A review of Van Gaal's 1st season with the Red Devils.

              Louis Van Gaal's first season at the Theatre Of Dreams.

The Dutchman was brought in to be the the man in charge of the Old Trafford club prior to the 'Chosen One's' - David Moyes sacking. Moyes had got the opportunity to fiil in the big boots of Sir Alex Ferguson but couldn't do the job in the expected way and eventually got sacked after a disastrous season with United that got the club at a shameful 7th position in the Premier League and no European football the following season.

The board of directors of Manchester United had then decided to appoint Louis Van Gaal as the successor to Moyes. Unlike Moyes,Van Gaal had got much appreciation from the people all over the globe and his history with the clubs he previously managed was amazing and in fact was the exact kind of uplifting United needed. He came in to Old Trafford after serving his nation -The Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup 2014 at Brazil and his impressive stint there was something that the United fans were expecting from the Dutchman for them. His team did a brilliant job in Brazil and wrote the critics off by becoming the 3rd best team in the World Cup. After being officially announced as the next United boss,Van Gaal had taken his 1st big step by appointing the club legend and former interim manager Ryan Giggs as his assistant. This decision was indeed a very important one as there had to be somebody around him who actually knew Manchester United. He had also appointed Wayne Rooney as the team skipper after Vidic had left. The next big step for the boss was to do some good business in the transfer window. Ander Herrera & Luke Shaw were the first set of player bought by him and they both featured in the pre season tour in the USA. Luke Shaw was bought from Southampton on world record transfer fee for a teenager worth £27 million. United won the International Champions Cup,the pre season tour by beating big names like Inter Milan, Real Madrid and league rivals Liverpool in the finals.

Louis Van Gaal's presentation at United with club legend Sir Bobby Charlton

They then started off their campaign by facing Swansea City at home which was the first game of the 2014-15 Premier League season. But it looked like former boss Moyes still haunted the Theatre Of Dreams as United started off their season with a disappointing loss. This was perhaps the most awaited game of the year as many had hoped for something different and possibly a positive change for United. Fate had still continued to remain unchanged as they drew the next 2 games at Sunderland & Burnley. The Dutchman had then done some very important decisions regarding the formation and the players as he roped in 4 new players to the squad which also included British record signing Ángel Di Maria come in from the European chanpions Rèal Madrid. Also Colombian striker Radamel Falcao had arrived on a loan agreement with AS Monaco. This is where Man United had actually started their campaign. The next game was against QPR where the new players had shone and earned a convincing 4-0 victory against the Rangers. Things were looking good for them before they faced newly promoted side Leicester City away. The Red Devils were having a 1-2 lead at the break but some unfortunate round of events in the 2nd half gave a huge blow to United as they were butchered 5-3 by a promoted side. This is where the United defense was criticized. It was of course difficult to replace the experience of seniors Evra,Vidic & Ferdinand with a pack of youth talents. The Red Devils then played their first rival game of the season against title challengers and leaders Chelsea at Old Trafford which was also a reunion for friends Van Gaal and Mourinho. United were lagging behind but an injury time equaliser by Robin Van Persie had restored the name of 'Comeback Kings' to United. They faced defending champions and local rivals city next at the Etihad Stadium where the game ended 1-0 in the favour of the home side with United at 10 men. The Red Devils were now traveling to the Emirates Stadium in London to face Arsenal. United had won their 1st rival game of the season as the north Londoners were beaten 1-2 at home. Things were going pretty good for the Manchester Club as they were on a winning course that also included a 3-0 hammering of long time rivals Liverpool. After this great run United had again started to falter.

Red Devils' trio of Rooney,Van Persie and Mata celebrate their 3-0 win over rivals Liverpool.

The Red Devils were slowly going back to the place where they had started the season. They were drawn to play rivals Arsenal in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. The north Londoners were looking to defend the Cup and they were successful to reach the finals this year too. Former devil,Danny Welbeck had scored the lucky winner for the gunners and didn't let his emotions come in between as he celebrated the goal against his boyhood club. Yet again United failed to make it to a cup final since 2010.

Surprisingly this was the turning point for United this year as they went on to win 6 consecutive league games since that FA Cup loss that had important fixtures such as rivals Spurs,Liverpool & City. The dramatic 4-2 win over rivals was considered as one of the best display by United this season. Unfortunately the team lost key players like Michael Carrick and Daley Blind in the following fixtures and they lost a big game against leaders Chelsea. Following this,they were beaten 3-0 away at Merseyside club Everton and West Brom were next to win over United. This was the 1st time the Red Devils had lost 3 in a row after a long period of time. In the remaining 3 games,they drew 2 and won 1 game. Their home,Old Trafford had turned into a fortress again which had been vanished under Moyes as they lost only 3 games in the league this season.

Van Gaal had done the job for which he was called in,to secure Champions League spot for next team. This was done in a very convincing manner with a few games to spare. His tenure had brought the spark in previous season's flop Ashley Young & Maroune Fellaini who were the star players of the United camp alongside Blind,Carrick,Herrera and De Gea.

The boss Van Gaal thanks the fans for their support to him and team at the last home game of the season.

This was the Dutchman's stint at his 1st season at Old Trafford,and there are still 2 more to go in his contract and hopefully those remaining 2 seaasons would bring in more succes to Manchester United and get the English giants back to their fame.