Louis Van Gaal has spent much of this season sitting hunched in the Manchester United, looking glum as the Alex Ferguson stand looms overhead, an overbearing reminder of the fact that a previous manager has won league titles with Anderson and Tom Cleverley in midfield.
The sun set rapidly on the United career of David Moyes, and dusk now draws nearer for Louis Van Gaal, with the twilight of both men's United career marked by the long shadow of Alex Ferguson cast over them.
Having followed a wretched defeat to West Brom with a limp surrender in the face of Liverpool's European sound and fury, Van Gaal's time as United manager is trickling towards and end.
That process may now be accelerated, as Ferguson has admitted that Van Gaal and United will miss out on the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, a stunning indictment of a club with such an extravagant outlay on players in recent years.
Ferguson was speaking ahead of the Cheltenham festival and Jonathan Northcroft of The Sunday Times reports that his tips for the top four did not feature the club at which he is currently a director:
Ferguson, now a Manchester United director, also expects West Ham to finish in the top four, with his own club — and Manchester City — missing out.
For Ferguson, whose defence of United as been as fierce as it has been frequent for over a quarter of a century, to admit defeat this early is a serious indictment of both Van Gaal's reign and the entire United enterprise as a whole. For the club to have drifted to this sorry state - so discordant with the values of Ferguson - in less than three years, is extraordinary.
In contrast, the side Ferguson has tipped for the league - Leicester - are inspired by the culture Ferguson instilled at United, as ex-United defender Danny Simpson told the Guardian in January:
There are a few of us who have that mentality from the manager, Sir Alex.
Losing hurts and even when Aston Villa scored that goal [against Leicester last week to claim a 1-1 draw], that hurt us. Especially as a defender I want to keep clean sheets. We kept a few on the bounce and in the dressing room, even though we drew and gone top of the league, it still hurt us.
But through being at United from an early age they drive it into you that you play well and want to win.
While many believe Van Gaal to be facing into a defining week at United, it may already be too late.
[The Sunday Times]
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