Manchester United are the most successful team in England, and Sir Alex Ferguson deserves most of the credit for the team’s splendid run over the last two decades. Since the Scottish manager’s departure, the Red Devils are finding it hard to replicate that stability at the helm.
David Moyes was chosen to fill in the shoes of Sir Alex Ferguson, but the former Everton manager was prematurely sacked after a disastrous season in the Premier League. Louis van Gaal took on the job at Old Trafford and guided the club to a fourth-place finish in 2014/15 campaign. The Dutch manager was signed by the United board and was asked to implement his philosophy which has worked at European powerhouses such as Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
The 20-time English champions are currently fifth in the league table, and they haven’t registered a win in their previous six fixtures. The English giants are already knocked out of the Capital One Cup and the Champions League. It definitely isn’t the Manchester United the fans got used to as their gameplay is being branded as boring and one-dimensional.
There are plenty of negatives that have be drawn such as the transfer revenues utilized by the club over the last few seasons. Yet, Van Gaal is leading the club in the right direction. Here a few points that one should consider before jumping on the ‘Van Gaal Out’ bandwagon.
- The Manchester United hierarchy brought in the legendary manager to install a working philosophy and stability to the team. The arrogant genius takes his time to put his stamp on the team, but his ways almost always work. His stint at AZ Alkmaar is a good example of this as the Dutch club beat the likes of Ajax and PSV in Van Gaal’s last season after failing multiple times.
- The former Barcelona manager has brought in many young talented players and has given opportunities to the academy graduates at United. Throughout their long and illustrious history, Man United have built championship winning squads using their youth products.
- Their defense and midfield seemed sorted but after being knocked-out of the Champions League, the confidence of the players has taken a serious hit. They can definitely turn it around if the players get behind the manager and work hard.
- The sharp decline in Rooney’s form has affected the goal scoring department. They need a consistent goal scorer and to their luck, January transfer window is just around the corner.
- Man United started brightly, but loss of form and injuries have affected their form.
- Not just Manchester United, most of the top teams in the Premier League are lacking consistency this season. The lesser teams are causing more upsets than we have seen in the last few seasons. The Reds certainly have a very young and promising squad, and it is only a question of when they will start clicking.
- The Old Trafford faithful are measuring Van Gaal’s United to the most successful Manchester United teams under Sir Alex Ferguson. It is certainly unfair to compare those legendary sides to the team which was recently assembled by a new coach at a new setup.
- It will be a very big risk to give Ryan Giggs a chance at one of the most difficult jobs in world football. If the Welshman fails at it, then he might lose his legend status, and if United miss out on the Champions League berth then it might possibly put off other world class coaches.
- Jose Mourinho is one of the best managers in the history of the sport but bringing him to Old Trafford will be like taking two steps forward and four steps backward. All the progress United have made in learning the new philosophy will go down the drain. Moreover, the 52-year-old Portuguese manager’s stay at all his previous clubs has been short-term. United can certainly expect to win silverware with Mourinho in charge, but it is highly unlikely that he’d be able to rebuild the Manchester United dynasty.