Manchester United should sack Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho lost Chelsea players, Jurgen Klopp must take blame
Seven things we learnt: Giggs or Mourinho next for United, Klopp must take blame for Liverpool defeat, McLean must change his ways, time to give Leicester the credit they deserve and how Watford display a model of their own
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Your support makes all the difference.United are right to place Van Gaal’s future in doubt – he’s been terrible
The Independent reports this morning that Louis van Gaal has two matches to save his job at Manchester United, but to be brutally honest, he’s lucky to be given so long to remain at the helm of what is supposed to be the biggest club in the world.
United have not won any of their last six matches in all competitions after the 2-1 loss to Norwich, they have lost their last three games and crashed out of a Champions League. All three are not signs of a big club, in fact they are unquestionable traits of Premier League also-rans, and given Van Gaal’s £250m of transfer business since arriving at Old Trafford, that simply isn’t acceptable.
United’s loyal support is also calling for change given the drab style that Van Gaal employs. Witnessing the Dutchman sit motionless on the bench while seeing Ryan Giggs try and provoke a response on the touchline proved to be a telling tale, and despite Van Gaal admitting afterwards that he fears the sack, you didn’t see Jose Mourinho remain in the dug-out when his job was on the line.
Giggs or Mourinho? That is the question
Carlo Ancelotti looked to be the preferred choice at United, but he has already signed up to join Bayern Munich when Pep Guardiola leaves at the end of the season. The former Barcelona manager would be No 1 choice for any club, but Manchester City look to be front of the queue for his services, so who’s left?
Jose Mourinho is the clear favourite, and it’s not hard to imagine Mourinho getting a response from the current United squad just by shaking things up a bit. But the fact that he didn’t get the job when Sir Alex Ferguson left remains a factor, and opens the door to Ryan Giggs. The current assistant manager appears to understand that after he took to the touchline in what can, at best, be an attempt to show his management skills and at worst be a clear undermining of Van Gaal.
Mourinho did lose the dressing room if Chelsea performance was anything to go by
The fans vented their anger at a number of Chelsea players during the 3-1 victory over Sunderland due to their love of Mourinho, but the simple matter is Roman Abramovich has been proven right in his decision to sack the Portuguese, given it triggered an immediate response and change of attitude from the players.
Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas came in for the most heated criticism, and the striker did look a bit sharper than he has done in recent months. But it was the display from Oscar that caught the eye for more reasons than one. The Brazilian was by far the best player on the pitch, and he admitted himself that it was his best outing of the season. Now I wonder why that is.
Klopp must take blame for Liverpool defeat
Jurgen Klopp raged at his players from the touchline during Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat by Watford on Sunday, but he must shoulder the majority of the blame after getting his team selection horrendously wrong. Klopp elected to start with Roberto Firmino spear-heading a 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation, and it was immediately clear that it wasn’t going to work.
Klopp also decided to recall fit-again striker Mamadou Sakho, but the Frenchman had a shocker, and when Martin Skrtel left the field with injury – rather than embarrassment after being completely outmuscled by Odion Ighalo – he elected to move Lucas Leiva to centre-back rather than either Emre Can – as he did last week – or bring on Kolo Toure. In a true admission that he got it wrong, he sent on striker Divock Origi in place of Skrtel, while Christian Benteke had to wait until the 74th-minute before coming on.
McClean must learn if he is to reach his potential
The sight of James McClean rampaging after the ball after being robbed of what he felt was a clear-cut foul gave all the evidence you needed to predict what was coming next. As Bournemouth’s Matt Ritchie gave the ball to team-mate Adam Smith, McClean launched himself at the man who had just challenged him and nearly took his right leg off.
Luckily Smith managed to lift his boot off the ground, otherwise there could have been a serious injury to deal with. But for McClean, he is quickly developing a reputation for one of the dirtiest tacklers in the Premier League. His challenge on Smith was almost an exact replica of the one he put in on Tottenham’s Dele Alli in the 1-1 draw earlier this month, and even his national team manager Martin O’Neill admitted he needs to sort it out when he addressed the issue on Goals on Sunday. If he doesn’t he could well find himself failing to reach the potential he clearly has, yet fails to utilise.
Leicester show they have more than team spirit
The collective effort shown by Leicester in 2015 was widely praised as they rose up the Premier League table, firstly away from relegation last season and this term to lead the way in an unlikely title challenge. But that’s exactly what it is, and it’s time to start praising them for their talented individuals as well as their team spirit.
Riyad Mahrez has been unplayable these last few weeks and has five goals in two matches to show for it, while Jamie Vardy’s talents stretches beyond his ability to find the back of the net. Just watch the striker’s runs off the ball and his deft touch to set-up his team-mates, with the striker laying goals on for Mahrez’s third in the win over Swansea earlier this month and the pass for Shinji Okazaki in Saturday’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Everton. If they can hold on to them in January, who knows what’s in store for the Foxes.
The Watford model leaves all-comers gobsmacked
Six managers in four years, dismissing the man who guided the club to promotion and brining in 13 new players in the summer transfer window. Watford sure know a recipe for disaster, but this season has proven anything but, and now the Hornets are on course for the best ever Premier League season having already matched their best points haul of 28 which came in the relegation year of 2006/07.
While many clubs utilise stability and team spirit to survive relegation, Watford are creating a model of their own, and it’s breath-taking to watch. The strike partnership between Troy Deeney and Ighalo is based on a deep understanding between the pair to seek each other out as well as the opposition goal, while summer signing Etienne Capoue has proven that he is not the dud that we all thought he was at Tottenham.
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