Van Gaal's No Tinkerman

Article by Howard Jones

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OK, so he's already fielded 33 players this season - more than any other Premier League side. But that doesn't make Louis van Gaal the new tinkerman.

In fact, jibes levelled at him in this week's papers (comparing him to the original tinkerman, former Chelsea manager, Claudio Ranieri), are way-off the mark. For a start, Ranieri's reputation was forged over a number of years, characterised by over-rotating a large squad and by making numerous bizarre substitutions in high-profile matches.

Five games into his own tenure at Manchester United, van Gaal has made neither such faux-pas.

Blighted by injuries and having to trade players like Panini stickers in a school playground, as he rushed to get a balanced squad, van Gaal has been largely-forced into the changes he's made.

That doesn't make him a tinkerman.

So, 33 players then, eh?

Injuries

At some stage this season, Van Gaal has lost 7 players to the treatment table:-

Rafael - suffered a hamstring injury in United's pre-season tour of the States and only recently returned for the game against QPR. Availability - 20%
Evans - missed the first two games of the season with a leg injury. Availability - 60%.
Lingard - managed just 24 minutes in the league-opener against Swansea and hasn't been seen since. Availability - 5%.
Herrera - lasted 67 minutes against Swansea and only returned to-the-fold for United's last match against QPR. Availability - 35%.
Fellaini - substituted the injured Herrera against Swansea but sustained an ankle injury in training the following week. Availability - 5%.
Smalling - replaced after 44 minutes in the Sunderland fixture due to a groin injury. Availability - 30%.
Jones - United's star man until he was crocked playing for England against Switzerland this month. Availability - 80%.

So, even if we consider Phil Jones and Jonny Evans to have been largely-available, five other players have been out-of-action for almost the entire season.

Realistically, then, that leaves 28 players United have had to choose from. Right?

League Cup

United's absence in this season's Champions League saw them obliged to enter the Capital One Cup at the 2nd round stage for the first time in 19 years.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for a club that'd been jostling for European supremacy for almost two decades And, a stark reminder to van Gaal, of the encumbrances that await those who miss-out on a top-four finish.

To avoid a similar fate next season, van Gaal chose to field a weakened team against MK Dons and displayed his rookies. In came the likes of Vermijl, James, Keane, Janko, Powell, Wilson and Pereira, none of whom have featured since. Oh, and there was a twenty-minute cameo appearance from Kagawa that was to become his swan-song.

We all know the result, but it was nothing unusual for a top-club fielding a team of reserves.

The likes of Chelsea and Liverpool, harbouring their own Champions League ambitions, will be doing exactly the same thing when they start their own campaigns next week. And maybe, they too, will be slayed by lesser opposition.

Hardly tinkering at all, I'd say then. Van Gaal had clearly deployed his youngsters for good reason - as much to foster youth, as to propel the club back to the summit of European football and that beguiling sound, from his dug-out ,of the Champions League anthem.

With all that in mind, you could say United have used just 20 players this season. Right?

Coming & Goings

So, we’ve taken injuries and youth-team players into account. Let's now cast an eye over some of the other squad members van Gaal selected earlier in the season. Those, he shipped-out during the transfer window.

That was no random act of tinkering. These weren’t desperate ‘Ranieri-like’ 80th minute substitutions to change the course of a game (that was going well). No. These were wholesale changes that van Gaal had made with the long-term future of the club, very-much in mind.

We’re talking about players the manager had been forced into using until he could broker deals to bring the desired quality into the club. These players had used their chance to impress their boss. And they'd failed.

So, tinkering it wasn't. Strategic thinking, it certainly was.

Nani - replaced by Di Maria
Cleverley - replaced by Blind.
Welbeck - replaced by Falcao.
Hernández - replaced by Wilson, from within the club.

Taking these four departing players out-of-the-equation, then, you could say United have used a core of just 16. That's a starting eleven, plus the bench. Hardly tinkering at all, I'd say:-

De Gea, Januzaj, Young, Blackett, Jones, Fletcher, Mata, Rooney, Valencia, van Persie, Anderson, Evans, Di Maria, Rojo, Blind and Falcao.

So, upon reflection, the papers should give van Gaal more credit.

In tinkering terms, Ranieri's still the master. Perhaps he always will be. He's the sort to keep pouring-in the oil without checking the dipstick.

Van Gaal, on the other hand. He's spotted the leak and has already replaced the engine.

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