Tuesday night saw Louis van Gaal say his goodbyes, for the season, to the fans at Old Trafford. LVG’s rousing speech at the Theatre of Dreams, which was was substantially booed, came after United beat Bournemouth 3-1. It was the Dutchman’s way of saying thank you to the fans for their “unconditional support” as he gave his goodbyes for 2015-16. Was this also his final goodbye from the club? Does this mean that Jose Mourinho is now in?
That depends on who you talk to, and that situation remains fluid. There’s a lot of conflicting reports out there, but here’s the latest.
United didn’t sack David Moyes until it became official that they were mathematically eliminated from the top four/Champions League qualification. The Red Devils weren’t technically, officially eliminated from the top four race until just now, so does this mean the club will go ahead and sack Van Gaal?
At United, top four is the absolute minimum standard and LVG couldn’t even reach that. United saw their fortunes fall to new depths on many levels this season. Their 49 Premier League goals is 12 less than the previous record low of 58 set in 2004-05.
The 19 league wins is a new club low for the PL era. For Captain Wayne Rooney, this is the first season in which he failed to score double figure goals in league play.
Clearly, the Van Gaal “philosophy” is more than just boring; it’s very ineffective too. The fans are clamoring for change too. They want Mourinho:
Working on @IndoSport feature and need views of Man Utd fans…what should happen if Man Utd win the FA Cup #MUFC
— Kevin Palmer ? (@RealKevinPalmer) May 16, 2016
And according to the back page of the Irish Independent today, arguably Ireland’s paper of record, the Mourinho-Van Gaal crossroads has ripple effects throughout the transfer market. Specifically, I.I. claims the Mourinho-Van Gaal decision would impact the future of United’s best player and their biggest name summer transfer target.
James Ducker writes that “David de Gea is likely to stay at Manchester United this summer in the event of Jose Mourinho becoming the club’s next manager. But the United goalkeeper’s future at Old Trafford will become much less certain if the club opts to keep faith with Louis van Gaal.”
Ducker then states in the same column that United have now accelerated talks with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, offering him a one year deal, but the transfer could hinge on the managerial situation. It’s well documented how Ibra and LVG aren’t the bosom buddies.
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