Kamara: Sorry Louis, 3-5-2 isn’t going to work for Man United

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is sticking to his guns when it comes to criticism of his favoured formation and tactics but that hasn’t stopped fans and pundits from weighing into the debate.

And ahead of the Red Devils’ trip to face Cambridge United in the fourth round of the FA Cup we asked Ladbrokes ambassador Chris Kamara for his own progress report.

Kammy told Ladbrokes News: “I don’t think Van Gaal’s talk of ‘give me three months before you see my methods bear fruit’ with regards to turning around Man United’s fortunes has been proven right yet, even by his own admission.

“And the only reason for that is because he can’t seem to find the right formation for his galacticos.

“How do you fit Robin van Persie, Radamel Falcao, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Angel Di Maria into a formation that’s suitable for the Premier League?”

“At the moment he’s trying to do it with 3-5-2 and contrary to what he says, it’s not working.  He’s beginning to realise that you either play 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 in the Premier League and 3-5-2 without the correct personnel isn’t suited to Man United’s traditional style of play.”

The Dutchman is expected to return to a 4-4-2 set-up against Cambridge, the lowest ranked side left in the FA Cup, despite stating that the formation “twitches my ass”. 

And with memories of his first bitter taste of English cup football still relatively fresh, how will he approach this particular upcoming tie?

Kammy said: “He would have learnt a lot about English football when they lost 4-0 to MK Dons in the Capital One Cup earlier in the season. Going into that game he probably thought he had enough quality in the squad to see off a side two leagues below United.”

“But against Cambridge he’ll now be all too aware of how much they’ll raise their game and he’ll go out a lot stronger than that night against Milton Keynes.

“It’s Cambridge’s cup final. You’d be a fool to stick money on them and expect them to win but you hope that they go down fighting.”

For those of you who disagree and think backing Cambridge is a wise bet then Ladbrokes are offering 14/1 about a U’s victory.

Meanwhile, their illustrious visitors are 2/9 to secure a safe passage to the next round with the draw priced at 11/2.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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