When the draw for the Champions League was released, a lot of fans believed with the caliber of manager and players at United, the team should have little or no problems qualifying from the group.
But unfortunately, big names and history don't play football, United got dumped out into the second tier of European club competition.
United were also knocked out of the Capital One cup by Middlesbrough.
United currently sit fourth on the Premier League table and face Sheffield United in the F.A cup.
Fans, ex-players and the media have been critical of the team. Former Manchester United captain Roy Kanae said the players must share of the blame for the team's performances and believes that some players are hiding behind the criticism of Van Gaal, while they themselves must criticized.
REASONS FOR VAN GAAL'S CRITICISM
The gaffer's criticism have Come from a number of angles.
First is his footballing philosophy which runs against the playing tradition at Old Trafford. His possession and conservative style of football is new to the fans, as against the speedy attacking and expansive legacy left by Sir Alex Ferguson. The Dutchman came in with his system, and unfortunately his system is not getting the desired results. Hence the anger of some fans.
Secondly is the huge amount of money spent: To whom much is given, much is expected, this says it all for Van Gaal, having spent over 250m in his two seasons at United, expectations are definitely high on every side.
Last season, United had a galaxy of stars going forward in Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao, Angel DiMaria, Juan Mata and co. but the team couldn't reach the height that matched the kind of players it had.
This season also the Dutchman has gone on another buying spree that brought in the likes of Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial, young players with a lot of prospects, but inconsistency and other things seem to be hampering their full expression. But the fans don't care, you can't spend that kind and amount of money and fail to live up to certain expectations.
Other minor cause of criticism include the sale of some impactful players such as Javier Hernandez. The striker is a deadly poacher and was one of Sir Alex most effective men in his last few seasons at United. Coming in as a substitute and getting vital goals made him a crowd favorite at Old Trafford.
Van Gaal didn't see what the fans and Sir Alex were seeing in the Mexican, he sold him, and the man in Germany is now back to his best. He scored more than the entire United team in the month of November, when United were experiencing goal drought. That says it all.
BLAME ON THE PLAYERS PART
To be analytically honest, some players in the United camp deserve some knocks.
They've been performing below threshold and must share part of the blame.
Chief in this category is captain Wayne Rooney, the Englishman has failed to live up to the expectations regardless of the position he is playing. As the main striker at the start of the season, he struggled for goals, with the arrival of Martial, he dropped to the number 10 role, and there too, he has failed to influence games and create chances. The blame still comes to Van Gaal for continuing starting him.
Memphis Depay is another player who has is failing the United fans. Coming form PSV where he scored 22 goals last season, something special was expected of him. But so far, he seems to be struggling with the expectations. He doesn't look like someone who is personally inspired and motivated, like Ronaldo to whom he has drawn comparison.
Analytically both manager and players deserve some portion of blame for United's performances this season, though more criticism will go to Van Gaal as the boss.
What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment