Did Man Utd progress under LVG?

Louis van Gaal is expected to be replaced by Jose Mourinho at Manchester United – but how much of an improvement did the Dutchman make at Old Trafford after taking over from David Moyes in 2014?

After two seasons, one FA Cup win and fourth and fifth-place finishes, we look at whether United progressed under Van Gaal…

Premier League

David Moyes oversaw a dramatic drop-off in performance by Manchester United, following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement – and Louis van Gaal has failed to deliver substantial improvement in his two years in charge. 

After winning the Premier League with 89 points in Ferguson’s final campaign, United finished the 2013/14 season with just 64 points in seventh. Moyes was sacked in late April.

There was a six-point improvement in Van Gaal’s first season, which was enough to grab fourth and a return to the Champions League – although that points tally would only have been good enough for sixth the previous year.

A total of just 66 points in Van Gaal’s second season saw United miss out on Europe’s elite club competition once again.

Van Gaal has insisted expectations are too high for his “team in transition” but while the Old Trafford faithful may crave a return to their title-winning days under Ferguson, the past two seasons have barely seen progress from the calamitous 2013/14 campaign.

This season, United have finished with their second-worst Premier League points total, joint-lowest number of wins, second-most defeats and fewest goals scored. It’s been their second-worst Premier League season. Van Gaal’s first year in charge was the third worst.

Europe

Manchester United’s return to the Champions League this season – thanks to a play-off win over Club Brugge – was seen as a significant milestone in Van Gaal’s three-year ‘transition’ period at the club. Under Moyes, United missed out on European football for the first time in 25 years. At the end of Van Gaal’s first season, normality was restored.

Yet there was nothing familiar about United’s group-phase exit into the Europa League this term. “You should really be cruising through that group and probably qualify with two games to go, resting players with the Premier League in mind,” Tony Gale told Soccer Special. “The old United would have done that.”

In fact, the United of 2013/14 were doing just …

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