When Manchester United fans look back and reflect upon the 2014/15 season, they will remember it fondly as the season in which the Red Devils rejoined European football’s top table in qualifying for the Champions League at the first attempt under Louis van Gaal.
Upon closer inspection however, Red Devils fans will notice that their beloved side finished a large 17 points behind eventual Premier League victors Chelsea so this season is very much a stepping stone, paving the foundations for more of a realistic title tilt next season under their new Dutch tactician.
A club used to finishing above Chelsea as worthy champions in years gone by, Manchester United fans knew a stab at the title was going to be a tough ask in van Gaal’s first season but after the Dutchman rather colourfully claimed United were ‘very close’ at the club’s end of season awards ceremony recently, the feeling is that they can improve on their fourth placed finish next term.
Familiar foes in Arsenal and Manchester City will also feel like they can trump the Blues next season but for now, we are concentrating on the club from Old Trafford and have shortlisted five reasons why it is they who can win the Premier League in 2015/16.
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Click on LVG & co below to reveal the 5 reasons why Manchester United will beat Chelsea to the title next term.
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van Gaal now appreciates Rooney’s best position
For large parts of the 2014/15 campaign, Manchester United fans would have been forgiven for thinking that it was the original ‘tinkerman’ himself Claudio Ranieri in charge of the Red Devils, such was the number of formation tweeks and strange looking player deployments as commanded from the top under van Gaal.
As the season grew on however, van Gaal realised – along with the whole of England if it was in any doubt – that Wayne Rooney simply has to be deployed in his favourite role as the main central striker.
In fairness, Rooney didn’t have much competition later on in the season given injuries to Robin van Persie and the inconsistencies of Radamel Falcao but with van Gaal finally having wised up, playing Rooney as a centre forward next term right from the very off will surely improve his goal haul of 12 this term.
When you consider Sergio Aguero across town plundered 26, Rooney will need to get far closer to this total of strikes.
Last summer’s signings will only improve
Whatever happened to a bit of patience and letting a player blossom into a truly irreplaceable cog in a winning team’s armoury?
Well, large transfer fees, social media and the demands placed upon continuous winning but really, anybody claiming Angel Di Maria’s Old Trafford career is over already is surely talking rubbish.
Yes, the huge £59.7 million arrival from Real Madrid has struggled to hit the ground running following last summer’s high profile transfer from Spain but surely experiencing his first ever season in England will put him in better stead to succeed next time around?
Similarly, Mesut Ozil has struggled to adapt to the English game following a switch from the Bernabeu and Arsenal fans and pundits alike are just starting to witness the fruits of the German’s labour after slowly building his status in the game once more.
Given his world class attributes, surely Di Maria will be following suit at Old Trafford next term.
Still a force to be reckoned with in the transfer market
When you consider Manchester United weren’t playing in any European competition in 2014/15, yet were still able to bring in the likes of Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao. Luke Shaw and Daley Blind, it’s quite clear that United are still a force to be reckoned with in the transfer market.
With European football secured for next term, the Red Devils have of course already agreed a deal to sign Memphis Depay and you’d expect that van Gaal is not for one second finished in terms of new player recruitments.
The fact of the matter is that Manchester United can go out and sign pretty much anyone – barring competition from the likes of City and Chelsea – and if they are to lose David De Gea to Real Madrid where they will receive a large fee, don’t rule out the prospect of a huge bid for Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris who could complete a Michael Carrick / Dimitar Berbatov-type move this summer.
Old Trafford something of a fortress once again
Only three Premier League sides’ home records were more impressive than United’s in 2014/15 in terms of home defeats and unsurprisingly, they were the three teams that finished above the Red Devils in the final standings.
But nevertheless, United only lost three times in the league at home under van Gaal in stark contrast from the seven home defeats as suffered under the ill-fated reign of David Moyes in 2013/14.
Old Trafford is returning to the fortress it once was and the evidence is that Manchester United are more readily dispatching the lesser sides which is of course crucial in any successful title triumph.
There is no doubting that Manchester United fans have been incredibly noisy on the road this term and for everybody connected with the club, they will hope chants of ‘Louis van Gaal’s barmy army’ become even more vociferous within Old Trafford.
Strength in depth
You only have to list the names Mata, Herrera, Blind, Carrick, Young, Valencia, Januzaj, Rooney and Depay to witness the amount of first team players who could be deployed in the midfield areas for United next season and this isn’t even counting potential new arrivals!
United have clear strength in depth in the midfield areas especially and you would expect that the club are still looking to sign one of either Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin or Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan.
While it is clear United will have to go out and sign more defensive reinforcements, the emergence of the likes of Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett has even made these positions more competitive and you would expect van Gaal to be calling on an entire multitude of names in 2015/16.
One thing is clear, Manchester United boast a lot of strength in depth and this is the mark of any potential future champions.
