There’s Now Nowhere Left For Manchester United To Hide

Every time Manchester United have failed to deliver this season there’s always been something for Louis Van Gaal to hide behind.

Knocked out of the League Cup by Middlesbrough on penalties? They’re concentrating on the FA Cup. Eliminated from the Champions League? At least there’s the Europa League. Perform indifferently in the league? We’re still just outside the Champions League hunt. Suffer the most embarrassing European defeat in decades to FC Midtjylland? There’s always the second leg.

But Manchester United are now running out of excuses. Last Thursday’s shocking defeat and performance at Anfield, which saw United luckily only lose to Liverpool 2-0 and somehow remain in contention, left Louis Van Gaal’s position as Manchester United manager dangerously exposed.

Following this pathetic loss, Manchester United had the opportunity for a teeny-tiny bit of redemption against West Ham United in the FA Cup. Once again the 1-1 draw, and impending replay, means it’s hard to come up with a definitive conclusion from the game. Except that in years gone by this would have been a home banker.

But the years have indeed gone by. This is a new Manchester United team, being led by a manager who repeatedly keeps on drawing back up for breath every time that you think he’s drowned. A horrible analogy I know, but one that feels appropriate considering the sense of suffocation that currently surrounds Old Trafford.

Going into Thursday’s game with Liverpool most Manchester United fans probably aren’t expecting to see their side celebrating progression to the quarter finals of the Europa League at the end of the game.

Instead, they just want to see everything that their side didn’t show in the first leg: passion, heart, togetherness, skill, composure, and a drive and tenacity to win the game. Especially since this is the start of probably the most definitive few days of Van Gaal’s tenure.

After the Liverpool game, Manchester United travel to the Etihad to face Manchester City. Defeats in these two games would mean that their European and top four ambitions are basically be over, and that they’d be out of the Champions League for the second time in three years.

They’d only have the FA Cup as the last remaining beacon of hope. The problem for Louis Van Gaal is, if they’re unable to mount a comeback against Liverpool and in the league, that simply wouldn’t be good enough.

[Image via Getty/Steve Bardens & Getty/Michael Regan]