Hell Is Where the Devils Dwell.

Three months of astronomical hope sent into oblivion within three football matches...Wait, oblivion? Pessimism be gone! For the best is yet to arrive. The knee jerk reaction with regards to Manchester United's meek performances over the past few weeks reminded me how inept we fans can be. Looking at the evidence inductively, why would we believe that Louis Van Gaal's tactics will come into fruition in an instance. His three months engine starter have been present in just about every club tenure abroad. Barcelona, Bayern Munich to mention the well known ones. But here's my season preview and prediction for Manchester United's Barclays Premier League 2014/15 campaign.  

Man with a vision

What Pre-Season Taught me.

Introduction to Louis Van Gaal's tactics.

Obvious from the get go is that Louis Van Gaal is going to fundamentally transform Manchester United's tactical philosophy. Employment of the 3-5-2 system is just the beginning. We can pretty much argue that the ' first half players ' during the club's tour gives fan a clear vision of the kind of players wants for his formation( with the exception of Danny Welbeck, simply because Robin Van Persie had a post-world cup rest ). This is why Darren Fletcher has been kept at the club despite poor performances, clearly Van Gaal sees him as some sort of pseudo-Vidal. The ones that started mostly in the second half- Chicharito, Shinji Kagawa, Welbeck and Cleverley, not to name all, has left the club.

The strenuous nature of Van Gaal's training methods.

Reputation has it that Van Gaal's training regime can be considered one of the world's most physically demanding. This is why the surge of injuries coming from players like new boys Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw, Rafael Da Silva, Johnny Evans, Michael 'Calm' Carrick, Maruoanne Fellaini and Jesse Lingard comes as no surprise. Is this a cause for concern? Perhaps it is, considering the physicality of the Premier league, Van Gaal could tone it down a little.

Expectedly, youth usage will not die out.

A host of unfamiliar names were present at the tour during games, Tyler Blackett, Reece James, James wilson, and Saidy Janko can give United fans good hope that Van Gaal will pick up where Sir Alex Ferguson left. What is even more interesting is the fact that Van Gaal can transform a mediocre player into an essential cog in his machine. Could we see the next Rio Ferdinand in Blackett?

Season Preview

Abysmal Beginning For Louis?

Three non-wins, in the modern game, will garner unwarranted animosity among the media and fans. Undoubtedly Van Gaal has had his first experience of the Premier League's own version of knee-jerk reactions. Such is the fickle nature of football fans and media personnels. Man Utd fans should know two things. One, Van Gaal has a history of getting his team to hit good gear rather slowly( 3 Months to be precise ). Two, Van Gaal has publicly admitted this. This shows his confidence in his football philosophy. So much so that he can even give you a specific period on how long he will struggle. These are signs that Man Utd fans should identify as positive. Baskets of injuries also contributes to Van Gaal's struggle in the Premier League. 9 injuries, what the.

New Foreign Arrivals

 (1) Ander Herrera Agüera

Engine with the skills to pay the bills

   
Probably the buy that all Man Utd fans felt that the club needed. Energetic and creative, Herrera should see himself slot effortlessly in the new Utd set up without much competition. However, questions can be raised on his fitness levels. Being such an engine, I wonder if he has what it takes to withstand the extreme physical nature of the league, but there is no champions league, so his stamina should be manageable. Will be looking forward to more of his clever tackles.

(2) Luke Paul Hoare Shaw

Too bulky to be 19

The real criticism of Shaw is his price. Does his talent and statistics justify the amount paid by utd( 30 Million )? If this purchase had been made by another club, the risk would be exponentially higher. This is because of Utd's history with youth. With Man utd and Van Gaal's youth policy conflating, Utd fans can rest assure that Shaw will easily prove his doubters wrong, dude has almost a 100 Premier League caps at only 19. Tried and proven. Do a little predictive mathematics, you will see that should Shaw last a decade at utd, which isn't an unfair estimate, 30 million would look like peanuts in terms of the appearances and performances he will rack up by then( bar major injuries ). Proof? Rio ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and David De Gea. What about Anderson and Nani? Fair points, but keep in mind that these players were bought when they haven't really proven their worth at their respective former clubs in a different league, Shaw does not sit in the same category.

(3) Faustino Marcos Alberto Rojo

Remember me Van Gaal?

This is probably the most confusing buy, not because Rojo is a bad player, but because Utd fans were having a certain German centre back in mind as a replacement the departing old defensive guards. Many argue that Rojo was actually Van Gaal's fourth choice centre back, behind Hummels, Thomas Vermalean and Mehdi Benatia. So I'm pretty sure Utd fans are ambivalent about this buy, or they could adopt the view that this is in fact a decent buy, when you notice that he is actually a World Cup finalist. Surprisingly, what a I gather from popular opinion is that Utd fans actually include Rojo in their preferred line up without much hesitation.

(4) Ángel Fabián Di María Hernández

The 'Noodle'

The purchase that got all Utd fans quaking with excitement, myself included. The Premier League's record signing is expected to light up the league with ease, and has shown flashes with his performance against Burnley. I should point out that Di Maria is actually quite injury prone, so hopefully he can remain fit for most of the games this season. We should see Di Maria occupy the midfield position, tactics will be discussed in more detail below or in a different blog post for the future.

(5) Daley Blind

Meest Knappe Van Het Stel

In my view, the most important but least talked about acquisition. He has worked under Van Gaal in the World Cup, worked under Frank De Boer at an all dominant Ajax team, multi-role player, and a tireless engine. Holding midfielder looks like the most viable position for him as most of the left sided slots are densely populated. We should expect a Michael Carrick-esque player in him, or perhaps one day we'll call Carrick a Blind-esque player.

(6) Radamel Falcao García Zárate

Actually is Colombian beardless Jesus

What a deadline day shock. Many thought that this was a suicidal buy, considering Utd have great strikers in the form of Rooney and Van Persie. But with the morose departure of Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck, this buy proves to be theoretically a rational buy. Absolutely looking forward to some clinical finishing from Falcao.


Formation

3-5-2( 3-4-1-2 ), 3-4-3, 4-3-1-2( 4-1-2-1-2 ) are the most likely formations to be deployed this season. Although I would opt for the 4-1-2-1-2 formation, simply because it is a four man back line, making it easier for Evans, Jones and Smalling to adapt without jeopardizing much Van Gaal's vision for the team too much. But as always tactics are never that simplistic. I will make a further post on Man Utd's tactical formation alone soon.

My Predictions for the season

(i) 3rd/4th place in the League.

(ii) Quarter Finals of the Fa Cup.

(iii) Falcao to score more than 25 goals.

(iv) Rooney to achieve double figures in both assist and goal department

(v) Do well against top 7 clubs but struggle against weaker ones.

(vi) Around two signings in January transfer window.