Manchester United’s Pre-Season Tour

With the World Cup now in the rear view mirror the attention turns to clubs’ pre-season tour.

Long gone are the days when pre-seasons only purpose was to help fitness and tactical preparations for the upcoming season. There is now the added dimension of the commercial responsibility required for promoting the global brand that every Premier League side is, but none more so than Manchester United.

With both aspects in mind, the club have hit a home run in organising this USA tour. Following America’s strong showing at the World Cup the US population have never been more primed to embrace ‘soccer’ sufficiently to make it a major player in the US market.

At the same time, they won’t be facing clubs that they can just steam roll either. They will be playing the LA Galaxy as well as 3 major European sides (Roma, Internazionale and Real Madrid), which will give van Gaal the perfect opportunity to not only assess his first team squad but put in action plans for the season ahead.

The absence of youngsters such as Ben Pearson, Nick Powell, James Wilson, Tom Lawrence and Andreas Perreira are not of any disregard to them but a reflection of how quickly he wants to get to grips with the senior resources available at his disposal.

That said, the first team members of the squad that made it beyond the group stage at the World Cup have been afforded extra holiday time.  For those that are first team members but have not travelled (e.g. Bebe), for them the writing is truly on the wall.

I fully expect them to be sold and with the remainder of the squad under van Gaal’s microscope we can expect a greater grasp of what to expect next season by the end of the tour, with transfer activity sooner rather than later to address the issues that van Gaal will no doubt identify.

The Louis van Gaal Revolution Cometh

Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Carles Puyol, David Alaba… The list goes on. It may read as a veritable who’s who of global football but it is in fact just a few people that Louis van Gaal has handed debuts to during his time in charge of Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

It is a track record such as that which fills United fans with glee, as there are few things that United value more than bringing players through their youth system. Better still, he does it while enjoying success on the pitch in the short term also.

Crucially, he has truly left his imprint at each club he has been at, as highlighted by two quotes that really resonated with me. Firstly, from the Godfather of tiki taka, Marcelo Bielsa:

I am a big fan of the football Ajax played under Louis van Gaal…When executed properly it is winning football and great for the fans…Ajax always played very flexible in opponent possession. The lines adapted to the opponent’s playing style, but in possession the team plays its own game.

This just reinforced what we saw at the World Cup where he demonstrated his tactical flexibility. He also paired this with the ability to excel with a squad weaker than many of his counterparts, something that if he is able to replicate, will bode well for United in the season ahead.

Furthermore, van Gaal is fully committed to achieving success for the club he is at not only in the short term but long after he has gone, something reflected in the second quote of note, this time from the man himself:

I dream of the team winning the European Cup that is composed entirely of players from our youth system.

Now if you considered that quote about Barcelona today you would think it to be a legitimate possibility but back in 1998 it was something that ruffled a lot of Catalan feathers.

Barcelona had become famous for attractive thanks to former manager, Johan Cruyff, and many believed that he embedded this into the club. Not van Gaal though. What he saw was a lot of talk about Cruyff’s way (much like how West Ham talk about the ‘West Ham way’) but no infrastructure to make it a part of the club’s lifeblood.

What followed truly revolutionised Barcelona into the club they are today. He completed a total overhaul of La Masia and demanded that a suitable playing style be taught at all levels, with that style being focused around a passing game and the rest as we know, is history.

His way of turning round the first team’s fortunes are just as hands on, if not more so. Not one to hold his tongue, he demands players listen to his every word and strict to his disciplined methods with the self-belief that if they do the results on the pitch will follow.

This ruthless and somewhat stubborn approach may rub some people the wrong way (Ribery and Luca Toni come immediately to mind) but there is no doubt he has enhanced the development of several top footballers and when the squad is unified (like the Dutch team were) it can work a treat.

Personally, I fully expect his style to be a success at United. In fact, he is the type of manager that probably should have succeeded Sir Alex in the first place, as he has the self confidence to ensure he won’t buckle under the pressure. He also is a disciplinarian, which ensures that there will be no drop off in standard on the pitch. I, for one, cannot wait to see what he can do to make sure that today is the first day in the club’s return to the top of English football.

World Cup Best XI

Manuel Neuer – This hs truly been the tournament of goalkeepers with Howard, Navas, Ochoa and Enyeama all having excellent tournaments. That said, no keeper has matched the level of consistent brilliance that Neuer has shown in all aspects of his goalkeeping, even when he has had to act as a sweeper to bail out his defence.

Phillip Lahm – He didn’t start the competition at right back but as necessity demanded he returned to cover that spot. Both his form and his team benefitted from it, as he was unflappable there.  Not only did he not let a left-winger even have a sniff against him, he added a further threat down the right hand side of the pitch.

Giancarlo Gonzalez – Columbus Crew’s 26 year old defender exceeded all expectations with his performances for Los Ticos and rightly so. He was a key part of Costa Rica’s brick wall of a defence with his positioning being particularly impressive. Several opposition attackers are still having nightmares after losing duels with him.  I wouldn’t be surprised if teams from one of the major European leagues make a move to sign him following his World Cup performances.

Ron Vlaar – Never has his moniker of Roncrete been more apt. The Aston Villa defender was a brick wall all competition and opposition attackers were thwarted by him time and again. After his showing at the World Cup I wouldn’t be surprised if a move away from Villa Park is on the cards for him.

Daley Blind – He aided out his nation in a number of positions but it is at left back that he did his best work. His tactical nous allowed him to excel both in his defensive and attacking duties.

Javier Mascherano – There is no doubt in my mind that when Mascherano plays in the defensive midfielder role that he is amongst the best in the world and this tournament proved it. He came up huge for his nation and was a major part of why they did not fall behind at any stage of the tournament (until extra time in the final).

Thomas Müller – If there was one person in the World you could rely upon for a World Cup it is Thomas Müller. At only 24 years old he is on track to beat the existing goal scoring records and as such is one of Germany’s consistent performers at this level. If that wasn’t sufficient he has unparalleled stamina, something that helped Germany out on more than one occasion.

Toni Kroos – Toni Kroos just completed a master class on how to instantly make your team regret letting you go on the basis of wage negotiations. He barely misplaced a pass and proved why he is one of the best midfielders in the world. Real Madrid are getting themselves an absolute bargain.

James Rodriguez – Despite moving to Monaco for a deal in excess of 30m last summer the vast majority of common football fans were not aware of his technical prowess. This World Cup changed that. He leaves the tournament with the Golden boot and was no doubt one of the best performers at the tournament. His wing partnership with Cuadrado looked threatening with every attack.

Arjen Robben – In my opinion he was the player of the tournament. It seems that since his disappointment 4 years ago he has stepped up his performances in the big games for both club and country. That didn’t change for the Oranje as he was their main threat in every game and he had opposition defenders at sixes and sevens trying to deal with him. People will focus on the diving but that really does a disservice to the level of performance he has put in throughout the competition.

Lionel Messi – This is a funny one. By Messi’s standard he hasn’t had that great of a tournament but by normal standards he has had a very good one. His 4 goals and an assist not only bailed Argentina out on a number of occasions but has earned him a place in this XI.

Awards

Best Player

Winner:Arjen Robben

Runner Up: James Rodriguez

Golden Boot

Winner: James Rodriguez

Runner Up: Thomas Müller

Best Goalkeeper

Winner: Manuel Neuer

Runner Up: Tim Howard

Best Manager

Winner: Louis van Gaal

Runner Up: Jorge Luis Pinto

Brazil vs Netherlands: Review

With humiliation against Germany fresh in the mind, the Brazilians would have been hoping that the return of their captain, Thiago Silva, would have helped revitalise them but 3 minutes in that idea was quickly extinguished.

He was about to be left for dead by a rampant Arjen Robben and to stop him Thiago Silva decided to stop him by pulling him down when he was through on goal. It was as clear a red card as you would ever see but the referee buckled under the pressure and only showed him a yellow card. To compensate he awarded the Dutch a penalty when it probably should have been a free kick. Either way, the Oranje obliged as Robin van Persie scored a perfectly placed spot kick.

Now it is important to know that there were several changes for both teams. For Brazil Fred was finally dropped (although Jo was just as useless on the day) and Willian came in for Hulk. As for the Dutch, they were near full strength but Jonathan de Guzman and Jordy Clasie replaced De Jong and Sneijder. Did the changes have any impact on the game? Not particularly, the Dutch were all over the Brazilians as expected.

They quickly doubled their lead on the 17^th minute after yet another David Luiz howler. The cross came into the box and instead of heading the ball out for a corner he put it right back into the danger zone and Daley Blind was treated with a gift to get his first international goal to pile the misery onto the Selecao and its fans.

Fortunately for them the Dutch quite visibly took their foot off the gas and while the Brazilians were able to get back into the game as a result, they never really fashioned a great chance instead it was still the Dutch who posed the greater threat and rightly so they put the final nail in the coffin when Georginio Wijnaldum slotted home right at the end of the game to take home the bronze medal with a 3-0 win.

Scolari has been given his marching orders and given the tournament as a whole, it is probably a fair call as the Brazilians will need to go back to the drawing board to evaluate how they want to progress in preparation for Russia 2018. As for Louis van Gaal, he leaves his post with his head held high taking after taking one of the weakest Dutch squads in a while all the way to 3^rd place earning himself the accolade as best manager at the world cup (in my opinion).

Brazil vs Netherlands: Preview

This is a game that crushes the souls of the teams that were just short of being good enough to make it into the finals.

It’s sole purpose is to line the pockets of FIFA further, as I’m sure that every team that ever has/will participate in this game would prefer not to.

It would not be a surprise if both Brazil and the Netherlands made wholesale changes to give a chance to all the players who haven’t managed to get a run out thus far.

Then again, Phil Scolari may take the opportunity to try and save some face for the Brazilians that were humiliated against Germany. Louis van Gaal has already declared his lack of care for this game, stating that he’s said for ten years that it should be cancelled.

Either way, not many people will really care about how this game plays out or the final result but if both teams do opt for their strongest XI then the Oranje should come away with the win.

Netherlands vs Argentina: Preview

One criticism that has always been levied on Lionel Messi is that he has not been able to put the national team on his back and propel them to World Cup glory a la Diego Maradona in 1986.

Against the Netherlands, Lionel Messi has the opportunity to get one step closer to silencing those last remaining critics that doubt his greatness. The problem is that Louis van Gaal and the Oranje will be looking to rain on his parade and advance to their second consecutive final instead.

Previewing this game is considerably harder than the first semi-final as these two teams are more closely matched than Brazil and Germany are. For Argentina, their plan A, B and C are quite simple: Lionel Messi. Finding the right balance to play around him will be essential. His preferred sidekick, Angel Di Maria, is out injured so there will be some difficulty on the wings for the Argentinians, but they do welcome back Sergio Aguero, who will have to show no remnants of the injury that kept him out.

With Aguero and Higuain running beyond Messi, there should be enough attacking prowess to make them a threat but the defence will have to step up their efforts and not show any of the signs of the side that stuttered against Nigeria.

If they do, Arjen Robben (a contender for best player at this World Cup) will be ready to pounce. He has been a menace to opposition defenders all tournament and if Robin van Persie is fit then both will be on hand to propel the Dutch to the final.

For me this game will be won/lost on the basis of the midfield battle. Nigel de Jong returned to training and if he is available for selection then he should be a guaranteed starter as he will be essential in the goal of closing down Messi. While it isn’t a one-man job, the absence of a natural holding midfielder has been glaringly obvious in the past few matches and so his return should inspire a more solid showing from the midfield trio.

It is tough to pick a winner between the two but I do think that the Dutch have shown more signs of promise throughout the competition and I expect the Dutch to dominate the wings, with Robben stepping it up a notch once again to guide his team to the final where their main rivals (the Germans) await.

Netherlands vs Costa Rica: Review

There cannot be enough praise showered on this Costa Rican side.  Yea, they went out at the quarterfinals but just replay that, Costa Rica, ranked 34^th coming into this competition, made it to the quarterfinals. Not to mention that along the way they thrashed Uruguay, beat and did not concede against Italy and failed to concede against England or the Netherlands.

That is four footballing powerhouses that they went toe-to-toe with and it is no surprise that they gained a huge fan following as the tournament went on. Keylor Navas, Cristian Gamboa and Joel Campbell, in particular, leave the competition with their reputations significantly enhanced and it is no surprise that the transfer rumours have already begun for them.

As for this match though, it was very much a case of attack versus defence, at the pace of a training ground exercise too. The Dutch were on the front foot but weren’t quick nor bold enough to attack overly aggressively and that played into the Costa Rican hands as they were well organised and disciplined with their play.

The only person that was really concerning the Costa Rican defence all day long was Arjen Robben. A lot of people have given him grief for his diving but I have to say that he has proven himself to be quite the big game player and he has stepped it up in a big way for the Dutch. His dives are just a byproduct of the number of times he gets genuinely fouled and the free kick isn’t given. That’s just the way the modern game is right now, it isn’t pretty but there you go.

Having said that, in the second half and in extra time in particular it just seemed that Keylor Navas had installed an invisible brick wall that was set to deny any shot on goal that the Dutch decided to fire in. Whether it be via a magnificent set of saves or a magnificent set of shots from Sneijder that smashed against the woodwork. There was even that moment where the ball rolled across the face of goal then took 2 deflections before hitting the bar and flying out.

So it was no surprise that it took penalties to decide this match but that wasn’t before one last moment of drama. Louis van Gaal not only showed that he has balls of steel when bringing on Tim Krul on the 120^th minute, but he also demonstrated that he wasn’t afraid to make the big decisions especially if it leads to mind games to intimidate the opposition.

This tactic worked a treat as Krul intimidated his way to stopping 2 penalties and diving the right way every single time against a team that smashed home all 5 penalties against the Greeks, while the Dutch didn’t miss a single one. It was a huge risk but a gamble that paid off as Louis van Gaal came out looking like a genius much to the delight of Dutch and Man Utd fans.

The Netherlands now advance to the semifinals where they will face Lionel Messi and co. Ron Vlaar is 50/50 to make it while Di Maria has already been declared out, both of which makes this contest an even more interesting affair. I simply cannot wait to see how it plays out and who continues on in their path to the World Cup final.

Australia vs Netherlands: Preview

After their great win over Spain this game could be argued to present more of a concern for the Dutch. Having never beaten the Aussies before (in three previous attempts) they will need to protect against complacency in taking on what clearly was quite a tough Australian side.

Naturally the main threat for Australia will be Tim Cahill but they also showed an ability to threaten down the wings with genuine pace. Whether van Gaal decides to counter this by sticking with the successful 5-3-2 is yet to be seen, but if he did I’m sure he would not have any problem with keeping Australia at bay.

However, I am expecting van Gaal to revert back to his preferred 4-3-3 system as he will feel that his side is not only strong enough to keep the Aussies out but have enough firepower in attack to blow the Socceroos away.

I can see van Persie being up for this game just as much as the last as he will want to keep his goal scoring form in tact. My original prediction for this game was a 2-0 Dutch win, but if they can get their mojo going early then that margin of victory could be far greater.

The Luke Shaw Transfer Frustration

It is no secret that the past season has been Manchester United’s worst in the Premier League era. In trying to understand why this is the case we have placed a lot of the blame on David Moyes’ shoulders and his failure to stamp his trademark authority on the squad.

That said, what really got the ball rolling was the club’s failure in the summer transfer window. The identification of targets occurred far too late and in a matter that left the club destined to be the butt of all jokes (see Fabregas, Herrera and Baines transfer sagas).

While it was embarrassingly poor, we essentially allowed Ed Woodward and co. a free pass as he, much like Moyes, had taken up a role where his predecessor was unquestionably one of the best in the business. Hence, there would be some learning curve involved in order to get up to scratch.

So once the Mata deal was complete we may have been led to believe that he was perhaps ready to step up to the task and with the early departure of David Moyes it would be easy to believe that the club had learned from their failings a year ago. Problem is, with the world cup looming our aim to get business done early has apparently fallen flat on its face.

While targets have been identified we have failed to collect on apparent open goals such as Luke Shaw (who has been reported to have requested to join Manchester United on the last day of the season) on the basis of a few million £££, as well as our main target from a year ago, Cesc Fabregas, who was being flogged around without anyone willing to stick their neck out and grab him.

While it is understandable that he may not be a target for Louis van Gaal, letting him move to Chelsea without any apparent alternatives lined up raises a real concern about getting deals closed for top players without being usurped by clubs in European competition next season.

The stagnation in the Shaw deal just builds on that frustration, as it is a deal that seems like it could be easily completed with a little extra push to seal it and move onto the next target.

With a squad overhaul essentially underway, expediting these deals as quickly as possible is essential. So, while it is still relatively early in the transfer window there will be a large microscope over Ed Woodward’s activity with the hope that he can bring in players this summer with the same efficiency that the club manages to reel in global commercial partners. Until then, the pressure will be firmly on him to deliver the players van Gaal desires to get United back on track.