Louis van Gaal was quick to label his prediction of his new players needing three months before fully embracing and adapting to his philosophy as ‘stupid’ in the days leading up to this visit to The Hawthorns. He could easily have been guarding against a wave of potentially annoying questioning that he’d rather avoid, but on the evidence of another shaky evening’s work and more dropped points, the notion that he was simply giving himself and his players a little more breathing space isn’t outlandish.
Yes, progress is being made at Manchester United, but it’s not happening at any great pace. After a slow start and the concession of Stephane Sessegnon’s early strike, Van Gaal’s side were allowed to dictate possession for the majority of the remaining 80+ minutes. After some early jitters, they looked composed but struggled to create too many chances, despite Angel Di Maria causing West Brom’s defence all sorts of issues. It took the introduction of Marouane Fellaini at half time for Ander Herrera to spark United into life, with the Belgian’s powerful rising strike providing the surprise of the night and his physical presence causing Alan Irvine’s side frequent issues.
At 1-1, and United looking confident, there appeared only one winner. Unfortunately, as Van Gaal has learnt, he is in possession of a side rich in attacking talent but more than capable of a defensive lapse. Neither Phil Jones or Rafael were alert to Saido Berahino when Chris Brunt slid a simple pass through the heart of United’s defence, and the Baggies striker wasn’t going to fluff his lines with a clear run at goal ahead of him. A curling strike by Daley Blind with three minutes remaining led the way for a late siege on Boaz Myhill’s goal, but United failed the make the most of a myriad of set pieces, and left the Black Country with a point that had looked beyond them at times.
In isolation, it’s hardly a poor result, given that West Brom took the lead twice and defended well. A point earned in such late circumstances isn’t negative, but in the context of United’s season, there’s an argument to be made that it still isn’t quite good enough. Van Gaal’s side have now taken 12 points from an available 24, and they’ve yet to face any side with serious aspirations at the top end of the table. Suggesting that this game was a must-win is wide of the mark, but given that this less-than confident defence will now come under intense scrutiny with Chelsea and Manchester City next on the agenda, and given his side’s dominance in possession, it’s a game that the Dutchman will be frustrated not to have won.
Those errors don’t look any better the morning afternoon. Sessegnon’s strike was a result of a clear misunderstanding, with Luke Shaw challenging for a header on the halfway line and Angel Di Maria further up the pitch, expecting the ball to be won. When it wasn’t, Andre Wisdom had the freedom of Shaw’s left flank, leaving Marcos Rojo badly exposed before crossing to the Beninese to sweep home beautifully. The second wasn’t much better, with Jones and Rafael leaving a gigantic gap for Berahino to exploit and Brunt all too happy to feed him. Credit to West Brom, they had two shots on target and made the most of them, with David de Gea a mere spectator on both occasions.
It’s these errors that are undermining United’s efforts at the other end of the pitch. Admittedly, not all is rosy in that department; Robin van Persie struggled to impose himself on the game despite hitting the post and should have centered for Juan Mata after jostling possession away from Joleon Lescott. The Spaniard fared little better, appearing a mere passenger at a time when many were hoping the former Chelsea man would grasp these three games without the suspended Wayne Rooney with both hands. But United still looked dangerous, and having made the aforementioned half time switch, they looked a sight more powerful. Angel Di Maria continues to be the club’s most likely source of inspiration, and Blind’s control from defensive midfield, aswell as his ability to snuff out counter attacks (albeit illegally on occasion) is giving United a far greater platform on which to build.
Van Gaal’s side are still not completely clicking yet, that much is clear. Up front, he is clearly in possession of a group of players that can create and score goals, and with players of Radamel Falcao and Di Maria’s calibre, chances will be created. It’s perhaps unfair to lay the blame squarely at the defence’s feet, but even Rojo, the best performer in United’s back four last night looked shaky at times, and given how well other areas of the pitch were strengthened this season, it’s frustrating to see a performance that could have otherwise yielded a more positive result undermined by simple errors.
So, were do United and Van Gaal go from here? In the short term, the answer is Old Trafford for the visit of Chelsea on Sunday, in which defeat must certainly be avoided given that they currently sit ten points behind the league leaders. Beyond that, and the preceding Manchester derby, it’s unclear. Van Gaal is a great manager (or trainer/coach, if you will), but his unshakeable self belief cannot completely eradicate mistakes from this team, and if these lapses continue then they could easily undermine and define his season long before the January transfer window arrives. It’s worth noting at this point that this season has not been the disaster many are purporting it to be; this team is playing with a greater purpose and direction than they did not offer under David Moyes, and a top four finish still looks like a realistic and achievable goal. But after an unprecedented summer of spending and all of the initial bravado provoked by Van Gaal’s arrival, United fans can be forgiven for having expected a slightly brighter start to this season.
5 replies on “It's a slow progress for Louis van Gaal's United”
I think your comments are spot on. I think fans have to expect defensive errors, when you consider that Jones and Rojo have never played together previously. Has Jones been on the pitch with Shaw. It takes time for a defense to gel as much as it takes time for an attack. We just have to be patient and hope that the woes Everton and Liverpool have been experiencing continue.
Agreed. Something that wasn’t included in this article (though it was fantastic non the less) was that Rojo doesn’t speak a word of english yet. So as a result, that must be damn hard to communicate with in emergency situations on the pitch and in training – coupled with the rest of the challenges mentioned in the article, it’s going to take a few games to gel. I really hope we stick with this centre pairing though as it’s got great potential.
Van Gaal is fortunate that he is following David Moyes rather than Sir Alex Ferguson. Most fans are comparing him with the former rather than the latter.The Moyes experiment resulted in the dampening down of fans expectation giving Louis a more comfortable start.
Imagine if this were the first season after Fergie. 150 million quid spent, eight games in and already ten points behind the leaders having not played a top side. Instead, three points out of a possible fifteen against Swansea, Burnley, Sunderland, Leicester and West Brom.
Fans might question the wisdom of employing a coach in his sixties whose most successful period was in the 1990’s and who has had just two trophy-winning seasons in the last fifteen years.
Is three months long enough to make a judgement about a new coach? Probably not. Except that Chelsea have a new coach this season, or a least a recycled one, and I’ve already decided that he will be successful. Mourinho has hit the ground running wherever he has gone and has had ten years of constant success. No settling in period needed.
There is a belief that if things are not working, Van Gaal at least (unlike Moyes) should know how to fix them. Like most fans, I look for the positives, talk about a work in progress, expect that things will come good eventually. Of course it’s early days but should Louis be entitled to any special immunity?
Apologies for saying Mourinho is a new coach this season. I was referring to his start at the beginning of last season when he quickly got into stride.
Very well put,the hope is there more than under Moyes.The manager will be looking to remedy mistakes made,thats for sure.The thing is,the premier leage is pretty tough and maybe the pretty passing wont hack it if they cant find the net.We should get a reasonable idea of how it will go this season when United play the top teams.