After Manchester United’s goal scoring exploits at Newcastle on Tuesday night, many will wonder why people are still talking about them being the most boring team in football .
However, the fact that they only managed to get a draw against the Magpies, a team who have looked dead and buried at times this term, still highlights there are issues to resolve.
It’s difficult to pin point exactly where it’s going wrong at Old Trafford, particularly as things were looking up at the beginning of the season. David De Gea was kept, Martial, Depay, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger were all brought in and so many fans thought it would finally be the year United return to its old trophy hauling self.
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But this season has been one of frustration, and the performances of one of the world’s biggest clubs have been dreadful.
One of the main down falls for the club was the loss of Luke Shaw to injury. I realise that this is just one player but in the early stages of the season, he was the one player that stood out until his injury against PSV in September. Up until then, although results had not been overly convincing, the team had been playing well.
However, as soon as Shaw got injured, the defence became unsettled, with Van Gaal unsure as to who replace him at left back. He had, after all, just allowed players like Beckett to go out on loan. It begs the question as to why he did not buy more players in positions he needed, like left and right back. September looked a convincing month for a strong Manchester United, yet as it got to November and December the draws starting creeping in.
Van Gaal started to get criticism in December where United, who usually excel over the Christmas period, failed to register a single win. As a fan, you would expect the manager to use this motivation of poor results to inject new energy in the team, but instead Van Gaal acted the victim to the English Press, moaning about the lack of a winter break as a reason why his team was performing so poorly.
What should be remembered, though, is the fact this is the man who has sold four strikers during his tenure at Old Trafford but has only bought Martial in to replace them. What followed has been a team struggling to score goals, with creativity clamped down. Rooney has looked frustrating this season, but it’s hard to place all the blame on his shoulders.
Rooney is having to do a lot of his own work, having to drop back deep to get the ball, but isn’t being supplied enough service in return. Though he can be wasteful in possession, he has proved for England that he is still very much a goal scorer.
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The midfield is another worrying problem for Manchester United, with players like Carrick, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger all too defensive. This is not their fault, but rather Van Gaal’s and his tactics, which have meant watching United has become more of a chore than a pleasure this season.
Man United need to sell Fellaini, and instead give Mata and Herrera space and freedom of the pitch. They need to play Martial as a proper striker in front of Rooney, and they need buy new wingers. The last winger Manchester United bought was Depay, who is struggling to adapt and was replaced by Lingaard.
United just needs an injection of creativity to excite fans. With the January transfer window nearly half way through, if Manchester United don’t buy players they won’t be playing Champions League football next season.
Whether the solution is to sack Van Gaal and, to quote a certain Andy Tate, ‘give it Giggsy till the end of the season’, or bargain hard to get Guardiola, something needs to happen for the team to get back to its glory days.
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