WHY SAY ANYTHING?

(I make no apologies for writing yet another article on the desperate duo responsible for the demise of my football club. My logic is that the more that can be written about how they are destroying the great name of Manchester United, then the more chance that something will be done about it. So here goes.)

Is this another no-lose game in Louis van Gaal’s match-by-match scenario? I’ve lost track! Stoke aren’t a team I would choose for a must-win game but, as Louis doesn’t appear to have to be a beggar, then he must be able to choose the games for which he comes under the mildest possible scrutiny.

What I do know is that while all this messing around has been going on with van Gaal, who should have been sacked weeks ago, Manchester City have agreed the departure of a better manager than he is and the arrival of a much better manager than he is.

This all leaves Ed Woodward as the chief Ostrich with his head so deep in the sand that only his feet can be seen sticking out.

I have written about this problem in various articles and still nothing has been done about it. Do my missives not reach the hierarchy at Old Trafford? The least they could do would be to get some mole to dig down to where Ed’s head is and shove a tablet under his nose so that he knows what we supporters think!

Because this, dear reader, is what I think the problem is. As he isn’t a “football man”, a fact which I may have mentioned before on sixty or seventy occasions, he does not think that what the average United fan thinks is important. No, not Ed, he only thinks that what HE thinks is important.

He pays lip-service to the likes of Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson but really it is he, the young superstar accountant, who has all the answers. He doesn’t need any advice and he certainly does not appear to take any. Apparently van Gaal was appointed without consultation with either Ferguson or Charlton, which makes poor Ed look even worse if he has to fire him, which is why he won’t.

Consequently, Manchester United take a few more backward steps. Every time a transfer window passes by and no new strikers or defenders are bought, they slip back. Every time their manager holds an amateurish press conference or picks a team and forces them to be tactically inept, they slip back.

Fortunately for van Gaal, this season has seen a decidedly average Premier League. When Leicester City, Arsenal and Spurs are in the top four there is something amiss.

It is only usually about now that Arsenal are beginning their assault on the top four, (which they always achieve), having to rise from about fifth or sixth. Tottenham would normally be sweating over a Europa League place and Leicester would be hoping that they finished seventeenth or better.

Not only is this mediocrity responsible for keeping van Gaal in his job, it may also be responsible for doing the same for Ed Woodward.

If the true Manchester City team had turned up for most of this season, they would probably be quite a few points clear of the rest. A top form Chelsea would, more than likely, be in second position. This would now leave Leicester in third, Arsenal in fourth and Tottenham Hotspur in fifth.

As it is, United are ten points behind the leaders, how many would that be if the previously mentioned scenario was fact?

So why the delay? It does appear that van Gaal has until the end of the season at least, as clubs do not normally change managers in February. Apparently it is deemed unfair on the new man coming in to give him so little time to effect any change. I doubt you would get much agreement from United fans or even Jose Mourinho on this score.

As I have previously stated though, by sacking van Gaal a short term solution is achieved. The long term problem is currently supplying him with expensive wine, unfortunately not very often, as it is only bought when United win!