Another game in charge for Louis Van Gaal and with more than half the season gone, this Manchester United team does not seem to click no matter what. Van Gaal took out Radamel Falcao from the team and started with the pair of Rooney and Van Persie up top but his own assessment after the 2-1 loss to Swansea spoke a lot about the problems being faced by his Manchester United team.
Stating that they played well but forgot to score is a sad indictment for a team which had promised a lot especially after all the signings and the ideas of Louis Van Gaal, people thought the team would do well, not win the title but at least look something better than the so called debacle of David Moyes’ reign.
With United struggling to score the bagful of goals expected of them, it could be time for Van Gaal to take a few more tough decisions and it could be time to drop one of the players who was supposed to do well for Van Gaal but just has not been able to, Robin Van Persie.
Drop the Van, play Wayne
The rather crazy decision to play Wayne Rooney in midfield might have worked for a couple of games in the 19 game unbeaten run for Manchester United but that was never going to be his preferred position. Rooney is such a player who will never complain about where he plays and will always give 100% to the cause but playing him in midfield is a waste of talent and he should start more games in the striker role, possibly partnering Falcao but not Van Persie.
Unfortunately for the Dutch player, his time with Van Gaal has not worked as well as most expected. There was this expectation that he would return to his best under Van Gaal but even the manager does not know what to do with his strike force, with two big named stars failing to fire.
While Van Persie has scored 10 goals from 23 appearances in the league, Rooney from a midfielder’s role for most of the season has scored 9 goals and has been part of the creative outlet for United. It could be time to give Rooney a chance to play as the out and out striker and playing the likes of Di Maria and Ashley Young as wingers to give Rooney the assistance he needs.
Dropping the likes of Falcao and Van Persie might take a lot of guts but Louis Van Gaal takes tough decisions without thinking twice, dropping the pair could send a signal to them to buck up and playing Di Maria and another winger alongside Wayne Rooney could be the way to ensure that United can get back to their crazy goal scoring ways of the old.