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Manchester United recently confirmed the appointment of out-going Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal as their next manager. He succeeds David Moyes whose ill-fated reign lasted only ten months. With this appointment, United have reluctantly hopped on the managerial-merry-go-round, which is alarming for United fans who got used to continuity and stability under Sir Alex Ferguson.
It has been clear for a few years now that the Manchester United squad has regressed in quality since the departure of Ronaldo and Tevez. We aimed to replace a Ballon D'Or winner Ronaldo with a one trick pony like Valencia and Tevez, with a player who was way past his best in Owen. It was deja vu in the case of Scholes as he wasn't properly replaced. Class players like Hazard, Moura etc chose other clubs. While the players who were signed like Obertan, Bebe, Diouf proved to be sub-standard. All this meant that Quality wasn't replaced with Quality. The core of the squad around which so much success was built upon has also been weakened now with the departures of Ferdinand and Vidic and the loss of form of Carrick and Evra and the retirement of Giggs and Scholes.
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It was never going to be a smooth ride after Fergie retired. Sustained success for such a long period is good for the club. But it can also prove to be a smoke screen to short comings and problems within the club. No one pointed out the frailties in the squad when they were winning title after title under Fergie. Which shows how important the role of the manager is in managing and motivating the players to give their best and perform well day-in-day-out.
David Moyes was handpicked by Fergie to succeed him. He was the chosen one, not the anointed one. It was expected that he would continue in the same vein as Ferguson and provide similar continuity of ideas and philosophy. But his CV paled in comparison to the other potential candidates, he was just a solid mid table manager and had never won any trophy of note. The results, playing style, tactics and his general meek and un-confident demeanour frustrated one and all. The squad also had to battle infighting, as a result of which Moyes lost the locker room. But the fans and club backed him to the hilt due to their trust on Fergie. The club finally lost patience and sacked him when it was confirmed that they will miss out on Champions League, due to which they stand to lose a lot of money.
Louis van Gaal brings renewed excitement and hope of tackling the challenges at hand. His CV matches up to the very best, having won multiple trophies with different clubs in a career spanning four decades. He has vast experience in dealing with top players and developing them. He successfully shaped the careers of many greats of the game like Xavi, Puyol, Valdes, De Boer, Litmanen, Kluivert etc. Importantly though, he is known to be an extremely confident and commanding person. He is also known to be an astute tactician and a purist.
Van Gaal and his Dutch captain Robin Van Persie have become the flavour of the world cup, after masterminding a 5-1 drubbing of defending world champions Spain. Van Gaal is normally known to strictly persist with the 4-3-3 formation, but in the world cup his side have played a 3-4-1-2 with three centre backs and a pair of wingbacks. This shows that he has a great amount of knowledge about the game and is tactically very adaptable.
One of the first task Van Gaal will aim to complete is rebuilding a strong core of world class players in congruence with the existing ones like De Gea, Mata, Rooney, Kagawa and Van Persie. Bringing in new players in the transfer market might prove to be difficult as United do not have the lure of European football. He should also aim to bring back the self-belief and morale of the squad after a disappointing last season.
One interesting thing to look out for will be the kind of footballing identity he gives United. Manchester United have been traditionally built with a strong core of British players and style of play, but Van Gaal is a an out and out continental purist and a strong believer of Total football. A switch to a more continental playing style maybe on the cards.
One thing for sure is that he will lay a strong foundation of success at all levels within the club, from the Youth setup to the Senior team. The Club will hugely profit from that. He will not back away from taking strong decisions for the welfare of his team, even if the decisions are unpopular with the fans. He is known to fallout with egoistic players who do not obey him, his famous fallout with Rivaldo being the example.
Having seen all time lows in the past season, surely, the only way is up, for Manchester United!
