Are we going to stick with the 3-5-2 formation?

4-3-3?

4-2-3-1?

4-4-2?

There is no established first team, given the versatility of our squad. But I think we should just stick with the 3-5-2 and try to improve in that system. If we want to integrate Falcao and RVP both, Rooney would have to definitely drop deeper.

The 4-4-2 is the best option imo, how about RVP ? Is he staying ?

@tiki_taka, there is speculation that RVP will need a major knee surgery that will keep him out for 4-6 months.

I can almost guarantee that United is going back to the 4 at the back formations. It would be that or leaving Blind, Carrick, Rooney or Di Maria on the bench.

Here is the first one with 5-at-the-back:

You can also put Blind as a CB instead of Smalling and get Di Maria to play there. The problem is that I dont think Blind can perform that well as a CB, and Di Maria as a defensive midfielder would be just horrible.

Not in my wildest dreams United:

This would be just perfect.

There are a lot of possible variations like having wingers like Valencia and Di Maria with only one striker and Rooney behind. Or playing even this other one:

I am a 100% sure we are going to stick 3-5-2. It's actually not a matter of WE but a matter of Louis van Gaal. You guys can go on and on about what formation suits us best but I genuinely think that van Gaal will see this formation through and through to the end. If it fails much more, I think that's when he will abandon it but he is a persistent man and that can be seen as his admirable qualities and maybe, slightly annoying quality.
We haven't seen our best defense in action so we have to wait for the players like Blind, Rojos, Herrera Rafael, Shaw, Falcao etc... to come. If it STILL fails, then we'll talk. Here's a great article on why van Gaal's tactic will take time.
http://babb.telegraph.co.uk/2014/08/van-gaals-philosophy-begins-to-take-shape-still-not-great/

Like I said, van Gaal in pre season said it will take him 3 months for his tactics to start showing results, and I am confident he will. The future looks hopeful guys.

@man_utd: Completely agree. I think he sticks to 3-5-2 in EPL this season, and probably implement 4-3-3 in UCL next year.

I just cannot understand why we're sticking with the 3-5-2 if LVG has gone on record saying that the 4-3-3 is his best formation that "matches his philosophy". Surely we have the players for it. In this video, he seemed very adamant about that [at 1:50]. I just hope whatever system we utilize, we bring the best out of these players that we just bought. The 3-5-2 feels like a point of no return at this time.

@TheGame: Having Mata/RVP/Rooney complicates things for us. They are good players, and can not be left on the bench.

@ashwin1729, exactly and that is what it should be called. The only reason why he is using the 3-5-2 formation is because he inherited an unbalanced squad, and he is trying to integrate all of our star players in it. The odd thing for me though is why is he sticking with it despite having close to 200 million to spend. He has just started using this formation in March. There is an interesting article about this on Guardian, google "Why is Louis van Gaal so hell-bent on using 3-5-2 at Manchester United?" to read it.

@TheGame: Check out this article (originally posted by man_utd)
http://babb.telegraph.co.uk/2014/08/van-gaals-philosophy-begins-to-take-shape-still-not-great/

I think this explains what he is trying to do, and why it is useful!

Edit: Its a great article, and I hope the one I posted should answer it!
I have no idea how I posted the other link with wenger's jersey. If mods could kindly delete my edits, I would highly appreciate it.

United pre-season was mesmerising, i watched the 3-1 against the reds and i was pleased by ×United squad and tactics...
I still cant understand whats happening.

Now you look scary with the signings, but you were already strong in the pre-season.

The team we had is good. We needed a midfielder besides Herrera. But Falcao is not bad considering RVP will be under the knife soon and will be out for an extended period of time. I really like both Welbeck and Chicharito. They probably would start else where, and its the best moves for their careers. Rojo was brought because we did not have a defensive cover (Evans and Smalling are highly injury prone, and Evans has been making a lot of mistakes). Blind will play in midfield or LWB(till shaw is fit again). So not a bad transfer window.

Edit: I still feel Rooney should play CM to have the best out of United. He has the vision and the passing range to make it happen. He is also quick, and has a very good shot from distance.

The problem with having 5 at the back (or 3) is that Van Gaal would have to accommodate players in positions they are not used to play which may cause a disaster. Di maria is not suitable at All for the formation Van Gaal is playing right now.

@Ashwin, ummmmmm...yep, you're right. That explained everything.

Edit: lol. I thought it was a joke. But I used the link @man_utd provided and read the article. Jeez, it just shows how off the mark we are with this formation. Our players have a lot to learn, because this system apparently relies a lot on intelligence and mentality of the game. It requires a certain mind-set. Hey, if the Dutch national team learned it in 3 months, I am sure our players can as well.

@man_utd & @TheGame: Yes, he posted it first. I was reading it and closed the tab; and forgot where I got it from. +1 for man_utd. Sorry was not trying to take credit from him.

Overall, there has been improvement, which can be seen in the games themselves (besides the MK Dons). All of van Gaal's previous teams started off slow too (Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern, &AK) but they started to pick up steam after December. My only wish is that we do not drop too many points before that especially looking at teams in the EPL this season.

van Gaal has been saying that his team needs 3 months to understand and adapt his philosophy, so I'd say we wait till Dec to judge the team play. Who knows? Both Cleverly and Anderson (decent backups) could get their old form back! Arsenal & Pool mess up during December historically, and I hope that they have bad Dec and Jan!

@Tuanis: I agree, but van Gaal is making DiMaria play as a CM/LM who is taking on the opponents and freeing up space for someone else. Its an interesting idea as was effective against Burnley. His philosophy also requires people to play fluid football (like total football by the Dutch), so it doesn't really matter where you play (theoretically) as long as someone else covers the gap for you...

Falcao was my favourite striker in the world when he was in his last season at Atletico. Full rounded player and a complete best. United have a real game changer here. I have no idea why he would decide to go to Monaco, but he will dominate the PL. Anything but PL champions is below par from United. Just look at their squad. Whether its 8-5, 6-4 or 5-4, if United don't win this season then they are terrible.

Deffinely best for me,4-4-2 ...

Falcao: "It was my dream to play for United"
Reporter: "You said earlier your dream was to play for Madrid"
Falcao: "I have lots of dreams”

Eden17Hazard17, are you being sarcastic? No way this United squad is better than City's or Chelsea's, in terms of midfield and defense. But we're definitely top 3-5 in the world in terms of offense. @Marcus2011, yea more like "my dream is to go where the dough is".

@TheGame Is it true that United will have to pay him 350k/week?