The pros and cons of appointing Louis van Gaal as Manchester United manager

Louis van Gaal – the positives and negatives that he brings

Current Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal is the favorite among the bookmakers to be the next Manchester United manager. The Dutchman, aged 62, would bring in a wealth of experience along with him to Old Trafford. Here I would like to point out the advantages and disadvantages of appointing him as the next United manager.

PROS

1) Experience

Van Gaal boasts of an impressive CV, having been at the helm at Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar and Bayern Munich. He is also going to lead Netherlands at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. United needs an experienced head like him who has worked with top players and knows exactly how to handle them. When David Moyes was in charge, it was reported that he lost the respect of the dressing room. Not having managed a top team probably was Moyes’ biggest problem in dealing with the situation.

2) Success

Van Gaal has enjoyed success at each of his previous clubs. He won the Eredivise thrice with Ajax. He also won the Champions league at Ajax. At Barcelona, he won the La Liga thrice and the Copa del Rey once. Van Gaal won the Bundesliga once while at Bayern. He also won the Eredivise with a mediocre AZ team. It would be fair to say United would be challenging for silverware from next season itself under him.

3) Identity

During Moyes’ reign at United, the team did not have a clear identity to their play. Sometimes they would play a possesion game, sometimes a game heavily dependent on wing play or they would defend deep against strong opposition. Van Gaal has been a follower of ‘Total Football’ and will definitely make United play free flowing football. He has got the likes of Juan Mata, Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa to aid his cause.

4) Guts to bench a top player

David Moyes was heavily criticized for not benching Robin van Persie or Wayne Rooney when they were not in form. Van Gaal on the other hand is quite the opposite. Once at Bayern, he dropped his pants to show the players he has the ‘balls’ to drop anyone. This sounds very similar to Sir Alex, who never allowed any player to be bigger than him.

5) Dutch Connection

Van Gaal works with van Persie at international level, and the striker has flourished under him. RvP recently became the all time top scorer for the Dutch and enjoys a great relationship with Van Gaal. Van Gaal can also convince a few Dutch players to join him at United, like Kevin Strootman, the type of player United desperately need at the moment.

CONS

1) Longevity

Van Gaal is already 62 years old and does not have a future as long as Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho. United have been famed for long stints of a single manager and Van Gaal does not fit the bill here

2) World Cup

Van Gaal would arrive at United after the World Cup, which ends in mid July. This could be damaging for United, who are in massive need of rebuilding. Appointing van Gaal would risk losing out on world class players, something which United cannot afford.

3) No Premier League Experience

United are in such a situation where a blunder in appointing a manager would hurt them both on and off the field. Van Gaal has not managed a Premier League side, and it would be disastrous if his inexperience in the Premier League is heavily exposed.

So on the whole, it does look that van Gaal will help get Manchester United back on the right track, and that his appointment will be one that is good for the club.