Angel Di Maria Not Main Reason for Premier League Malaise at Manchester United

A quick glance at the standings in the Premier League might suggest Manchester United under Louis van Gaal are on course to fulfil his brief—namely, a finish that will guarantee a lucrative return to the Champions League.

But in football—as in life—there are, in words attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, “Three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”

United’s present league position doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story; it flatters to deceive.

Apart from goalkeeper David de Gea, who has been his team’s saviour on numerous occasions this season and is an excellent bet for, at the very least, a player-of-the-year nomination, everywhere you look there are players fluffing their lines on the massive stage known as the Theatre of Dreams.

Not least of these is Angel Di Maria—the club’s and country’s record signing who is fast seeing his much-heralded arrival into the Premier League descend into a nightmare.

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But he is not alone. What he is, however, is very well paid, very expensive and the wearer of the emotively heavy Manchester United No. 7 shirt. As such, he is tailor-made for all those looking to find a scapegoat for the below-par performances of Van Gaal's faltering stars.

Maybe, though, the time has come for us to take a look at the director of the stuttering drama that is unfolding at Old Trafford rather than just at those who tread the boards.

Facts first. Di Maria arrived at Old Trafford for a whopping £59.7 million following a wonderful season at Real Madrid, during which the club won the Champions League and he was man of the match in the final against Atletico Madrid.

He hit the ground running with three goals and four assists in his first six games, but just one goal and four assists were added in the following 17 games. Those eight assists put him second in the assist table behind Cesc Fabregas. More statistics, more lies.

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When the Dutch coach arrived, he asked for three months' grace to get United to play his style of game. More than eight months down the line, he still doesn’t seem to know, or at least doesn’t seem able to convey to his players, what that style actually is.

Nor, it would seem, does he really understand what his best team or what his best formation is, something he admitted himself only last month, per Paul Hirst of The Independent.

Until recently, Ander Herrera wasn’t considered worthy of a place in the starting line-up, while Juan Mata has also seen a depressing downturn in his fortunes under the tutelage of Van Gaal.

West Ham United manager, Sam Allardyce was in no doubt as to what his system was, labelling Van Gaal's team "long-ball United," via the Daily Star, to the indignation of the proud Dutchman, who responded by creating a dossier refuting the claim, which he asked the media to present to the Upton Park boss.

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The word "childish" springs to mind, and the move did little more than add grist to the mill of those who felt perhaps this is a manager who spends too much time trying to win a football match on a clipboard rather than on a training ground and on a pitch.

In a recent interview with Stuart Mathieson of the Manchester Evening News, the coach said it was important to lift Di Maria, who was short of confidence as he tried to adapt to the rhythm and tempo of the Premier League.

Yet other sources suggest this lack of confidence has little to do with his ability to adapt to a new league and is more about the manager’s constantly changing—and inherently flawed—tactics, as well as an obsession with analysing every mistake and every move following matches that players are never allowed to play their natural game.

The talk is Di Maria’s head is not right at the moment. Mentally, he is not in a good place, and there are people alleging the major reason for that falls squarely on the manager’s desk.

Di Maria’s strengths come when he operates from midfield and creates attacks from deep, yet he has instead found himself moved from pillar to post, playing more often than not in a central position and even as a striker.

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It is said that form is temporary but class is permanent, and it is fatuous to suggest Di Maria is anything other than a world-class midfield player.

In fact, unlike when David Moyes was in charge, there is now a veritable cornucopia of stars at United who should, by any standards, be challenging for the main prize.

But the reality is with the likes of Liverpool suddenly hitting form and Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton also harbouring Champions League aspirations, and despite all the hype, all the money, all the stars, all the fans and the weight of expectation, Manchester United could miss out on a top-four finish if they do not show considerable improvement.

If that occurs, then the season will rightly be deemed a failure. But that’s a long, long way from saying the signing of Di Maria is the main reason for it.

All information sourced firsthand