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Manchester United’s season kicked off in less than auspicious fashion with only 3 wins from their opening 10 matches. Given their off-season recruitment drive that saw the club spend in excess of £140 million, as well as bringing in a renowned manager in Louis van Gaal, United would have expected to fair much, much better.
Van Gaal’s insistence on installing additional cameras around the team’s Carrington training facility before the start of the season spread fears unnecessary micro-management, and any negative effects it may have on team morale.
United’s critics were soon silenced however, as their following ten league matches did not realise a single loss, and featured only 3 draws, with the rest ending in victory. Most notable were the wins away to Arsenal and Southampton, while their 3-0 home victory over Liverpool could hardly be downplayed.
Southampton found at least a degree of redemption by winning at Old Trafford, but for the most part, United had finally found their feet – at least in Premier League terms.
Their League Cup campaign ended in bitter disappointment thanks to a humiliating 4-0 defeat away to Milton Keynes Dons in August. But this Cup exit came about during the club’s early-season dry spell, and given that there was no continental football to consider, meant that they could concentrate all their efforts solely on the league – at least until the FA Cup kicked off in January.
Van Gaal clearly hoped to get his team playing according to his philosophy and tactics before making a concerted assault on a top four finish, and results went United’s way in spite of a few lacklustre performances.
Liverpool, meanwhile, had finally found some form and went on an astonishing run of 13 unbeaten league matches before hosting United at Anfield. Given United’s uninspiring performances at the time, and Liverpool’s simultaneous rise in confidence, most were expecting the hosts to leapfrog United into 4th. However, few counted on United taking the game to Liverpool, pressing the ball high up the pitch, and generally not giving the hosts more than a scant few seconds at a time with the ball.
Steven Gerrard’s early second half moment of madness and subsequent red card had its role to play in United completing the double over Liverpool, but it may not have changed the outcome too dramatically. United simply outplayed the hosts, and left Liverpool to wonder what might have been had they been able to keep a full side on the field going into the 2nd half.
That victory, coupled to Liverpool’s resulting dismal drop in form, allowed van Gaal’s men to eke out a big enough points advantage to keep their fiercest rivals at bay. They even briefly rose above Manchester City and threatened to overtake Arsenal to third, but it was simply not to be.
Please click on this link to read the remainder of this piece: https://ballgeek.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/manchester-united-season-in-review/
