Starting with saving Manchester United

Yang Fan's previous job was to help different companies go public.

He always assembles different types of teams based on the company's business.

For this reason, he was very clear that communication between the core team members had to be concise, efficient, and open.

Trust those you employ, and don't employ those you don't trust; mutual trust in each other's professional ethics.

But most importantly, as a leader, you must have a clear line of thinking.

Yang Fan's approach to saving Manchester United is to seek change.

Moyes continued Ferguson's team-building strategy, but as it turns out, he is not Ferguson.

Nobody is Ferguson!

The path of blindly imitating others is a dead end.

Since change is required, a new direction must be clearly defined.

Before clarifying the direction, it is necessary to understand the current predicament that Manchester United is facing.

Manchester United's problems this season are complex, but if you analyze them in depth, it's not hard to find the issues.

After 30 rounds of the Premier League, Manchester United are ranked 7th with one game in hand, having scored 46 goals and conceded 34.

However, if only away results are considered, Manchester United are ranked 3rd in the Premier League, ahead of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.

With 27 points from away games, they are only 2 points behind the Premier League away kings Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, who both have 29 points.

This is a very good result for Manchester United, who have had a turbulent summer.

But the problem lies in playing at home.

14个主场里面，曼联仅仅只拿到了6胜3平5负，21分，排在英超第11位。

In 15 home games, Mourinho's Chelsea earned 41 points, Manchester City and Liverpool earned 40 points, and Arsenal earned 34 points.

This is the difference!

What's worse is that the match against Olympiacos in three days is at home, as is the rescheduled match against Manchester City.

Manchester United's situation will be very bad if they don't solve their home ground problem.

In his previous life, Moyes' Manchester United suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat at home to Manchester City.

Yang Fan must not repeat the same mistake.

Let's continue with a more in-depth analysis.

It is well known that playing at home is always a major advantage in football.

This is especially true for Manchester United.

Why have they become a home-field liability this season?

The players' morale and confidence gradually eroded, but looking at the season as a whole, Moyes' home form has been poor since the beginning of the season.

In the second round of the league, they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Chelsea.

In the sixth round of the league, they lost 1-2 at home to West Bromwich Albion, who were close to the relegation zone at the time.

After that, Southampton defeated Arsenal 1-0 in the 11th round, but in just four days in December, they lost 0-1 to Everton and Newcastle at home in the next two rounds.

This is so hurtful!

After two consecutive home defeats, Manchester United bounced back, winning six straight games in the Premier League, Champions League and League Cup in December.

However, after entering 2014, they suffered another three-game losing streak, including two home games.

Throughout this season, Manchester United's ranking has generally hovered between 7th and 8th.

The team's performance was dragged down by its home record and its record against strong opponents.

Why?

Because it's an away game, Moyes will adopt a more cautious playing strategy.

Moyes will choose to take the initiative, whether playing at home or in a match against a strong opponent.

This is a Manchester United tradition!

Even in the Champions League finals of 09 and 11, when facing Barcelona, ​​Ferguson still attacked the field.

However, this exposes the weaknesses in the midfield and defense even more thoroughly.

In fact, this problem already arose last season when Ferguson was in charge.

But Ferguson's almost miraculous game-changing adjustments and substitutions always allowed Manchester United to turn the tide.

Last season, Manchester United conceded the first goal in 16 games, ranking sixth alongside teams like Stoke City and Everton, which is among the worst in the Premier League.

But Ferguson's team completed nine comebacks, two draws, and only five losses, averaging 1.81 points per game.

本赛季踢了29场，扣去2场0比0，先丢球场次达到15场，成绩却只有3胜3平9负，场均只有0.8分。

That's the difference between Moyes and Ferguson!

It's obvious that this has always been the situation at Manchester United; it's just that Ferguson was so brilliant that he managed to cover up the problems.

But now, that path is definitely not viable.

Given the current atmosphere within the team and the impossibility of personnel changes, Yang Fan can't think of any other way to save the team besides making a decisive change to the formation, developing targeted tactics based on the team's current situation, reactivating the players' performance, and gradually restoring their confidence.

If we're going to change formation, how should we do it?

Yang Fan's approach is simple: fill in the gaps in what's missing.

Manchester United's biggest problems are in midfield and defense, so they should increase manpower in those areas.

"I want to play with three defenders!"

"Three defenders?"

When Yang Fan shared his ideas, Steve Lund and Mike Phelan were both speechless with surprise.

Playing with three defenders in the Premier League?

This is practically suicide!

"Yang, so far, in the top five leagues, the three-defender formation is only common in Serie A, and Barcelona in La Liga uses it occasionally, but it definitely won't work in the Premier League." Mike Phelan shook his head.

Manchester United never played with a three-man defense during Ferguson's tenure.

"The Premier League is characterized by its fast pace and high intensity, especially on the flanks. Many Premier League teams still prefer to play a high ball game, and aerial powerhouses like Andy Carroll are in high demand."

"A three-man defense is at a huge disadvantage in this style of play, especially against English wingers."

"What you said is all correct, Mike."

Yang Fan first nodded to Mike Phelan.

Before Conte's three-man defense helped Chelsea win the title, the three-man defense was extremely rare in the Premier League.

It's even unimaginable.

"But think about this: the current Manchester United is like a leaky cruise ship. There is no attacking force on the flanks. In many games this season, they have won by relying on the explosive performances of Van Persie, Rooney, or Welbeck."

This conclusion is widely accepted within Manchester United, and Steve Lande agrees with it.

Yang Fan pressed on, saying, "The midfield has been weak for many years, and the defense is so old that I think it's not an exaggeration to describe it as riddled with holes."

Mike Ferran was speechless.

Although Ferguson repeatedly emphasized in the media that he left behind a championship-winning squad, that was more for the sake of the old man's reputation after his death. Everyone knows the actual situation.

"Since there are leaks everywhere, our most important task now is to plug the most fatal hole, which is defense!"

Mike Phelan shook his head. "Manchester United has never had the DNA of playing counter-attacking football for decades."

"There's a first time for everything. Besides, Ferguson has retired, times have changed. And playing with three defenders doesn't necessarily mean playing a defensive counter-attacking style. We're just adding one more player in the center-back position."

Steve Lande added at this point, "If we use three center-backs, it's even possible that the center-backs can move forward to make up for the weakness in midfield, thus alleviating the midfield problem."

"That's right!" Yang Fan gave Steve Lund a thumbs up.

That's his line of thinking.

After receiving Yang Fan's affirmation, Steve Lund continued.

"The Carrick-Cleverley partnership performed well last season, but has been underperforming this season. This is largely due to the team's overall tactics. If they can regain tactical stability, these two midfielders are quite capable."

"Furthermore, with three center-backs, Phil Jones, Smalling, Evans, and others, they can lend a hand to support the midfield, which can greatly alleviate the midfield problems."

"but……"

Steve Lund then changed the subject, saying, "The three-defender formation places extremely high demands on the wingers, and Evra and Rafael simply cannot handle that role."

Evra is getting old, and Rafael has been in poor form this season.

Mike Phelan then agreed, saying, "In a three-defender system in the Premier League, a prime Evra could certainly play on the wing, but he's too old, and Rafael certainly can't now either."

Yang Fan had anticipated this and even had a plan.

After a confident smile, Yang Fan named two people.

"Ashley Young and Valencia."

Upon hearing this, Steve Lund clicked his tongue and fell into thought.

Mike Phelan was immediately impressed.

Both of them have always played as wingers.

But Ashley Young started his career as a left-back.

Valencia has also made substitute appearances in matches this season, temporarily filling in at right-back, and performed admirably.

If these two players were to play on the flanks in a three-defender formation, it might actually be possible.

Of course, this is contingent on being able to persuade the players to accept such an arrangement.

"Look, it's a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-1-2 formation, with Ashley Young, Carrick, Cleverley, and Valencia as the three center-backs."

"Further ahead, Rooney and Juan Mata lurked behind him, giving Van Persie the most freedom to play in the attacking third."

"If Van Persie is absent, Welbeck and Rooney will form a strike partnership, with Juan Mata playing as the attacking midfielder."

"We maintain a solid defense, quickly move through the midfield, and launch rapid attacks in the attacking third."

"What do you think? Should we fight?"

As Yang Fan finished speaking, his eyes were fixed on Steve Lund and Mike Phelan, and his tone was very firm.

The two newly arrived assistant coaches originally thought they were just here to make a meeting.

Unexpectedly, this rookie head coach threw out such a trump card right from the start.

Yang Fan's idea was both very bold and very dangerous.

For decades, Manchester United has employed a four-man defense with two wingers attacking down the flanks.

A sudden change of tactics is extremely risky, and more importantly, there's no time left.