Manchester United Overview Part Two

This does however bring us onto a different topic, but one that is equally important. That being, the formation being played. United have always been known to play a 4-4-2 but with Ronaldo in the squad the shape changed to more of a lop-sided 4-3-3 so that he could get further forward, and a bit more central. After his departure things changed once again and a blend of a 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 seemed to be adopted with the latter often being preferred during more demanding games.

With the younger players coming through, I propose a further evolution of the current system into something similar to what Bayern Munich played last season: A 4-2-2-2.

Here is how I see the starting XI lining up.

With this setup it is clear to see that central midfiel

d would consist of Carrick

and Fletcher, further forward Nani and Valencia would operate on the wings and up front Rooney and Berbatov would be prowling the box area.

The defence is what I consider to be the best available back four, and I would e

xpect Evra to get a little further forward on his side because I expect Nani to get further forward and inside as he has done in the previous season.

Carrick and Fletcher will sit deep and distribute the ball as required, helping to retain possession while Fletcher is given more license to roam and win the ball back when required.

Valencia is less of a 'wing striker' and more of a traditional winger so would probably play from deeper than Nani but also wider than his Portuguese friend with a view to cross into the box rather than getting inside to score.

The real trick comes in with Berbatov and his movement in relation to the rest of the squad. As we all know, Berbatov is far more comfortable with the ball at his feet. He's also not particularly good at leading the line and plays much better with a strike partner.

At the same time there does seem to be a preference for three in central midfield, so by having a leading striker and two wingers Berbatov could operate in a withdrawn role, helping out with retaining possession when required, as well as providing Nani space to move into. Valencia is going to stay a bit wide anyway, but you could ask him to tuck inside slightly during a defensive phase so that Berbatov could still stay up front.

By playing deeper it also means that he will be less likely to end up on the end of a cross, something he doesn't deal well with. He'd be able to link up with the wings, central midfield and Rooney. But most importantly this would give you tactical flexibility by allowing either the wings to push up into more of a 4-3-3 or him to push up into an orthodox 4-4-2.

Having said all of that, I do think that in a situation where more presence in central midfield is required Joe Cole would have, or could have been the preferred option. Then again, Park has played in a similar role before, while Anderson could also be deployed there (not sure how successful that would be).

After all that I don't think that an additional central midfielder is required, especially because the club have bought so many young wing players and clearly still want to place a great deal of emphasis on attacks up the wings. With Welbeck, Obertan and Macheda coming through and Hernandez probably operating centrally up front I do think that in the future a three prong attack may be favored.

I do however maintain my view that the club require a top class goalkeeper to replace van der Sar. And I don't see how there is any way around paying a lot for one. Lyon are trying to hang onto Lloris but realistically I don't see any chance of CSKA Moskow keeping Igor Ikanfeev (a player I said I'd like to see join Chelsea this season). Of all the goalkeepers around he is the most available and best, and I do think that if United don't sign him this season there is every chance that Chelsea or Arsenal will and that would be much worse than many seem to think in my opinion.

Defence seems to be fairly solid, with Jonny Evans being a reliable replacement for Vidic or Ferdinand, Smalling coming through the ranks, O'Shea able to play on either flank with the Brazilian Twins starting to make more of a mark on the squad and finally Brown able to play at right back or in central defence.

As for the striking position, Rooney is the undisputed king and Berbatov can only improve even if he isn't comfortable playing up front alone. Only time will tell what will happen with Hernandez, though many are claiming he will be a perfect fit, and if Owen makes it out of his chryo chamber (when he's fit) I'm sure he'll be good for a few goals.

In reality it is clear that the team are building a 'homegrown' squad for the future and with so many attacking wing players it seems as if the model laid out by Giggs and Beckham will continue to be honoured.