Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
– Dylan Thomas
I am rather certain the late Dylan Thomas would not have approved of Louis van Gaal’s methods of burning and raving in the twilight of his managerial career. For a man who was supposed to return Manchester United to the top echelons of English and European football, some of his words and actions have surely been to the contrary, as any Manchester United supporter would agree. The only person who wouldn’t agree is probably Ed Woodward, who spends his days dreaming of new potential sponsors – just like any other Chief Executive would.
Let me put this straight, I am not a big fan of giving Louis van Gaal the sack. The man knows what needs to be done, and how to instill footballing sense in most footballers. Manchester United’s record against the top 6 teams in the Premier League speaks for itself – van Gaal knows how to prepare for the big games. It is the lower opposition which has been the bane of van Gaal’s philosophy.
Be it the group stages of the Champions League, or the much maligned Europa League, it appears that Van Gaal’s United had an underwhelming approach to the occasion. The players, and the game-play, looked laboured and disinterested. Was it a case of the players not buying into the philosophy?
I highly doubt that to be the case – draw parallels to how United hit a purple patch around this time last season, when Louis accidentally stumbled upon the 4-3-3 and its effectiveness. Yet, for some apparently unknown reason, we have never season the 4-3-3 this season.
What do we see on the field? United trailing by a goal, and mad Louie substitutes a fullback for another fullback with under 10 minutes left in the game. That, is unforgivable.
The only urgency we see in attack is from the young boys. Martial, Lingard, Pereira and Rashford are still untamed and untouched by the pass-the-ball-into-oblivion movement. Yes, positional play requires a certain amount of game intelligence and technical ability. No, it is not something one would ever expect Groot to display in this lifetime, not in their wildest dreams.
Yet, he starts, week in, week out; in spite of being the worst creature with any number of legs on the field. Meanwhile Schneiderlin keeps getting side-lined on a regular basis. If this is not baffling, I don’t know what is. This makes even lesser sense when you consider the fact that Van Gaal benched Angel Di Maria for Ashley Young last season!
If there is one thing for which Louis deserves full credit, it is the faith he has shown in his youth. Yes, they got a look-in only because other players were injured – but which team or coach would play an 18 year old over an established first team regular out of generosity?
However, he trusted them and persisted with them once they showed what they were capable of. Lingard, Rashford, Borthwick-Jackson, Fosu-Mensah are among 14 academy players who have featured in the senior side for the very first time. The teacher in him is very much alive, and Manchester United have been the luckier for that.
Wins against Manchester City and Arsenal. Losses to Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion. Van Gaal’s managerial reign so far has quite literally been the Tale of Two Teams. One which turns up against the big boys, while the other stumbles and bumbles against lower opposition.
Even more puzzling has been the lack of in-game adjustments one would expect from a manager of Van Gaal’s caliber. For a man who substituted the goalkeeper in the World Cup just for a penalty shootout, this is a drastic turn of events. It almost seems like he underestimated the job and the accompanying pressure at Manchester United, and is struggling to come to terms with it.
Manchester United still have a decent chance to win the FA Cup, with a quarter-final replay against West Ham on April 13th. In the meanwhile, we host Everton this weekend. If we can display any semblance of the form we showed in the reverse fixture earlier this season, I will be a happy man. Injuries not withstanding, we should be able to put on a good show against the Toffees.
As far as van Gaal’s managerial status at Manchester United is concerned, let me reiterate that I do not want him to be sacked. Those of you who have sold your souls to Jose Mourinho and his siege mentality must be hurling abuses at me. Bring it on, I say. You lot are the biggest hypocrites I have ever seen, and I say this out loud and proud. Just how fickle-minded are you lot?!
I’d rather see Ryan Giggs as manager than Jose Mourinho. Mind you, I have a lot of respect for Mourinho’s tactical genius and his title winning credentials. What I dislike about the man is his mentality of making everything about himself, and his antics are definitely not worthy of the Theatre of Dreams. His attitude towards youth doesn’t even need to be brought up here.
That being said, if Jose Mourinho is willing to put his massive ego aside and hunker down at Old Trafford for the years to come, and actually show some trust in our academy, I just might consider the thought of him at Old Trafford. Jose knows this deep inside – Manchester United is a far bigger beast than anything he handled at Chelsea. Of course, he can point to his time at Real Madrid, where he finally stifled Barcelona out of the La Liga race – but we all know the circumstances under which he left the club. Personally, I think Manchester United are better off without The Special One’s special nonsense.
