Louis Van Gaal Set To Make Changes To Manchester United XI VS WBA
Changes and substitutions are inevitabilities in football. It comes through precautionary, tactical or forced reasons as a result of injury exigencies. For Manchester United, the 3-match suspension handed Wayne Rooney in the game against West Ham this season and the overuse of Daley Blind by both Manchester United and the Netherlands, would expectedly make the anchorman and the number 10 positions available for other options on the bench for the English Premier League encounter with West Bromwich Albion on Monday 20th October. Wayne Rooney would serve the second of his three match ban in the EPL match and the attacking midfield role behind Radamel Falcao and Robin Van Persie would once again be filled by either of Juan Mata or Adnan Januzaj. Also, the availability of Michael Carrick may just force Louis Van Gaal to drop Daley Blind, who has played a lot of matches and may soon be fatigued, for the English anchorman, Carrick.
Contrary to the popular opinions of some Manchester United fans that Michael Carrick, 33, may just be eased out of the team due to his age, injury and the consequent non performance, it seems as though the player is still highly rated by the Dutch manager of Manchester United, Louis Van Gaal. Many have argued that Carrick’s return from injury may be met with a period of inactivity at the club as his playing time is expected to drastically reduce due to his age and more importantly the additions of new players by the new manager. This year, Ander Herrera, Daley Blind, Juan Mata and Angel Di Maria have all joined the Manchester Club alongside the new manager, Louis Van Gaal, so, a new regime with probably a different playing style and orientation is currently ongoing. Therefore, an ageing Michael Carrick’s regular playing time is very the years and the Manchester United tradition of keeping veterans to influence the younger players, are something to go by, then Michael Carrick’s time at United may not be at all limited.
The defensive midfield position that has been held down by Daley Blind in Michael Carrick’s absence may just be once again be occupied by the Englishman owing to the fact that Daley Blind was a main stay of Louis Van Gaal’s Netherland World Cup squad and also having played in the last two Netherland international matches. Blind could do well with a breather, if the manager deems it fit. Players like engine, burn out as a result of wear and tear of the bones and muscles, and experienced manager, Louis Van Gaal, should know this. Therefore, Manchester United could just hand Michael Carrick the role of the defensive midfielder in the EPL encounter against West Bromwich Albion on Monday.
Also, in Wayne Rooney’s absence, Louis Van Gaal has played Juan Mata in the hole as a number 10 behind the pair of Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao upfront, in the match against Everton. The result hasn’t been too fantastic with Juan Mata and the initial questioning of his sale by Chelsea to United in a £37m deal in January, is being replaced by a justification. In his place, an interesting option lies in the very highly rated 19-year-old Adnan Januzaj. The young Belgian has proved a very potent force upfront playing for Manchester United under David Moyes and also this summer’s 2014 FIFA World Cup for Belgium. Januzaj hasn’t had as much playing time under Louis Van Gaal as he had under David Moyes for Manchester United last term. He hasn’t started for Van Gaal yet this season and the manager had this to say when asked why the 19-year-old wasn’t getting a chance. “He has to compete with very good players. That’s why he hasn’t started yet.’’ Instead of a lacklustre performance from Juan Mata once again, many Manchester United fans would crave for the young and fresh Adnan Januzaj in the hole.