It’s funny to think now that Herrera couldn’t get in the starting lineup at United for most of the season. Even when on the bench, he was rarely used. Now though with regular football, the Spaniard has showed his capabilities of becoming an integral part of the team.
After a good pre-season tour of USA, great things was expected from Herrera. However he did not look at his self in the opening day defeat at Swansea City. Then he was out with injury. When he returned back, everyone saw his abilities in the 4-0 thumping of Queens Park Rangers.
From then on he had a mixed time with injuries and form as Herrera was unable to show the form which he first showed. After Herrera was hauled off at half-time in just his fifth Premier League start at West Brom in October, he went on to start just the one league game between October 20 and February 21.
Herrera’s recent revival
But since starting and scoring in the 3-1 victory at Preston, Herrera has started every single match for United in all competition. Infact since the Swansea game, he has missed just seven minutes of Premier League football so far.
Herrera and Carrick played a crucial role in helping United control the midfield against two fellow top four rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Even though he was the unsung hero in both the games, Herrera’s contribution was finally recognised by the fans in the 3-1 victory over Aston Villa last Saturday.
In that match, Herrera had a passing completion of 96 percent when attempting almost 100 passes. Also considering that half of these were in the final third of the pitch, one has to give a lot of credit for Herrera. Besides, getting two more goals on the night is a reward for his sheer persistence.
Reason for dropping Herrera
Herrera in a recent interview explained in Spanish newspaper El Pais why he was not being selected often this season. “Van Gaal loves possession and doesn’t like to risk losing the ball” he said.
“He wants long possessions and to keep the ball because he believes you create spaces staying in the right place, because the team have the quality to find you. At the beginning he used to tell me off because I always looked for the ball, I wanted to have it, and I must wait for it,” said Herrera.
Now with Herrera becoming accustomed to Van Gaal’s mysterious philosophy by staying in his specified role rather than roaming around freely, the Dutchman has trusted him by handing Herrera more starts and the Spaniard has taken full advantage of the situation.
New midfield ‘General’
Ever since, Roy Keane left Old Trafford, United did not manage to get the commanding box-to-box midfielder on the pitch. Owen Hargreaves temporarily filled that role to help the Reds win their third Champions League crown in 2008. However, his career at United was cut-short because of a series of injuries.
Darren Fletcher showed glimpses of the level required to do that job in the 2008-09 season. However, he never recovered mentally from the harsh Red Card he received in the UCL semifinals against Arsenal. Also frequent injuries after which did not help him return back to his former self.
Despite all the success Sir Alex Ferguson has achieved with the club, he was always criticised for not signing a midfielder since buying Hargreaves in 2007. After a wait of seven years, United finally signed a midfielder in 2014 summer.
After initial struggles, it finally looks like United have found the perfect box-to-box midfielder in Herrera, who can not just sit behind to break the play, but he can also be a reliable goal scoring threat in the opposition box. Now, we can understand why Van Gaal was so content with Herrera that he had turned the back on the deals involving Toni Kroos and Cesc Fabregas last summer.
Image Courtesy: Manchester Evening News and Squawka