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| Louis van Gaal needs to sort his midfield out to make United tick |
LOUIS VAN GAAL is faced with a huge dilemma as he prepares for two of the most important games in his 18 months as Manchester United manager.
In establishing the defensive stability that United needed, the team’s attacking flair has been sacrificed.
After a run of only seven goals in their last nine games in all competitions, United followers are becoming increasingly frustrated by Van Gaal’s risk-free tactics.
They not only need to beat away-day specialists West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday they need to do it with some style to quell the growing unease.
And that would change the mood music for their crucial Champions League game next Tuesday in Wolfsburg where they will almost certainly need a win to qualify for the knock-out stages, with PSV Eindhoven favourites to beat CSKA Moscow at home.
An early exit from Europe will be disastrous for United with neighbours City going from strength to strength on and off the pitch.
United have the base to be a successful side – they are only a point off the top of the Premier League - but they are crying out for a couple of X-factor players to turn all their possession into an end product.
It is no secret they would love to lure Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford. They have also registered their interest in Gareth Bale, Neymar, Thomas Muller and Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But none of those players are likely to become available until next summer at the earliest so Van Gaal has to make do with what he has got at the moment.
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| Van Gaal's side have struggled to thrill the fans |
None of the last nine games have been lost – although one was a penalty shoot-out defeat to Middlesbrough – but United have drawn six of them while the three victories have been by narrow margins - 2-1, 2-0 and 1-0.
Van Gaal argues correctly that United have had chances to win all nine of those matches but haven’t been clinical enough to take them.
The problem is they don’t create enough openings meaning a narrow margin for error. And to compound matters, none of their strikers are proving prolific enough with United on course for their lowest total of goals in the first half of a Premier League season.
Wayne Rooney’s dry spell is not the only problem – his form is patchy to say the least, and he seems to have lost a yard in pace and can no longer get away from defenders.
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| Wayne Rooney's form has suffered this season, having scored just twice in the league |
It would be a big call for Van Gaal to drop Rooney, so long United’s talisman and now their captain, but if his performances do not pick up, then it is something the Dutchman will have to address.
After an early scoring burst Anthony Martial is suffering the expected dip. Memphis Deepay is also still finding his feet in English football while Jesse Lingard is promising but far from the finished article. It is asking a lot of that youthful trio to come up with the goods.
They and Rooney could argue that United’ possession-based game is too slow and makes it easy for teams to defend against.
To speed things up, Van Gaal may have to sacrifice one of his two holding midfielders.
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| Van Gaal needs to take the shackles off and free the creativity |
He has rotated two out of the trio of Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Carrick in every game but their main job is to protect the back four rather than get forward and it limits United’s attacking options.
By playing one of them, it would free up a place for another forward-thinking player like Ander Herrera, who has energy and an eye-for a goal but much to the frustration of his many admirers he does not always start.
Juan Mata has done his best on the right flank but does not have the pace to be a truly effective wide player. His best position is the No 10 role, which is occupied by Rooney.
The long-term injuries to Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia are proving massive blows to United. They provided the pace and width at full back to link up with the front men to help open teams up.
Matteo Darmian and Marco Rojo may be better defenders but they do not offer the same threat going forward.
Van Gaal needs to throw off the shackles and commit more men forward, even if United become a little less secure.
The fact is 75,000 fans don’t cram into Old Trafford every week to see safety-first football. For most of them, it is not enough just to see United win, it has to be achieved in keeping with the club's best traditions.
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| The United fans are still waiting to be thrilled by Van Gaal |
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