fletcherpost said:
The big question: Does LVG get his cock out? And if so, when? Does he wait until the next defeat, or does he do it before the next match? He won't do it on the training ground, much too cold for that...it's chilly on the west, won't have much impact if it's all shrivelled up like a contracted slug.
LVG is in the clear, everyone knows this is a big rebuild. Six months ago, the media were going on about £200M needing spent on the squad. They're about 2/3 the way there, still some way to go.
As much fun as I've been having with Van Gaal, I don't think he's the problem at all. They aren't looking beyond the idea of what a winning squad would look like. For example,they lost Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, and Buttner with no plan to replace any of them. Ferdinand and Buttner were clearly by choice, and while they wouldn't have been part of the next title-winning side, they represented, respectively, one of the three best CBs in the squad and the backup LB/LWB. Then they go buy one of the top 20 players in the world and no one can quite figure out how the side will be set up in Van Gaal's system. The handling of Welbeck is another example of this. They let word get out that they're OK with him leaving when he's going to be a regular contributor to the (admittedly mediocre) side they have right now. He might not be up to Van Gaal's standard, but he's easily qualified for the XI + bench as the squad is constituted. It's not like they need the money; they need decent players. Like Buttner, Welbeck isn't going to be on the Ballon D'Or shortlist, but he can bridge Man U to the next great side.
And the buying policy doesn't seem to have a strategy, either. Between the issue of Di Maria's role and overpaying, how much of that £60M is Man U basically flushing away as the cost of making this "statement of intent"? And if you're going to do that, why not make it for Vidal, who would play a clearly defined role in the Van Gaal system? Why not make a fuck-you offer for Benatia, who fills a gaping hole in defense?
Man U needed a structural rebuild starting this summer once they decided Moyes wasn't a fit, but from what I've seen, Ed Woodward and the Glazers are buying whatever high-end building materials they can instead of thinking about the big picture. They might back into a set of parts that can be used to build a winning side, but that would be more by luck than design. Contrast this approach with Mourinho at Chelsea, who all but admitted that he hated his squad last season, but didn't run off any of his extra parts until he had replacements not only purchased, but bedded in.
