Louis van Gaal must leave Manchester United at the end of the season

A top 4 finish and FA Cup glory are both still possible for Manchester United this season and Louis van Gaal could achieve both with United 1 point off 4th place and in the FA Cup quarter finals. Many would argue that you cannot sack a manager if he wins a trophy and brings Champions League football for the next season. I say you can if the manager has failed his targets set by the board and delivers terrible football every game. Which Louis van Gaal has and is still doing. 

The game against Everton was a vital victory in the battle for a top 4 finish and yes it was a good result for United. However watching United play in that game was a real struggle as it has been in every game this season. The constant back passes, the lack of forward running and options, the lack of flare and creativity I could go on and on. Louis van Gaal claims his team ‘always attack’ because they have more possession than the opponent every game. Frankly this is a lie because his team is negative and boring. Against Everton United had 2 shots on target this is at Old Trafford! How can this be possible? But according to the manager United ‘always attack’ sorry Louis but the stats prove otherwise and watching the games prove otherwise. This is a manager who has spent more than Real Madrid, Barcelona and PSG since he was appointed and yet he cannot deliver a style of football that is even remotely enjoyable. According to WhoScored.com United average 3.7 shots on target per game this season which explains why they aren’t scoring enough goals. The players aren’t taking chances and based on his history at other clubs it is clear this is instructed by Louis van Gaal proving that he is just a glorified Tony Pulis with more possession and better players than Tony Pulis has at his disposal. 

During his time at Old Trafford the transfer policy under van Gaal has been a shambles. Whether you look at Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao or Victor Valdes. All high profile van Gaal signings that were frankly disasters even though they had the potential to be excellent additions to the team. Victor Valdes was exiled because he ‘didn’t follow the philosophy’ frankly I was exasperated when van Gaal came up with that as a reason for banishing him from the squad. Although it’s pretty typical of the arrogance of van Gaal that he feels he doesn’t have to give a proper reason or explanation to the fans. Arguably the only successes from van Gaal’s transfer policy have been the signings of Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and Daley Blind. All of his other 10 signings have serious question marks over their performances at the club given that they all cost such large transfer fees and have been very inconsistent and have struggled to perform in the United shirt. As for the players van Gaal has let leave the club that has been a total disaster. Javier Hernandez has flourished at Bayer 04 scoring 27 goals in all competitions this season after being deemed not good enough by van Gaal while his side have a serious lack of forward options. Javier Hernandez should still be at Manchester United. Simple. Danny Welbeck has proven to be an excellent option for Arsenal and has shown that he is up to the Man Utd standard despite van Gaal preaching that he was not up to the standards of Falcao, Van Persie and Rooney. Two of which have left the club and Rooney’s form has been in decline. It’s no surprise there has been talk about a director football coming into the club after the disasters we have seen since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

Louis van Gaal has always preached his tenure is a three year ‘process’. We accepted the first season would be a case of getting into the top 4 by any means. But we expected to see some improvement in his second season after more spending but all we have seen is regression from last season. Knocked out of the easiest possible group in the Champions League was an embarrassment and it was shameful for the club. Not many thought it was possible but he actually failed miserably in two European competitions. He has shown a real tactical ineptitude in Europe proving he is stuck in the 90’s. Van Gaal has boasted on many occasions that the target in the second season would be a title challenge. Other than being top in October we have seen nothing that resembles a title challenge. He has failed all his targets yet more failure from the Manchester United manager.

Louis van Gaal was tasked with bringing Manchester United back to the top of the domestic and European game but he has brought the club no closer than where they were under David Moyes. He has spent a quarter of a billion on players and has taken the club backwards in a scrap for 4th place below Leicester and Tottenham in the League and out of both European completions. The dull lifeless football has sent Old Trafford to sleep for 2 years. It’s not acceptable at a club like Manchester United he must move on this Summer for Manchester United to have any chance of competing next season.

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