Manchester United in town on Saturday so it's over to Mike Glasgow — a Reds fan I can actually spend time with without smashing things — to give us his thoughts on the season so far at Old Trafford.

The best part of £150m spent, no European matches to distract, dumped out of the League Cup early doors, and yet you have the same points as this time last year. Why no anti-Van Gaal coverage and feeling in the same way there was for David Moyes?


MG: Reputation and personality for start; Moyes didn’t really have either to fall back on when things didn’t immediately work. Van Gaal gets more time because he dragged an average Dutch side to third place in the World Cup and has previously overhauled teams at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Perversely I think the injuries have helped him as well because there’s a sense that until we have a settled team it is difficult to really judge his impact. All of that doesn’t help how scarring it was to watch Anderson trying to defend against MK Dons.


How would you assess the job he’s done so far? Where do you expect him to take you in the coming years?


MG: He’s done ok. I think, as with Moyes, he suffered from coming in late in the summer and having a much shorter pre-season, so some of the experiments with personnel and formations stem from that. Still, a handful of kamikaze performances aside, we’re in the mix for the Champion’s League places, so he is doing the job he was brought in for. The lethargy and lack of confidence that crept into our play last season has gone, so that’s a big thing. As to where he takes us, he needs to continue the overhaul of the squad, have us challenging for the league next year and have us getting to the latter stages of the Champions League.




Of the big-money arrivals in the summer, who has impressed you and who has disappointed? Have you overpaid? What do you think of Van Gaal's transfer record so far overall?


MG: Angel Di Maria had a great start then faded pretty quickly; Radamel Falcao hasn’t really made an impression yet; Daley Blind looked steady until his injury; Marcos Rojo has got a bit of the Gabriel Heinze madness about him and doesn’t really look comfortable as a dominant centre half; Luke Shaw has struggled with injuries but I think looks good otherwise; Ander Herrara has bags of technical ability but is positionally suspect. It’s not really a ringing endorsement, I think they’ve all still got plenty to prove, but I think they have brought quality and when fit our squad will be better for it. Van Gaal has managed to drag some good form out of Marouane Fellaini, Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia so I’m optimistic.


What have you made of Falcao, obviously a very expensive loan, but in and out of the team and in and out of form. What’s the situation there? He’ll be off at the end of the season surely?


MG: He was worth the gamble giving his track record. It's anyone’s guess whether he’s fit or not. I think most fans want to see him given a run in the team to see if he can reproduce his form pre-injury. The prospect of a fit Falcao lining up against Richard Dunne is quite fun. Unless something special happens between now and March then I can’t see him being here next season.




David De Gea seems to have improved immeasurably, do you believe the Victor Valdes arrival is a pre-cursor to him being sold?


MG: I hope not. I think the problem is that even when De Gea looked shaky last season, Anders Lindegaard came in and didn’t impose himself in any way. I don’t think he’s good enough to mount a proper challenge to be number one, so if De Gea’s form did dip or he got injured we would be in trouble. I think bringing in Valdes is a very good move.


I think we can all guess at this one, but where is the team strong and where is it weak? Who’s playing well and who’s playing poorly? Does Van Gaal actually know his best team or favoured system yet?


MG: I don’t think he knows his strongest team or system - pretty much impossible to given the injuries so far this season. De Gea has been incredible but otherwise the defence has been a shambles. Midfield has been only marginally better. Rooney and van Persie have played well sporadically but not really consistently. Blind gave us a good measure of composure before his injury. I think Young , Valencia and Fellaini have played well in parts. If we can get our attacking players on the pitch together then it’s a frightening front five, but at the moment you’ve no idea if we’re going to click and win 5-0 or bore everyone into submission and get beat 1-0.


Are those defensive problems to do with the formation, the personnel, the coaching, the management, what?


MG: I think a combination of introducing a new system and with different players every week. I’m yet to be convinced that playing three centre backs in a league where most teams have a single striker is the way to go.


Of the names floating around transfer wise, who would you like to see arrive the most?


MG: Mats Hummels: Dortmund doing terribly, our entire defence doing terribly, it makes sense. Might be an abundance of riches, but if Messi is available…


The Twitter @loftforwords


Pictures — Action Images

Photo: Action Images

TacticalR added 23:06 - Jan 16 Thanks to Mike. It sounds as though although Van Gaal has steadied the ship, things are still a bit...unsteady.
0

Queens Park Rangers Polls