Louis Van Gaal has been under intense scrutiny all season.
By: Richard Hopkin
Manchester United fans are in unfamiliar territory. No trophy in two seasons and scrapping for the FA Cup, which United last won in 2004. If they fail to win the FA Cup, they won’t have won anything for three years. It says a lot that before the game I did not expect that United would be going through to the semi-final.
Therefore their largely accomplished performance against a lacklustre West Ham must have been a welcome result to their fans and certainly to Louis Van Gaal, especially following their defeat at White Hart Lane at the weekend.
They attacked well at Upton Park and Rashford’s goal was pure class. They took advantage of West Ham by moving the ball relatively quickly looking to get at West Ham’s defence. Getting behind West Ham bore fruit, as Fellaini’s goal showed. While he got a lucky break (and didn’t have to use his elbows for once), he was in the right place at the right time to score against a defence back on its heels. Were it not for Darren Randolph in net for West Ham, the score could have been more comprehensive.
West Ham, on the other hand, failed to reproduce the football they played in the second half against Arsenal at the weekend and looked a yard off the pace. They forgot what Andy Carroll is for and did not give him the opportunities he needs. Smalling dealt with him well all game and was rarely under pressure. I have always had a soft spot for Carroll and the simple way he plays football (though his haircuts throughout his career have been atrocious). However, West Ham did not play to his strengths until right at the end. Had they done so earlier in the game, he could have tested Smalling and De Gea, but he was never given the chance.
I do believe that Blind was lucky to get away with it when he brought down Payet in the area at 1-0, but on balance Manchester United deserved the win and West Ham came alive too late.
Van Gaal said last weekend, following United’s 3 – 0 defeat at Tottenham, that United would always be the bigger club. He also said, with typical arrogance, that he was “sorry” to Tottenham for not taking the Spurs job as the challenge was bigger at United. Really, Spurs have had a lucky escape and Van Gaal has failed to rise to the challenge.
We must agree with Van Gaal that Manchester United are a bigger club than Tottenham Hotspur. However, this must therefore be a damning indictment on Van Gaal’s management of the club.
He has been in for four transfer windows and has had plenty of time to sign quality and stamp his personality on the team. Unfortunately, he has failed to sign any real stars. I cannot genuinely believe that the likes of Depay and Martial can possibly be on par with the genuine world class players who have graced Old Trafford over the last 25 years. Furthermore, his personality appears to be reflected by an unadventurous style, though he does have the sense of entitlement that is key to managing United.
This season is crucial, to Manchester United and to Van Gaal.
First Van Gaal. If he scrapes 4th in the Premier League and wins the FA Cup, he may save his job. If he fails to qualify for the Champions League, it is widely reported that Adidas’ deal with United would suffer so much that they would have no option but to sack him, and frankly it would be hard to argue that he deserves to be at Manchester United.
Manchester United have to rescue this season with a big finish. A cautionary tale is only down the M62 at Liverpool. In the new reality, where being a big club is no guarantee of success and smaller clubs can more than hold their own, United fans could easily find themselves in the same world as their Liverpool rivals, struggling to get back to where they believe they belong. Remaining a Champions League club and winning the FA Cup is a necessity as it will only be harder to compete next season from a position of relative weakness.
Interestingly, it has been argued that, for those “anyone but United” fans, Van Gaal squeezing fourth might be a good thing – after all if he keeps his job, United will continue to fail to land the big signings they need and will continue to play in the style so derided by fans and pundits. This would guarantee years of mid-table mediocrity and Europa League football.
If Van Gaal and the Manchester United hierarchy aren’t careful, they could fall off the perch which Alex Ferguson so successfully put them on. If they win the FA Cup this season, that will go some way to repairing some of the damage.
Richard is a Liverpool and England correspondent for Verge90 based in London, but soon to be making the enviable move to sunny Australia.
A real student of the game, Rich brings a heavy dose of classic British cynicism mixed with an expertise that makes him hard to disagree with. Find more of Rich’s musings on http://verge90.com/