How Wayne Rooney is already imposing his fluid style at DC United – tactical analysis

The world was starved of one of the greatest and most memorable stories in football last season when Derby County were relegated to League One.

The Rams had been severely impaired by a 21-point ban slapped on the club before the season began. However, much like himself during his playing career, Wayne Rooney instilled a culture of players that were insistent and committed to the cause of climbing an unclimbable mountain.

Derby got close to the top and could see the summit, scathed with thick layers of snow, like a frosty heaven. No feat like this had ever been accomplished in the sport, but unfortunately, it remained that way.

Despite their courage, tenacity and dogged determination, Derby didn’t have the tools to reach the top.

At the end of the campaign, Rooney stood down from his position but within a matter of weeks, the former Manchester United and Everton star had been given a fresh start, taking over DC United in the MLS.

Sitting rock bottom of the Eastern Conference, Rooney is tasked with translating the hope and spirit of Derby to the US capital. In his first game in charge, against Orlando City, the Black and Red were victorious with a 2-1 scoreline.

While it may be a small sample size, Rooney’s first two games in the dugout were quite telling about the tactics he will use in Washington. This analysis piece will be a tactical analysis of Rooney at DC United, looking at his first two games at the helm.

Preferred formation

Simply by watching the first half-hour of DC United’s clash against Orlando on Saturday night, the similarities between Rooney’s Derby and his new side were so blatantly apparent. The signing of Ravel Morrison has facilitated this as well, given that the midfielder understands exactly what the 36-year-old wants from his players in the refined system.

At Pride Park, Rooney primarily opted to use a 4-2-3-1 system which best suited the players at his disposal, using the shape in 42 percent of the team’s matches in the 2021/22 campaign. However, given the side’s difficulties and lack of depth within the squad, the coach was forced to be flexible with his formation choices.

As can also be seen from the above graphic, the 4-4-2, a slightly more conventional sibling of the 4-2-3-1, was deployed in 10 percent of the Rams’ matches.

Rooney’s preferred formations at Derby have been a stark contrast to how DC United have set up during the 2022 MLS season. Under the former coach Hernan Losada and interim boss Chad Ashton, the Black and Red were typically set out in a back three formation, namely the 3-4-3 which was utilised in 39 percent of the team’s games this year.