December, as that famous song by Andy Williams goes, is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. People enjoy the company of their loved ones and consume substantial amounts of food and drink, in addition to watching the flurry of games that the festive period brings about.
Yet for Manchester United fans, December will not be the most wonderful time of year. A dark cloud looms over Old Trafford after the Reds’ 2-1 defeat against Norwich City at the Theatre of Dreams and Louis van Gaal’s position becomes more untenable by the day.
Any optimism that United fans had at the start of the season are starting to fade away bit by bit and the team’s recent performances have done nothing to stem the tide. Anaemic performances are starting to become the norm rather than the exception, with the last few weeks living proof of that.
An early Champions League exit at the hands of Wolfsburg in Germany has been followed by simply unacceptable defeats to Bournemouth and Norwich in the Premier League – sides promoted from the Championship last season which you would expect United to beat nine times out of ten.
Fan opinion has slowly turned against the Dutchman in recent weeks and the result against Norwich tipped more fans overboard. Van Gaal was booed as he walked off the pitch at the final whistle and it certainly felt like the nadir of his tenure at Old Trafford.
There is justification for questioning van Gaal’s future with the Reds. The football in recent weeks has been absolutely dire and his possession-based pragmatic approach has completely sucked out the verve and flair that United have always been renowned for. At this moment in time, watching paint dry may be more exciting than watching the Reds play the beautiful game.
The Dutchman’s stubbornness in persisting with his “philosophy” annoys some United fans to no end and some of his tactical decisions and substitutions this season have been nothing short of bizarre – the decision to revert to a 3-5-2 against Watford when Ander Herrera came off injured took away United’s attacking thrust, while the decision to bring on Nick Powell for Juan Mata in Wolfsburg was ridiculed by almost every football fan alive.
Van Gaal’s habit of deploying two holding midfielders at Old Trafford – where teams often come with little ambition of coming away with points – has also been a source of irritation for fans. Although Bastian Schweinsteiger, Michael Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlin are great players, there simply isn’t any need for two of them to be starting every home game alongside each other at the expense of the likes of Herrera.
Finally, the Dutchman’s insistence on lumping the ball up to Marouane Fellaini in emergency situations simply isn’t befitting of a side of United’s stature. In fact, it is downright scandalous that a manager renowned for his ingenuity and tactical know-how has a Plan B that involves playing long balls forward to the big man up top. It may have proved effective at times last season, but teams have figured this out and it is a depressing sight to watch when it fails miserably.
However, they may be a defence for van Gaal, flimsy it may be. Injuries have once again decimated the Dutchman’s plans this season, with Luke Shaw’s horrific leg break in Eindhoven setting the tone. Herrera, Wayne Rooney and the brilliant Chris Smalling have all been out with injuries recently, along with the perennially injured Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo.
Van Gaal’s rigorous training programme may have contributed to the amount of injuries the Reds have suffered during the past two seasons and United’s squad depth has been ruthlessly exposed in the past few weeks. The squads put out against Wolfsburg and Bournemouth were down to the bare bones, which also raises questions about the United’s dealings in the summer transfer window.
In truth, blame can be apportioned to both the manager and Ed Woodward. Instead of chasing realistic transfer targets, United spent the summer chasing the likes of Sergio Ramos and Thomas Müller – players that would never realistically think of coming to Manchester.
With Woodward busy flaunting United’s wealth in a manner that Donald Trump would be proud of and signing sponsorship deals with foreign companies – the end result was the likes of Ramos and Müller using United as leverage in contract discussions with their current clubs while the Reds brought no one in.
As a result, van Gaal’s defence was left threadbare and the Dutchman was forced to place his faith in United’s youngsters. Although the likes of Guillermo Varela and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson have acquitted themselves well in the circumstances they have been placed in, throwing them in the deep end in a crucial Champions League tie against a side that finished second in the Bundesliga last season is something that should have been prevented in the first place.
Despite the recent bad spell, van Gaal has to be praised for multiple things. Until the recent spate of injuries, United’s defensive record had been wonderful, exemplified by the performances of Chris Smalling in the heart of the defence. The Maidstone Maldini has been a transformed player ever since being sent off in the Manchester Derby last November and has become one of the Premier League’s top defenders.
The Dutchman also has to be praised for trimming the deadwood at Old Trafford. The likes of Nani, Robin van Persie, Jonny Evans, Rafael, Javier Hernandez and Ángel Di María either didn’t want to be at the club or were surplus to requirements and van Gaal pulled the trigger and got rid of all of them. Some United fans may be irked at the sight of Di María and Hernandez performing so well for PSG and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, but no amount of revisionism will convince me that it wasn’t the right decision for both to leave the club.
But recent results will not have come at a more disastrous time for van Gaal, with an abundance of world-class managers suddenly on the market. Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and the recently-sacked José Mourinho have all been linked with the job at Old Trafford on a daily basis, even with the United board backing the Dutchman to the hilt, describing him as a “genius” in press briefings.
With fans imploring for a change in management, this marks a crossroads for the United board. Should they stick with the man under immense pressure in the hope that the fortunes will change, or go after the services of Guardiola, Ancelotti or even Mourinho?
There is very little van Gaal can do to persuade fans that he is a better manager than Guardiola and it will provoke a strong reaction if the Reds lose out on the two-time Champions League winner to the blue half of Manchester.
Meanwhile, the entrance of Mourinho into this house of cards also has the potential to divide the United fanbase. Some say he will instantly bring results to this side and steady the ship while others believe that his managerial style and antics go completely against what the Reds stand for.
We can all agree that these next few weeks could shape the future of Manchester United. It looks as if Louis van Gaal is down for the count and on his way out of Old Trafford. It could even be Mourinho on the bench when the Reds take on Stoke City on Boxing Day.
But part of me still believes in van Gaal. The aura may have slightly eroded, but I think that he can still produce the goods. He will want to prove to everyone that he still has the managerial capability to manage at the top level and will not want to go out under a cloud of ignominy. He will fight until the bitter end.
And as a United supporter, I will continue to support him to the bitter end. Maybe this is just fanciful thinking, but part of me still thinks he can turn this around. However, I just don’t think the United board will give him the chance to do so and it will be a painful way for van Gaal to end his career. In time, however, I think we will look back at van Gaal’s time at Old Trafford and praise the foundations he left behind after a calamitous season under David Moyes.
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