The Sunday Mail
MANCHESTER UNITED are not entitled to success.
None of us are.
But when one becomes accustomed to something that feels so swell, and also experiences that rush regularly, when it is taken away the longing is amplified.
In modern-day football terms, that privilege is beyond the realm of everyday comprehension.
Hence, some United fans — and this is, of course, not isolated to them (see Real Madrid) — are showing exaggerated withdrawal symptoms to the club’s FA Cup quarter-final exit.
United manager Louis van Gaal finds himself already under pressure.
In a wider context, losing to Arsenal on Monday, courtesy of an individual error by Antonio Valencia, was no travesty.
Painful, yes, because it was against a side they have history with and a place at Wembley awaited, but not inexcusable — Van Gaal’s team were hardly absolutely awful.
Certainly, they haven’t consistently played enjoyable football in some time, but it was a narrow defeat and these things happen in this sport. Humans will make mistakes and there will be fine margins.
What is arguably sharpening the focus on Van Gaal is that for those wanting a simplistic classification of his work at Old Trafford thus far, it cannot be isolated as either good or bad. It hasn’t been the success of Sir Alex Ferguson and it hasn’t been the disaster of David Moyes. The results by and large have been solid, but they have jarred with a performance level far below the quality of players at his disposal.
The obvious gaps in the squad should not mean that individually there should be significant slumps in form.
Something doesn’t quite feel right, and, therefore, when a result such as that against Arsenal happens, the reality that it will be two whole years without silverware for United is exacerbated.
Van Gaal needs time to implement his “philosophy”. When Ferguson stepped down, it was evident the rebuilding process for the squad and its confidence would be a long-term one. But he must also help himself. Such an experienced coach should probably not be making decisions like taking Ander Herrera off at half-time, for example.
In spite of the so-called crisis — a word that has lost all meaning in 2015 — United head into their home match with Tottenham Hotspur today sitting fourth in the Premier League table. If the standings were to be cemented now, Van Gaal would have achieved his debut season remit of ensuring a return to the Champions League. Alas, there are still 10 games to play, and United’s upcoming fixtures are foreboding, inclusive of the Spurs visit: Liverpool away, Man City at home, Chelsea and Everton away, between now and the end of April.
Grind out positive results against the aforementioned teams in the uninspiring fashion they have done recently and there can be little reason to criticise Van Gaal. — Soccernet.
