Do Manchester United Need a Big Transfer Deal in Final Week of Transfer Window?
Manchester United's squad is, without a doubt, in need of improvement if they want to be considered one of the best teams in Europe once again.
From appearing in three Champions League finals in four seasons between 2007/08 and 2010/11 to failing to qualify in 2014/15 and then failing to get out of the group stage in 2015/16, it is clear United are no longer dining at the top table.
And they are in real danger of once again missing out on Europe's top competition altogether this season. They sit five, seven, seven and 10 points behind the fourth-, third-, second- and first-placed sides in the Premier League.
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Their goal difference is considerably worse than all of those teams, and they have scored nine fewer goals than Arsenal, 13 fewer than Tottenham Hotspur, 14 fewer than Leicester City and 17 fewer than Manchester City.
Their form has been almost entirely unconvincing, and while all the clubs above them have wobbled this season, none have degenerated into the kind of ineffective, difficult-to-watch dross that has been served up at Old Trafford.
United could try and scrape by with what they have, hoping for one of the sides above them to have a significant drop in form. History would suggest Leicester are the most likely team to struggle over the rest of the season given they are enjoying a season wildly exceeding anyone's expectations.
However, they are the team 10 points ahead of United, meaning they have a huge cushion with 15 games left to play. It is Spurs who are closest to United, but their form has been considerably better.
Taking the form table over the past 10 games, per Statto.com, sees United in 18th place, with Leicester, Spurs, Manchester City and Arsenal in first through to fourth.
The only teams with worse records than Louis van Gaal's side over the past 10 games are Everton and Aston Villa. Only Swansea City and Villa have scored fewer goals over that period.
"Form table over the past 10 games. pic.twitter.com/YBaEmhMJd9
— Paul (@UtdRantcast) January 27, 2016"
There are essentially three options to try and improve United's fortunes from here.
The first is to use the existing players and staff in a different way. It is remarkable that more fundamental changes to the system have not yet been made this season, particularly given how effective the switch to 4-3-3 proved last season. An emphasis on United's younger, quicker players could be tried for a while.
The second would be the big deal many United fans are eagerly checking for news of: a change of manager.
To a greater or lesser extent, this season has been an object lesson in repeatedly trying the same thing and expecting a different result.
The personnel have changed around a little, and there has been some variation in the shape, but the use of two fairly pedestrian-paced holding midfielders has been the order of the day most of the time, and it has almost never worked.
United have perhaps only put in one truly convincing performance this season—the 3-0 win at Everton in October—and Roberto Martinez's side were particularly poor that day.
Changing the manager would be risky, of course.
However, given Van Gaal has earned an average of one point per game over the last 10 matches, drained the life out of the Old Trafford crowd and turned the football into a turgid procession where a smash-and-grab win at Anfield will likely be the highlight of the season, how big a risk is bringing in someone else to hold the reins?
Surely the bigger risk is hoping that—in spite of all the evidence to the contrary—things take a turn for the better. Given the points gap with the teams above them, it would have to be a significant turn.
The final option is to bring in some players who could make a difference to United's fortunes and trust Van Gaal to get the best out of them.
The tale of Angel Di Maria is a sobering one in this regard. The Argentinian, fresh off his man-of-the-match performance for Real Madrid in the Champions League final and an impressive World Cup in 2014, seemed to be exactly what the Red Devils needed.
A flexible attacking midfielder with plenty of goals and assists to his name, his improvisation and creativity proved a poor fit with Van Gaal's approach, and the whole thing ended with him being shipped off to Paris Saint-Germain a season later.
Radamel Falcao's signing was similarly disappointing—though for different reasons—and his post-United career has been equally unfortunate.
While United's lack of goals means looking at attacking players seems sensible, there would also be merit in the Red Devils investing heavily in a top-quality central defender. One of the key problems this season has been Van Gaal has always seemed to want to offer his back four a ton of protection.
When he has not done so, it has become clear why he has generally opted to. Games against Bournemouth, PSV Eindhoven away and Norwich have shown just how vulnerable United can be on the counter-attack when there are not two competent holding midfielders in the centre of the park.
Perhaps Van Gaal could fix his attack, or at least free it up to take more risks, by reinforcing his defence.
In truth, it seems highly unlikely any of United's rumoured targets will be on the move in January. Mark Ogden and Ian Herbert of the Independent reported Gareth Bale had been "scared off" a move to Old Trafford by the uncertainty at the club. Neil Custis of the Sun tweeted that Bale was simply happy at Real Madrid.
Chisanga Malata of the Daily Star reported that Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is confident Neymar will sign a new contract at the Catalan club.
It has become hard to imagine United successfully pulling off a deal for a player of this standing given last summer when they were linked with a string of high-profile targets and did not succeed in capturing any player considered a star from one of the elite European clubs.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was the closest, and he had clearly reached the latter stages of his Bayern Munich career given age and injury. They have hardly missed him.
Even if United did manage a deal on the superstar scale, it would surely be in the summer rather than midway through a season.
Only a particularly discontented player would leave a club still in the Champions League or in contention for domestic success for a Manchester United side uncertain of scraping into fourth place.
If a big deal is unlikely, perhaps United should focus their energies on the second option listed above and make a big transfer deal involving a new manager.
With Jose Mourinho reportedly writing to United to assure them he would be prepared to manage in line with their traditions, per Miguel Delaney of the Independent, perhaps signing a managerial superstar would make up for the lack of on-pitch improvements.
Either way, something needs to be done if United are to salvage what is becoming a disastrous season.
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