Louis Van Gaal Reportedly 'Losing the Dressing Room' at Manchester United

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is reportedly struggling to keep players onside at Old Trafford, as pressure continues to mount on the Dutchman.

According to Neil Custis of the Sun, the Red Devils chief is “losing the dressing room” after a string of poor results, culminating in a 2-1 loss to AFC Bournemouth last weekend.

Custis claimed the discontent was triggered following a 1-1 draw with Leicester City back in November, and since then, things have been far from settled behind closed doors:

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It is understood two senior players spoke up in the dressing room following the 1-1 draw at Leicester on November 28. And another big name questioned their approach after the 0-0 home game with West Ham last weekend. There was bemusement at tactics and substitutions as United crashed out of the Champions League 3-2 in Wolfsburg. …

And the situation is now close to breaking point. Training has been brought into question due to its boring, repetitive nature. There are also questions as to whether methods at their Carrington training complex are leading to a spate of muscle injuries. Van Gaal has said he will walk away if he feels he has lost the backing of his players.

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ADRIAN DENNIS/Getty Images

The report doesn’t paint a happy picture of life at Old Trafford, and it’s not the first report to surface this term.

James Ducker of the Times reported earlier this month Van Gaal is facing “growing resentment” from his players, and in September, a delegation of key players confronted the Dutchman about his training methods.

There seems to be a swell of supporters turning against Van Gaal too. As reported by David McDonnell of the Mirror, fans were reportedly ready to vent their anger at the manager and the players at Bournemouth airport in the wake of their most recent loss, but the squad were bussed directly to the plane to prevent that happening.

Bleacher Report’s Paul Ansorge was one of many supporters left disillusioned by the display at Bournemouth at the weekend:

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Total shambles. Bournemouth will play way better this season too, not like they've been amazing. Proper disgrace.

— Paul Santacast (@UtdRantcast) December 12, 2015"

Van Gaal needs to turn things round quickly, it would seem. According to McDonnell, Carlo Ancelotti and Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola are “names in the frame” to replace the Dutchman should decisive action need to be taken.

You suspect anything other than a win against Norwich City this weekend would make Van Gaal’s position even more precarious.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

The style of football has seen the United boss attract plenty of criticism too. The tepid approach play has made the Red Devils tough to beat for the most part, but it’s an arduous watch for the fans and can’t be much fun to play in.

At the moment, United simply don’t possess the supreme technical players to make that kind of style work well.

As we can see here, courtesy of FourFourTweet, the decisions made in the transfer window by Van Gaal have been rather curious too, especially given United’s lack of ingenuity in front of goal:

Fans and players will typically be happy if the team is winning football matches, regardless of the style adopted.

Granted, the Red Devils remain in the title race despite their flaws, and if they can get a crop of key players back to full fitness, they could be considered contenders. But with names like Ancelotti and potentially Guardiola available, a huge upturn in results and style are required if Van Gaal is to see out the full three years of his tenure.