Jamie Redknapp Blasts Louis Van Gaal for 'Worst' Manchester United Team

Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp labelled Louis van Gaal's Manchester United side "the worst I've seen" following their 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth.

Van Gaal was forced to field a severely weakened lineup on Saturday due to an injury crisis at Old Trafford, but Redknapp felt little sympathy in his Daily Mail column, where he asserted there's "no joy in their football."

Redknapp said:

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Watching on Saturday, that had to be the worst Manchester United team I’ve seen in all my years watching football. If that team played week in, week out they’d be in relegation trouble.

There’s no joy in their football. Nobody is playing with a smile. As a player I was desperate to wipe the smirk off United faces because they knew just how much quality they had. Now they look afraid to express themselves or make a mistake. If you play with fear, you’ve got no chance. Yes, it was an inexperienced line-up and they could end up becoming good young players. But it showed how important it is for United that they get back their big-name players as quickly as possible.

[...]

You have to wonder if all those injuries are a result of Louis van Gaal working his players too hard. But injuries are no excuse, especially after spending £250million. Now United must do something special. Van Gaal needs a trophy to prove it has not just been two wasted years.

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It seems almost unfair to lambast Van Gaal for the defeat at the Vitality Stadium considering almost a dozen first-team players were sidelined, but then one expects United to boast the necessary depth to overcome such opposition.

The club has spent in excess of £250 million on players under Van Gaal. Perhaps it's no surprise Glenn Hoddle picked out Daley Blind, one of the Dutchman's former Netherlands charges, as a player who understands the philosophy, per Squawka: 

The same can't be said for every player in the squad, though, and there's a growing sentiment among supporters that Van Gaal's methods don't fit in with United's tradition of attractive, attacking football.

High risk tended to yield high reward under the reign of predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson, but ex-Manchester United winger Steve Coppell appeared on BBC's Sportsweek, questioning whether Van Gaal is the wrong kind of "cog" (h/t the Daily Mail's Oliver Todd):

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Success in football is relatively easy. If you spend the most money, then you buy the best players and you have the best team. If that formula breaks down then a cog has gone wrong and the cog that has gone wrong appears to be the manager.

Injuries have to be taken into account but why so many injuries? There has been talk of training being too intensive. If the squad can't take it, then it should be eased up. The philosophy that Louis van Gaal has talked about for so long, it's difficult to distinguish what that is. The players sometimes do not really understand what he's trying to get through to them.

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Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth saw three youngsters start in defence—Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Guillermo Varela and Paddy McNair—while inexperienced pair Andreas Pereira and Nick Powell came off the bench.

Coppell went on to highlight this questionable use of substitutes when the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin and Ashley Young sat on the bench, with the former England international taking the fans' knowledge of the squad into account.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

United remain fourth in the Premier League standings, failing to win any of their last five games and at risk of dropping six points off the lead should Leicester defeat Chelsea on Monday evening.

Half of the voters in an ESPN FC poll suggested United should sack Van Gaal now, while 36 percent would be willing to give the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss until the end of the campaign:

Redknapp added that "injuries are no excuse" for the Red Devils after spending £250 million in the transfer market, even if it's encouraging to see the club heavily promoting their academy products.

Claims of this being the "worst Manchester United team" of recent years could be accurate, but Van Gaal will hope to be spared judgement until he's able to once again call upon a fully fit squad.