Surely it’s impossible for Louis van Gaal to win the title in his first season in England?
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5) The competition…
In previous Premier League seasons, perhaps a manager backed with the transfer warchest Louis van Gaal is could drag his side to the title in his debut season. In order to do so however in 2014/15, United would need to climb above Everton, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and holders Manchester City. While they’re expected to finish higher than Spurs and Everton, and perhaps even Liverpool following Luis Suarez’s departure, it’s a huge ask for them to top the other three sides as well – especially considering Chelsea’s unbelievable transfer market. Manchester City’s brilliant squad, and the fact Arsenal will surely not be so ruined by injuries next term.
4) Lack of leadership in defence…
Most title winning sides are built on an ultra solid defence, marshalled by an inspiring captain. Think Vincent Kompany, Nemanja Vidic, John Terry, Tony Adams. At the time of writing, United have Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling as the three main centre-backs. None of them have the leadership and experience to oversee a title win yet, and if a world-class centre-back is signed, he’ll surely need time to adapt to the club and the league.
3) Louis van Gaal has demanded time, and not promised immediate results…
“Every club where I have been, I have struggled for the first three months,” van Gaal stated.
“After that, the players know what I want, how I am as a human being and also a manager – because I am very direct.
“I say things as they are, so you have to adapt to that way of coaching. It’s not so easy.
“When we survive the first three months, it will be the same as it was for me at Bayern. In Munich, after the first three months, we were sixth or seventh in the Bundesliga and we were third in our Champions League group.”
As the saying goes, you can’t win the Premier League before Christmas, but you can lose it. It looks like the Dutchman’s getting his excuses in early.
2) The summer signings…
United fans were promised, and expected a wealth of new talent this summer, but as of yet, nobody world-class has arrived.
Luke Shaw could develop into the best left-back in the world, but he’s not there yet – as his pre-season problems prove. Ander Herrera improves the midfield, but he’s yet to win a cap for Spain, and there’s no guarantees he’ll hit the ground running in the Premier League.
Players like Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba, Angel di Maria, Edinson Cavani, Mats Hummels and Marco Reus are still at their respective clubs, and it seems unlikely that United would sign a number of these and then integrate them into the side before the season starts.
1) The over reliance on the wing-backs in van Gaal’s 3-5-2 formation…
The Dutchman has promised to use the 3-5-2 formation for the entirety of pre-season, meaning he’ll surely be also deploying it when the campaign kicks off as well. This means that the only players who provide width are the wing-backs, and the team becomes reliant on them both defensively and offensively. While fullbacks are of huge importance in the modern game, wing-backs in this formation are completely vital. In Luke Shaw, all United actually have is a very promising 19-year-old – and fans would be foolish to expect anything else just because of his mammoth price tag. Ashley Young provides him with worryingly thin backup on the left. On the right, Antonio Valencia and Rafael can do a job – but neither are of elite level. If United are to thrive long-term long-term playing this system, Shaw would have to fulfil his talent, and a new right sided player would need to be signed.
