Man Utd can be Chelsea's big rivals next season
Former Manchester United player and
coach Phil Neville explains what Louis van Gaal has learned from his first
season in the Premier League and why his team are not far away from being title
contenders again.
I
think Manchester United can be Chelsea's closest challengers for the title next
season, but Louis Van Gaal has got to get things right away from home against
the so-called lesser teams.
This season, they have dropped points in
10 out of their 16 away games against teams below them in the table. They got
rolled over at Evertonand Leicester, and drew with Burnley,
Sunderland and West Brom.
In the past, the aim at United was
always to do the double over everybody outside the top six.
We approached all of those games - home
or away - with the aim of winning them and doing that was one of our strengths
down the years.
That meant, when we came up against our
rivals in the top five, our record against the rest meant that those big games
were not must-win and the pressure was off us a bit.
This season, it has largely been the
opposite. United have produced their best football against the other teams in
the top five and have struggled against the sides that have camped in their own
half and made things difficult for them.
Going forward, United need a player who
can make the difference in those games, when the opposition are packing their
defence.
Chelsea have that with Eden Hazard. Last season, Luis Suarez did it for Liverpool.
Those players can win you the title because, when games are tight, they make
the difference.
But at the moment United do not have
anyone who is providing those bits of individual brilliance in the final third.
'Di Maria could make the
difference for United'
A lot of people are saying Gareth Bale
would be the answer to that particular problem but I think United already have
the right player on their books - if he performs to his capabilities.
Angel Di Maria arrived for a British record fee last summer but,
considering his £59.7m price-tag and his reputation, he has not delivered since
his first three or four games.
Even so, he is still the United player
who excites me the most.
Everything about the way he plays from
his pace, his skill, and his ability running or passing forwards tells me he
has what it takes to shine at Old Trafford. He has just not done it yet.
Next season could be the time when he
realises what it takes.
He now knows there are no easy games in
the Premier League, and that he has to toughen himself up.
Di Maria will also understand that
United are a huge club. He is on a big stage and there is a bit of pressure on
him.
We know he can do much better, and so
will he.
I would love to see him play to his
potential because he could be the attacking star this United team needs to make
the next step.
'Van Gaal will know what
he needs to do'
Van Gaal's first season as United manager is
also almost over and he will have found out a lot about English football over
the last few months.
Earlier in the campaign, he tried playing three at the back and
I don't think that system worked for United.
Van Gaal probably tried it because he
was trying to accommodate Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and
Juan Mata in the same team, but he has realised that he can't do that in the
Premier League.
When he arrived at Old Trafford, I think
he might have under-estimated that anyone can beat anyone in this country.
Van
Gaal saw his United side ship five goals against newly-promoted Leicester at
King Power Stadium
Maybe in some of the countries where he
has managed in the past, teams in the bottom half of the table do not even give
you a contest. Here, they do.
At times Van Gaal has probably been
surprised by the intensity of every game that United have played, but he will
have learned from it too.
Next season, he will come back and be
thinking 'I know what I need to do'.
'De Gea exit would be a
big blow'
Van Gaal has achieved his aim for his
first year at United by securing a top-four finish and a return to the
Champions League. Because of that, it has been a good season for him.
Van
Gaal has won league titles in every country he has managed - the Netherlands,
Spain and Germany
Now his next target is to win the title,
and I don't think United are far away from being champions again.
The important thing is that they are
going in the right direction. To go from seventh, where they finished last
season, to first was always going to be impossible.
People might say that is defeatist and
not the way United should think but you cannot make that leap, even by spending
£150m like United did last summer.
You have to do it gradually. Going from
seventh to fourth then first is achievable, although it clearly will not be
easy.
United
have admitted they have drawn a list of replacements for De Gea
Can they do it? If David De Gea leaves,
then that would be a big blow. Without him in goal, I don't think they would
have finished in the top four this time.
I am worried he will go because he has
not signed a new contract and the noises coming out of the club about his
future are not good, particularly if Real Madrid do come calling.
'Sensational performance
gives me hope'
Along with Marouane Fellaini, Ashley
Young and Juan Mata, De Gea's individual form has been one of the high points
of the season.
But it was United's sensational team
performance in their win over Liverpool in March that
was the most encouraging thing for the future.
Juan
Mata scored twice for United at Anfield, including a stunning scissor-kick
For me, it was their performance of the
season and the one that gives me massive hope for what they can achieve next
season.
In fact, that period in March and April
where they also beat Tottenham and Manchester City gave us a glimpse of
what this team can do.
That is the level that they have to play
at consistently to challenge for the title.
They could not do it this time but, just
as with Van Gaal, a lot of United players will be better for what has happened
to them in the last few months. I am expecting further improvement from them
too.
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