Results Are Just Enough to Keep Pressure off Louis van Gaal at Manchester United

Manchester United are one point off the top of the league, firmly in the Premier League title picture, and while that remains the case, pressure on manager Louis van Gaal will not make his position untenable.

However, this season, the results he has achieved have come at the cost of an enormous amount of goodwill. If the results begin to slip—as there is every chance they will—the style of football and reported dissatisfaction among the playing staff will mean few will be sorry to see the back of him.

The stories of discontent among the players are growing. First came an anonymous United player telling Jason Burt of the Telegraph (via BBC 5 Live Sport) "he is half the player he can be under manager Louis van Gaal" and that he does not feel the style of play is "fair on him or the fans."

Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press

Next came the story Van Gaal had gone "ballistic" in the dressing room at half-time of the PSV Eindhoven clash on November 25, per Sunday People Sport (h/t the Mirror). 

Now Chris Wheeler of the Daily Mail has reported players are unhappy with Van Gaal's training methods. 

Discontent at the training methods was expressed by Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick in September, per Simon Jones and Mike Keegan of MailOnline, who reported that the captain and vice-captain had taken their concerns to Van Gaal. 

Van Gaal responded to those claims by saying, per BBC Sport: 

"

I am not a dictator—I am a communicator. They told me to help me. I communicate not only with my captains, they try to warn me.

I then go to my dressing room and discuss with my players and we discussed a lot of aspects—but not what some have written.

Some players are coming to me to apologise about what has been said in the papers.

"

These latest claims are more toxic, though—three months have passed, and the recent story is not about the captain and vice-captain respectfully bringing something to the manager's attention.

Wheeler's article reported, "Under Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes, the squad used to have time to themselves after dinner but now they have to attend a series of tedious meetings lasting several hours at the team hotel before gathering for a 10pm supper of cereal and toast."

He goes on to quote "a source" as saying, "There’s no fun, no banter—just lots of meetings. The body language of the players isn’t right, and there’s no expression when they go out to play."

Player discontent would seem to be in the air, and some of United's more lacklustre performances of late would certainly validate this theory. This is subjective of course, but rarely against PSV and Leicester City did they like a squad going above and beyond, desperate to win at all costs and prepared to give anything for the cause.

Fans are, of course, thoroughly fed up by the style of football on show. There are plenty arguing for patience and rightly pointing out that Van Gaal has steadied the ship and that United are actually doing quite well this season.

However, the lack of joy at attending or watching United matches at the moment is a frequent topic of conversation among supporters. Jurgen Klopp's instant, dramatic impact on Liverpool has not gone unnoticed, either.

Gary Neville's appointment as the head coach of Valencia until the end of the season adds another moving piece to the story, as do the rumours Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola favours the United job as his next move, per Rob Draper and Dominic King for the Mail on Sunday on 29 November.

For now, though, all speculation is entirely theoretical. The pressure on Van Gaal is bubbling away but remains below the surface.

The freewheeling version of Van Gaal's United that swatted Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester City aside last season is a distant memory. The ultra-functional version in play at the moment is winning few friends, even as it wins plenty of points.

If the Red Devils fail to progress through their Champions League group and their league form drops off, the picture will change. But for now, Van Gaal has lost goodwill and faith rather than anything more tangible.