In his first press conference at the club, Louis van Gaal was asked by a reporter what his main aims were for the Manchester United team over the next 3 years.
In his typically composed way he took time to ponder the question almost as if he had forgotten that there were scores of journalists waiting for his answer.
“We have to give pleasure to the fans because that’s the most important thing,”
“Football is not only a commercial business, but also to entertain people. If there are no fans [in the stadium] even the broadcasters won’t come.”
Manchester United fans have suffered a huge drop in attacking speed and quality over the last year or so. Even in previous times of trouble, Manchester United may have had a leaky defence, but they always impressed and enthralled going forward. They had electric wide men and wonderful finishers – plus plenty of flair.
That was starting to disappear as Manchester United lost their fear factor over the last 12-24 months. The attack looked slow and United lost their star quality out wide. That was until Louis arrived.
The first thing that he has done is to bring pace and flair back into the side. Rojo, Shaw, Di Maria and Falcao have that explosive pace off the mark that will make Manchester United speedy once more.
Where the build up play has been painfully pedestrian over the last year, Manchester United now have the players to get the ball from back to front in the blink of an eye.
And it’s up top where LvG has really delivered on his promises to entertain. Because this team is all about scoring more than the opposition. Manchester United fans should question the consistency of their football philosophies if they are too concerned about the lack of investment in defence and midfield (although the club has spent around £90m on Shaw, Rojo, Blind and Herrera) this summer.
Yes, Manchester United will concede a few goals this season. But with an attack that can compare with that of Real Madrid or Barcelona they shouldn’t be too concerned. Because, like the Spanish giants, any weakness in the defence will be more than offset by the fact that most of the play will occur in the opposition half.
When this Manchester United attack starts to click then few will be concerning themselves with a rather ordinary defence. It’s going to be a wonderful ride.
