Manchester United’s campaign has been nothing short of disastrous and Louis Van Gaal is directly responsible for it, there’s no denying that fact.
Since before Christmas, a lot of the punters in the Transfer Tavern have made it abundantly clear that they want to get rid of the Dutchman as soon as possible and they’ve stated they’d be happy to offload the underperforming manager tomorrow if they could.
Taking charge in 2014, the experienced Van Gaal provided a lot of promise but has failed significantly to live up to the expectations placed upon him, which in truth weren’t too much to ask from such a well-renowned boss with a vastly talented squad.
So, for our lads playing pool, there’s no reason why Manchester United should give Van Gaal any more time, money or attention. In their eyes, sacking Van Gaal tomorrow would be the ideal course of actions- and here’s their reasons why.
Hit Van Gaal below to see FIVE reasons why he should be sacked by Man United immediately!
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Champions League failures
The big one, which was the major downturn in Louis Van Gaal’s regime, was the failure in the Champions League this season. After leading the Red Devils back into Europe’s elite competition via a top-four finish last term and advancement in the play-off, it quickly went downhill.
With the expectation placed upon United to advance to the latter stages of the competition, Manchester United fell at the first hurdle in what was hardly a difficult group. Against Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, Champions League newbies Wolfsburg and Russia’s CSKA Moscow, United dropped into the Europa League after securing just two victories in six games.
On top of that, United look destined to miss out on a top four finish this term which means a further absence from the competition next season.
Season is practically over
As mentioned above, Manchester United’s hopes of finishing in the top-four are diminishing quickly. With 13 games to go, the Red Devils trail fourth-placed Manchester City by six points- and it would take a massive shift for things to change.
Leicester City continue to shine and lead the way in the Premier League, whilst even a decline in fortunes for them is unlikely to see them miss out on a top-four finish. Arsenal have been consistent all season and are welcoming back their injured stars, Tottenham Hotspur look unbeatable and Manchester City are starting to show the form of title winners (barring their failures against Leicester).
That means United have the odds stacked against them and, even if a team ahead of them dips, there’s still sides below them that could push the Red Devils all the way.
Horrendous transfer activity
Louis Van Gaal has spent over £250m at Manchester United since taking charge in 2014 and he’s not got much to show for it. His cheapest acquisition last summer, £11.7m Matteo Darmian, has been the most successful and even the Italian is yet to find consistency.
£14.4m Bastian Schweinsteiger has struggled to adapt to English football, £36m Anthony Martial was a massive investment and he’s not yet lived up to his price-tag, although he’s likely to in the future, and the less said about £25m Memphis Depay the better.
From the previous summer, Van Gaal’s huge investment in Angel Di Maria backfired and the Argentine lasted just one year, whilst Victor Valdes’ spell was a disaster. Simply put, you wouldn’t trust Van Gaal to buy a packet of crisps, yet alone a multi-million pound football star.
Fans have turned
Quite possibly the biggest reason of the lot, Louis Van Gaal has lost the fans. His performances at Old Trafford have been regularly booed and there’s simply no confidence in him. That echoes onto the pitch, where the player’s are stuck in a problematic situation.
With no support from the fans, the dressing room can quickly turn into a toxic atmosphere- and the papers believe he’s also lost the senior players of the squad. With no support around them, an isolated manager will cause more problems than it’s worth.
Nothing to lose
Ask yourself this, what have Manchester United got to lose if they were to axe Louis Van Gaal tomorrow? The answer is nothing. There’s no football honours to go for, bar the Europa League where United will struggle to compete and the FA Cup, and the Premier League campaign is pretty much a right off.
If United appointed a new boss, there’s a chance they could win the Europa League and advance to the Champions League next season as a result. United have the squad for it, just not the right boss. As for the FA Cup, Van Gaal’s side is unlikely to win that either.
Sure, results may go downhill for a short period as the new manager reals in the reigns and makes his own impact but at least the impressions will be started to be carved out before the next season and the new boss will have a chance to assess the squad before investing into the transfer market.
