Judgement day looming large for LVG

When Louis Van Gaal took over the reins at Old Trafford last year,  big things weren't expected of him in the upcoming season. The club was in post Ferguson transitional period and the need of the hour was to rebuild the squad after the ten month odd Moyes' stint. Such was the atmosphere around the club that a psychological lesson was more crucial to the players than a footballing one. So, at the end of the 2014-15 campaign finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League drew sighs of relief from the fans especially after the seventh place finish a year ago. To his credit,  there were some signs of cohesion and team chemistry visible towards the end of the season in the emphatic victories over Liverpool and Man City.

Fourteen months, three transfer windows and nearly £250m later,  the jury is still out on his Old Trafford tenure. Although, Van Gaal did address the squad's pressing need of midfield reinforcements their build up play continues to be slow and bottled up. For all his insistence on possession based football and implementation of his 'philosophy',  hitting long hopeful balls aimed at Marouane Fellaini's head seems a tad too desperate Plan B. All his charisma and confidence aside,  Van Gaal needs to start winning games as the extended honeymoon period being enjoyed by him is drawing towards its end. United expects entertaining football and titles to start flowing again and soon Van Gaal will be judged on what he has done rather than on who he is.