The new era behind Louis Van Gaal

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?

 Rumours are surfacing that Fellaini will be following his former manager at the exit door. His below-par performance should not be blamed solely on himself. His lack of mobility is no secret but had been well complemented at Everton. Pairing him up with Carrick in a 4-4-2 setup was a mistake that left United midfield short of pace and exposed to counter-attack.

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. 

Analysing the Three Lions

A month to go and it's World Cup, the favourite time for pundits to comment on the squad and predict the possible starting line-up. It might be the satisfaction of getting it right that makes it fun. The truth is you will never get it all correct.

Roy Hodgson has delivered what he promised --- no surprise selection, but certainly some surprise omission. Who would have guessed Ashley Cole is being left out? It is justifiable given Luke Shaw has had a tremendous season. Also, if Hodgson is determined that Leighton Baines will be his no. 1 choice, bringing Luke Shaw to Brazil is certainly much more beneficial to England's future.

Baines (left) and Barkley first major tournament

Hodgson has bravely named a lot more exciting youngsters in this Three Lions squad compared to that of four years ago. Among those, Raheem Sterling might have the best shot to start in Brazil. With Theo Walcott's absence and Sterling himself finishing the season in strong fashion, the attacking position on the right flank is up for him to grab. Ross Barkley is another serious contender for start XI, although 23 years old Jordan Henderson would be the natural option to partner club teammate Steven Gerrard to offer Hodgson solidity in central midfield.

The squad has mostly been named based on form rather than experience, perhaps apart from whether Gareth Barry deserves a place more than Frank Lampard. Hodgson should also be praised for giving himself a handful of tactical options by naming a group of wide diversity. Getting it right against each opponent would be the next challenge.

The first headache is how to accommodate Daniel Sturridge and Wayne Rooney together. England needs Rooney to start, but is also desperate for some constant presence in the box, which Rooney seldom offers when starting up front alone. His ability of dropping deep in midfield, though, opens up the opportunity for both to start. Nevertheless, goal-scoring could still be a weakness of England, with Rooney's history of struggles in major tournament and questionable finishing touch of Danny Welbeck, Sturridge and Sterling. Sometimes, you only see one chance to score in the entire match and you just could not afford to miss it in a World Cup group match.

While Jack Wilshere should lead the race to stand alongside Gerrard, his fitness issue makes Henderson the favourite. However, it would not be surprising to see all three starting against Italy. Adam Lallana can provide the ever-missing no.10 creativity to England to threaten between lines of defence. Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be the dynamic duo who are more than able to shift the momentum within a match.

There gone the familiar faces --- Terry (left) and A.Cole

However, how the midfield mix shapes out could be hindered by the loopholes at the back. There is no John Terry, Rio Ferdinand nor Ashley Cole. There is no obvious leadership at the back. Gary Cahill has matured and improved playing alongside Terry at some highest level of competition, but his qualifying campaign partner Phil Jagielka has only just returned to fitness. As Phil Jones also struggles with injury, the assurance at the heart of defence is scarce.

To pinpoint the weakest link in England, unfortunately, is again at the back. Glen Johnson is better known as an attacking full back, but what England really needs is the Gary Neville type of right back --- defence-driven and solid. Even they manage to escape from group stage, undoubtedly this will be the area most easily exposed by the likes of Neymar, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Angel Di Maria.

Will the Liverpool formula work?

Many urges England to follow Liverpool's model to search for triumph in Brazil. They might well should, as obviously their strength does not lie in defence in this group with the absence of veterans and a typical defensive midfielder. With perhaps the weakest team in their group, Costa Rica, lined up at the back of the fixture, it is tempting to fall into the trap of playing safe against Italy and Uruguay. Hodgson must resist the temptation and be determined to starting the tournament in a positive fashion. This can not only settle the nerves of the younger batch, but also inject the belief to the players that they could go all the way. Conservatism has already cost England too many tournaments. A team well-known of suffering in penalty stage, England indeed has the edge to kill off opponents in regular time.

Moyes is gone, is Sherwood the next?

So there goes David Moyes, finally. The fact that United could not wait for another month to part way with the Chosen One shows the intolerance of the Board towards Moyes' performance. Opinions are divided between whether he deserves more time. One thing for certain is another man in a similar situation seems destined to depart as well.

Tim Sherwood was picked to inherit Andre Villas-Boas late last year. Although never being envisioned as the long-term solution, he was still given a 18-month contract, having explicitly stated his desire to stay. The deal appeared to pay off initially, with the backing of a revived Emmanuel Adebayor. However, a horrid run of results against top teams have relegated Tottenham back to the race for Europa and have unsettled the dressing room that seems gone out of Sherwood's control.

There are a number of similarities between the two managers. Somehow, they have got the best out of their best strikers. Wayne Rooney has chosen to stay, either because of his admiration towards Moyes or the payroll, while Adebayor was rediscovered among the reserves and U18 squad. Regardless of the reason that he was neglected, his 10 goals has fully repaid the faith of Sherwood towards himself.

Sherwood's affinity with young players have led to the emergence of some promising talents amidst the turbulent season, which is comparable to Moyes' introduction of Adnan Januzaj at Old Trafford. Having not represented the senior team before this season, Nabil Bentaleb has quickly become Sherwood's favourite, with his all-rounded mentality and techniques anchoring him as one of the two central midfielders in Sherwood's 4-4-2 setup. Another youngster Harry Kane also benefits from the departure of Jermain Defoe and sees his confidence growing with more playing time, bagging his first ever Premier League goal for Tottenham.

Bentaleb's breakout season

However, the tactical side of Sherwood has let Tottenham down. He restores the "old school" 4-4-2 formation, which at times enables Spurs to dominate weaker teams with extra man in the box. On the other hand, it makes them vulnerable against stronger sides with a man short in the midfield. Possession game is all modern football is about, but Sherwood has yet to understand this.

Moyes could blame the lack of recruitment of midfielders. For Sherwood, he purely fails to find the a pair that works. He favours all-rounded midfielders thus often pairs up Dembele and Bentaleb.  Sherwood still started Sandro at Stamford Bridge hoping for some solidity. It didn't work well that sees Sandro being relegated to the bench then, but Sherwood never realised fielding two unfit right backs on the right flanks was the main reason why they were demolished.

Will he get one more chance?

Sherwood resumed the partnership of the two left-footers, although they are too similar in style, both prefers ball at feet and more inclined to attack, leaving the defence well exposed. They got away behind Christian Eriksen's brilliance at home against Southampton. A week later, Sherwood even replaced Dembele with attacking playmaker Sigurdsson at Anfield. Was it of any surprise when they got hammered? Not really.

Tim Sherwood did not have a summer to shape his squad, nor have the luxury to spend more in January. With Tottenham still manages at sixth position, one could argue the former Spurs player deserves more time. The truth is Daniel Levy does not have the patience to wait and Sherwood fails to prove himself as the one to bring Champions League to White Hart Lane again. Two more games to go and Tottenham looks ready to welcome another chief in charge.

Arsenal can still finish fourth

When titles have become such a luxury, consecutive seasons of Champions League qualification is the sole moment of glory for Arsene Wenger. Nevertheless, another disastrous performance away from home put their hope for top four, so as Wenger's prospect at the club, in serious doubt.

It was their fourth defeat in their last five away games, which they conceded fifteen goals and only scored two. It was also the sixth out of last seven games that they failed to keep a clean sheet. Down this poor stretch, their only victory was the narrow win at White Hart Lane.

The resilience in defence shown against Manchester City was vanished. Everton's attack, fuelled by the speed of fullbacks Seamus Coleman, Leighton Baines and winger Kevin Mirallas, has torn the Gunners' defence apart. Although Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker remained relatively deep, Romelu Lukaku is a beast who requires more attention than Edin Dzeko. While they managed to keep the slower and more compact attack of Manchester City in check, Everton beat them with width and pace.

With a game in hand, mathematically Roberto Martinez's side has the advantage over Arsenal in the race for fourth. However, Gunners' supporters still have solid reasons to believe it will be their 17th season in a row to qualify for the Champions League.

Both Walcott and Ramsey were out injured

February and March have traditionally been the nightmare months for Arsenal, when injuries and fatigues are their biggest enemies. It is the same old story this year. Three of their best players in 2013 could not bring their forms into 2014. Aaron Ramsey went down in Boxing Day and suffered couple of injury setbacks. Olivier Giroud was simply burnt out as Wenger is short of options on the bench. Mehmet Ozil's impressive Premier League debut gradually fades away amidst the congested fixtures and ultimately is sent to the treatment room. What made the situation worse was Theo Walcott's lengthy absence since early January. 

However, don't forget another Gunners' tradition though --- they have the ability to finish the season on a high. The importance of Champions League football is well-understood in the dressing room and Wenger can inspire his side to recover from the poor run mid-season and hold off the challenge, recently by Tottenham, to secure the fourth spot by one point in the past two seasons. The remaining fixtures are as well quite favourable to Arsenal, with the majority of games at home and against teams with limited relegation threat.

On the other hand, the two Manchester giants are yet to line up at Goodison Park and the trips to Southampton and Sunderland are awaiting for the Toffees. The risk of dropping points is apparently higher than Arsenal.

Arsenal is also a far more superior side against weaker teams than top teams. The talent and creativity of their midfield enables them to disjoint opponents backline with the free-flowing attack. Having been able to dominate possession also eases pressure on their defence, who shows solidity but occasionally looks fragile against speedy strikers.

Lukaku is the key to Everton

Everton is at their best when playing counter-attack football. No wonder their records against top teams have been remarkable. On contrast, they sometimes struggle against teams who are determined to earn a draw, in particular when playing away from home. Points have already been dropped at Norwich, Cardiff, Crystal Palace, Stoke City and West Brom. Having Lukaku back healthy is a huge boost, but not known as a natural-attacking team, bagging three points could be a tougher task than imagined.

Everything appears to be flowing in the opposite direction for Arsenal at the moment. However, the talents and experience within the squad, as well as the favourable schedule ahead, they still have a good chance to come on top of Everton to grab the remaining Champions League spot.