Season review:
For Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, everything is a process. “If they [players] do as we agreed then we will win,” was precisely what he said at the start of last season. In fact this generation of Manchester United fans would have never heard so much about tactics, formations and systems. Even the players would have had to unlearn a lot and learn things anew. In that sense the first season for the Dutchman was an experiment of sorts.
He constantly changed formations, played players at different positions, allegedly hurt star players’ egos, all with the single-minded attempt to impose his ‘philosophy’. It had its pluses. United had the highest possession percentage among all teams last season – 61.1.
Not since the days of the Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham combine has Manchester United scored so many goals from the midfield. Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata have all fired from the middle of the park (21 goals in total) and Fellaini’s deployment by van Gaal as a ‘deep-lying target man’ was considered a master-stroke. David De Gea’s staggering improvement, who single-handedly kept United in many a game, and Ashley Young’s rediscovery of his own self were huge.
But there were minuses too – lack of creative spark, fewer goals, inability to kill games off and being ‘artless’. The brief from the club was to secure European Champions League football. A fourth-place finish now gives the team a clear shot at it. But it didn’t come without toil. The side won three games out of the opening ten. Then it went on a 16-match unbeaten run. Impressive wins over Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City followed, before a late season fizzle out dashed hopes of automatic qualification.
Worry lines:
United’s strikers seem to have forgotten to score. Top-scorer was Wayne Rooney with 12 goals and Robin van Persie finished with 10. A 20-goal striker is a must if it has to mount a title-challenge and Rooney, at 31, isn’t getting younger. Angel Di Maria’s form in the second half was definitely a concern and now there are renewed doubts over whether he will stay. It is not sure if van Gaal trusts Di Maria, for the Argentine has a tendency to lose possession often. But a ball-carrier like Di Maria is essential. Possession alone can’t win games, as United found out last season. With Europe beckoning, a solution to this should be paramount in the manager’s mind. Also of significance will be De Gea’s future. If the Spaniard leaves for Real Madrid, finding a top-notch replacement will prove tough.
Stats:
Morgan Schneiderlin has made more tackles than any other player in the Barclays Premier League over the last three seasons: 355
United's away record was seventh best in the league: 26 points from 19 games with a goal difference of -1
At 61.1 United had the highest possession percentage among teams
Transfers:
Signed: Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin.
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