Johan du Plessis - Staff Writer - @Doepie308
The fact that LVG is still the manager at United is not so much down to him being a good manager as it is down to the fact that other teams are also dropping points and that keeps United in the hunt. Arsenal, City and Liverpool have all dropped points against the previously classified whipping boys, but this season is a strange one. Leicester and Tottenham in the Top 4, while United drops out and Chelsea languishes deep in the bottom half of the table. A team like Bournemouth looks competitive against every side they play and Crystal Palace looks towards European qualification.
LVG is fortunate to still be in charge, but will he actually get the boot? Will he resign as the pressure mounts? I would think that the possibility of him getting the boot is greater than him resigning. This is his last job, and to resign when your team is struggling is not a great way to sign off. United had unprecedented success under Ferguson, but even Ferguson admitted in his biography that the greatest gift the Club ever gave him was “…time to build a club and not just a team…” Key word here being “time”. For anyone to accurately predict whether LVG will go or not depends on whether they know what the United hierarchy's plans are. LVG was never going to be a long term solution and I would think the idea was to coach and mentor Giggs into the position, but so far we have seen very little of him. Giggs did get into the technical area during the Bournemouth rather than sit quietly next to LVG. Question is, did he do that because he is being mentored into the role, or did he do it so he could distance himself from the coaching staff due to the unacceptable performances of the team?
There is so much talk about looming managers waiting in the wings and ones that are available and up for grabs. But in truth, with Manchester United, the club does not have to wait for managers to become available, they can get whoever they want – if they really wanted to. However, the Glazers have proved to be the screwed custodians of United. Yes, they did give LVG a pot of gold to go and spend on players, and in fairness he made some good buys – Depay, Martial, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Darmian – have all helped. But the team has not gelled yet. Rooney has been off key the entire season, Martial is filling gaps up front, Depay is too arrogant and Schneiderlin is not a creator of plays… In truth, we can all come up with a plethora of excuses for United’s poor performances, all of them probably valid as well. But then again, if there is one thing that LVG does do very well, it is showing faith in the youth players, developing talent and exposing them to big games. United has one of the youngest sides in the league and maybe if United did not have so many key injuries, the side would be more balanced and consistent. But the game does not consist of ifs, only facts, and the facts are that we are not in the Top 4, we don't score enough goals and we play a boring brand of football.
LVG’s job has become infinitely more complicated now, no longer are the fans only concerned with league position, they are also asking for goals, free play, innovative moves and set plays which result in beautiful goals from all areas of the pitch. He is now walking on a double edged sword. If he wins, the fans will complain it was a boring game, if he loses, the fans will complain about tactics and team selection. Only an experienced manager can turn something like this around, and experience is something LVG has plenty of. It is this very fact that makes me wonder whether he will actually get the boot. Mourinho, for all his self-proclaimed greatness could not repair the self-inflicted damage at Chelsea, so why bring him in to United? Pep is available and on paper United look the perfect fit. A group of promising youngsters who can be shaped to play his style of football, a rich heritage which will compliment his approach to football… but Pep also stays only until he is bored and then moves on to the next club. Barca to Bayern, Bayern to United, United to who?
I think it is more likely that the United hierarchy will stick with LVG and let him see out his contract before handing the reigns to Giggs. You cannot find a more heart and soul United figure than Ryan Giggs. Maybe Scholes, Cole, or Ferdinand but none have made themselves available for the United hot-seat except for Giggs. Or maybe… There is Gary Neville, who has done very well for himself after finishing his career as a player. He knows his football, completed his coaching qualification and now willingly stepped into a demanding club in trouble – Valencia. A club with the aspiration of winning La Liga, Copa Del Rey and challenging in the Champions League. Should Neville do well during the remainder of the season at Valencia, United might let LVG see out his contract, and monitor how Neville does with a full season at Valencia. Should Neville do well and finish in the Top 4, he might very well get the call from his beloved United, pack his bags and come home.
I predict that LVG will stay until the end of 2016/2017 season. My only hope is that while he is still with United, we stay in the Top 4, mold more youngsters for the future and that he retires with at least one trophy in Manchester United's cupboard, preferably the Premiership Trophy.
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