'He's destroying football' ... was PSV bore draw the night Louis van Gaal lost the Man United crowd?
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ByEurosport
Updated 26/11/2015 at 10:05 GMT
At the final whistle of Manchester United’s latest lifeless attacking display in Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with PSV Eindhoven, a few boos were heard around Old Trafford. Have concerns about Louis van Gaal’s style finally reached a tipping point?
Manchester United's Jesse Lingard looks dejected after missing a chance to score
Image credit: Reuters
WHAT HAPPENED?
Knowing that a victory over PSV – currently third in the Eredivisie – would secure their place in the last-16 of the Champions League, United laboured to a 0-0 draw that means they now quite possibly need to go to Wolfsburg and win in their final group game in order to progress in the competition.
On the 10th anniversary of George Best’s death, fans inside Old Trafford waved their phone flashlights in the seventh minute of the game to commemorate one of the club’s greatest ever players, but a sublime attacking performance that would have provided a suitable backdrop to the occasion was not forthcoming. Instead United could only manage 50% of the possession and produced just 10 shots, as Van Gaal turned to Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini as he tried to change the game in the second half - to no tangible success.
Wayne Rooney dropped into a deeper role and, somewhat predictably, United began aiming long balls in the direction of Fellaini, a strategy that hardly seemed to encourage those inside the ground that the Dutch side's defence was about to be unlocked. And indeed there would be no late goal to ease the frustration, with fans left aggrieved by a dull, lifeless display.
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Manchester United's Wayne Rooney looks dejected
Image credit: Reuters
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The only thing decided in Group B is that CSKA Moscow are out (although they could still steal Europa League qualification). Wolfsburg top the group with nine points, United are second with eight, and PSV sit third with seven. PSV host CSKA in their final group game – if they win, then United will go out of the Champions League unless they beat Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena.
SO UNITED WERE BORING … WHAT’S NEW?
Fair point, fair point. But this was perhaps the first game where the prosaic nature of the product on the pitch was met with more sustained criticism from those off it, with results previously shielding Van Gaal from a real inquisition.
It is worth remembering that United are second in the Premier League – and can go top this weekend – and, by and large, have achieved their main ambitions since Van Gaal took over. That has seen many give the Dutchman the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the playing style, but this failure to secure prompt European progression has raised the panic levels palpably.
United teams of old would have cruised against sides like PSV at home, yet now few would confidently bet that they will beat Wolfsburg in Germany. If they go out, Van Gaal might find things get even more uncomfortable.
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Manchester United's David De Gea and PSV's Hector Moreno
Image credit: Reuters
THE MEDIA REACTION
“Van Gaal is destroying the beautiful game” … “painfully ordinary” … “insipid and careless” … the Dutchman will not enjoy his morning reading on Thursday.
On Thanksgiving it certainly feels like the knives are being sharpened, with the British media’s big names ready and waiting to tuck in if they stumble against Wolfsburg.
Neil Ashton in the Daily Mail:
Van Gaal is destroying the beautiful game by playing like this. This United team is no more than a six out of 10 every week and it says something about the standard of the Barclays Premier League that they are somehow second behind Leicester City.
Even in Europe, if they go on to win in the Volkswagen Arena in two weeks, they cannot compete with Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid using this approach.
The coach blew this, picking a tired and leggy team who failed to recover from Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Watford to get the job done against their Dutch opponents. The football, if we really must call it that, was abysmal.
Oliver Kay in The Times:
The longer this game went on, the more painfully ordinary Manchester United looked … by the final half-hour they were labouring in familiar fashion — no spark, no dynamism, no intensity, no conviction.
Such laments have persisted for as long as Van Gaal has been in charge and, given that their approach is generally to defend with seven players and attack with just four, it is hard to see that changing. There were boos from the Stretford End at the final whistle — not loud, angry boos but a sound of frustration or perhaps just boredom.
Jason Burt in the Daily Telegraph:
Van Gaal’s taut face said it all at the end, even if he did offer words of defiance and an attempted explanation. His frustration was clear. As was the frustrations of his players and the club’s increasingly bewildered supporters. This was insipid, careless, inhibited and lacking in energy. United had chances, a precious few chances, but PSV certainly deserved their draw.
Dave Kidd in The Mirror:
Manchester United are in serious danger of heading out of the Champions League - and nobody on the continent is in any danger of giving a tinker’s cuss … now for a death-or-glory mission in Germany. Not that this seems like a death-or-glory kind of United team.
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Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger is substituted for Marouane Fellaini.
Image credit: Reuters
AND THE EX-PROS?
Oh, yeah, and the former players hardly had kind things to say either. Although, as the great and good of United past have turned into a veritable Greek chorus of antipathy towards him ever since his arrival, that may not surprise the boss so much.
Paul Scholes:
They have a chance against Wolfsburg but I wouldn't be relying on that. There was a real lack of quality in the final third. You can defend as well as you want but if you don't have those forward players who can create a bit of magic, then you're going to struggle.
Roy Keane:
It seemed a strange atmosphere at Old Trafford tonight, they lacked cutting edge. You got the impression the players were waiting for something to happen, rather than going and making it happen. Wayne [Rooney] was on about lack of composure and quality, but I think he was as guilty as anybody. He needs to step up to the plate.
Michael Owen:
Manchester United of old would blow that group away, be qualified after four games. It is the story of the season It's just amazing how they are still in with a shout of qualifying and flying high in the Premier League.
They are quite a way away at the moment. They're just a defending team with attackers with no help from elsewhere. It's very, very one-dimensional.
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Louis van Gaal's Manchester United did not impress former players Paul Scholes and Michael Owen in the 0-0 draw with PSV Eindhoven
Image credit: PA Sport
WHAT DID VAN GAAL SAY?
“It was clear some of our players didn’t have the confidence to demand the ball tonight,” Van Gaal offered. “I said during half-time our midfielders should be available for our defenders. I wasn’t happy about that.
“Of course I am worried but also I know goals are coming and going. It’s not a consequence of good or bad performances, today we could have scored at least three goals, they were not the most difficult chances but we didn’t score. The result is disappointing because I still have the feeling we could have finished the game.
“We are still second so we are still in the qualifying position but we have to do it in Wolfsburg and that’s more difficult. It was much more easy tonight. [But] we have won also our home match against Wolfsburg so why can’t we win in Wolfsburg?”
HAS HE GOT A DEFENCE?
Well, it should be pointed out that United did have a few chances to win the game: Anthony Martial could perhaps have done more with a great first-half opening, while Jesse Lingard should have hit the target with an opening later in the second half that would have washed away many of the concerns. The youngster really should have scored, but you cannot put a result like this on the shoulders of a young winger still learning his way at this level.
Of course, the counter-point to that would be that PSV could also have stolen a goal from one of their half-chances … which is perhaps why you can only assess on the facts, on what did happen, not on what might have been. And what did happen was not good, not exciting, not interesting.
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Louis van Gaal and Ryan Giggs sit on the Manchester United bench
Image credit: Reuters
WHAT NEXT?
Well, it can be said with a fair bit of certainty that United will not be sacking Van Gaal any time soon - even if they are knocked out of the Champions League, the club's current league position keeps him in a position of relative strength ... and even if that takes a dip too, the board are unlikely to even consider his position unless qualifying for next season's Champions League is suddenly in grave doubt.
Nevertheless, at this point it is getting increasingly difficult to see United's attacking style suddenly clicking and becoming expansive and beautiful at some point in the immediate future. The United board have not shown themselves to be worried about that, however, perhaps accepting that as a sacrifice worth making as long as Van Gaal delivers the things they need from a business perspective - Champions League football, vaguely successful Premier League finishes.
From the moment he was appointed, there seems to have been a consensus that he was always a short-term appointment - a three-year man to rebuild the club, before a more visionary leader is brought in to evolve the football product (just as Bayern Munich did with Van Gaal, Jupp Heynckes and then Pep Guardiola).
That is a pragmatic way to run a club, and it is perhaps unsurprising that the football the team produces is currently reflecting that.
But you look at the recent example of Liverpool, before and after they switched managers, and you look at the basic talent within United's squad, and you do begin to wonder what could be if someone, anyone, at the club showed a little adventure...
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