da poker： Manchester United fans will undoubtedly be left with a feeling of underwhelming bemusement after watching their side capitulate against Leicester City on Sunday afternoon, an eight-goal thriller which quickly demonstrated the flaws in Louis van Gaal’s summer transfer policy.
da betsson： Indeed, the Red Devils found themselves two goals ahead with just 30 minutes remaining, but in one of the most sensational comebacks in recent Premier League history, they left the Walkers Stadium empty-handed as the home side recorded a stunning 5-3 victory.
United’s immense array of attacking talent was left bare for all to see. Radamal Falcao goalless but his quality intoxicating, Robin van Persie as clinical as ever, Wayne Rooney in close support and club-record signing Angel di Maria, who bagged United’s second after 16 minutes, running the show from midfield.
Yet, equally prevalent was their defensive frailties – a department that van Gaal struggled to strengthen during the summer.
New signing Marcos Rojo looked overwhelmed by pace and power of the Premier League, rookie Tyler Blackett, the eventual recipient of a red card, lacked the commanding velour and physical dominance expected of a 6 foot 2 top flight centre-back, whilst Chris Smalling, Johnny Evans (substituted after half an hour due to injury) and Rafael, despite their Premiership experience and prevailing longevity from past United regimes, all suffered similarly problematic afternoons.
Six competitive fixtures following a summer in which Louis van Gaal spent £150million on new players, including two hefty defeats to the Foxes and MK Dons, is it time to question the Dutchman’s attack-centric transfer policy?
Ever since his official ascension to the Old Trafford throne earlier this summer, the United boss has berated any journalist willing to listen regarding the importance of his philosophy. We already knew from his spells at Barcelona, Ajax and Bayern Munich that attacking football was a central pillar of the van Gaal ideology, and in that sense, the signings he’s made this summer have been the right ones.
They’ve certainly improved the Red Devils’ quality going forward, especially in midfield, by a drastic scale and although the Leicester City defeat is a worrying forbearer for the rest of the campaign, clearly surrendering results in that manner won’t happen on a weekly basis – United’s sharpness at the other end of the pitch however, boasting potent goal-scorers throughout the attack and midfield, will be a recurring theme.
Consider the Netherlands’ World Cup campaign for example. Oranje’s defence was amongst the most ordinary in the tournament but their 15 goals scored saw them reach the third-place play-off and was only bettered by Germany, gifted with the added courtesy of a 7-1 win over hosts Brazil. Van Gaal’s Netherlands side were also the highest-scoring country in the European qualifying rounds. Clearly, possessing teams with the capacity to provide a goal a minute, and from any area of the pitch, is essential to the United manager.
But there is an old adage in English football that teams must be built from the back rather than the front, and never has this rung more true at Old Trafford than in summer 2014.
The Red Devils parted with three defenders in the off-season that forged the bulk of their defence for the majority of the last decade. Between them, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Eva amassed 1134 appearances for Manchester United, claiming a collective 16 Premier League titles and 13 places in PFA Teams of the Season. That’s a monolithic amount of quality and experience to lose in the space of a single transfer window, and although I don’t necessarily believe it was the wrong decision to part company with any three of the ageing defenders, it’s left an enormous hole in United’s starting Xi that’s yet to be adequately filled.
Indeed, despite recording the second-most lucrative transfer window from any club in the history of football, only £46million of Louis van Gaal’s £150million spent this summer was devoted to defenders, a £30million swoop for Luke Shaw that appeared to be in place before the Dutchman turned up at Old Trafford and a £16million move for World Cup finalist Marcos Rojo. Even utility man Daley Blind, who won the Player of the Year award at Ajax last season for his performances in defensive midfield, looked dangerously progressive in that role against Leicester on Sunday.
David Moyes struggled to find a consistent partnership at centre-half last season and none of van Gaal’s signings have brough resolution. The Scot used six different players at centre-back last season, including Michael Carrick, and his successor has already given the nod to five, including two novices in Tyler Blackett and Michael Keane.
Consistency and understanding remain key issues; as any centre-back would willingly explain, only regular game-time together can bring the best out of partnerships. But the underlying, integral problem is a lack of leadership and organisation. The fact that Johnny Evans, just 26 and hardly considered a world-class centre-half, is now by far the oldest, most decorated and seasoned defender in United’s squad tells its own story.
Louis van Gaal’s pursuit of Borussia Dortmund captain and World Cup winner Mats Hummels this summer was no hushed secret, and after failing to lure the German international to Old Trafford, clearly the United boss didn’t want to rush into deciding upon an alternative.
But that could soon prove incredibly costly. Although hefty defeats to the Premier League’s more rank and file sides, such as Leicester, are likely to remain largely anomalous, the likes of Everton, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, who all face United before the end of December, will already be relishing the prospect of exposing their obvious defensive frailties.
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It could be worse Nando, you could be one of these guys…
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