The sorry mess Manchester United have become under Louis van Gaal is summed up in there being no surprise should he be sacked or resign at any moment.
The beleaguered Dutchman is supposedly in charge for Monday night’svisit of Chelsea. But really, who knows? Who knows when the owners, the Glazers, will tire of gazing at a table that shows United on a downward plunge that gives no sign of stopping and decide to sack the club’s 22nd manager?
Van Gaal, too, may come to the same conclusion. That he has lost his way, lost the side in a morass of odd selections, playing style and public utterances, and that it is best for all that the honourable thing is done and he walks.
When a manager continues to find a new low for his team, alarms should sound. United were near-pathetic in the 2-1 defeat to Norwich City. Against Stoke City there were no doubts: they were pathetic. Particularly during a first half when both goals from Mark Hughes’s side occurred following amateurish mistakes from United players.
Bojan Krkic’s 19th-minute opener came via Memphis Depay’s insipid headed backpass. It failed to reach David de Gea, Glen Johnson capitalised and found Krkic, who finished. Next to commit a calamitous error was Ashley Young. He is a stand-in right-back and as with his costly slip-ups against Norwich, he showed why. This time he committed a needless handball, Krkic’s subsequent free-kick hit the wall, and Marko Arnautovic rifled home a 25-yard peach of a goal.
Cut to Van Gaal on the bench, whose perma-impassive expression casts him as an impotent manager whose ideas have expired. Body-language enthusiasts may enjoy studying the United bench. Van Gaal usually sits with Ryan Giggs to his left and Albert Stuivenberg to his right. Giggs is the nominal No2, Van Gaal’s supposed right-hand man. Stuivenberg, his compatriot, is an assistant coach. Yet there can be zero communication between any of them, and after United conceded Van Gaal maintained the rigid posture of a man in no mood to discuss how the side could be rescued.
As a bona fide club legend Giggs will detest the results – this was a fourth loss in a row – and surely the manner of them. Yet nothing is ever heard from the Welshman and little seen of him during a game. It was the same story here. The chilling Van Gaal factor seems to affect staff as well as players.
One demand of the high-end footballer is to support his manager. Publicly, at least. Michael Carrick began the day as captain for the dropped Wayne Rooney and ended it having to offer the latest platitudes about Van Gaal.
He said: “Listen, people talk about support but it is not like the lads go out and don’t play. We go out there as professionals who are playing for this special club. We are in a privileged position. And it comes from within as well. I look at myself, at what I can do better as an individual. I have a lot of pride in myself and in my performances and I think it is a bit disrespectful when people say that the lads aren’t trying for the manager.
“That hurts us a lot because that is not the type of people we are. We haven’t won games and it is fair enough if people criticise things that have gone wrong on the pitch. But to say we are not trying for certain people is quite disrespectful and it hurts us a lot.
“We’re playing for this great club. As I say, it is a special club. It is pride in yourself, pride in the club and pride in everyone – your team-mates and staff. Everyone’s involved. We are all in it together and none of us can hide from that.”
The actions yelling a lot louder than these words are in displays that have resulted in seven matches with no win and the two months that have passed since United last scored two goals from open play without the help of the opposition. Since Everton were beaten 3-0 at Goodison Park on 17 October only own goals and penalties have allowed Van Gaal’s side to register more than once.
There are any number of similarly damning statistics, and the one that materially matters is the number of victories. There have been three in the past 14 outings. The next chance to halt the rot comes when Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea side visit on Monday evening.
Carrick said: “In some ways it is ideal but whoever it is next we just need a win. Irrespective of who we are playing, we need a win.
“That’s the next game so we will be up for that, we will be positive for that. And we have to win. That’s what we are here for. We’ve got to step up and be ready for Monday.”
It is all sounding a little forlorn. As Hughes, a former United striker, said: “We didn’t allow them to settle – any anxiety they had or apprehension about the game was borne out because in that opening period we were really dominant.”
The last time United dominated any opposition seems an age ago. And the clock now ticks loudly on Van Gaal’s life expectancy at the club.
Man of the match Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City)
