Paul Scholes vs Louis Van Gaal... Part II

That time we began to take notice of Paul Scholes…

When Manchester United crashed out of the Capital One Cup [on penalties] against a Championship side, after 120 minutes this season (October); we sat down and begun listening to Paul Scholes.

Both the media and fans realised just how spot on the legend was.

His criticism, bitter (as any fan can be) was insightful and authoritative in a way that Van Gaal could not even bring out to defend his own defeat.

Scholes went after LVG's tactics, limb attack and lack of creativity in the team.

He pointed out, once more, about the defensive play without risk (read, without attack) and how easy it had become to beat Manchester United...

The lack of fluidity (because up to this point, LVG did not - and still does not have a first XI) coupled with placing players out of position was a thorn that has pinched every nerve of every Manchester United fan.

In October 2015, Scholes essentially concluded that LVG's tactics were beyond help: “There’s a lack of creativity and risk.

It’s a team now you wouldn’t want to play against because they’re tightly organised.

But it seems he doesn’t want players to beat men and it’s probably not a team I’d have enjoyed playing in.”

“The hardest thing to coach is scoring goals and creativity. I was at the derby on Sunday and Rooney’s movement was brilliant, but when he’s playing in that team there’s no one prepared to pass to him.

I think after 20 minutes you’d be tearing your hair out.

I played with some brilliant centre-forwards and I don’t think they could play in this team – the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham.

You don’t get crosses into the box or midfielders looking for runs.”

By now, lots of fans were calling for LVG's departure.

Feeling the pressure and turning tide, the Dutchman came out swinging the next day and blamed the media, the fans and even Paul Scholes - all but taking any ounce of responsibility.

He also 'joked' that Paul's comments would not hurt him... and questioned the Ginger Prince's motives (gasp!) with directives that he should channel his 'issues' through his good friend, Ryan Giggs.

Louis Van Gaal: “No, now you are agreeing with Paul Scholes’s opinion; I always take risks.

I always use Dutch expression, but you have a fantastic expression for that ‘sticks and stones can break my bones, but names [words] will never hurt me’.

He [Scholes] doesn’t have the responsibility so he can say everything.

Why is he saying something? Because of the benefit of the club or for the benefit for him? He is a legend and he has a lot of resonance, I have heard.

I know when we shall lose and lose I shall be finished – but I will do everything for this club because of the fans, who are unbelievable.”

“I think when you are a legend, you have to speak with the manager or his friend, Ryan Giggs, or Ed Woodward, but not this way, because he will be paid by the BBC or Sky.”

After this beef, the floodgates opened as other former players gave their opinions on LVG's dismal performance.

Slowly but surely, the tide against the Dutchman was turning.

We ran a couple of polls between October and November - and it was clear that even those fans who wanted Van Gaal to stay were only doing so because they believed that Manchester United should retain managers and not fire them every season.

By December, however, over 70% of the fans felt Van Gaal should not manage the team in 2016.

Jose Mourinho's departure from Chelsea added fuel to the fire... but a couple of draws gave the flooding Dutchman a lifeboat...

2016

You know things are bad when you are criticised even after a win.

Paul Scholes struck hard in January after Man United took 70 minutes to register an attempt at goal against Sheffield United in the FA Cup.

In a game won by a penalty, there was not much to write home about, and Scholes was both accurate and damning in his assessment.

His words rung true and over 90% of Man United fans agreed with him and the words: square pegs in round holes summed it up.

“They didn’t create a chance and winning a game against a League One side with a 94th-minute penalty was not a great performance, but we haven’t seen anything different for the last six months.

There are too many square pegs in round holes and you see too much boring, negative football.

The players looked bored, there’s no spirit, nobody having a go at each other, no entertainment.

I think even Van Gaal on the bench looks bored, but he’ll come out and say he was happy.”

In his defence, LVG accused the opposition of 'not playing fair' by having 10-men behind the ball.

Goodness, as if he did not expect this, fans were hurt by his comments because he'd begun to sound like Arsene Wenger... and nobody wants a Man United manager to dish excuses that sound like they've been downloaded from Arsene Wenger's unlimited box of excuses...

Also, he promised to buy more creative players in January... but we all know how that went!

---

It was not all bad.

Paul Scholes positive commentary about Manchester United came from an unlikely result: when Man United drew 3-3 with Newcastle at St. James Park.

This game, reminiscent of the glory days of attacking football, spirited display and never die attitude warranted praise because it was not only entertaining, but something we'd not seen in Van Gaal's pass-pass-sideway-pass-back-to-De-Gea-pass-pass-try-to-go-ahead-no-no-back-back-pass-dispossed kind of play.

In response, LVG admitted that, yes! Perhaps Paul Scholes was right and yes, the team had become boring to watch...

But this one time wonder came to a complete halt, when LVG, developed an obsession for playing Fellaini as a play-maker.

For all his qualities and impact last season, the faults of the Big Fella were 'discovered' by Mou last season, when, after a winning streak, Man United and Fella were warned that 'we know how to stop Fellaini' and since then, it seems every team knows that the player lacks the technical skills to turn with the ball, control the ball on his feet and even worse, seems scared of playing 'risky' ball forward.

For a player so technically limited to play such an important role has baffled many.

And as February ticked on, Scholes criticism and straight talking at BT Sport became the go to place to listen to an honest opinion about the state of affairs with Van Gaal's team.

In the end, the tide turned.

The fans turned.

Dissent became chants and Louis Van Gaal, haunted from his bench by fans balmed Paul Scholes for influencing Manchester United fans against him with his criticism.

Van Gaal defended his legacy and tried, as he did at the beginning of all this to hint that Scholes should avoid public criticism and use his pal Giggs.

Even worse, he tried to play it off like Scholes was on the wrong to critique him; saying he had a duty to try and make a more positive atmosphere for the Dutchman...

Of course, LVG admitted he was not aware if the club was also looking for his replacement but he retorted that the world should understand why he was annoyed with the publicity of it all...

But as of now, Van Gaal has created more vocal critics.

Former players, pundits and fans can now openly see that all this talk by the Ginger Prince was not for nothing.

Scholes open, straightforward talk, has been joined by others - most notably Rio Ferdinand who reckons that Van Gaal is not only technically inept but his transfer business, and thin squad were short-sighted, arrogant and simply wrong.

For an experienced manager to box himself into a corner, even a novice would never be so presumptuous.

In the end, we can all see that Paul Scholes has been right all along... Louis Van Gaal has taken Manchester United down. His process has never worked and his philosophy has failed. Despite having huge support from fans and the board, he's arrogantly trudged on in his way, employing rigid structures of an outdated era - and he's been found out and beaten at his own game.

As Paul Scholes puts it: “It was shambolic ... so bad.

United? I didn’t have a clue what they were trying to do. United have spent £250m [under Van Gaal] ... they are sixth in the Premier League and have ended up in the Europa League.”

“They should be competing with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich [in the Champions League].

United didn’t need a new philosophy, they had one for 20-odd years that worked,” he added in reference to the 38 major trophies won under Sir Alex Ferguson before he retired in 2013.

--- Paul Scholes told us so, we should have listened!

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