Manchester United must revert to type after ineffective Lyons performance

So Manchester United, as expected, have progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. A 1-0 win was enough to see them through to the next round but the performance was hardly one to savour. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it was one of their worst of the season.

Again, Alex Ferguson decided to abandon the formation that has generated so much praise and success and instead chose a ‘workmanlike’ formation with three in the centre of midfield and Wayne Rooney playing the lone striking role. And it may seem ungracious considering that United got the required result, but I just don’t think 4-3-3 works for them at the moment.

Fabio Capello recently said of the Champions League that if United play to their strengths this season, they will win the trophy. I’m not suggesting for a second that Capello’s opinion carries more weight than Ferguson’s but this is a manager who has worked at all the top leagues in Europe and been successful. Ferguson obviously still thinks that United need to play differently in Europe but Capello knows the Italian and Spanish games inside out and still thinks The Reds have nothing to fear in the competition if they play to their strengths, by which he surely means a team with an essentially 4-4-2 formation.

It worries me that Sir Alex keeps tinkering with his system, particularly at home, in Champions League games. This United squad has been built around the idea of the 4-4-2. All its players are used to playing 4-4-2. All its success and best football has been played within the framework of 4-4-2. Rooney plays best when he has a strike partner. The midfield looks commanding with two but cluttered with three.

And furthermore, United lack natural width with 4-3-3 and the full-backs, talented as they are, are the ones expected to get to the byline and put all the crosses in. Considering that the squad possesses some of the best wingers in the world, it seems odd that Sir Alex asked the full backs to do this job, leaving the natural wingers ‘free’ to take more central roles. It’s all just a bit over complicated for me. A stifling tactic that is not what United are about.

Of course, Lyons are better than most of the Premier League sides and are also accustomed to winning, after six consecutive French titles. They deserved United’s respect. But by the same token, Ferguson’s team have beaten better sides by wider margins at Old Trafford this season, playing the 4-4-2. Let’s make no bones about it – Lyons were unmistakably there for the taking. But instead of the fans chanting ‘are you Roma in disguise’ at the end, there wasn’t a pristine fingernail in the whole stadium. At 1-0, with Benzema in opposition, anything can happen.

I just don’t like the idea of asking footballers to play in one way for 90% of the time, then suddenly asking them to change these routines for some of the most important games of the season. Ferguson is showing too much caution. I know that I would rather see United take every game to their opponents with four forward players at Old Trafford, like in the Premier League, with no fear of defeat. Even if they do get caught once or twice, surely it would be better than watching drab Chelsea-esque performances that leave fans uncomfortable for the entire game.

I don’t see any other top team in Europe making such formation changes before a European game. New formations mean that players lose their sense of where their colleagues are positioned. The telepathy dissipates because everyone is in a slightly different place than usual. This frustrates the players.

Ferdinand and Nani squared up at the end of the game and Vidic could be seen remonstrating angrily with his midfielders at least once during the night. Anderson didn’t seem to know where he was supposed to be playing and Rooney had no time on the ball. The players aren’t comfortable with the formation because they aren’t used to it. United had loads of possession but no penetration. So why does Ferguson always use the most important games to try and evolve this system?

Why not try it at home to Derby to give the players more confidence with it? It just doesn’t make sense to me. Sir Alex might well argue that he’s tried 4-4-2 in Europe but it doesn’t work, because it leaves his team too vulnerable to the counter attack. But surely the manager has never had so many good players at his disposal. If he agrees and really does trust them, then he should allow them to play their natural game and win the Champions League in the United way. Because that’s the only way they are going to win it.