The Fading of the #10

          World Football/Soccer has seen several prolific players rise in the #10 position over the last 5 years or even longer. When I say #10 here, I am specifically referring to the player that plays in the hole behind the striker (often in a 4-2-3-1 but not necessarily) and is the supposed creative center of the team. With this rise, saw the retreat of 2 strikers systems (such as the 4-4-2). Managers decided to put more of priority on packing the midfield. Wingers often became inverted and often cut in instead of following the traditional model of staying wide and making crosses in to the center forward.
           Players like Ozil and Mata became high commodities, moving to Real Madrid and Chelsea respectively. These players were usually allowed to stay high up the field, not required to track back and unlikely to help win back the ball. Of course there are often exceptions. However for the sake of this argument I am referring to players who operate like this. While these players are often supremely talented, they often lack pace and strength. In summation what they can truly offer the team is limited to how they are deployed in the side. Sometimes these players are played wide but usually to lesser success. Shinji Kagawa is another that could be added to this list.
          Currently it seems like the sport is seeing another tactical shift in which more versatile players are taking up the creative helm and making it harder for these strict #10s to be starting stalwarts. Players such as YaYa Toure, Toni Kroos, Gundogan and Michael Bradley have become the more in demand style of player because they can fill a creative role but also have strength, power and pace which allow them to be more effective all over the field. Other players such as Gotze, Iniesta, David Silva, Carzola, Rakatic and Modric can either play deeper or are equally effective playing wide. This is not the case with players such as Ozil, Kagawa and Mata. Managers have begun looking for versatile players.
         Take Jose Mourinho's management of Chelsea. Mata only lasted half a season once Mourinho had taken the Chelsea reigns. Mourinho prefers multifaceted players. This is why he much preferred Willian over Mata. As talented as Mata may be he isn't able to play anywhere else on the field. He even seems unlikely to be successful only just a bit deeper as the attacking mid in a 4-3-3 midfield triangle. Mourinho's sale of Mata to United now seems like a stroke of genius. He foresaw the problems Mata would encounter at United and knew that he would not make United more of threat to Chelsea.
        Mata is the more clear case. However, Ozil is similar. Real Madrid sold Ozil to Arsenal last year much to the elation of Arsenal fans everywhere. Ozil made a strong start to last season but his progress and performances wained as the season went on. He has similarly looked not near as effective this season.
        It seems to me that these strict #10s need a team to be designed around their style of play or built around them. While Madrid most definitely didn't build the team around Ozil, the system was perfectly suited to him there.  Now that he is at Arsenal the team isn't the same system and may not be suited as well for him. Last season at United, Mata seemed to struggle when played out wide and because of the lack of quality around him. Now He has been playing in his preferred role, he looks little better.
       The truth is that these are very talented players. Still, would you rather pay millions for a player who is great but limited to a single role or a more versatile player who can perform more than one function for the side. Most would have to give preference to the latter. A player that is intelligent and can create but is also strong on the ball and able to drop a bit deeper or play out wide is much more valuable than a player who is only useful in one role where the whole team must give deference to that player.

Work in progress?

Its safe to say that United have not had the best of starts to their season. At the same time, it is very early and new man Van Gaal has plenty of time to turn things around.

Several things concern me about United at the moment though. The first and maybe the most important is the atmosphere surrounding the club currently. Manchester United don't seem to be living up to the Ethos that they are so famous for. This applies to both on and off the field activities of the club. During pre-season United showed all the promise that they lacked during Moyes' tenure at the club. They looked to be playing attacking football and showed the problem solving creativity in the attacking 3rd that they so sorely lacked last season. The side even looked to embrace the new 3-4-1-2 formation that Van Gaal had decided to implement. After going undefeated in preseason, United supporters were excited and optimistic about the upcoming season. Then came the first match against Swansea. It seemed that United were reverting back to their ways of last season. The side showed little belief and confidence and were unable to breakdown defense in the final 3rd. This continued into the game against Sunderland and the cup tie against MK Dons. Its not so much the results that are worrisome but the lack of energy that has historically been at the core of United sides. It is imperative that Van Gaal finds away to bring the belief and never said die attitude back to this United Side.

The next thing that has given me cause for concern is Van Gaal's use of the the 3-4-1-2 formation. While Van Gaal used this system to great effect with the Dutch national team during the world cup, its use in the premier league could be folly. We have seen something of the sort before under Mancini during his last season at City. He did not find success. There are obvious explanations for Van Gaal's use of this system. The first being United's unbalanced squad. It also allows Mata, Rooney and RVP into a starting 11 with all 3 in their favored positions. Defensively this system requires a lot of discipline from the center backs and wing backs. This is partly where United have run into trouble. At the moment United cannot boast of having a truly experienced and world class center back. This is even with the addition of Marcos Rojo. United also have a problems in midfield. While Darren Fletcher impressed during pre-season, he has not looked fit enough to be a first choice in the 2 matches played so far. Herrera is a good edition but more is needed. Cleverly, Felaini and Anderson are clearly not good enough. It could be said that these problems would cause United trouble in any formation. Still i hope that Van Gaal might be willing to switch to his long loved 4-3-3 at some point. Mata is a great player and truly a really fantastic guy but he is so limited in what he can offer the team. He doesnt seem able to perform well out wide or even as the AM in a 3 man midfield. So far this season he hasn't even looked top class in his preferred #10 role. Van Gaal does seem to show that he is willing to adapt and change when things don't work which is starkly different to most of Moyes' policies last season. There is hope that he will sort things out.

Finally we come to ever fan's favorite topic. Transfers. I am not so much like all the people I speak to and hear from on twitter in that I react and am conclusory regarding rumors and and news of transfers. For instance, it is ver unclear what is happening behind the scenes at United. I try not to jump to conclusions regarding the glazers and Ed Woodward. Still there is great cause for concern with the latter. United have made signings this summer but all at great cost. Take the Angel DiMaria purchase. He is a very good player and he adds quality and pace to the team. But, is he worth almost 60 million. I don't think so. Also United still seem to be caught in this pattern of spending great sums of money on players that do not address the team's most crucial needs. RVP, Mata and Di Maria have all been purchased when it was very apparent United need to add serious quality in their midfield. This is not to say that these 3 aren't great players who can bring something to the team. But do you add a turbo system to a car before fixing an engine that isn't working properly. I think not. While I appreciate the excitement of a big signing, this particular player is not a solution to United problems. As in the analogy presented above, A new flashy addition won't solve a problem at the core of the machine. It is time United invested in what will address their true needs. I hope Woodward and crew can sort it out soon.

There are reasons to be optimistic. United's new manager boasts a level of tactical creativity that even Sir Alex could not claim. If Van Gaal is able to work his magic at Old Trafford, it is likely that we could see a tactical revolution over the coming months. Lets hope, the new boss can inspires the side to greatness sooner rather than later. Regardless, United are still in a state of transition and to judge them too harshly would be short sighted. Van Gaal has shown himself to be a patient man who looks to build teams for the future. This should be comforting to United supporters. But United should be considered a work in progress for the time being.