United completed their transfer dealings on Monday with the signings of Daley Blind and Radamel Falcao. For United, the Falcao deal represents a real coup, and with Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck gone, United did need cover at striker. But Falcao is a legitimate world class striker, has the goalscoring record to prove it, and is not the sort of player you sign just for cover. Add in the fact that you already have two world class strikers in the squad, one of whom is your captain, and a selection dilemma is brewing.
The main questions journalists and fans alike seem to be asking are: 1.) How will the new signings fit into a formation? and 2.) Why sign so many players who can play in similar positions? It is a very unbalanced side, and unless Van Gaal's plan is to play Roy of the Rovers football, he needs to address this with his squad right now. One potential reason for the signings is that last week the manager stated he has a three year plan. Year one: finish in the top four to get Champions League football. Year two: win the league. Year three: win the Champions League. It seems Van Gaal is already working on building a squad that can compete across multiple fronts, and make several trophy charges at a time. This will be welcome news for fans, and they will be hoping this means a genuine charge at the FA Cup this winter/spring after last year's embarrassment in addition to a push for Champions League football next term.
Now, back on the idea of what kind of formation to play. Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney both seem to now be established as favorites of Van Gaal while Juan Mata has failed to impress thus far. Potentially, Mata could drop out of the lineup and Rooney could step in to the trequartista role. But the attack is not the only problem. United have signed three left-footed defensive players in Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Blind. Blind will likely slot in to the center of midfield, probably for Darren Fletcher. Unfortunately, Fletcher has recently been named Van Gaal's vice-captain, and as such will likely be seeing significant minutes on the field.
If Fletcher is to stay in the middle of the park, Blind can slot into central defence. During the World Cup, he played in three positions for Holland. Central defence, left wing back and central midfield. It is likely that Shaw will be the first choice left wing back once back to full fitness, which he should be after the international break, and that leaves only central defence unoccupied. Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Jonny Evans have looked very, very poor at the back and since Blind comes in knowing Van Gaal's system, I would not be surprised to see him playing in the back three for United.
The way this writer sees it is that there are two possible formations that United can adopt given the personnel they now possess, with a wrinkle they could add to each one. They could stick with the 3-5-2 and play Rojo, Blind and Evans across the back, Di Maria and Fletcher at central midfield, Shaw and Valencia at wing back, Rooney as a number 10, and Van Persie up top alongside Falcao. United could also opt for an outrageously attacking 4-3-3 with Shaw, Rojo, Evans and Jones/Rafael at the back, Blind, Di Maria, and Mata through the middle, and Rooney, Falcao and Van Persie all up top.
The alternative to that would be to still play 4-3-3 but play with more balanced personnel. They could keep the same back four, but move Fletcher alongside Blind in central midfield, put Mata in front of them, Di Maria out wide as a winger, Van Persie/Falcao through the middle and Rooney out wide. There are several problems with this formation though. One, in this writer's opinion Di Maria is better used through the center of the park and not as a winger. He had the game of his life in Lisbon last May, and that was as a central midfielder. Also, the last time Rooney was in top form was the spring of 2011. He has publicly voiced his dislike for playing anywhere other than the center of an attack, but his burst of pace is nowhere near what it once was, his first touch is gone, and he looks tired. A player really shouldn't look tired in August.
The one player I have not named so far in this article who was signed this summer is Ander Herrera. That is because I think if any of United's new singings are going to be on the bench, Herrera is most likely. But if Van Gaal decides to adopt the formation and personnel plan I believe he should, Herrera will be key. He was fantastic while on the tour of the United States playing farther up the pitch, and I think he should be given a run of games in the number 10 role. Drop Rooney and Mata, and play a 3-5-2 with Rojo, Evans, and Jones at the back, Shaw, Di Maria, Blind, and Valencia across the field, Herrera in the role of trequartista, and Van Persie up top with Falcao. This would be an incredibly divisive move from Van Gaal, and one which will no doubt anger many. But if there's one thing the Dutchman has shown throughout his tenure, it's that he's not afraid to make the controversial decision.
One thing about the selection dilemma is certain: it will be thrilling to look how the next couple of months play out.