-Owen Paiva
As the second season under Louis Van Gaal continues, there have been many positives, negatives, rumors and speculation. United are back where they deserve in Europe, currently sit in 3rd place in the league table and are on to the next round of the league cup. This season will be a true projection of Van Gaal’s ability to work with the team as the United players have now had enough time to buy into the Dutchman’s philosophy. This is my analysis on the progress of United’s current campaign.
Van Gaal’s summer signings seemed very logical. The 'Schmidfield' was just the cover and strength needed to help an ageing Carrick. Morgan Schneiderlin is the midfield warrior that Manchester United need to stay competitive in the Premier League and prevent Arsenal from gaining ground.
Batian Schweinsteiger is a classy midfield general that can rotate with Michael Carrick and that can keep both midfielders fresh. Manchester United is known for their classy wingers: George Best, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Memphis Depay is an acquisition that has the potential to become as good as any of the above but his youth brings inconsistency.
Matteo Darmian is the proper successor to Gary Neville. My praise for Louis van Gaal is his ability to acquire and nurture young talent. He gave Thomas Müller his break at Bayern Munich and he picked another player from under the nose of Arsene Wenger.
Anthony Martial is a clinical finisher behind the re-invigoration of Manchester United’s attack. The amount paid for the 19 year old looks to be worth every penny right now.
There have been many positives this season, and I feel there are some major ones. What a difference a year makes.
After a year of mistakes regarding fitness, injuries, some players would feel discouraged (with the exception of Luke Shaw). He has worked with a fitness coach and started the season brilliantly. Unfortunately a horrific tackle has left Luke Shaw sidelined for months.
After a red card at Manchester City, he has emerged sheer class. Commanding in the air and a menace to attackers. A fine player and possibly a future United captain. He is none other than Juan Mata. Juan Mata has scored the most goals from open play (16), more than any other midfielders since joining Manchester United.
The last positive I would like to mention is Mr Ed. Woodward. He has displayed that Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world and why no one can push the Busby Babes around. The David de Gea situation may not have been handled in the most appropriate manner but De Gea still remains as a Manchester United goalkeeper after the transfer saga.
There seems to be just as many negatives as positives. Wayne Rooney’s form has been highly questionable. I feel Louis van Gaal’s tactics have disallowed him the freedom he enjoyed under Sir Alex Ferguson. Wayne Rooney is a notorious slow starter but perhaps excluding him might motivate him to play and train harder.
Why Ander Herrera isn’t in the team is somewhat of a mystery, but the areas I can see him playing in is at Wayne Rooney’s number 10 position or at 6/8 occupied by Carrick, Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin. Time will tell how Herrera turns out.
Louis van Gaal’s tactics are rigid and possession based, a tactic that can work but is unfortunately not the Manchester United way. Swashbuckling counterattacks, dismantling teams and defensive dominance was the way of Sir Alex Ferguson’s team. Louis van Gaal disallows such freedom of play. This has resulted in players like Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Ander Herrera playing out of their positions.
There have been about 6 major matches this year. Club Brugge was the first major fixture where Manchester United progressed to the group stages of the Champions League.
Swansea City, a team that Louis van Gaal struggles to beat, ended in a tie. In Wales, United played sound and went 1-0 until the brilliance of Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis deservedly beat United.
Memphis Depay returned home while Luke Shaw suffered a horrific injury. Wolfsburg was the win United needed to get their Champions League campaign back on track before the 3-0 embarrassment at the hands of Arsenal.
As the second season under Louis Van Gaal continues, there have been many positives, negatives, rumors and speculation. United are back where they deserve in Europe, currently sit in 3rd place in the league table and are on to the next round of the league cup. This season will be a true projection of Van Gaal’s ability to work with the team as the United players have now had enough time to buy into the Dutchman’s philosophy. This is my analysis on the progress of United’s current campaign.
Van Gaal’s summer signings seemed very logical. The 'Schmidfield' was just the cover and strength needed to help an ageing Carrick. Morgan Schneiderlin is the midfield warrior that Manchester United need to stay competitive in the Premier League and prevent Arsenal from gaining ground.
Batian Schweinsteiger is a classy midfield general that can rotate with Michael Carrick and that can keep both midfielders fresh. Manchester United is known for their classy wingers: George Best, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Memphis Depay is an acquisition that has the potential to become as good as any of the above but his youth brings inconsistency.
Matteo Darmian is the proper successor to Gary Neville. My praise for Louis van Gaal is his ability to acquire and nurture young talent. He gave Thomas Müller his break at Bayern Munich and he picked another player from under the nose of Arsene Wenger.
Anthony Martial is a clinical finisher behind the re-invigoration of Manchester United’s attack. The amount paid for the 19 year old looks to be worth every penny right now.
There have been many positives this season, and I feel there are some major ones. What a difference a year makes.
After a year of mistakes regarding fitness, injuries, some players would feel discouraged (with the exception of Luke Shaw). He has worked with a fitness coach and started the season brilliantly. Unfortunately a horrific tackle has left Luke Shaw sidelined for months.
After a red card at Manchester City, he has emerged sheer class. Commanding in the air and a menace to attackers. A fine player and possibly a future United captain. He is none other than Juan Mata. Juan Mata has scored the most goals from open play (16), more than any other midfielders since joining Manchester United.
The last positive I would like to mention is Mr Ed. Woodward. He has displayed that Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world and why no one can push the Busby Babes around. The David de Gea situation may not have been handled in the most appropriate manner but De Gea still remains as a Manchester United goalkeeper after the transfer saga.
There seems to be just as many negatives as positives. Wayne Rooney’s form has been highly questionable. I feel Louis van Gaal’s tactics have disallowed him the freedom he enjoyed under Sir Alex Ferguson. Wayne Rooney is a notorious slow starter but perhaps excluding him might motivate him to play and train harder.
Why Ander Herrera isn’t in the team is somewhat of a mystery, but the areas I can see him playing in is at Wayne Rooney’s number 10 position or at 6/8 occupied by Carrick, Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin. Time will tell how Herrera turns out.
Louis van Gaal’s tactics are rigid and possession based, a tactic that can work but is unfortunately not the Manchester United way. Swashbuckling counterattacks, dismantling teams and defensive dominance was the way of Sir Alex Ferguson’s team. Louis van Gaal disallows such freedom of play. This has resulted in players like Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Ander Herrera playing out of their positions.
There have been about 6 major matches this year. Club Brugge was the first major fixture where Manchester United progressed to the group stages of the Champions League.
Swansea City, a team that Louis van Gaal struggles to beat, ended in a tie. In Wales, United played sound and went 1-0 until the brilliance of Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis deservedly beat United.
Memphis Depay returned home while Luke Shaw suffered a horrific injury. Wolfsburg was the win United needed to get their Champions League campaign back on track before the 3-0 embarrassment at the hands of Arsenal.
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