EPL: Are Manchester United challengers for the Premier League title?

Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal

Peter Drury, Barclays Premier League match day commentator for the United-Liverpool game, mentioned in his pre match analysis that mid season is where the going gets tough and obvously as the old saying goes the tough will get going.

Manchester United raked up their 6th consecutive win in the premier league with a 3-0 demolition of Liverpool which means the Red Devils are now 3rd on the PL table and are looking to gatecrash the title race. It’s now a difficult conundrum for fans around the world whether to believe in this very possible dream or settle for a top 4 finish which still remains the priority at the Manchester club.

The fans have been blessed with Spaniard David De Gea’s blistering form this season along with the clinical finishing of Rooney, Van Persie and Juan Mata. More importantly the belief seems to be back among the ranks. If Liverpool had the jabs, United delivered the knockout punches.

This has been the story of this season so far for Louis Van Gaal’s men. But can they go on to win the title? Can they leapfrog both Chelsea and Manchester City? Can they sustain a title challenge with a meagre defence? Here are five points each supporting both notions of their title challenge.?

5 reasons why they cannot win the title

Chelsea and Manchester City are too strong:

The table toppers Chelsea and second placed Manchester City might just be too strong for the Red Devils to catch up. And adding to United’s pain are two masters who know exactly how to win a league title. Jose Mourinho has won most of his titles in the second season after his appointment.

And this is his second season in London after a long stint with Real Madrid. Plus the players at his disposal are all equipped to produce something magical when things aren’t going in the right direction for the Portugese. As far as Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini is concerned he knows how to drive city towards a consecutive league title win having won a domestic double last season.

He is an astute headmaster like manager who demands perfection from his players. Even though players like Aguero and Kompany are injured they have more than able back ups to take up their places.

Weak Defence:

If you thought the first point was the more obvious one then think again. Pundits across the globe have opined that United will run out of luck at one time and start conceding goals at ease. This owes mainly due to a very weak defence and no natural leader in the backline.

Louis Van Gaal somewhat addressed this issue by signing Argentinian Marcos Rojo and England national Luke Shaw but both of them have been injury prone and will take time to adapt to the demands of being at such a huge club. Phil Jones, Johny Evans and Chris Smalling have been often inhured and when fit have performed poorly to suggest that United cannot sustain a title challenge with this defence.

Injuries:

Manchester United have already had 43 injuries this season and most of their players have spent more of their time in the club hospital rather than at the ground. Keeping in mind Louis Van Gaal’s stringent training methods it is highly unlikely that all the players at United will adapt in his very first season.

So injuries are likely to continue this season which adds to the manager’s dilemma of getting the right balance with a different set of players in each match. Plus Van Gaal’s arrogance of not changing his methods at the training ground might prove costly come the end of the season.

Injuries have ravaged United’s season so far

Louis van Gaal's philosophy:

People might get surprised seeing this point but his philospohy has to do something with United making blunders in each match this season. Yes you could argue that they are winning games but devoid of David De Gea’s brilliance this season they would have been languishing in the bottom half of the table. His preffered formation of 3-5-2 has unsettled the players at the club who are accustomed to playing 4 at the back.

He abandoned this system for a few months after the drab nil-nil draw against Burnley but has implied the same formation since the match against Arsenal at the Emirates. Another obssession of his which is to take the ball deep into their defence and then come out from their half without playing the long ball has lead to a lot of errors by inexperienced as well as experienced defenders.

Lack of European Football:

This one point goes on both sides of the table as no one exactly knows the outcome of such a reason. Liverpool showed last season that a title challenge is very much possible without being involved in Europe but then what happened to them when they weren’t competing in the previous years as well. The lack of quality opponents sometimes clouds players’ judgement and they tend to be a bit complacent under such circumstances.

The motivation drains out sometimes and they do not give their best in the league. Plus the double sessions of training causes weariness among players. And as we are witnessing the number of injuries which are basically tears and stretches such as a hamstring injury occurs due to excessive training. The Dutch coach might not agree with me but 43 injuries cannot just be coincidence.

Most people will agree that Manchester United winning the title will be no more than a miracle. But remember strange things have happened in football before so we can keep our hopes high for a top fight till the end.

5 reason why they can go on to win the title:

Current Form: If one asks why are we even discussing title prospects for a beleaguered Manchester United side who made their worst start to a PL campaign, then the answer is these 6 straight wins which included wins over their two greatest rivals Arsenal and Liverpool. In this Barclays PL season no one has put a string of 6 wins together apart from Manchester United. And there is no point for them to think they cannot stretch this run of victories. Next match is against a lowly Aston Villa side at the Villa Park where United have not lost since 1995. If they can stretch their victory run till the new year and especially get a result against Tottenham, against whom they have stuttered in the past two years, then they will be in a pole position in the table as the leaders and City are expected to drop points in this hectic time of the season.

Louis van Gaal’s legacy:

Manchester United’s manager Louis Van Gaal has always been a slow starter in his career but has a great reputation of putting a positive show towards the end of the season as he has often done with some of Europe’s finest clubs like Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Lets take the example of his last managerial stint at Bayern Munich. His team was languishing at 8th position in the last week of November with just 21 points on the table but went on to lift the trophy at the end of the season. Till now we have seen a similar season at United and who knows with a couple of defensive additions in the January transfer window the Dutch master could take his side to an epic title win.

Wealth of Experience:

Liverpool floundered a golden oppurtunity to win a Premier League trophy in the last stages of last year’s title race. Much was to do with their defensive frailties but their lack of experience in winning this coveted trophy may have caused their downfall. Where they failed last year their fiercest rivals could succeed. Manchester United have a number of PL winners and players who know how to challenge for the title.

Players like Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher could be an integral part if United go on to win the title. They can shower their experience over other players and teach them how it is done. Among the coaching staff they have a manager who knows how to win titles and his assisstant who has won this title for 13 times. So they can bank on experience to provide the impetus required for a title run.

Bench Strength: In the last match against Liverpool Van Gaal played a Moyes 11, which meant none of his new signings were in the starting line up. Radamel Falcao and Ander Herera came on as substitutes in the closing stages after all the damage had been done. Players like Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao. Ander Herera, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw, Rafael and Chris Smalling are all gradually coming back.

Once Van Gaal has all his players fit Manchester United will have one of the dangerous teams in the league and their starting 11 could easily match the likes of City and Chelsea. The 11 that defeated Liverpool can topple the best sides on any given day and with all the beforementioned players coming back United will have one of the strongest bench in the league.

Lack of European Football:

As I said this point can go in favour of or against a United side that has just found its feet in the league. No Champions or Europa League means the coaching staff and the players can concentrate purely on the league. This augurs well for the club keeping in mind how competitive the PL is. Extra set of training sessions in the weekends means the new players will have a better understanding of each other.

Moreover Van Gaal will have much time in his hand to incorporate the philosophy that he always talks about. Players don’t have to travel mid week so the same set of players will remain fresh every week which means the starting 11 will remain constant once all the players are back from the injury.

Lack of European football will augur well for United

?So all in all Manchester United can fancy their chances this season. The probability may be low but the belief is surely their. When asked on their title chances United’s captain Wayne Rooney said, “I think we have to believe that we can win the title” Wayne told reporters after Sunday’s 3-0 win over Liverpool. “We are eight points behind and coming into a busy period. If we can win our games and the others have one bad result then there’s nothing in it.

We have a lot of new players but we have been here before and this is where the experience of myself, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher can rub off on the other players.” He might have one or two point here but more importantly as Phil Neville said the belief which once made Manchester United such a dangerous football club is back.

After the win at Southampton at the Saint Mary’s all the players and coaching staff went towards the fans and greeted them which showed real cohesion among the team. Having said that United have to improve their play a lot as acknowledged by the manager after last Sunday’s win and if they can then this season might be a surprise for them.

My prediction though: 1.Chelsea, 2. Manchester United, 3. Manchester City, 4.Arsenal. Adios.

Edited by Staff Editor