The Spaniard was trumpeted as a box-to-box schemer when arriving from Athletic Bilbao but has rarely been seen in the role. Ander Herrera was last season’s Juan Mata: viewed by Van Gaal as lacking the pace he wants in a No10, so positioned wide. This term he has – like Mata – been given a go as United’s trequartista but Van Gaal does not seem to trust the 26-year-old there, either.
Did it work? He is struggling to be chosen consistently in any position.
Adnan Januzaj
Positions under Van Gaal No10, winger, striker
Part of the thinking in selling Danny Welbeck to Arsenal in August 2014 was Januzaj could play as the leader of the attack.
Did it work? Has never played at centre-forward. Scored the winner at Aston Villa in United’s opening away game on 14 August but was on loan the following month.
Shinji Kagawa
Positions under Van Gaal No10, central midfielder, wide forward
“Kagawa was a No10 at Dortmund but I want to try him at No6 and No8,” Van Gaal said, puzzlingly, as the Japanese did indeed make a name for himself in the playmaker role.
Did it work? Was Kagawa ever sighted in central midfield? He played behind the strikers for 20 minutes of the 4-0 Capital One Cup humiliation at MK Dons before being withdrawn with concussion. Van Gaal then sold him back to Borussia Dortmund.
Jesse Lingard
Positions under Van Gaal Winger, No10, wing-back
Operated at wing-back last season and this but it is the move inside as the playmaker that catches the eye. This first occurred when United drew 1-1 with Liverpool at Old Trafford in the Europa League. Lingard has since played three times there, including in the defeat on Sunday.
Did it work? Van Gaal wants speed at No10, which Lingard has, but he was one of the four front players who were out of their natural position in the second half at White Hart Lane. The jury remains out.
Anthony Martial
Positions under Van Gaal Winger, No10, centre-forward
Like Rooney, the Frenchman can perform effectively in all attacking berths. But his speed, trickery, vision and finishing make him a scary proposition at centre-forward. Van Gaal is refusing to field him there.
Did it work? When Rashford was taken off on Sunday, Martial was the no-brainer to play No9, not Young.
Juan Mata
Positions under Van Gaal Winger, No10
“I like to play between the lines as a No10,” Mata has said while at United. Yet one of United’s few bona fide artistes is viewed by Van Gaal as a makeshift wide-right player.
Did it work? Mata had a brief time in the “hole” this term but he is back on the wing where he is steady rather than spectacular: mediocrity is not supposed to be the United way.
Marcus Rashford
Positions under Van Gaal Centre-forward, wide forward, auxiliary right-back
The 18-year-old burst into the big time by scoring four goals in two games, proving himself a No9 with the requisite deadly finish for a Van Gaal United who hardly create a surfeit of chances. Three matches later, in the cauldron of Anfield, Rashford was plonked on the right against Liverpool and asked to operate as a virtual full-back.
Did it work? Van Gaal yanked him off at the break with Liverpool leading 1-0.
Wayne Rooney
Positions under Van Gaal Centre-forward, No10, winger, midfielder/holding midfielder
United’s captain has the enthusiasm and technique to operate in all of these positions but to see him out wide or in central midfield, as at times last season, was a waste. Regarding midfield, Van Gaal argued he was doing so as Rooney was his best option there. So why did the manager buy, say, Ander Herrera?
Did it work? Rooney could be laboured and misplace passes.
Antonio Valencia
Positions under Van Gaal Wing-back, full-back, winger
The Ecuadorian was a wide operator until Van Gaal’s arrival, though a serious leg break had blunted his thrust and pace.
Did it work? One of the few Van Gaal switches which seems logical, though Valencia is hardly a marauding full-back in the Dani Alves mode.
Ashley Young
Positions under Van Gaal Winger, full-back, central midfield, wing-back, centre-forward
The only positions the 30-year-old has not occupied are goalkeeper and centre-back. On Sunday United and Spurs were goalless when Young was asked to play as the striker. The Van Gaal thinking here was Young had led the attack for all 90 minutes of an under‑21 1-1 draw with Chelsea the previous Monday.
Did it work? All three Tottenham goals came following Van Gaal’s decision.
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