Leicester vs Manchester United, The Barclays Premier League, November 28th 2015, The King Power Stadium, Kick Off 17:30 Local Time:
LEICESTER: Schmeichel; Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs; Mahrez, Kanté, Drinkwater, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy.
MANCHESTER UNITED: De Gea, Darmian, McNair, Smalling, Blind, Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Young, Rooney, Martial.
Subs: Romero, Borthwick-Jackson, Fellaini, Memphis, Pereira, Schneiderlin, Rashford
Every time we have sat down to a Manchester United match this season we have thought:
‘Right. This is the game when they finally wake up. They finally click and Louis van Gaal’s tactics bear fruit.’
But, within ten minutes, it becomes clear that the latest offering is going to be exactly the same as the previous ten.
In fact, virtually every Manchester United performance has been identical this season.
It starts with a bit of bluster and the promise of purpose – the threat of threat. But Manchester United soon settle into their cautios style of sideways passing which gets them absolutely nowhere fast.
At times, their best hope of defeating the opposition has been to bore them to sleep. We only wish we were joking.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal can bang on all he likes about the process. But the best managers are able to adapt to their environment and, right now, LvG’s style seems too rigid. He can’t expect the same style to work equally well in every league.
We said earlier that the players are actually doing what the are told. So they can’t be blamed for poor performances.
The manager needs to buck up. And fast.
