VAN GAAL DOES NOT NEED TO SPEND IN JANUARY TO ACHIEVE TOP-FOUR FINISH It was only a month ago that Manchester United lost the Manchester derby and were contemplating their worst start to a season since 1986 when Ron Atkinson lost his job. Four wins later, Mondays clash at Southampton provides the opportunity for Louis Van Gaal’s side to move up to third in the table with some breathing space from top four rivals Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton. United have had plenty of problems of their own in the first third of the season, but the problems at other clubs - some bordering on crises - have given the 20-time English champions an open goal in their quest to return to the Champions League. The club spent more than £150 million on new signings in the summer to bolster Van Gaal’s squad and prove they still have the pulling power to attract some of the biggest stars in world football to Old Trafford. As the January transfer window approaches, Van Gaal knows that he has another £100m-plus available to complete a squad that has obvious weaknesses, not least the lack of a top quality central defender. Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodword is already working through the gears as he looks to get business done, with Mats Hummels the top target to improve the back four while Van Gaal remains desperate to sign midfielder Kevin Strootman from Roma. Hummels and Strootman are two players that would turn United into a title-challenging team, especially given the injury problems the club have had in those two areas. Both, however, would be very difficult to sign mid-season, with clubs reluctant to sell their top players at a time when it is hard to secure replacements. The message this winter though is that there is no need to panic. If United miss out on their number one targets, they should wait until the summer rather than overspend on second-rate replacements. United need defensive reinforcement but they are better off making an astute signing like Ron Vlaar or Winston Reid - both running down their contracts - than repeating their recent strategy of blowing huge amounts on players they don’t necessarily need. Van Gaal has said this is a three-year project and the club’s philosophy seems to have been to take apart Sir Alex Ferguson’s last squad and start again from scratch, almost in the style of computer game Football Manager. Despite all of the club’s injury problems and plenty of rocky moments in the early part of the campaign, they have a squad perfectly capable of achieving their aim of finishing in the top four and securing a sponsor-pleasing return to Europe’s elite. If they can’t do it, this year of all years, then Van Gaal is not the man for the job, not the same coach that has won titles in three different countries and took the Netherlands to the World Cup semi-final last summer. The Dutchman can forget about any notion of mounting a title challenge despite Chelsea’s defeat this weekend, but there is no excuse not to finish in a top four currently occupied by West Ham and Southampton. The Saints will provide a real test for United on Monday night, but they have stellar attacking talent and all-important momentum on the back of victories over Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Hull and Stoke. The last three transfer windows for United have been defined by a sense of deep panic and a solution of throwing money at any problem. But they have done enough to look like a top four team again. Now they have to think intelligently in the transfer market, be patient if required, and be prepared to wait for the players that can turn United into title challengers once more.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:11:12 +0000
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