The Dutch partnership will be at Old Trafford next season |
Finally, he has landed at Old Trafford. It might be twelve years late, but the Red Devils supporters do not mind. They simply can't wait for a new manager, a world class one with proven successful history.
At club level, Louis van
Gaal has already tasted success in the
Netherlands, Spain and
Germany with a CV full of major European titles. Apparently, the board recognises the United nowadays
may not afford a long term project but
rather need instant success. David Moyes is a decent manager, but has
yet to build his authority at a bigger club.
One order that United fans is hoping Van Gaal can restore to is Robin Van Persie's
invincibility. Being so pivotal in his debut season at Old Trafford, Van Persie
was slowed down by injuries (rumour
has it that the Dutch striker implied his injuries were down to the vigorous
training implemented by the Moyes) and also looked uninspired under in
the 13-14 season. Van Gaal's personal connection should help get the best out of the striker – the exquisite volley for example against
Ecuador. He has also demonstrated in the past how to best utilise his
attacking assets at his previous clubs.
The trio of Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Van Persie can be a formidable threat
and there are high hopes that they will shine behind van Gaal.
Jones (left) and Evans has to fill the void left by Ferdinand and Vidic |
Nevertheless, the first agenda in his in-tray must be to
repair or more precisely revamp the
defence. Over 500 games of experience between Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are gone. Johnny Evans, Chris
Smalling and Phil Jones have respectively showed glimpses of talents, though
still short of solidity, consistency and reliability (Roy Keane would agree). With David de Gea having settled,
Patrice Evra staying on for
another year and a break from European
football, it is the perfect circumstance for the three young centrebacks to
step up and show that they can live up to the expectation; though a disastrous pre-season form would convince
the authoritative manager to keep them out of the team (forever).
What van
Gaal can do to nurture them is to allow them settle in their preferred centreback position,
which means to put trust on Rafael and Maroune Fellaini. Rafael's development
has stalled as he has struggled
to find the balance between aggressiveness and recklessness, or he would end up like his twin brother –
signing off his United career with a reckless red card. His sophomore
blue saw Valencia and Smalling take up more duties at right back. Exclusion
from the Brazil World Cup squad is a wake-up call for the young full back and summer work will be essential in order to impress his new boss.
Will any of Muller (left) or Kroos join? |
same team next year? |
Fellaini is still a world-class player who could be a game-changer. His vision, comprehension and physical presence
is invaluable to Manchester United and
is sorely missed when the blue part of Manchester has Yaya Toure and
Fernandinho whereas the Reds only have Cleverley, Fletcher, and forgotten-man
Anderson. A box-to-box type or a more penetrating central midfielder
would be his ideal partner, in which
he can sit deeper as an anchorman to orchestrate the offence, similar to
Carrick's current role. While Toni
Kroos is not van Gaal's cup of
tea, and even if United could not rival Arsenal to sign Cesc Fabregas, the
current central midfielders – even Carrick given his age – would need miracles so stay in the Dutchman’s
plans.
There are a lot to fix that even a manager as successful and experienced as van Gaal should not be expected to
steer it right straight away. However, securing the service of the Dutch is the
correct decision to re-inject the self-belief in the dressing room. Van Gaal
has also made his first key decision right by retaining Ryan Giggs, an iconic
and influential figure at Old Trafford
with an eye to succeed van Gaal after his three-year rebuilding. Can
United fans finally cheer in the post-Sir Alex era? We will wait and see.
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