Louis van Gaal has six games to stave off Man Utd mutiny

It was appropriate that Louis Van Gaal was speaking in Wolfsburg, the European capital of noxious emissions. Because his post-match observations about Manchester United’s eviction from the Champions League were about as close to reality as the average Volkswagen pollution report.

It was only a matter of time, their manager suggested, before United were once again in the continent’s elite. Well, in as much as it is only a matter of time between ice ages he may well have a point. But the club’s recent progress has been glacial. Indeed the only thing slower than its forward momentum has been its midfield.

But for Van Gaal there was nothing to see in the abject eviction from probably the easiest of the Champions League groups. Move along, nothing untoward here. According to him it was all the fault of circumstance not procedure. The philosophy was not in question. It was the referee, or the linesman, or United’s injury issues, or Bastian Schweinsteiger who were to blame. Yes, apparently, the German World Cup-winner was culpable for the fact that United are now out of the continent’s top competition because he didn’t play as well as he used to when he was at Munich.

The only person whose reputation was not impugned by the manager last night was Wayne Rooney. Though to be honest he might well have been playing for all the notice he has made in games in which he has participated.

For many a United fan, however, there is a growing belief that the blame for United’s hapless showing lies elsewhere. On message boards and on social media the consensus is developing that it is Van Gaal who shares the bulk of responsibility for United’s ossifying form. It is down to the man in charge. The buck stops with him.

The crimesheet is significant. This is nothing to do with the moaning of those spoiled by success (well, not entirely). The Dutchman is presiding, so the theory has it, over the stultifying of a once vibrant institution. Here is a statistic that speaks volumes for Van Gaal’s reign. Last night in their Champions league tie against Malmo, Real Madrid scored as many goals in one match as United have managed in their last 11.

This is the real concern for the club’s followers. It is not just that they are no longer competing for the serious silverware (even in a Premier League title race characterised by underachievement, they look like they will come up short). It was not so much last night’s defeat that irked. Indeed there was a hint of throw-back gung-ho about the way the team attempted to force a result, flinging caution to the wind. It has been the turgid nonsense that put them in the position of jeopardy in the first place.

The style of play for which they were once famed has been jettisoned in favour of a pragmatic, crab-like defensive safety first. Eight points from a group consisting of Wolfsburg, PSV and CSKA is not the stuff of the European elite. That 0-0 draw at home to PSV was as much responsible as the wretched defending in the Germany on Tuesday night. And that goalless draw at Old Trafford a fortnight ago – one of 10 in the 67 games Van Gaal has been in charge – was horribly typical of what is going on.

This is not the fault of the referee or the injuries or Bastian Schweinsteiger. It is the fault of the man in charge of strategy. They always score, Clive Tyldesley once famously said of United. Not any more.

It is not as if the manager does not have the resources at his disposal. Last night he played with a front three of Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Memphis Depay, between them quick enough to give the Jamaican 100 metre relay team a run for their money.

True they were backed up by Schweinsteiger, Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini, a midfield three who make an ocean-going liner look light on its feet. But even so, that is some attacking line up. The last time United played at Wolfsburg in the Champions League they fielded a team including Darron Gibson, Thomas Kuszczak and Michael Owen, with Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick at centre-back. They still won 3-1 through an Owen hat trick.

So what was the difference this time? It surely has to be the man in the dugout. Back then they were led by Sir Alex Fergsuon, a manager with the ability to inspire. This time they were led by Van Gaal, who is rapidly proving he has an inverse Midas touch, capable of turning the most gifted ball player into a robotic shadow, the man who can turn gold into sawdust.

Of course Van Gaal is not prepared to accept any liability. This is a manager always quick to claim credit for success and reticent about accepting responsibility for failure. And he is still convinced that the fans are on side. He says that every time he ventures out for a meal he meets only with friendliness and appreciation. Which may well be true. Though you have to suspect that those approaching him for a selfie in a Hale wine bar tend to be a self-selecting group of the supportive. The rest are too busy grumbling into their glass of something crisp and fruity.

For Van Gaal the next six games of his season could not have been more benevolently drawn from the fixture computer. Here is his chance to demonstrate finally that his gathering army of critics are wrong. That he does know what he is doing. That the philosophy is on track.

But if he does not yield a significant haul of points from fixtures against Bournemouth, Norwich, Stoke, Chelsea, Swansea and Newcastle, with a cup tie at home to Sheffield United in between, then he might well find even the genteel drinkers of Hale are forming a lynch mob.