Manchester United fans may not be certain of success under Louis van Gaal, but they are aching for their new idol to trumph…
Van Gaal certainly has the personality for the Old Trafford hotseat; he has that blend of authority and charisma, with a vital measure of barminess thrown in. As for ego, there is enough of that for both himself and the next 12 incumbents of his post.
In terms of a first term report, it’s a tricky one. On the one hand, it is mission accomplished, with the Dutch maestro guiding his new charges to a top-four finish. A successful cup run would have been a bonus, but position-wise, nothing more was either realistic or expected.
On the other hand, it was very much a season of chaotic mishmashery. At certain points there seemed to be a collective dropping of pennies; at others there was just shapeless ineptitude. A large part of the reason why United finished fourth was due to their rivals being even worse.
The supporters are acutely aware of this slump over the finish line. Champions League football next season may have been a minimum expectation, but it’s no use if it merely results in continental embarrassment and a domestic campaign undone by added games.
There is huge work to be done on the transfer front, again. The club needs to treat the season just passed as a promotion campaign; thanks must go to the players who achieved the bare minimum, but if they’re not good enough for the next step then upgrades are required.
Of course the most vital factor is the manager, and the most pertinent question: Is he good enough? It is too early to know or say. The signs have been sporadically good and bad. One huge plus Van Gaal has in his favour is that the supporters are desperate for him to be the real deal.
The Dutchman’s press conferences have been noteworthy for a plethora of reasons, but a bizarre pattern has developed. Quite often the fans have been left dismayed and maddened by a poor performance, and then somehow assuaged by surely spoken Van Gaalisms.
Whether it’s strange logic or Jedi mind trick, he has managed to calm wrought nerves. It is sometimes excuses, but more often than not it’s sober acceptance of weaknesses and a resolve to address them. All conveyed with authority and panache.
For good or bad, the Old Trafford support have grown to love Van Gaal in double time. That affection is partly born of sheer desperation. These are fans who have lived a generation under Sir Alex Ferguson; they are programmed to respond to brilliant but belligerent old men.
After the unsurety and vagueness of Nice Guy David Moyes, Van Gaal is nothing if not absolutely sure (and full) of himself. That appeals to the Manchester United psyche. As does the balls-out bolshiness of the Dutchman’s ‘performance’ at the club’s Player of the Year awards.
Van Gaal is pure box office, even if the football is not. He is the most enigmatic figure to represent the club since Eric Cantona. More so than Dimitar Berbatov and Patrice Evra combined. Louis van Gaal isn’t merely a manager – he is a philosophy; a universe of his own.
He has that same rebel-without-a-cause otherness as Cantona, as well as a similar affinity with the fans. All that is missing to elevate great fondness to bona fide hero-worship is anything tangible to back it up. He remains an irresistible question mark.
Van Gaal is constantly praising the United support as the greatest in the world. It may be part-way pandering, but it’s also legit. He is genuinely taken aback by the reserves of good will that greet each and every performance.
Such kindness is finite. Next season is most definitely payback time.
