Why Louis Van Gaal Will Get Time at Manchester United

Manchester United’s season is still stuttering. A single-goal victory over Crystal Palace delivered three points last weekend. The Red Devils were propelled to a more palatable position in the English Premier League table, just a win outside the European places. Yet there are questions still to be asked of Louis Van Gaal’s red revolution.

Three months was the time period that Louis Van Gaal originally stated it would take before we saw his methods starting to click with the players. At the end of his self-imposed time limit, a combination of a string of poor performances and an incredible run of injuries led Van Gaal to admit in a press conference last month that his suggestion that he be judged by the end of those three months was “stupid.”  

Last Friday saw Van Gaal speak further about the club’s current malaise and showed that he was certainly in no doubt that there was much more work to be done. His latest comments throw new light on the scale of the job when he told the pre-match press conference,

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“The process shall take more than one year; it shall take three years.”

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Three years is the length of Louis Van Gaal’s contract at United. He clearly believes that he has enough backing from the board and supporters to see that contract through to the end. The contrast to the handling of last season’s poor form by both David Moyes and the Manchester United board is stark.

Where Van Gaal can talk with self-confidence, being able to fall back on his impressive CV and past record, Moyes often seemed to lack that same belief, often looking wide-eyed at the size of the task. Van Gaal’s roll-call of past clubs and successes demands respect; Manchester United’s superstars could easily point to David Moyes lack of silverware, no matter how well he guided Everton in his time there.

The backing that each manager received from the board also differed. A six-year contract that David Moyes saw as a long-term plan, as per his recent interview with the BBC, began with a shambolic first transfer window and ended before the first season had even finished. Van Gaal, like Moyes, expects his contract to be honoured. Unlike Moyes, he was able to spend freely in the transfer window.

Defensive problems still prevail at United. An unprecedented injury crisis has necessitated the use of an ever-changing back four but it must be questioned why bolstering the defence was not prioritised by the new management team.

Marcus Rojo and Luke Shaw were added—but Shaw had already been lined up by the previous manager. The loss of three leaders in the shape of Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand in defence from last year’s squad has not been adequately compensated for. For instance, Rafael still does not have competition from a recognised right-back for his place in the starting XI. Such issues mean that it looks likely Van Gaal will spend again in January.

In an interview with Goal.com, former United star Gordon McQueen queried recently why Van Gaal should be treated differently to Moyes and be allowed to take the full term of his contract to complete the process.

It is a question that has to be asked. Are the Dutchman, the board and the United supporters staking too much on his past reputation?

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Van Gaal has always talked a good game and his record shows that this usually manifests itself on the pitch. So far this season the results are no better than last year, so questions are bound to be asked but it is precisely his past record that ought to buy him enough time to complete the task at hand. 

However, the United manager can point to a very impressive past and talk about a process that has its focus on the future. To get there, though, performances in the present must improve.

To that end, one cannot ignore that there have been improvements on last season. For the majority of last season, fans stood behind David Moyes and backed him vociferously. It is fair to say that their patience was wearing thin by the end, though. Lacklustre, slow-paced and defensive displays eventually took their toll. 

United's history is built upon an attacking team, always striving to win a game. Van Gaal understands that. In attack, at least, they have started to resemble the United of old this season—a factor which will encourage supporters that the club are on the right track, despite results. In turn, their backing will be an important feature in any discussions about the length of the manager's contract.