TAWANDA CHARI
For months, pundits and fans have debated how Manchester United should line up. The loudest calls, from the likes of Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, have been for a system change. Ditching the current setup and shifting towards a back four. On paper, it makes sense. In reality, United’s squad makeup makes that shift far from straightforward. And l hate how conflated the words system and formation are. The issue is not really formation. That is fluid and changes depending on phases and where the ball is. System however is intent.
That Midfield Crisis
The real issue isn’t in defence or attack. It’s in midfield. To play a back four effectively, you need stability and depth in central areas. United simply don’t have that.
• Kobbie Mainoo is talented but out of favor.
• Casemiro is clearly in decline, struggling both physically and positionally.
• Ugarte is limited both with and without the ball.
• Bruno Fernandes is United’s best creator but unreliable defensively, more a No.10 or advanced 8 than a deep playmaker.
This means whichever way you structure the midfield, you’re short of players who can keep possession, dictate tempo, or progress the ball from deep. The squad simply lacks the passing and playmaking profile required.
Why a Back Three Isn’t Working
It’s easy to see why United’s coach prefers a back three: it offers defensive protection and allows extra attackers. But he plays more defenders than attackers. The execution has been poor. Their fullbacks — Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui, and even Dorğu are being used as wing-backs when they are natural fullbacks.
That leaves them in advanced areas where they’re asked to be creators or scorers, which they aren't good at. Instead of offering width and service, they look uncomfortable, and United’s attacking play becomes blunt. The intent is to do wide progression and have wings backs contribute goals but the players at hand are not suited for that.
The Striker Conundrum
Ironically, United are stacked with attacking options. Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško, and even Fernandes himself when pushed higher. But because the midfield doesn’t generate quality chances, the strikers are starved of service. Buying forwards was meant to improve goal margins, but football doesn’t work like that: without supply, goals don’t come. Football is stilll very much a team sport. A team is only as good as the sum of its parts.
So, What’s the Solution?
Sticking with the current 3-4-2-1 hybrid formation feels wasteful. United’s midfield doesn’t have the legs or the creativity to make it work, and the wing-backs aren’t natural in those roles.
A back four — perhaps a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 — could be a compromise. It gets fullbacks back into natural positions, it platforms Fernandes closer to the final third where he can influence games, and it allows United to make the most of their attacking depth. The problem remains depth in midfield — but at least the shape would make better use of what’s available.
The uncomfortable truth is that United’s squad is unbalanced. They needed midfield reinforcements, but went for strikers instead. Until that’s fixed, no system will be perfect. Still, of the options available, a back four seems like the least bad choice — a way to reduce dysfunction, put players in roles that suit them, and avoid the absurd repetition of systems that clearly aren’t working.
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