Five reasons why Manchester United will not win the title this year.

Heaven knows, why Louis Van Gaal?

Five reasons why Manchester United will not win the title this year.

1.    “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” warned Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s gothic classic: words which could quite easily have been spoken by Louis Van Gaal in one of his press conferences.  The Manchester United manager is going the ‘galactico’ route and assembling his own Frankenstein, having been entrusted to spend the vast amounts of money that David Moyes was pointedly not. Whether or not his Manchester United will be the shambling, confused wreck they resembled at times last season or a cohesive unit remains to be seen. Whether the new policy of crudely stitching together this ‘Real Manc-drid’ will pay dividends over the ‘winning absolutely everything with kids’ policy of the past should become clear this season.

2.     Van Gaal has people skills. Skills that are severely lacking. An oft-shared video snippet hinted at tension with assistant Ryan Giggs last year.  A withering and irritable style has not endeared him to the media. His alienation of the ‘galactico’ acquisitions of last season. Falcao and Di Maria, raises questions about his willingness to accommodate and handle differing personalities. The latter having been sold to PSG at a huge loss.  Witness this recent summary of Ashley Young: “You can expect things from Ashley Young. He had a fantastic season. But he is not a Neymar and we have to compete with that kind of class.”. Presumably, Young is keeping his own counsel about his manager’s failure to emulate Alex Ferguson’s success by any degree.

3.     There have been some exciting signings  this summer.  Memphis Depay; Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, a real player of pedigree and experience; Pedro rumoured.  Despite these, their title rivals still look better placed to mount a challenge.  Other rivals look better organised (Chelsea), more settled (Arsenal, who have added only Peter Cech) and more sure in their roles to mount a title challenge (Man City, if the spine of Kompany, Yaya Toure and Silva can find previous heights).  It will take some weeks for the new team to gel and Chelsea could be long out of sight by then.

4.     Van Gaal’s people skills.  He cuts a slightly terrifying figure, as witnessed in this Manchester United club awards ceremony ‘comedy sketch’ at the end of last season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBYohmqooGI

5.     The season-long exile from the Champions League wounded players and fans incredibly badly.  Unthinkable for a club so enraptured with the trophy they most dramatically ripped from Bayern Munich’s cold, dead hands in 1999.  They simply cannot afford to miss out on the £9 million prize pot for getting through their qualifier to the group stage and indeed the further financial gains that reward progression. Van Gaal, as neurotically obsessed with his legacy in Europe as the club is, could take his focus off the league and be distracted in his pursuit of European success.