Premier League Round Four: The good, the bad and the ugly

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The Bad

Louis van Gaal

Manchester United’s mad scientist was thoroughly beaten by his counterpart, Garry Monk, during Sunday’s matchup with Swansea City. As a United supporter who watches each and every fixture, I have not noticed many occasions where van Gaal has made an astute change during a match.

Every match van Gaal can be seen sitting in the dugout between his assistants, Ryan Giggs and Albert Stuivenberg, occasionally whispering thoughts and observations, presumably about what is playing out on the pitch. What you do not see is van Gaal step away from his comfy seat in the dugout and go to the technical area.

Week after week opposing managers can be seen gesturing and shouting instructions to their players while van Gaal sits and scribbles in his notebook. LvG is a good manager, there is no denying that. He has a great CV and a track record of improving every side he manages, but are The Red Devils improving fast enough? The quality of football certainly is not.

After the match LvG referenced Monk’s second half tactical change as something the United players did not respond to quick enough. I agree with him. The United players did not recognize that Swansea City wanted the fullbacks to push up the pitch, leaving space and vulnerable United central defenders to deal with a fast Swans attack.

Here’s the rebuttal, though, is it not LvG’s job to recognize tactical swings during a match and attempt to counter them? He is the manager, after all. The fact of the matter is that Manchester United have a good side. It is a side littered with talented young players and just the right mix of experienced veterans. United should look better than they presently do and it is van Gaal’s job to get the most out of his team. He is not doing so at the moment and he must buck up his ideas if he hopes to see out his contract at Old Trafford.

Wayne and Kane

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England’s future all-time leading scorer and its anointed golden boy have stumbled out of the gates thus far. Neither has scored a league goal. Wayne Rooney is currently experiencing the worst goal drought of his Premier League career while Harry Kane has scored just two goals in his last 12 league fixtures.

Both had golden opportunities to open their account this weekend and both failed miserably with their one-on-one chances.

Harry Kane was put through on goal by fellow Three Lions call-up Ryan Mason, but Kane looked bereft of confidence when he placed his shot close to Tim Howard. Howard produced a kick-save and Kane was left to ponder what exactly is going wrong for last season’s breakout star.

There are two questions that come to mind when I think about Kane’s drought: is Harry Kane a one year wonder and should Tottenham have cashed in when Manchester United submitted a mega-offer for the young Lion?

Only time will tell as it pertains to Kane. My gut feeling is that the goal scoring will come around, but he will fall short of the 21 he scored last season.

On the subject of Manchester United, Wayne Rooney has misfired during a league game once again. The United skipper and probable future club-record scorer seemed ready to kick on from his UEFA Champions League hat trick against Club Brugge and bust out of his Premier League rut.

This was not the case, though, as he flubbed a one-on-one shooting opportunity during the final moments of Sunday’s match away to Swansea City in favor of diving in an attempt to win a penalty kick. Rooney’s touch and turn were magnificent and it set him up for a great opportunity to pop in the tying goal with his left foot. Alas, the skipper was reluctant to take the shot with his left foot, which is exactly what he did during the opening match of the season against Tottenham before Kyle Walker scored the goal for him.

I have never known Rooney to be one footed, so I was totally surprised by his reluctance to shoot. I think he is going through the same issue as Kane. They both lack confidence at the moment and their droughts are putting an enormous amount of pressure on them. They need to both get out of their heads and just play. If they can do that then I think the season will turn around for the England strike duo.

Next: The Ugly