da blaze casino: Another week at Manchester United and its another week of headlines and tense media relations- what a time to be a Red Devil.
da dobrowin: It’s what we’ve come to expect from a very turbulent season under the enigmatic Louis van Gaal. One week there seems to be love and harmony in the air and the next there are media reports that suggest his camp is rife with unhappiness and dictatorship.
These are just rumours and reports though and the only person that knows his team and how well things are actually going is van Gaal and at times, he keeps his cards extremely close to his chest, which is why the media pry as they do.
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But on Saturday, they threw away what looked to be a certain three points against a Chelsea side who will not be challenging this year. Jesse Lingard’s fantastic half-volley looked destined to give United the win until Diego Costa popped up in injury time to give the Blues a point.
It’s a result that fails to help either manager but the Red Devils are finally starting to look like a team of old on the pitch.
For weeks they were criticised by journalists, football fans and their own supporters who suggested a lacklustre and somewhat boring approach to games.
On Saturday this couldn’t have been further from the truth as they looked to attack, attack, attack (as the popular United chant goes) at every possible opportunity. Anthony Martial impressed as he often hugged the touchline, giving Branislav Ivanovic a particularly tough afternoon on the left-hand side.
Rooney’s movement was a lot better than it has been and Jesse Lingard impressed as he so often does these days, he was given the reigns to move freely across the Chelsea defence, pulling them from pillar to post.
Michael Carrick sprayed the ball around confidently and van Gaal would have taken promise from the performance of young full-back Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, who seems to have settled into his new berth particularly well given his lack of first-team experience.
So it’s all looking a lot rosier for van Gaal on the pitch, but can they mount a title push?
The obvious answer is yes they can. If they win their remaining 13 games off course they have a chance. But add in tricky and long-winded trips in both the Europa League and the FA Cup, and this task becomes a little more difficult.
The rumours linking Jose Mourinho to Old Trafford are also impossible to ignore as the pressure grows on Louis van Gaal for no apparent reason. And this is frustrating the Dutchman, as he again lashed out in a press conference on Monday morning after someone asked him how he feels about the constant “reports” linking him with a move away.
This must be frustrating for van Gaal. At the end of the day, he has a long-term vision of where he wants the club to be. His team are improving on the pitch and it isn’t unreasonable to suggest that they could mount a push for the title, albeit at the last minute.
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