Louis Van Gaal's Manchester United Side Look a Long Way from Clicking

Louis van Gaal's Manchester United are sorely in need of the click.

The Dutchman's tenure continues to rumble on, avoiding disaster for the most part. United are generally functional and hard to beat, but it surely will not be enough for much longer. The trip to the King Power Stadium on Saturday was always likely to be a tricky test, and injuries and the specific threat of the opposition meant Van Gaal had to line up his side in an unfamiliar 3-4-1-2 formation.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Speaking after the game, Van Gaal attributed his change in approach to Jamie Vardy and Shinji Okazaki's ability to run into this channels.

It was not unsuccessful, at least not disastrously so, and the 1-1 draw against Leicester City represented a fair result.

But the click was certainly not there. Indeed, the first half was a struggle. Vardy's record-breaking goal set metaphorical light to the stadium and Leicester's fans had plenty to cheer as United struggled to make an impact in the game. Rescue came from an unlikely source: a corner.

It was the first assist directly from a corner registered in the league by a United player during the Van Gaal era. Indeed, it was just the second assist recorded directly from a corner in the league since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013.

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If the manner of the goal was a surprise, the scorer was a fitting one. Bastian Schweinsteiger's role in the current United squad is as much leader and talisman as it is midfielder. He had attempted to rally the troops after Vardy's goal, geeing up the players around him to the best of his ability.

In the second half United were better, enjoying 68.2 per cent of the possession and creating a couple of decent chances. Wayne Rooney spurned the opportunity to put the ball in the net from two yards out, though the goal would have been ruled out for offside even if he had got his header on target. 

But while the Red Devils were better, they were far from there. The mythical click is something spoken about in relation to Van Gaal since his Bayern Munich side beat Juventus 4-1 in the Champions League in December 2009. His side had struggled following his arrival that summer, but that result led to a run of performances and results that won them the league and got them to the Champions League final.

Then-Bayern president Uli Hoeness said of that season, "The football we've witnessed was close to perfection," per the Sun in 2010. 

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

It remains possible at United, too, in spite of how much longer the Dutchman has been in charge at Old Trafford than he had been at Bayern by then. There is attacking talent in the side, and on occasion, it still does threaten to make some impact on games.

Against Leicester, United's best attacking option was often down the left flank. Ashley Young got the ball in some dangerous positions, often found by Juan Mata. There was too often a lack of quality with the final ball, though. Crosses were hit into dangerous positions but behind United's strikers or hit into an area from where Leicester's defenders could clear.

There are fine margins involved here, and with a fairer wind, United could certainly have beaten Leicester. However, in spite of Leicester's success so far this season, they should nonetheless be a side United, 18 months into Van Gaal's tenure, should face without fear.

There are ever-loudening voices of dissent among United's fans, fed up with both the style and substance of the Dutchman's version of their side. Of course, no manager is likely to lose his job while sitting a point off the top of the league.

"

By far the most prickly he's been in a press conference I have attended, but ended on a joke to lighten the mood. pic.twitter.com/7yo574xKKh

— Paul (@UtdRantcast) November 28, 2015"

Assuming Van Gaal does not opt to completely change tack and make United more gung ho—surely a fair assumption—then he will absolutely need the click to happen soon if he wants to get the fans onside.

There have been times when it looked as if it was happening. Indeed, when Van Gaal greeted his side as conquering heroes on the touchline after their 3-0 win over Everton, it was hard not to wonder whether he thought that game was a sign of things to come.

The Sunday People (h/t the Mirror) reported that Van Gaal's attitude to the players was markedly different during Wednesday's draw with PSV Eindhoven, quoting a United source as saying:

"

It was a spectacular meltdown of the kind no-one behind the scenes here at Old Trafford has heard before from van Gaal.

We have heard him raise his voice at half time and full time on occasions after matches at Old Trafford but nothing like this—he was off the scale.

He went utterly ballistic. No-one else was speaking. The players were obviously just sat there listening and by the sounds of it there was nothing else they could do.

Most of the time it was just the manager ranting at the way they had played and demanding they do better second half.

I think it left a few people around the dressing room area a bit shocked. We’ve all heard Sir Alex Ferguson lose his temper in the dressing room but this was even louder.

"

What was evident was that his approach was entirely unsuccessful. United were considerably worse in the second half against PSV than they had been in the first.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Van Gaal was openly critical of Paddy McNair after the Leicester game, suggesting Leonardo Ulloa's chance in the second half was due to McNair's positioning, saying "McNair thought that he is a striker when he is a defender."

Between publicly criticising his young players and reportedly laying into his squad in the dressing room, Van Gaal may be trying to elicit a response to get his side to finally click.

For now, based on the performances of the past few weeks, it is hard to see where the click is coming from.

Quotations obtained firsthand except where otherwise noted. 

All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com.