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 Dutchman van Gaal was drafted into Old Trafford in a bid to halt
last term's alarming slide, when the 2012-13 champions finished in
seventh place after a series of insipid performances under David
Moyes, who lasted 10 months as Alex Ferguson's replacement.
After leading the Netherlands to third spot at the World Cup, the
Dutchman raised hopes that the force of his personality could lift
the club out of the doldrums as United enjoyed an unbeaten
pre-season that included wins over European champions Real Madrid
and Liverpool.
However, Saturday's 2-1 opening day loss to Swansea, and the once
unthinkable sight of fans leaving Old Trafford early after another
ponderous attacking effort, highlighted that it will take more than
a change at the top to breathe new life into the club.
Before kickoff former Liverpool forward and BT Sport pundit Steve
McManaman branded them the worst United side he'd seen in 20 years,
while Alan Shearer said on Match of the Day: "They need at least
three world-class players".
Van Gaal said the need for new players had already been identified,
while chief executive Ed Woodward has insisted they have the funds
available to splash out.
Indeed, close to 60 million pounds ($100.39 million) was spent on
midfielder Ander Herrera and defender Luke Shaw in the past few
months, while they broke their club transfer record bringing in Juan
Mata from Chelsea in January.
ABILITY TO COMPETE
However, with Luis Suarez joining Barcelona from Liverpool for 81
million euros ($108.47 million) and Colombia World Cup star James
Rodriguez moving to Madrid from Monaco for a similar amount,
questions continue to be asked about United's ability to truly
compete.
The Glazer family which owns the club remain deeply unpopular with
those who accuse them of burdening United with debt which hampers
their spending ability, while whether the big names even consider
them an attracting proposition anymore remains in question.
Madrid paid less for German World Cup-winning midfielder Toni Kroos
than United did for Shaw, highly promising but a teenager untested
at the highest level.
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Regardless, the way defensive errors helped Ki Sung-yueng and Gylfi
Sigurdsson find their way past David de Gea in United's goal, condemning
the hosts to their first top flight opening day loss at home since 1972,
remains the more immediate concern.
Injuries forced van Gaal to field Tyler Blackett and Jesse Lingard in
defence, while Chris Smalling and Phil Jones were less than convincing.
New captain Wayne Rooney, who levelled the scores from close range just
after halftime before Sigurdsson's late winner, said they were not
interested in what other people were saying as they looked to improve on
last season.
"We are not out to prove people wrong," he said. "We are out to win
things for ourselves, the fans and this club."
"We know last season was a disaster. It wasn't good enough. And it’s
always a bigger story when Manchester United struggle – you are going to
get ex-players having their say. We have to accept it and be ready for
it.
"We know that if this club is successful it is great and if it is not
then there are a lot of people who are waiting for you to fall so they
can get at you. We have to make sure we are successful. We have to make
sure last season was a one-off because that was not good enough."
($1 = 0.5977 British Pounds)
($1 = 0.7468 Euros)
(Reporting by Josh Reich, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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