Why Manchester United Should Now Sack Louis van Gaal

Manchester United should now sack Louis van Gaal—not because he is an incompetent manager, but because the environment around him has become too toxic to overcome.

In truth, the statement is far from controversial among the fanbase—although there are plenty prepared to decry him as incompetent.

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Witness the replies to any tweet sent by United's official account, any Manchester United-related post on Facebook or the comments on any United article published on Bleacher Report, and it is eminently clear the overwhelming sentiment in the wider United community is that Van Gaal should be immediately replaced.

There is plenty of debate within that group.

Should Jose Mourinho immediately be called upon? Is there a chance Pep Guardiola can be persuaded to make Old Trafford his next destination? If so, should United, in the immortal words of Andy Tate during his infamous Full Time Devils interview during the David Moyes era, "give it Giggsy to the end of the season?"

The decision about who is to replace Van Gaal may be a tricky one, but the decision to replace him is becoming easier and easier.

United have not won a game since Bastian Schweinsteiger forced Watford into conceding a last-minute own goal on 21 November. That is seven games without a win—an epochal run of results given United's recent history—their first such spell since December 1989, per the Manchester Evening News.

That awful run has ended with four losses in a row, each more dismal than the last. Losing to Wolfsburg away was unfortunate rather than embarrassing. Losing away to promoted team Bournemouth was embarrassing, of course, but United's injury crisis was at its peak and that was at least away from home.

The Norwich City defeat spoke volumes. Van Gaal called it the evidence of a team devoid of confidence, but surely it should have been a perfect opportunity to right recent wrongs.

It was at home this time with plenty of players back from injury. There was simply no reasonable excuse. United had visibly and clearly regressed.

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Then came Saturday's defeat to Stoke City. On paper, losing away at the Britannia Stadium is less damning than losing at home to Norwich, but not this time.

This time, a big game had been talked, by Wayne Rooney on Sky Sports, for example. This time, a week had passed since the Norwich game, a game crying out for some kind of response to prove there was fight left in this unit and that the manager's attempts to convince his team to play for him had been successful.

Instead, United fans witnessed a meek, hopeless surrender.

Given the performance of almost every player in United colours Saturday, it is hard to come up with any evidence the players believe in Van Gaal, his methods or his leadership. Plenty of fans have long since lost hope, and that number has surely grown with every defeat.

Sacking an underperforming manager is not always the way to restore success to a football club. United of all institutions know this. Sir Alex Ferguson's illustrious, near-peerless career did not bring success until after the painted bedsheets had called for his head.

However, given the circumstances, the time has sadly come to part ways with Van Gaal.

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Unlike Sir Alex, he was never at United to establish a dynasty; he came to right the ship after the disastrous Moyes experiment. His specific methods have worked to great effect on several occasions, notably at Bayern Munich, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar and with the Netherlands national team.

However, his specific methods have also ended in disaster—notably the end of his tenure at Bayern Munich, his second spell at Barcelona and his first with the Netherlands national team. He clearly has the spectacular-implosion club in his bag, and sadly that seems to be what is playing out on the pitch.

Given how devoid of hope United's last two performances have been, allowing Van Gaal to take charge of even one more game seems like a mistake. The lack of any sort of convincing output in those games means if the club are to act on his future, they should do so before the Chelsea game on Monday. Whatever confusion or instability that may cause is surely offset by how dreadfully the players are performing.

Unlike Moyes, Van Gaal's appointment was not a mistake. There was plenty of evidence he still had a job like this in him—after all, it was only four years before he took the United job that he had taken Bayern to the Champions League final. Just because something has ended poorly does not mean it should never have been tried.

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Hopefully, once the bitterness of the current situation has faded, some of the work he has done will pay dividends in the long run—the signing of Anthony Martial in particular but also his work in returning United to the Champions League, returning a bit of hope and thoroughly retooling the squad.

However, for now, whatever good work he has done is considerably overwhelmed by how spectacularly United are failing this season. The time to say goodbye has arrived. There is a season to be saved, and try as those campaigning for patience might, the arguments to keep Van Gaal at the helm ring ever more hollow.

He had the characteristics and history required for the job, but he has now made too many mistakes. The full account of those will surely follow, but for now, regrettably, it is time to end the Dutchman's time at Old Trafford.

Quotations obtained firsthand where not otherwise noted.