How Can Louis van Gaal Stop His Manchester United Career Becoming Untenable?

Louis van Gaal tried to strike a positive tone in his post-match comments after Manchester United's dismal defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, but he did not exactly manage a rallying cry. When asked about the importance of the next game, he replied, per the club's official site: 

"

It is always the same, even when you win—you have to do the same things but, when you lose, then it is more difficult because every player is very disappointed. The silence in the dressing room was big.

Of course I have already spoken but it takes a long time. We have to train, we have to prepare for Norwich City and we have to beat them. That is our aim and purpose but it is, of course, more difficult when you lose two times in a row.

It is a very bad moment to lose. We have to put the heads up again and believe in ourselves because that is also very important. We have to prepare for this match in the same way as we always do.

"

As has become routine, the manager lamented missed chances, saying, again per the club's official site, "Fellaini had a lot of chances but you have to score."

The response to the defeat on social media was predictable. Samuel Luckhurst of Manchester Evening News tweeted that the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on 31 October was the turning point for many fans in relation to Van Gaal, and the results since have hardly helped.

Given the sometimes polarised positions that come with discussing football, the debate around whether Saturday's defeat was Van Gaal's fault has lacked some nuance.

On one hand, there are those who would argue his decision to keep such a small squad, not to invest in a centre-back in the summer and to let so many strikers go at the same time without adequately replacing them played a big part in the defeat.

The counterargument goes that, small squad or no small squad, Van Gaal was unlucky to have so many of his most important players missing at the same time, that Daley Blind's mistake for Bournemouth's second was one of only a handful he has made all season and that Anthony Martial has been a revelation for much of the season.

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Neither position represents absolute truth, and both have valid points to make, but the fact remains that whether through circumstance or negligence, Van Gaal is currently failing at Manchester United.

Last season, fourth place was the minimum requirement and it was achieved, although only very occasionally did the team look like world-beaters. This season, though, that achievement has been rendered somewhat redundant by a dismal performance in the Champions League group stage.

This season, the goal had to be more than just squeaking into fourth place. Van Gaal, though, took a less than bullish tone ahead of the Bournemouth game, telling the press, per Jamie Jackson in the Guardian, "They say a club like Manchester United has to win. That’s the past. You have to analyse the club now. Now we have much more clubs who have money...also the structure and are able to win something."

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When he was asked whether only the Premier League title would make up for the failure in the Champions League, he replied, per Jackson again: 

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No. It is difficult. You want to raise the expectations. For the fans it shall be like that. But I want to manage the expectation. It is not as easy as everybody thinks. We live now.

It is not only difficult for Manchester United. It is also difficult for Manchester City and Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea or Leicester.

"

The manager may want to manage the expectation, but the attempt to do so is a huge mistake. In fact, the first order of business if Van Gaal wants to render his position tenable should be to get bullish about United's chances.

It is risky to talk a big game when things are not going well, but shrinking into a position of attempting to manage expectations will not sit well with United fans.

Hoping that the fans will cut him some slack if he just points out that "we live now" and that United's past glories are gone and everyone should just get over it will not endear him to anyone—other than perhaps Liverpool fans enjoying some schadenfreude.

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So the off-the-pitch tone needs to change—David Moyes' dreary defeatism was one of the things that cost him his chance to build something at United.

That change of tone is easily achieved. On the pitch, things are not so straightforward. Results will have to show a marked improvement on the last few weeks, but a more positive and dynamic style—once he gets a few players back from injury—would also go some way toward rebuilding the fans' hopes in Van Gaal.

Frankly, though, it is hard to see either the off-pitch or on-pitch approach changing much. Van Gaal is understandably frustrated and has taken an entrenched position with the press—and by extension the fans given that is how he predominantly communicates with them.

On the pitch, his tweaks and experimentation have rarely worked, and it remains unclear whether he can hit upon a winning combination of style and substance with his available squad.

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Just because he has not got it right yet does not mean he cannot in the future, but the atmosphere among fans of the club is becoming so toxic it is increasingly hard to imagine him getting the time to get it right.

At this point, envisaging a successful end to the Van Gaal era at United is a significant challenge. He will have to draw upon all his experience and abilities to bring one about.