Why Louis Van Gaal Must Be Praised for Persisting with Tyler Blackett

Louis van Gaal’s tenure at Manchester United has begun well for fans who enjoy seeing young players being developed by the club, and the first-team presence of Tyler Blackett is a key part of that.

On transfer deadline day, when United sold local-lad Danny Welbeck and brought in Radamel Falcao on loan, questions were raised about whether the club were losing their identity.

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In truth, the deployment of Blackett, and later Paddy McNair, has demonstrated a willingness to gamble on young players not seen at United since the emergence of the now heavily-branded "Class of ‘92". 

Since Van Gaal took over he has given senior debuts to Blackett, McNair, Tom Thorpe (briefly), Saidy Janko, Andreas Pereira, Reece James and Jesse Lingard. That is an average of just under one per game, a remarkable run.

Some of those followed the pattern of the Sir Alex Ferguson era in that they were blooded in the league cup, but Thorpe, McNair, Blackett and Lingard have all played in the league, and Blackett and McNair have been a key part of Van Gaal's defence.

Blackett quickly became a default selection for the Dutchman. This was partly a consequence of injuries, but the young man, who few observers would have suggested was on the verge of the first team, has rarely looked overawed.

He was part of the United defence which kept two clean sheets in a row, against Burnley and Queens Park Rangers, and looked assured, for the most part.

Things went considerably less well for both Blackett and United against Leicester, but his performance in the latter part of that game, which led to his conceding a penalty and getting sent off, had a number of mitigating factors.

Chris Smalling replaced the injured Jonny Evans. Evans had been providing Blackett with some leadership and guidance, as Phil Jones had done in the youngster's previous three games. Once Smalling came on, his own poor form combined with a lack of leadership, which made things very difficult for Blackett.

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It is certainly true that Van Gaal deserves credit for having stuck with Blackett in the early part of the season, but the first credit he must be given is for spotting that Blackett had more to offer than many followers of the youth team would have believed.

On United’s pre-season tour, Blackett impressed enough to make himself difficult to drop after coming on at half-time against LA Galaxy. He played the full 90 minutes against AS Roma. From then on, he was an ever-present member of Van Gaal's back line until he was sent off against Leicester.

His presence in the first-team ahead of Michael Keane (who he also played alongside on occasion), was a surprise, given the latter's presumed status in the pecking order of the club's young defenders. There was clearly something about Blackett which Van Gaal admired.

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Van Gaal's faith in the young defender was particularly rewarded during the game against Burnley.

It is fair to say that Blackett's performance with the ball in that game left something to be desired. He was too willing to look for long balls, understandable given United's system looked unbalanced in that game, but costly. He completed only 73.8 percent of his 80 passes.

It was somewhat surprising to see his distribution so wayward, as it had been superb against Swansea on the opening day of the season, as Blackett completed 93.3 percent of his 90 passes.

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Defensively, however, Blackett's contribution was superb against Burnley, registering two tackles, four interceptions and seven clearances. Against Swansea, he had not made a tackle. It was clear that he was bedding into his first-team defensive duties.

Recognising Blackett's potential could end up being one of the key moments of Van Gaal's early United career. Young defenders make mistakes. As Van Gaal himself would probably say, they are human beings, after all. However, in spotting something that few others had seen, Van Gaal has put a new local lad into United's first team, and stuck with him.

For that, he should most certainly be praised. If Blackett grows into the player it looks like he could become, that praise will be sung from the rooftops.

All statistics per WhoScored.com.