Graeme Souness believes that Manchester United will struggle to adapt to life under Louis van Gaal…
Former Liverpool player and manager Graeme Souness has warned Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal that he will continue to struggle this year if he refuses to change his 3-5-2 formation.
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The Dutchman took the Netherlands to third place in the World Cup earlier this year using the system, but his new squad have struggled to adapt to his tactics, and are without a win in the first three games of their new Premier League campaign.
Van Gaal also watched on helplessly as a team made up of youngsters and fringe players were torn apart my League One side MK Dons in the Capital One Cup.
United responded by spending a huge amount of money in the closing days of the transfer window – breaking the British transfer record to sign Angel di Maria, while also purchasing Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind and Radamel Falcao.
But Souness, who is quoted by Goal.com, believes that Van Gaal faces a long and painful transition if he refuses to pick a more suitable formation for the players at his disposal.
“A coach has to be brave to say that he is going to pursue a system before he gets to know his players,” he wrote in The Sunday Times. “They have to buy into it.
“If Van Gaal is determined to persist with a back three, this is going to be a long and painful transition for United. The team may take until November to settle down. You ain’t going to win the league if you take that long and you might not make the Champions League places either.
“United have already dropped seven points from a possible nine. If you continue with three at the back and the results are not improving, players will not be slow in turning round and pointing their fingers at the coach, saying: ‘It’s not that I am not playing well, it’s the system.'”
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