da casino： Manchester United and the loyal Old Trafford faithful largely went into the new season full of optimism and renewed hope for what the future had in store.
da heads bet： David Moyes’ ill-fated reign with the Red Devils had eventually reached its premature end – and with former Champions League winner and Netherlands boss, Louis van Gaal, firmly in place to take the club forward – it seemed that 2014/15 really had the potential to become a truly special year for his new side.
Even with the multitude of high profile names being drafted in at Old Trafford throughout last summer, such an outcome simply never took off for Manchester United with the club dramatically failing to impress for most of this season. Yes, a top-four finish looks to be in sight for Van Gaal as his team aim to end the year on a high, but ultimately the former English champions just haven’t been worthy of much positive attention this term with all things considered.
So then, with next season likely to prove the biggest test so far in Louis van Gaal’s Premier League career, perhaps whatever takes place throughout the coming summer months will either break Manchester United and send them spiralling downwards without hope of an immediate return, or serve to transform the club back into the successful outfit they were just a few short seasons ago.
It really is make or break time now.
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Across the course of this season, Manchester United have simply not been what everyone was expecting. The Red Devils weren’t able to use the congested fixture list that comes with playing in Europe as an excuse this term, the shock of no longer being able to fall back on Sir Alex Ferguson should have long since passed by now – and as the club spent in excess of £150million in the run up to 2014/15 – their so-so form out on the pitch really has come as somewhat of a disappointment.
Louis van Gaal must therefore take a large section of the blame. He begun the new season in daring style, opting to go with three at the back, with two flying wing-backs and an attack force most would die for. Yet as the Premier League seemingly proved more testing than the experienced Dutchman initially envisioned, he quickly reverted to the more traditional tactic of booting it long and hoping Marouane Fellaini could do something with the knock-downs.
2014/15 ultimately proved to be a year in which the word ‘transition’ seemed the most applicable when describing this particular era in Manchester United’s history, but as that simply won’t be the case again next season, serious lessons just have to be learned in the run up to the new campaign.
If the club want to continue their Galacticos-esque spending that largely categorised their behaviour last summer, then only stars proven at the top level must be considered. No more can the Red Devils spend shed loads on the likes of Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo. These are names who bore a certain potential for sure, but now United simply need more reliability going into the new season.
Louis van Gaal’s side have been linked with Memphis Depay, Ilkay Gundogan, Nathaniel Clyne and even Thomas Muller of late – and whilst such players could in-fact represent some real quality should they eventually end up at Old Trafford in the not too distant future – careful examination of their style must be assessed if the club are to avoid landing another Angel Di Maria, or Radamel Falcao situation on their hands.
Manchester United also need to replace the rapidly ageing Robin van Persie, find someone capable of emulating Michael Carrick’s composed approach in the middle of the park, and finally do something about their back-four, which quite simply, isn’t worthy of operating at the top level.
A player such as Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels could therefore be the perfect antidote for LVG, but he is nonetheless another name likely to set United back quite a bit in the money department.
As the Red Devils simply have to get serious going into the 2015/16 campaign however, especially with the advent of Champions League football likely to be on the way for the club once again – Manchester United ultimately have no choice but to show that level of ambition throughout the coming summer months.
Whatever takes place come the end of the season, it is likely to be an interesting time for the Old Trafford faithful to say the very least.
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