Managers come in to new, bigger clubs, and think they’re going to change the world. David Moyes has been doing a terrible job so far at Manchester United, and one of his biggest mistakes has been the misuse of Shinji Kagawa, who can be the player who saves his season from becoming into an even bigger disaster.
Moyes has admitted Kagawa is a number 10, but continues to use him on the left wing, where he doesn’t have the speed to beat defenders. In the middle of the pitch, Kagawa’s off the ball movement and vision make him a much more dangerous weapon. He’s also quite capable of scoring goals from a distance, even if we haven’t seen that from him up until now.
But Moyes likes his system, which has Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney playing as the two forwards, with Van Persie a bit more advanced than Rooney, while wingers support them. Antonio Valencia, Nani, Ashley Young and even Adnan Januzaj might be more adept than Kagawa on the wing, but none of them, including the young Belgian who everyone are so happy to see whenever he comes on, are as good as the Japanese player.
The answer to Moyes’ problems are simple, but he refuses to change his tactics or his decisions while the problems Manchester United have are sinking them lower into mid-table, while the manager has already conceded the Champions League while his weak attempt at trying to motivate his players by diminishing them through the media might not have the desired affect.
If United are really that weak in the middle, playing with two wingers and two forwards is something Moyes can’t afford. Moving into a three-man midfield setup, which means having Kagawa playing in front of Fellaini and Carrick, while Van Persie, Rooney and Nani (or someone else) play in the front three might be the best solution he has before things continue to deteriorate.
We get that Moyes wants to carve out his own path at Manchester United – that’s why he replaced most of the backroom staff, while trying to use tactics that don’t seem to fit the squad of players he inherited. But relying on the name of Manchester United alone to cover for his lack of experience when it comes to handling a squad of this size hasn’t worked out for him, and unless he stops the slide of the team now by finally using the right players, the support and protection he’s feeling right now from the fans and the board won’t last forever.