Louis Van Gaal comes with a huge reputation to Manchester United, a reputation which has made the fans of the club go euphoric. But many are also of the opinion that Van Gaal’s first season would be as tough as it can be and the extreme disciplinarian that van Gaal is, he would be too rough on the players which will in turn harm the team. Even Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is of the same opinion and he recently warned van Gaal over the first season.
“I think what he’ll find is the competition in this league will be different from any other league that he’s worked in,” “This is a league where the top team plays the bottom team and on any given day you can lose. You don’t get that a lot in the other leagues. I think the competition will probably take him by surprise and that’s from foreign managers I have spoken to over the years.” said Rodgers.
But we feel that Van Gaal has it in him to prove his critics wrong and shine in his very first season for Manchester United and we here we give three reasons to support our cause.
The experience
Louis van Gaal is no young manager who is managing a big club for the first time. Rather he is one of the most experienced manager today with the prior knowledge of top clubs and national teams. His stature fits the bill at United brilliantly and he will be able to rise upto the occassion, something which David Moyes failed to do. He has previously been at the helm of big clubs and this will come naturally to him. A certain pressure comes with the United job and van Gaal will be the best fit. The sarmountable media attention is nothing new for the Dutch who has the names of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Ajax on his CV.
The discipline
For long Sir Alex Ferguson has managed Manchester United according to his own terms and the results are there for us to see. He has been a strict disciplinarian and never tolerated any form of revolt in his team. We all know what happened to Ronaldo, Stam, Beckham and Rooney when they tried to disobey him. This has been one of the main reasons why Manchester United has been such a consistent and successful club. This went totally missing last season when Moyes could not control the players and that rather disturbed the balance of the team. The same discipline is back with van Gaal this time and it should work wonders for the team.
The tactical nuances
Louis van Gaal has had a successful preseason till now and we have already come to see the tactical adjustments that he has made. He prefers playing a 5-3-2 and it is not something with which the Premier League teams are very familiar with. His adjustments during a match is also praiseworthy and got him far in the World Cup with the Holland team. It is always great to see the a manager who has the tactical flexibility and van Gaal would be a delight to watch in that respect.