Reasons For Shinji Kagawa's Failure At Manchester United

Kagawa struggling at Man United

After falling out with Sir Alex in the previous season, Wayne Rooney has been a man on a mission this season. He has been Manchester United’s best player and without him the team lacks spark as was evident against Newcastle United at Old Trafford. Having played a majority of the games in the No. 10 position just behind Robin van Persie, he has shown the full range of his passing and his ability to beat players when one-on-one. This has meant that fan-favourite Shinji Kagawa has been relegated to the bench.

He was bought two seasons ago to add more creativity to the midfield. It seemed like a perfect move for the Japanese International as the club was desperate for a playmaker after the retirement of Paul Scholes. Wayne Rooneyai??i??s indifferent form saw him play in his natural position of No. 10, behind van Persie. He excelled and showed the reason United paid A?17 million for his services. He had also scored a memorable hat-trick against Norwich City at Old Trafford last season. But such performances were few and far in-between as injuries and physicality of English football got to him. This season was supposed to be his breakout, but it has been far from that.

There are three main reasons why Shinji Kagawa has failed to shine at Manchester United. The first one is the style of play at United. At Borussia Dortmund, he was playing a central role in a 4-2-3-1 or a modified 4-4-1-1. He was their main playmaker and created and scored lots of goals for them. As Jurgen Klopp said, ai???He is an offensive midfielder with a great nose for a goal!ai??? He would run at defenders and play clever through balls. When he signed for United, many people had doubts about his success as the club has never had a player of his kind. They are not too keen to retain possession and don’t play much through the middle.

It has always been about great crossing from the wings. The formation at Manchester United has traditionally always been a 4-4-2 with two flying wingers. In recent years it has been 4-3-3 or a more defensive 4-2-3-1. In both these formations, the emphasis of play was on the wingers. They are expected to stretch the pitch and conduct the play.

[catalyst_widget_area name=”display_ad”]The second reason is being, he has been played out of position for most of the season. Wayne Rooneyai??i??s sizzling form and poor form of the wingers has seen the manager try to fit him in the team as a winger and his failings have been exposed. He lacks the strength and pace to beat people on the wings and lacks the discipline to fall back and help the full back while defending.

He drifts inside too often and thus it narrows down the pitch. Manchester United has traditionally had wingers who stretch the play and make the pitch as wide as possible. David Moyes has played Rooney as the central playmaker. With him in the center and Kagawa drifting infield, it has narrowed the pitch and made the team easy to defend against as the opposition is not stretched too much. This has begged the question of whether Kagawa and Rooney can be played in the same team as both of them occupy the same part of the field.

The third and probably most important reason is the change of manager at the club. A managerai??i??s philosophy is often reflected in the teamai??i??s style of play. Sir Alex was an adventurous manager. He liked his teams to attack at pace and play with flair. All the players were encouraged to get forward and attack and as a result, many of his teams dint defend particularly well. By contrast, David Moyes is a conservative manager who first tries not to lose. He was the manager of Everton for 11 years. He operated on a tight budget and got the most out of the limited resources that were available. His teams are well organized and difficult to break down. They fight for every ball and grind out results. As a result, he doesnai??i??t use many flair players in the team. He prefers players who have good work-rate. As a result, Shinji has seen himself in direct competition with Wayne Rooney for the central role and this season, that can have only one result!

For any manager, the biggest challenge is to use his best attacking options while retaining the balance and shape of the team. This is the challenge Moyes faces with Kagawa-Rooney-van Persie. How does he fit all these 3 gifted play-makers in one team? It is not the first time that the club has had this problem. In the very successful 2008 season, Ronaldo-Rooney-Tevez were playing a mobile front three in a flexible and fluid 4-3-3.

They often interchanged positions and with their movement and work-rate, most teams were easily rolled over. They produced some stunning counter-attacking football, often breaking at high speed. But unlike Rooney and Tevez, Ronaldo did not drop back and defend much. Because he was so good at the other end of the field, the other members of the team compensated for him.

The obvious question is if Rooney-van Persie-Kagawa can recreate the same magic. Can they play in the same XI as a mobile front three? Kagawa does not have the pace to be a winger and he is at his best when playing in the ai???holeai???. For that to happen, Rooney has to relinquish his central role and play on the wings as he did in 2008 to allow Ronaldo to play through the center. But at 27, he is at the peak of his powers and given his form this season, Moyes would not be willing to play him on the wings. There are a few formations that Moyes can try to experiment given the resources he has at the club. But he does not have the luxury for that as the club is reeling in 9th place after 16 games.

The recent injury to Robin van Persie could be a blessing in disguise though. It gives Rooney and Kagawa a chance to play in their favourite positions. With Rooney leading the line and Kagawa in the ai???holeai???, the team can be dangerous in the final third as Bayer Leverkusen realized in the Champions League. With the wingers having a poor season and Januzaj seamlessly adapting to first team football, it might be the right time for Moyes to play a 4-2-3-1 formation. Carrick and Jones can sit in front of the defence. Januzaj, Kagawa and Valencia can play as the midfield three with Rooney leading the line.

Valencia is a traditional winger who drops back and helps his full back in defending. Januzaj is wonderful on the wings. Every time he gets the ball, he makes things happen. With a winnable set of fixtures coming up, it can help the team gain some much needed confidence. The top teams are all playing each other in the next few weeks and with a few wins, Manchester United can close the gap at the top. The future is not looking so bleak afterall!

– Hemanth Pidaparthy

Tags: Manchester United