(Louis reacts to being told, again, that he only has two games to save his job!)
Yes, it’s true folks! Louis van Gaal, manager of Manchester United, will become Louis van Gaal, ex-manager of Manchester United, if they fail to win one of their next two games.
Excuse me while I fetch the salt and indulge in a large pinch. Words that immediately spring to mind include, “here we go again”, “heard it all before last month” and “it must be true it is, after all, Fleet Street’s finest”.
So now we are supposed to believe that Ed Woodward who, not so long ago would have found it hugely embarrassing to sack van Gaal due to the fact that he championed the appointment, is now ready to do so. Has he finally worked out that keeping van Gaal in charge is more embarrassing than sacking him? Maybe, maybe not.
If he has then how come it didn’t happen the last time we were led down the gard…….sorry, led to believe that he only had two games to save his job?
If I remember rightly and/or my research is correct, during December it was reported that if he failed against either Stoke away on Boxing Day, or Chelsea at home, then he would be fired. He lost against Stoke and drew with Chelsea. Now, I don’t claim to be Pythagoras or any other mathematician of note but, to me, one point from a possible six does not represent good value. So if the great British press were right, why were they wrong?
Here’s how it was reported at the time in;
The Daily Telegraph
The Guardian
The Independent
and for anybody who likes pictures more than words
The Daily Star
(Eagle-eyed readers will note that the Daily Star featured this story a day after the others).
How could they all get it so wrong?
The simple answer is that, until round about about now, van Gaal has only needed Woodward’s backing to stay in the job. Woodward is the senior figure and has the final say on any business not requiring the Glazer’s input.
The problem he is now facing is that the Glazers are reaching the stage where they feel that their input may be appreciated, if not by Woodward or van Gaal, then certainly by the fans.
Woodward has stubbornly stuck by van Gaal in order to protect his standing at the club. It was he who employed Moyes, it was not Sir Alex Ferguson, and it was he who employed van Gaal. Sacking the Dutchman would be seen as his second failure since Fergie retired. It may even result in his capabilities being questioned and having the responsibility of football matters taken out of his hands.
At this stage, all true United fans are thinking, “great stuff, get rid of him and van Gaal in one fell swoop!” That would be no bad thing from the supporter’s point of view.
In fairness to Ed Woodward though, he does bring a heck of a lot of money in through sponsorship deals with obscure Asian companies. It might be better to send him back from whence he came and employ a Director of Football to work WITH the new manager. With Woodward away from the football side of things, then the money he brings in wouldn’t immediately get wasted on manager pay-offs and overpriced transfers.
I suggested that United employ a Director of Football a couple of years ago in an article I did for HITC and, if anybody is interested, it can be found here. I still maintain it is the way to go so that the manager can concentrate on the team and leave the business side of things to others.
All that is left for United to do then is win some trophies which, I feel sure, would be accomplished under a younger, more up-to-date manager, whether that be Ryan Giggs or another outsider is not really important at this stage of the proceedings, what IS important is to initialise this change as soon as possible.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 