Comparing the reigns of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal at Manchester United

Both Moyes and LVG have been unable to keep the fans of the club happyWhen Sir Alex Ferguson strolled out of Old Trafford in 2013 and, in doing so, closed the door on a 26-year career embellished with success, it was strikingly apparent that few if any would emulate the Scot’s trophy haul. That said, just as many would have failed to envisage the downhill spiral Manchester United have gravitated towards during the post-Fergie era so far.Two men have been tasked with replicating the now 74-year-old’s success with the Red Devils, but neither have seen great success. The accomplished David Moyes was personally selected as Ferguson’s replacement by the man himself. Moyes had constructed a sustainable and promising model with fellow Premier League outfit Everton and the longevity of his reign at Goodison Park only bolstered his bid. A mere ten months later and the former Toffees boss saw his contract disintegrate, with Ryan Giggs selected to see out the remaining months of the season from the sideline. Next through the door came a man soaked in pedigree; Louis Van Gaal had ruled with an iron fist at such clubs as Barcelona and Bayern Munich prior to his appointment as United gaffer.Nearly two years on from signing as manager though and the Dutchman has had his transfer policy heavily lambasted and his playing style torn apart, and it is practically a certainty he too will receive a Woodward boot, come the close of the current season. So both have failed in their attempts to mimic Sir Alex’s success, but who has come closest?

#1 Playing Style

The Dutchman's tactics revolve around maintaining possession

In his time with Everton, David Moyes stuck to the basics and reaped success in the process. Attempting to transpire this system to one of the most marketable football clubs in the world was not a spark of genius from the Scotsman by any means though.

With United, Moyes always set-up with a traditional bank of four defenders, shielded by two holding midfielders, one of which was Marouane Fellaini who, far more competent as an advanced playmaker, suffered from being played out of position at Old Trafford.

The attacking dynamics of Moyes’ system varied, but his side were cautious with the ball and often invited opponents to attack directly and energetic, hungry sides often capitalised.

Van Gaal’s United have been just as, if not more, shot-shy and a third of United’s home matches this season have ended goalless. The Dutchman has focused on maintaining possession but for all the wrong reasons.

It seems that United now pass for the sake of passing and seldom utilise the width, which has been enhanced by the likes of Memphis Depay’s arrival.

Their lethargic and sluggish build-up play has resulted in the dissipation of the cut-throat, direct approach employed by Ferguson and the club have scored a meager 33 goals this league campaign, one shy of 19th place Sunderland’s tally.

#2 Transfers

Fellaini and Di Maria were two big transfer blunders

There are many reasons why Van Gaal’s outlay of £249.6m has dwarfed the £67.7m spent by Moyes. The Dutchman is undoubtedly more familiar with the foreign market and has been granted more time at the dugout than Moyes.

Moreover, the failure of Moyes’ tenure outlined to LVG the need for a mass overhaul, whereas the Scot was coming into a side that had just lifted the Premier League and the magnitude of the job he was walking into required caution and composure in the market.

Moyes made only two headline signings, Juan Mata (£37.1m) and Marouane Fellaini (£27.1m) but the latter proved to be a mistake from the beginning. While the club reportedly paid £4 million over his buyout clause, outlining a severe lack of judgement from Ed Woodward and Moyes, the Belgian also flopped at Old Trafford and was frequently played out of position, while Mata, despite showing glimpses of star quality, was a long way of the form he showed at Chelsea.

Van Gaal has been just as poor. The excessive chunk he ate out of the transfer budget available has done little to propel United up the league ladder. The £59.7m addition of Angel Di Maria lost the club approximately £15 million, after the Argentine moved to PSG the following season, while the influx of additions this season has been just as damaging.

Schweinsteiger (£6.56m), Memphis Depay (£24.6 million), Schneiderlin (£27 million) have rotted away by virtue of United’s new system, although Anthony Martial (£36m) has been impressive.

#3 Trophies

Moyes' first official match in charge of the club was against Wigan in the Community Shield

Manchester United’s Community Shield triumph over Wigan Athletic in 2013 was the club’s last honour, with both Moyes and Louis Van Gaal having failed to win a single major competition between them.

Despite the heavy criticism Moyes’ United received following their 2-0 defeat to Olympiakos in the last sixteen of the 2013/14 Champions League, the Scot did manage to navigate the club through the group stages and all the way to the last eight of the competition.

Comparatively, Van Gaal’s side were dumped out almost immediately and are currently awaiting a second leg Europa League tie with FC Midtjylland after losing the first leg 2-1.

In the Premier League, it was a completely different story for Moyes though, who couldn’t last a full season. He was dismissed when United were lingering in 7th position, where they finished come the close of the campaign.

In some respects, Van Gaal did steady the ship, given that United finished a respectable fourth in his debut term, although this season, Champions League qualification looks way off.

#4 Authority

Moyes was never able to stamp the kind of authority Sir Alex did

When Moyes superseded Ferguson following the veteran’s prominent reign at Old Trafford, it was clear the former would assume the role of novice and this potentially wounded the respect he received from his playing staff upon arrival. Having managed only Preston North End and Everton prior to his appointment as United boss, Moyes was out of his comfort zone and his presence lacked authority.

Van Gaal, on the other hand, had all the makings of the idyllic Manchester United manager. Former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan defender Lucio stated, "Van Gaal hurt me more than anyone else in football,’ following his sale to the Italians from the Bavarians.

Van Gaal certainly does as he pleases and aims to dictate proceedings on and off the pitch to such an extent that very few dare to defy the Dutchman’s orders. His presence draws parallels with that of Sir Alex Ferguson’s.

Franck Ribery underpinned Van Gaal’s approach perfectly when he claimed that, “His [Van Gaal’s] idea was that he did not care about names at all, you don't need stars, everybody had to prove themselves again.”

So when King Louis waltzed into Old Trafford it was evident that the likes of Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick would have to prove themselves as top professionals in order to get game time, yet Moyes put so much faith in the players that there was a minimal fear factor.

#5 The Verdict

LVG is slowly losing the plot at Manchester United

Initially, Van Gaal looked as if he’d outdo the work of Moyes ten-fold, but this campaign has cast a different light on the former-Ajax manager’s ability. Scot Moyes had to follow Fergie directly and the difficulty of such a task must be taken into account.

The business Moyes carried out in the transfer market equated to £1.1million per Premier League point, while Van Gaal has cost the club an estimated £2.6million per point, outlining that although both saw little success, Moyes’ failure damaged the club’s title credentials but, in retrospect, ensured the club maintained a reasonable financial structure.

Furthermore, the two players he did snap up – Mata and Fellaini – have been two of the better performers in United’s midfield contingent this season.

Moyes also performed better on the continental stage and in a season where no big Premier League outfit has snatched a stranglehold of the Premier League title, United and Van Gaal have failed to take initiative and have played incredibly defensive football when they have the players in their ranks to rip teams to shreds in the final third.

David didn’t deliver but Louis is slowly losing the plot and has agitated the fans to a far worse degree than Moyes ever did. So, to conclude, Van Gaal’s reign has been far worse and has potentially inflicted more damage than Moyes’ time in Manchester.