As Louis van Gaal sat back in his living room on the Sunday where Chelsea hosted Liverpool, wine in, an expensive red that’s been lying in a France cellar for decades, I can only imagine the plethora of emotions he would’ve gone through. He watched his one time protégé get the guard of honour by his newly inherited archrivals, while his own target of the season lay in the balance – Champions League qualification. And while the result played perfectly into his hand, I can’t help but imagine a slightly drunk Van Gaal chant “Have you ever won the treble?” at no one in particular by the end of it all. Not that he has, but he’s part of the United family now, so you can excuse him for cashing in on some of the club’s chips.
Despite achieving his target for the season, Van Gaal’s test has only just begun. After a £150 million spend, his rats have just about made it past the finish line. A good run of results against Tottenham, Liverpool and Man City were quickly eclipsed by embarrassing performances against Everton and West Brom. On the surface, it looked like it was all down to the absence of one man – Michael Carrick, a 33 year old injury prone Englishman whose ability to control a game from the heart of midfield, sometimes like a puppeteer holding the opposition’s strings, has never been more appreciated than when he is not on the field.
But there lies a deeper problem. United have for a long time been on the lookout for a replacement for the guy who never really replaced Paul Scholes. Their defense is leaky, inexperienced and turns into a flock of headless chickens when under pressure, and no disrespect to Ashley Young but you know your top players are not pulling their weight when the best performances on the field come from him.
It’s not all bad though. Herrera, Mata and Fellaini are slowly forming a formidable force in mid-field. The former two show a great understanding of the game and Mata’s experience in the Premier League also seems to be helping Herrera adjust quickly. Fellaini is finally coming to his own after a forgettable debut season and the signing of Memphis Depay can only bode well for Van Gaal.. If Di Maria has a turn around like Ozil did for Arsenal in his second year, we are looking at pace added to a side that pride themselves on possession football. This team could do it on a cold Tuesday night at Stoke.
So what’s next for this potential machine? I think something that United fans should probably thank David Moyes for is that when he couldn’t qualify for the Champions League, he made sure they didn’t get Europa league. This United side would’ve really struggled to finish in the top four playing two games a week. Recurring injury problems coupled with a lack of squad balance have often left them with no plan B. Add fatigue to that and United fans would probably have another year with nothing to do on Wednesday nights. With ample of time in hand and a better understanding of how he wants his team next year and the players at his disposal, Louis Van Gaal and United can definitely look forward to a strategically better transfer window.
Get the right squad depth and a balanced side and United’s possession football should really help them in Europe. Wearing down oppositions mid-week post weekend exertions for league football would be cruelly effective. Defensive cover, a striker and the aforementioned Scholes replacement will be key. All of which need to have Champions League experience to announce United’s return to the prestigious tournament.
But it would be wrong of me to not point out here that the last time Louis Van Gaal won the Champions’ league was in 1995 – 20 years ago! The only other time Van Gaal came close was when he reached the finals in 2010 (he lost to Mourinho’s Inter Milan), beating United 4 -4 on the away goals rule on the way; a match that United fans won’t forget easily. *cue images of Rafael getting a red and Robben doing THAT celebration*.
But if his World Cup performance was anything to go by, when he gets a squad to play like he wants, they can topple the best of teams. This United side slowly seem to be understanding that and have shown glimpses of it already.
Outside of the transfer window, Van Gaal is making sure he gets time on the training pitch with the team pre-season. Having finished in fourth place, United will have Champions League qualification matches that they need to negotiate before the premier league season starts. United’s pre season tour of the United States is, hence much shorter than last year, and it’s said this is because of strict mandates from the manager. United started the 14-15 campaign with only 5 points from their first 5 games and will definitely need a much better start shall they look to challenge for English supremacy once again.
But that’s a little further down the road. United fans can breathe a sigh of relief as of now; Maybe, pour a glass of wine for themselves. Champions League qualification means no problems at all attracting big names (not that it seemed to affect them last season), more money and this writer can reset his ringtone to hauntingly beautiful music with people singing “The Champions” in five different languages. For Van Gaal its Mission Accomplished
