Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has blasted Louis van Gaal for attempting to rein in his strikers and has criticised the coach’s management of a series of big-name talents.
Already this season, Javier Hernandez, Adnan Januzaj, Angel Di Maria, James Wilson, Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie have all left the club, and their replacements, Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial, have failed to step up to the plate.
Indeed, no team inside the top eight have scored fewer goals than United, who have managed only 22 goals in their 19 league games to date. Remarkably, this is 11 fewer than league leaders Arsenal, who have scored 33, and 15 fewer than Leicester City and Manchester City in second and third respectively.
Perhaps concerning for United fans—and a damning indictment of van Gaal’s management—many of the offloaded players have shone away from Old Trafford, with Chicharito, Angel Di Maria and James Wilson, in particular, impressing.
Ferdinand, writing in his column with The Sun, has criticised van Gaal both for his ability to get the best out of offensive, creative players, and, specifically, his management of some of the aforementioned players.
“Van Gaal seems to struggle to get the best out of forwards with his strict and rigid tactics,” the ex-centre-back began. “Robin van Persie suffered under him at United as did Angel Di Maria, Adnan Januzaj and Javier Hernandez.
“I loved Chicharito when I played with him,” he continued. “He guaranteed you goals, even when he was rotated between being a starter and a substitute. But Van Gaal didn’t seem to know how to get the best out of him or wasn’t prepared to adapt to the little man’s way of playing.
“Yet see what happens when Chicharito is free to do it his way — he is now banging goals in for fun at Bayer Leverkusen.”
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