Louis Van Gaal 'Crisis Talks' Reportedly Held by Wayne Rooney, Manchester United

A clutch of Manchester United’s senior players, including skipper Wayne Rooney, reportedly held showdown talks with manager Louis van Gaal in the wake of their 2-1 defeat to Norwich City last weekend.

John Cross and David Maddock of the Daily Mirror wrote the club captain demanded the discussions. According to Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail, Rooney, Michael Carrick, Chris Smalling and Juan Mata all voiced their concerns in these “crisis talks,” having lost their last three games in succession and not won since late November.

“The latest exchange of views focused on his hard-line training methods, the nature of his strict regime and the tactics used by the team on matchdays,” wrote Ashton. “United's players believe the club's crippling injury list is being caused by over-training and have asked the Dutchman to ease off in some of the sessions.”

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It’s suggested these “clear-the-air” discussions will see all at the club seek to pull together in an attempt to try to turn the campaign around, with Van Gaal reportedly now willing for there to be more communication between the players and the coaching staff.

As noted by BBC Sport’s Simon Stone, Van Gaal is also said to have delivered an impassioned speech to the players at the team’s annual Christmas lunch:

The scrutiny surrounding the Dutchman has been ramped up even further as of late, with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho now unattached.

According to Ashton, the recently sacked Blues boss is “angling” for the job at Old Trafford, but the Red Devils' hierarchy “are reluctant to dance to the Portuguese coach's tune.”

As reported by Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News, the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward held a meeting in London on Tuesday, sparking rumours Van Gaal was to get the chop. But Luckhurst noted while the Dutchman’s position is precarious, his future was not discussed by Woodward.

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Indeed, it seems as though one almighty effort is being made by Van Gaal in an attempt to steady the ship for United. However, as we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports News HQ, the Red Devils have pretty tricky fixtures coming thick and fast:

Plenty will have to change for Van Gaal to remain, you feel. Not only have results been poor as of late, but the style of football United have showcased under him this term has been dreary. It’s something the Dutchman could justify when his team were in the title race, but the Red Devils have fallen a long way off the pace in their recent lull.

As Squawka Football noted here, in terms of fluid, attacking and effective football, United are a long way behind some of their main rivals:

With the situation close to breaking point, it seems as though the players and the manager are now adopting an all-or-nothing approach.

Van Gaal clearly needs to deviate from his principles and will at least accrue some favour if United were to come out and play with the shackles off at Stoke City on Boxing Day.