Manchester United Manager Louis van Gaal knows what he’s doing, DO NOT let today’s terrible result lead you to think otherwise.
But can he plot and scheme his way back into the top four with this current side?
Does he have enough talent to bring united back into the Champions League?
There are no two ways about it, another year missing out on that extra revenue and exposure from not qualifying for UEFA Champions League football would be disastrous at Old Trafford. Look no further than arch-rivals Liverpool to see what bad things can happen when you keep missing out on the Europe.
Maybe Van Gaal is over-strategizing? Maybe Van Gaal is too intellectual for the players that he has right now. I can’t say for sure. It’s actually a bit over my head. What I do know for sure though is that the back line is the key to this season. How Van Gaal manipulates his defense (I’m American, apologies to my readers in the U.K. and Canada, the “defence”) will determine what how this season materializes (or “materialises”) for United.
Despite today’s terrible outing, Louis van Gaal is a brilliant tactician.
His long distinguished career in Europe speaks for itself. And in case you forget that, just think back to a few weeks ago as he guided The Netherlands to a third place finish in the World Cup.
NBC’s Robbie Mustoe on Manchester United:
“I’m so disappointed with the tempo of the game for Manchester United. This is their opening day. The excitement and enthusiasm is there at Old Trafford with a new manager in place, but we have seen nothing in the attacking third, we have seen very little passing from the back into the midfield. It’s been poor…It looks like their players are so thoughtful, so concentrated on their positions in this new system. They have almost forgotten to go out there and play. Go out there and make things happen.”
Joining me to talk United tactics and starting XIs and all of that technical strategic stuff and United transfer rumors is Phil Meyers, Sports Director of SRN Broadcasting. The podcast is below. You’ll also want to follow him on Twitter @WeWalkAlone19
And in this podcast below, Meyers and I talk Louis van Gaal tactics, lineups and formations.
This one gets technical:
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports and Yahoo! He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world. He’s also a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Banks has been featured in numerous media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, NBC, CBS, the History Channel and more. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)