Louis van Gaal Must Be on Thin Ice at Manchester United

OLD TRAFFORD, Manchester — It was a dismal afternoon at Old Trafford, as swirling rain was illuminated by the floodlights, providing Louis van Gaal and Manchester United's discomfort with pathetic fallacy worthy of Emily Bronte.

Another head-to-head record was smashed as Norwich City recorded their first win at the Red Devils' home for 26 years on Saturday. Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, those records have been crumbling one after another with grim inevitability.

The latest was particularly tough to take for the United faithful. Norwich's performances have, on occasion, perhaps warranted more than they have taken from games, as manager Alex Neil pointed out in his post-match press conference, but they have not won away from home in the league since facing a pre-Sam Allardyce Sunderland back in August.

Losing to a team in that form could fairly be described as seismic.

"

Bit of defiance from the Stretford End, calypso rocks out. pic.twitter.com/bBCrjHTLMb

— Paul Santacast (@UtdRantcast) December 19, 2015"

Toward the end of the game, there was a brief hint of the old fight. The Stretford End, quiet for much of the game, struck up a loud chorus of the "Manchester United Calypso," an ode to playing football the Matt Busby way. Ryan Giggs broke with recent tradition and patrolled the technical area, barking instructions and encouragement.

It was nowhere near enough, though, meaning United lost and the question of what happens next is primary. Oliver Holt of the Mail on Sunday reported that United are "on the verge of hitting the panic button."

There are so many pieces in motion in the VIP lounge on the managerial merry-go-round that much could change.

The first and most obvious choice would be to replace Van Gaal with Jose Mourinho. From this perspective, the loss to Norwich could not have come at a worse time for the Dutchman.

Some 48 hours or so after one of football's unquestionably elite managers became available, Van Gaal's side suffered one of the most damaging defeats of his time in charge.

Elsewhere, Pep Guardiola's future is subject to immense scrutiny. Carlo Ancelotti has been announced as his Bayern Munich successor, per BBC Sport. The BBC reported Guardiola has been "strongly linked with" Manchester City.

Thus, the nightmare scenario of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, Guardiola at City and either a stuttering Van Gaal or an inadequate replacement at United looms large.

If United were to pull off a coup and sign up Guardiola, that still surely leaves questions about the rest of this season. Giggs' move to the technical area seemed pointed in this regard. He spent 20 minutes at least play-acting as United manager from a visual standpoint, and visual imagery is powerful.

When asked about that in his post-match press conference, Van Gaal said Giggs had also spent time in the technical area in the game against Bournemouth, that they had discussed the matter in general and that Giggs had to do that to pass on instructions. This was very different, though.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

This was a sustained move from Giggs, who may have popped up on the touchline against Bournemouth but did not stand for 20 minutes. The uncynical view of it is he was desperately trying to motivate an ailing team. The cynical view is it was some kind of power play.

At this point, it is hard to imagine Giggs' United being worse than Van Gaal's given they are winless in six games. The one thing Van Gaal had in his favour was his team looked hard to beat. They have now lost three in a row, conceding seven goals in the process. Two of the teams that beat them are promoted sides. It is by no measure good enough.

Uncertainty and significant risk would come with any change of manager, but at this point, there is plenty of uncertainty and risk around keeping Van Gaal.

In a moving post-match statement Van Gaal said of himself:

"I am always evaluating myself also. I think that is an aspect of the same philosophy that I have. But in the 25 years of management, I evaluate myself also and the philosophy is also in making an evolution. I am not the same coach as 25 years ago, and so you are always evaluating and, of course, that philosophy is very important for me.

"Because of that, I am, or maybe I have to say now was, a very successful manager."

It would be a real shame for Van Gaal's illustrious career to end in disaster. Of course, in a way, it would be just as apt as success given that occasional disaster has been part of his story since his first spell in charge of the Netherlands national team between 2000 and 2002.

He was able to right that wrong by taking the 2014 incarnation to third place at the World Cup.

If he leaves United any time soon, there will be no opportunity to rewrite that chapter. It could be Van Gaal's last in football, and for now, it looks like it will make for uncomfortable reading.