United under LvG: verdict so far!

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If we qualify for the CL next season and he does indeed spend another £150million in the summer, then he absolutely has to win the league next year, no excuses.

Out of last seasons transfers only Blind and Di Maria seem to be instant hits, Shaw looks a prospect and Herrera and Rojo are players I don't think we should have signed. Everyone has their own opinions on Falcao too but I'm going to wait on him. This summer we simply have to do better in the transfer market, there are some good signs though, LVG said couple weeks back "that we are only going to buy players if they are clearly better than what we have" so that's a start.
 
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Rojo's been our best centre-back, although I accept that's not saying much.

I'd label Shaw a success, discounting the injuries and the fact he was wasted at wing-back for a period. There's big potential there, he can be our left-back for the next decade, no problem.

Blind's probably been our best summer signing, considering the fee and impact he's had.

Falcao's a flop, no other way to describe it.

Jury is still out on di Maria and Herrera.
 
Fergus' son said:
Yeah, probably right. Any manager that wants to enjoy real success with us will need to put his stamp on the team, our current squad was too finely tuned for a manager that had been with us for 25 years.

Moyes' was on the right track getting rid of the staff, should've got rid of more players instead of giving them a chance looking back now.
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Well not reshuffling the pack probably set us back by atleast 3 years. Look what is left of the engine room since our 2013 title winning team. By the time 2015/16 kicks off, Carrick will be the only CM survivor of the 2012/13 title winning midfield, that shows how bad that midfield was
 
SonnyTheHaloPro said:
If we qualify for the CL next season and he does indeed spend another £150million in the summer, then he absolutely has to win the league next year, no excuses.

Out of last seasons transfers only Blind and Di Maria seem to be instant hits, Shaw looks a prospect and Herrera and Rojo are players I don't think we should have signed. Everyone has their own opinions on Falcao too but I'm going to wait on him. This summer we simply have to do better in the transfer market, there are some good signs though, LVG said couple weeks back "that we are only going to buy players if they are clearly better than what we have" so that's a start.
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Not really, go look at how the squad was handled since the summer 2009, not much has been spent. And only the last year have the club started to spend on the squad
 
pascell said:
Add to that MK Dons smashing us 4-0, Yeovil making us look mediocre and Cambridge earning a replay against us. I think it's bewildering that people think money is the answer to our problems and that will turn us into a superior side. The problem thus far lies with the manager, not the team. We've won the league with a worse squad than we currently have.
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Money is not definitely the answer, you're right...but losses like the one we suffered against Leicester isn't something that didn't happen under Ferguson. The only way to judge this manager is by the target that was set for him when he took charge. I know we are not "beautiful football" but LVG is being harshly judge in my opinion. We are third, have been very decent against the big boys, we're still in the FA cup, and somehow, he's getting way too much stick, more than he should. It's good to sometimes put things in context, maybe he's adapting to the league, or to his players, he's still clearly trying to know what his best team is, and with the abundance of attacking players we have, it can be tricky, maybe he's trying to give everyone a fair chance to be part of what he's doing, or maybe the players haven't fully grasped his methods...We wanted amanager to steady the ship, and get us back into the top four, that was the target, and he's on course, he's rightly getting criticisms for some of his decisions, but he's getting way too much criticism.
 
saivet said:
We're also 5 points from 7th. Hate to be a doom and gloom, but it can always get worse.
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Exactly. I'm happy to be in third, but it's not as if we're firmly planted there. It's a very shaky feeling with the clubs just behind us finding form. We don't have the look/quality/consistency of a third place team. The dropped points during the recent easy spell of matches will only make our difficult run-in even more nervous.
 
The luck question is easily settled. If we keep scraping together enough points to finish in our current position, well, then it's not luck but rather an ability to scrape enough points together. That's the way it works.

The widespread idea that we've been both shite and shaky for most of the season isn't the result of mass hypnosis, though. There have been several examples this season of us gaining points most neutrals would call "undeserved", in the sense that our opponents not only could have but should have managed a draw or a win.
 
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I wish people would stop stop saying we're third. Every United fan is well versed with the league standings.

Qualms against LvG are clearly not results-based; one loss in 18 is excellent no matter how you look at it.

However, the tactics and performances are borderline absurd at times, and without a greater level of team cohesion and an upturn in how we're playing, there's an understandable concern that we may get found out during the business end of the season.

LvG came in with a glowing reputation, so it's natural he's being held to a higher standard than Moyes. One thing's for sure, tumescent football wasn't supposed to be on the menu.
 
Feed Me said:
I wish people would stop stop saying we're third. Every United fan is well versed with the league standings.
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That's my biggest gripe, B. A lot of people seem to forget we pay good money by either watching at the ground or on TV to be entertained. It seems as though fans care more about results and have been schooled this season to accept a top 4 finish with good grace. That should never be the case at this club. Entertainment and being champions should always be our priority, and anything outside of that should be regarded as underachievement.
 
Feed Me said:
One thing's for sure, tumescent football wasn't supposed to be on the menu.
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It certainly wasn't. In fact, the prospect of us finally playing some decent football again was among the main criteria mentioned when it became a serious possibility that Moyes had to go and a new man brought in. Many said they didn't expect miracles or trophies - but what they DID expect was a clear upgrade in terms of style.

Much of the current frustration is undoubtedly down to this. Not the results - which have been alright all things said and done.
 
Sultan said:
That's my biggest gripe, B. A lot of people seem to forget we pay good money by either watching at the ground or on TV to be entertained. It seems as though fans care more about results and have been schooled this season to accept a top 4 finish with good grace. That should never be the case at this club. Entertainment and being champions should always be our priority, and anything outside of that should be regarded as underachievement.
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But there's 'underachieving while getting better', 'underachieving while getting worse' and 'underachieving with no change at all'. People who are happy with 3rd are happy because, despite underachieving, they think we're on the right path and its the improvement they're satisfied with not the league placing. I doubt many people are just as happy being 3rd as they were when we were champions.
 
nick2004 said:
We are third!

The only reason for this is that we have been unlucky!

If we take away the first 10 games and the injuries, we'd be first!
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Its time we stop categorizing injuries as down to luck and admit that a substantial number of our players are simply injury prone.
 


Remember, that is after starting the season with 13 points out of the first 10 games!
 
bishblaize said:
But there's 'underachieving while getting better', 'underachieving while getting worse' and 'underachieving with no change at all'. People who are happy with 3rd are happy because, despite underachieving, they think we're on the right path and its the improvement they're satisfied with not the league placing. I doubt many people are just as happy being 3rd as they were when we were champions.
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My gripe is with people who are not interested in entertainment and just point to the table after every match. That's the total sum of their argument.

Go fourth...and celebrate. That's not the United way.
 
Sultan said:
That's my biggest gripe, B. A lot of people seem to forget we pay good money by either watching at the ground or on TV to be entertained. It seems as though fans care more about results and have been schooled this season to accept a top 4 finish with good grace. That should never be the case at this club. Entertainment and being champions should always be our priority, and anything outside of that should be regarded as underachievement.
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A person learns how to crawl before he learns how to walk and then run. I am not a big fan of LVG's tactics but he certainly lack the balanced squad needed that would allow us to play at optimal conditions. For example we've got just two natural fullbacks and one is always injured and therefore useless.

I believe that we need to admit that we're not Champions material yet. Chelsea and Shitty have much better squad their ours. Admitting that is not a sign of a defeat but more a sign of us being realistic. We spent years laughing at Liverpool fans for saying that they are going to win the league with a team vastly which was vastly inferior to ours and we shouldn't fall into that trap. Nevertheless we should expect improvements and 3rd-4th place is a must have. Once we get there then we can move to the next step which would mean playing football in a more Manchester United way
 
Sultan said:
That's my biggest gripe, B. A lot of people seem to forget we pay good money by either watching at the ground or on TV to be entertained. It seems as though fans care more about results and have been schooled this season to accept a top 4 finish with good grace. That should never be the case at this club. Entertainment and being champions should always be our priority, and anything outside of that should be regarded as underachievement.
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I agree with this not because entertainment is what we pay for but because good football is a core of this club. We've always been a high tempo offensive team and nothing should change that.

devilish said:
A person learns how to crawl before he learns how to walk and then run. I am not a big fan of LVG's tactics but he certainly lack the balanced squad needed that would allow us to play at optimal conditions. For example we've got just two natural fullbacks and one is always injured and therefore useless.

I believe that we need to admit that we're not Champions material yet. Chelsea and Shitty have much better squad their ours. Admitting that is not a sign of a defeat but more a sign of us being realistic. We spent years laughing at Liverpool fans for saying that they are going to win the league with a team vastly which was vastly inferior to ours and we shouldn't fall into that trap. Nevertheless we should expect improvements and 3rd-4th place is a must have. Once we get there then we can move to the next step which would mean playing football in a more Manchester United way
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Really? I don't think we're anywhere near as imbalanced as people make us out to be. We've got a roster of true blue midfielders for the first time in a long while; competent ones at that. But we've decided to bench them all.

Our lack of quality at right back I'll agree with you. But it's not a terrible problem that puts us in a hole. We have players like Smalling, Jones and McNair who can step in. Valencia too as much as I dislike him.

The team is there. It's just being misused.
 
LeftyBlaster said:
Really? I don't think we're anywhere near as imbalanced as people make us out to be. We've got a roster of true blue midfielders for the first time in a long while; competent ones at that. But we've decided to bench them all.

Our lack of quality at right back I'll agree with you. But it's not a terrible problem that puts us in a hole. We have players like Smalling, Jones and McNair who can step in. Valencia too as much as I dislike him.

The team is there. It's just being misused.
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Like feck we do. Carrick and Blind would be the closest players to that description and Carrick's been injured for almost the whole season. Roster, my arse.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Like feck we do. Carrick and Blind would be the closest players to that description and Carrick's been injured for almost the whole season. Roster, my arse.
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Carrick, Blind, Ander, Fellaini. And before this window, Fletcher. That's 4. Roster your arse? That's a decent enough midfield for us to be playing at least 3 at any time given our less busy schedule this season.


Edit; I'll throw in Di Maria and Mata too who could play as the mobile playmakers.
 
LeftyBlaster said:
Carrick, Blind, Ander, Fellaini. And before this window, Fletcher. That's 4. Roster your arse? That's a decent enough midfield for us to be playing at least 3 at any time given our less busy schedule this season.


Edit; I'll throw in Di Maria and Mata too who could play as the mobile playmakers.
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Fletcher's gone (and was shocking when he did feature) Carrick's perma-crocked and I've addressed the rest in another thread. One thing we absolutely do not have right now is a "roster of true blue midfielders". Not even close IMO.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Fletcher's gone (and was shocking when he did feature) Carrick's perma-crocked and I've addressed the rest in another thread. One thing we absolutely do not have right now is a "roster of true blue midfielders". Not even close IMO.
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There's still very little justification for playing Wayne fecking Rooney in central midfield and at DM... Fergie, I suspect, did it because 1) he works hard, runs around a lot, 2) is quite good at those long crossfield passes that Scholes loved. Even that is meagre justification in my eyes for playing Rooney in midfield as he lacks Scholes' other qualities that made him outstanding but it made more sense than it does now when we don't even play with wingers who could benefit from those passes!

Carrick's injury problems are worrying and he's getting older, yes, but we still have Blind, Herrera, Di María and even Fellaini (even he's a better DM than Rooney, that's for sure) who can play in a midfield three or in a diamond. We talk a lot about how imbalanced the squad is and it's a fair point but Van Gaal sure does not help himself...
 
legball said:
Money is not definitely the answer, you're right...but losses like the one we suffered against Leicester isn't something that didn't happen under Ferguson. The only way to judge this manager is by the target that was set for him when he took charge. I know we are not "beautiful football" but LVG is being harshly judge in my opinion. We are third, have been very decent against the big boys, we're still in the FA cup, and somehow, he's getting way too much stick, more than he should. It's good to sometimes put things in context, maybe he's adapting to the league, or to his players, he's still clearly trying to know what his best team is, and with the abundance of attacking players we have, it can be tricky, maybe he's trying to give everyone a fair chance to be part of what he's doing, or maybe the players haven't fully grasped his methods...We wanted amanager to steady the ship, and get us back into the top four, that was the target, and he's on course, he's rightly getting criticisms for some of his decisions, but he's getting way too much criticism.
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He's been in charge nearly 8 months and the performances of the team are getting worse. The results might still be going our way but they'll soon stop going our way, that's when we'll be in trouble because we're 5 points ahead of 7th, who have played much better than us in recent weeks.

I think people are tired of what he says in press conferences, his questionable tactics, team selections and substitutions have gradually ground people down. You mentioned us not playing 'beautiful football' but that's what van Gaal wants us to play, yet it doesn't look like happening anytime soon.
 
pascell said:
He's been in charge nearly 8 months and the performances of the team are getting worse. The results might still be going our way but they'll soon stop going our way, that's when we'll be in trouble because we're 5 points ahead of 7th, who have played much better than us in recent weeks.

I think people are tired of what he says in press conferences, his questionable tactics, team selections and substitutions have gradually ground people down. You mentioned us not playing 'beautiful football' but that's what van Gaal wants us to play, yet it doesn't look like happening anytime soon.
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The thing is, our results have been consistently improving since the start of the season.
 
Siorac said:
There's still very little justification for playing Wayne fecking Rooney in central midfield and at DM... Fergie, I suspect, did it because 1) he works hard, runs around a lot, 2) is quite good at those long crossfield passes that Scholes loved. Even that is meagre justification in my eyes for playing Rooney in midfield as he lacks Scholes' other qualities that made him outstanding but it made more sense than it does now when we don't even play with wingers who could benefit from those passes!

Carrick's injury problems are worrying and he's getting older, yes, but we still have Blind, Herrera, Di María and even Fellaini (even he's a better DM than Rooney, that's for sure) who can play in a midfield three or in a diamond. We talk a lot about how imbalanced the squad is and it's a fair point but Van Gaal sure does not help himself...
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Rooney's being played in midfield because it's better than not playing him at all. He's a proven match-winner and a consistent goal-scorer. Something you can't say about any of our other central midfielders. It's obviously a pity he's not so good at the other elements of the position but hopefully we'll get someone in who fits the bill a bit better in the summer.

Obviously, we should be playing him further forward but Van Gaal seems to think RvP is undroppable and wants to give Falcao as much time as possible to prove he can get back the very high levels he was at just a couple of season ago. Both these decisions are frustrating but not completely impossible to understand.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Rooney's being played in midfield because it's better than not playing him at all. He's a proven match-winner and a consistent goal-scorer. Something you can't say about any of our other central midfielders. It's obviously a pity he's not so good at the other elements of the position but hopefully we'll get someone in who fits the bill a bit better in the summer.

Obviously, we should be playing him further forward but Van Gaal seems to think RvP is undroppable and wants to give Falcao as much time as possible to prove he can get back the very high levels he was at just a couple of season ago. Both these decisions are frustrating but not completely impossible to understand.
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I feel like that we're wasting those qualities of Rooney that you mentioned, that is my gripe: he's not a goalscorer or matchwinner in central midfield. Falcao and RvP are the problem, yes.

The only game I can recall when Rooney exerted real influence from midfield (during LvG's reign) was against Liverpool. And even there we gave away about a zillion chances.
 
Siorac said:
I feel like that we're wasting those qualities of Rooney that you mentioned, that is my gripe: he's not a goalscorer or matchwinner in central midfield. Falcao and RvP are the problem, yes.

The only game I can recall when Rooney exerted real influence from midfield (during LvG's reign) was against Liverpool. And even there we gave away about a zillion chances.
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Newcastle was the best example but yeah, he should be further forwards. I guess that will happen if/when Van Gaal finally writes off Falcao entirely. I've an uneasy suspicion he's unwilling to do this until he's got Mendes to get De Gea to sign on the dotted line.
 
Kill 'em all said:
The thing is, our results have been consistently improving since the start of the season.
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They have but because we went so cautious playing 5 at the back. The performances have regressed, people say soon enough it'll tick and we'll play fantastic football, I can't see that happening.

In his defence, van Gaal did say it'd take 3 seasons before the 'philosphy' bares fruit, if that means he makes more signings this summer and the season after, that's when it ticks together then that could be the case. The thing I'm most worried by is the fact he hasn't managed to get the best out of the current squad and got them playing attractive football.
 
Im far more disappointed by Van Gaal's unwillingness to take tough decisions like dropping RVP and playing one up front than I am by how long its taking us to get used to a new style of play. Its weak and a real let down considering he was supposed to be this no nonsense tough guy. We look disjointed and rudderless on the pitch but I expected that to last for a while and I still feel we will benefit from it in the long run, so I am finding reserves of patience. But I dont see this experiment with RVP and Falcao up front as something that will pay off in the long run. Obviously I could be wrong but it feels like we are waiting more for LVG to give up than for the combination to start working.

Where is this guy we thought we had brought in last summer, who could see what was needed and take these decisions and say to hell with the consequences? I feel like the victim of mis selling. Louis Van Gaal: the PPI of football managers.
 
Adebesi said:
Im far more disappointed by Van Gaal's unwillingness to take tough decisions like dropping RVP and playing one up front than I am by how long its taking us to get used to a new style of play. Its weak and a real let down considering he was supposed to be this no nonsense tough guy. We look disjointed and rudderless on the pitch but I expected that to last for a while and I still feel we will benefit from it in the long run, so I am finding reserves of patience. But I dont see this experiment with RVP and Falcao up front as something that will pay off in the long run. Obviously I could be wrong but it feels like we are waiting more for LVG to give up than for the combination to start working.

Where is this guy we thought we had brought in last summer, who could see what was needed and take these decisions and say to hell with the consequences? I feel like the victim of mis selling. Louis Van Gaal: the PPI of football managers.
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I'm thinking he needs to be let of the shackles. Could be holding back because of Ed telling him to(I've some weird thoughts as to why).
Another few weeks and I think he'll break his chains and do something ballsy. Hopefully it's dropping Falcao, and putting Rooney behind RVP.
 
Adebesi said:
Im far more disappointed by Van Gaal's unwillingness to take tough decisions like dropping RVP and playing one up front than I am by how long its taking us to get used to a new style of play. Its weak and a real let down considering he was supposed to be this no nonsense tough guy. We look disjointed and rudderless on the pitch but I expected that to last for a while and I still feel we will benefit from it in the long run, so I am finding reserves of patience. But I dont see this experiment with RVP and Falcao up front as something that will pay off in the long run. Obviously I could be wrong but it feels like we are waiting more for LVG to give up than for the combination to start working.

Where is this guy we thought we had brought in last summer, who could see what was needed and take these decisions and say to hell with the consequences? I feel like the victim of mis selling. Louis Van Gaal: the PPI of football managers.
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That bugs me too. Although they have such a close relationship, it's understandable why he is thinking/hoping his main man will come good for him. Especially with so many other players letting him down, left, right and centre (back).
 
Totally agree with Sultan's posts today. The lack of entertainment or quality football is making the fact that we are currently third seem hollow. We could so very easily have been 6 points worse off and down in 7th place, and I honestly believe that this would probably be a truer indicator of how well we have been playing this season. I can't claim to be very confident that we will stay where we are, and I am an optimist by nature.

People are saying that Van Gaal is 'building something' for next season. I don't see the logic in that. To keep playing badly is in no way going to lead to eventually playing better. It just becomes a habit that is difficult to break.

We have a squad of extremely talented footballers. How many of them do we believe have played above 80% of their potential this season? How often has the team looked more than the sum of its parts, or even equal to it? For me, the answer to both questions is 'very few'. This has to be a big concern. This team do not look like a team that are enjoying their football. All red flags.

I do expect us to be better next season. I think its fair to judge every manager at any club on the second season. With what Van Gaal has seen this season and the comments he has made though, I can see him going out to sign a bunch of strong, physical, workmanlike players this summer. Will it lead to better results? Yes probably. I don't think we are going to be any easier on the eye next season though, and that for me is not what I want from a United manager. I certainly hope to be proven wrong though.
 
LeftyBlaster said:
Really? I don't think we're anywhere near as imbalanced as people make us out to be. We've got a roster of true blue midfielders for the first time in a long while; competent ones at that. But we've decided to bench them all.
Our lack of quality at right back I'll agree with you. But it's not a terrible problem that puts us in a hole. We have players like Smalling, Jones and McNair who can step in. Valencia too as much as I dislike him.
The team is there. It's just being misused.
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Siorac said:
There's still very little justification for playing Wayne fecking Rooney in central midfield and at DM... Fergie, I suspect, did it because 1) he works hard, runs around a lot, 2) is quite good at those long crossfield passes that Scholes loved. Even that is meagre justification in my eyes for playing Rooney in midfield as he lacks Scholes' other qualities that made him outstanding but it made more sense than it does now when we don't even play with wingers who could benefit from those passes!

Carrick's injury problems are worrying and he's getting older, yes, but we still have Blind, Herrera, Di María and even Fellaini (even he's a better DM than Rooney, that's for sure) who can play in a midfield three or in a diamond. We talk a lot about how imbalanced the squad is and it's a fair point but Van Gaal sure does not help himself...
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I agree with you. The rating of our midfielders differs but I in our current situation it’s hard to agree with van Gaal that Rooney is the better option than all of them.

Fergie didn’t have a choice in midfield (could only blame himself for that). Van Gaal does. Pogue makes fair point that it’s better to have Rooney on the pitch than not, but there is no sensible reason to play both Falcao and van Persie at the same time on regular basis when you have Rooney rotting in midfield because there’s no spot for him up top. They are both struggling right now. I reckon we would be much, much better team if they played interchangeably, and we could play one more midfielder.

I'm not a big fan of Valencia, but he does the job defensively so we will be fine there. McNair looks promising, I've given up on Rafael.

Pogue Mahone said:
Rooney's being played in midfield because it's better than not playing him at all. He's a proven match-winner and a consistent goal-scorer. Something you can't say about any of our other central midfielders. It's obviously a pity he's not so good at the other elements of the position but hopefully we'll get someone in who fits the bill a bit better in the summer.

Obviously, we should be playing him further forward but Van Gaal seems to think RvP is undroppable and wants to give Falcao as much time as possible to prove he can get back the very high levels he was at just a couple of season ago. Both these decisions are frustrating but not completely impossible to understand.
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Not sure about that. Blind (2), Herrera (2) and Fellaini (3) seem to be scoring as much as Rooney does from midfield.
 
Adebesi said:
Im far more disappointed by Van Gaal's unwillingness to take tough decisions like dropping RVP and playing one up front than I am by how long its taking us to get used to a new style of play. Its weak and a real let down considering he was supposed to be this no nonsense tough guy. We look disjointed and rudderless on the pitch but I expected that to last for a while and I still feel we will benefit from it in the long run, so I am finding reserves of patience. But I dont see this experiment with RVP and Falcao up front as something that will pay off in the long run. Obviously I could be wrong but it feels like we are waiting more for LVG to give up than for the combination to start working.

Where is this guy we thought we had brought in last summer, who could see what was needed and take these decisions and say to hell with the consequences? I feel like the victim of mis selling. Louis Van Gaal: the PPI of football managers.
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Good post. Agree apart from the bold. I don't believe that playing this poorly consistently is going to be of any benefit to us
 
Sultan said:
That's my biggest gripe, B. A lot of people seem to forget we pay good money by either watching at the ground or on TV to be entertained. It seems as though fans care more about results and have been schooled this season to accept a top 4 finish with good grace. That should never be the case at this club. Entertainment and being champions should always be our priority, and anything outside of that should be regarded as underachievement.
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Everyone wants the same thing here. Everyone wants to win in style.

But the bald facts are Fergie has retired and we need to give whoever replaces him time. It's just the way life is. Otherwise we would be a shoe-in to win the league forever wouldn't we.

Results first, performance second. Even Ferguson knew this. Look how he changed our approach to Europe.

It's a tightrope for LVG. Fergie never had as poor a midfield or defence as LVG now has. Nor was the league as competitive across the board as it is now.

Everything centres on making sure we get Champions League. And so far LVG is on course.
 
pascell said:
They have but because we went so cautious playing 5 at the back. The performances have regressed, people say soon enough it'll tick and we'll play fantastic football, I can't see that happening.

In his defence, van Gaal did say it'd take 3 seasons before the 'philosphy' bares fruit, if that means he makes more signings this summer and the season after, that's when it ticks together then that could be the case. The thing I'm most worried by is the fact he hasn't managed to get the best out of the current squad and got them playing attractive football.
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Just looking at the way Chelsea played last season and the transformation they've made this season would give you reason enough to believe that anything is possible.

van Gaal is forced to play it safe with all the chop and changing of our defense because of all the injuries. There won't be any attacking, exciting football until we have the sort of back 4 Chelsea have and we had with Ferdinand and Vidic at their best. You can't take risks when you know there's a sword at your neck, our fragile defense and you know as an attacker that all it takes is 1 error and we concede.

You're playing as a winger for Manchester United, right? Wouldn't you feel safer knowing that there's someone like a 27 year old Vidic behind you if you fail?
 
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Pogue Mahone said:
Rooney's being played in midfield because it's better than not playing him at all. He's a proven match-winner and a consistent goal-scorer. Something you can't say about any of our other central midfielders. It's obviously a pity he's not so good at the other elements of the position but hopefully we'll get someone in who fits the bill a bit better in the summer.

Obviously, we should be playing him further forward but Van Gaal seems to think RvP is undroppable and wants to give Falcao as much time as possible to prove he can get back the very high levels he was at just a couple of season ago. Both these decisions are frustrating but not completely impossible to understand.
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This is exactly what's been holding us back for a while.
 
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