By Sam Meade
Louis van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford with a three-year contract – enough time to return Manchester United to somewhere near where they need to be.
In a season and a half the board have afforded him millions and the only thing he has to show for it is the disapproval of nearly every United fan. Not a particularly impressive return on his outlay, wouldn’t you say?
Van Gaal has lurched from one backwards step to another, whether that be on or off the pitch. On it, his United side sit outside the Champions League places in fifth at the time of writing – and even that league position seems to flatter them slightly.
Off it, the Dutchman has refused to grasp what the media’s job is and tried to blame his failings on them. Sorry Louis, but we simply commentate on what you give us. An outdated style poorly implemented, world-class players wasted, millions spent and valuable assets offloaded.
Van Gaal’s report card at Old Trafford leaves much to be improved on. Unfortunately for him, he probably won’t get the time.
We should’ve realised that van Gaal had something wrong with him when he bought Angel Di Maria for a British record £59.7m and failed to harness even half of the Argentinian’s ability. When you acquire a player that good, he has to be afforded the freedom to express himself on the pitch but van Gaal stuck to his principles too much and totally nullified what Di Maria could have brought to Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson purchased a young Cristiano Ronaldo as a right midfielder but, after seeing his emergence as a world-class player, gifted him free rein to exert his talent on the pitch.
He realised that a player that good should be allowed to drift and find the space between midfield and defence to be able to hurt teams. Man of the match in the Champions League final just a few months before his arrival, Di Maria should be exciting the Stretford End on a weekly basis – the first trick missed by the manager. Now Di Maria’s thriving at Paris Saint-Germain…
Losing dominant centre-back pairing Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic the summer Van Gaal arrived should have hastened United to purchase top-quality replacements. Instead, they signed Daley Blind who is a versatile full-back, centre- back and defensive midfielder whose main talent is his ball-playing ability, followed by Marcos Rojo from Sporting Lisbon for £16m – not exactly like-for-like reinforcements.
With Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans in their ranks as well, this combined for a trial-and-error partnership phase in which United failed to play with a settled back four for much of the season. The lack of continuity made for basic errors in defence which cost them dearly at times.
This campaign they have tightened things up but their misfiring attack has meant an over-reliance on goalkeeper and defence to ensure they finish games with a point when they fail to break down their opposition – which is happening far too frequently.
Those attacking issues start with the holding midfield players (why they need two still remains a mystery) and end with their strikers – all of which underperform on a weekly basis.
Summer acquisitions Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger executed their defensive midfield roles brilliantly for Southampton and Bayern Munich respectively, but why they need to play alongside each other is one of United fans’ biggest frustrations. Schneiderlin is more progressive with his passing so would be favoured over his German counterpart who has become king of the sideways pass – probably why van Gaal admires him so much.
At home, though, they only need one in the starting XI and could even get away with playing one in away games against the lower league sides, leaving more room for attacking personnel. Despite flashes of brilliance, creative Spanish duo Ander Herrera and Juan Mata have both failed to live up to the hype in Manchester. It took two summers of negotiation before United reached an agreement with Athletic Bilbao to sign Herrera for £29m.
However, he was restricted to just 19 starts in his first season. His position and role within the team didn’t carry any consistency and he struggled to find any regular form.
Mata came to Old Trafford from Chelsea for £37m with a glowing reputation but van Gaal, as with his predecessor David Moyes, insists on playing him in a wide position despite his lack of pace. He has quick feet, excellent awareness and eye for a pass so would likely be most effective playing through the middle – possibly alongside Herrera and in front of Schneiderlin.
The famed United way’s absence from Old Trafford is the largest grievance fans have with their Dutch manager’s philosophy.
When we think of the successful times, we picture the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Ronaldo – all elite wide players when at their peak. At present, Manchester United seriously lack width of any talent. Memphis Depay was purchased with a huge reputation and his Dutch background meant most believed van Gaal would undoubtedly get the best from him.
However, Depay would be on the shortlist for worst signing of the season. United have seen virtually nothing for the £25m shelled out for the Dutch player of the year and the winger’s demotion to the bench is a fair reflection of his influence on games this season. Perhaps his superb display in the 5-1 win against Midtjylland in the Europa League is a sign of better things to come.
Jesse Lingard has been one of the few players to have grown throughout the campaign, having spent the latter part of last season on loan at Derby County. He’s shown a fearlessness in his game that his more experienced team-mates could learn from. His willingness to maintain his width and take on the full-backs has shown glimpses of what we used to experience on a Saturday afternoon under Ferguson.
Ferguson had the privilege of managing the likes of Andy Cole, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ruud van Nistlerooy and Wayne Rooney. I hazard a guess that their individual game-plan chats didn’t take very long – all so gifted in the 18-yard box that scoring came naturally.
Despite Rooney’s poor early season form, he had enjoyed a recent resurgence in front of goal and his overall performances had vastly improved before injury struck.
Debate as to whether he is able to fully operate in van Gaal’s style of play have emerged but a player of his ability should produce a solid return in front of goal and have a heavy influence upon games.
United’s over-reliance on Rooney meant a transfer deadline day outlay of a potential £61m on young Frenchman Anthony Martial from AS Monaco. He made an instant impact as a substitute against Liverpool but the hype surrounding him has diminished as the campaign has continued, which has not been helped by the manager deploying him as a wide player rather than through the middle.
With Rooney the club captain and Martial his largest investment, van Gaal may feel a pressure to utilise them both as much as he can, when actually he would see more of a return from each player if he trusted them with the responsibility of a centre forward rather than accommodating them both in one team.
Van Gaal’s erratic nature in the transfer market differs from the measured approach United took under Ferguson, but the Dutchman has looked outside for talent when, in fact, he had much of it right in front of him.
While the Red Devils have struggled for goals, Javier Hernandez, whom United sold in the summer for £7m, has scored 27 goals for new club Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and won back-to-back player of the month awards. Far from astute business.
The Dutchman, to his credit, has tried to breed young United talent into the first team and let it develop, but he has utilised these players as if they were first-team regulars rather than players learning their trade.
The ‘class of 92’ became some of the finest players of their generation but they played with and learnt from the likes of Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis – all seasoned professionals who had perfected their roles within the team. The likes of Paddy McNair and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson have come into the team and been expected to thrive in one of the toughest environments, playing for a team with the highest expectations.
Van Gaal was happy to let Patrice Evra leave for Juventus, but under the left-back’s tutelage and presence, McNair and Borthwick-Jackson would have learnt their trade from a Champions League winner and be better prepared for the challenges they will face in playing for one of the world’s largest clubs.
Since his appointment, Manchester United have worked every day to embed the Louis van Gaal blueprint into their DNA. The results are visible and the Dutchman may not have long left to realise the aspirations he once had. The next man (a certain Jose Mourinho?) who inherits the hot-seat at Old Trafford will be inheriting the pieces to an outdated jigsaw van Gaal failed to piece togethe
