What went wrong at Manchester United after Sir Alex retired?

The Boring One

Louis van Gaal was the next man to take over the reins at the Theater of Dreams. He joined the club fresh from the 2014 World Cup, where his Dutch national side placed 3rd. There was real hype around his appointment, and his first summer transfer window only echoed that.

The big-name signings were Ángel Di Maria from Real Madrid and Falcao on loan from AS Monaco. Luke Shaw was brought in and became the most expensive teenager in football history. The club also saw Ander Herrera, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, and Timothy Fosu-Mensah come through the doors.

The 2014/15 season was certainly better than the previous campaign, as we managed to finish 4th in the league and qualified for the UEFA Champions League after being absent from a European competition for the first time since the 1989/90 season; however, United’s performances were very one-dimensional, unappealing, and lacking in any type of creativity.

The club overall seemed to be heading in the right direction after the 14/15 season, so the hopes were high among Manchester United fans.

Van Gaal’s second summer transfer window brought in exciting names similar to his first. Memphis Depay was the first to be brought in. He had an exciting showcase at the 2014 World Cup, which he followed up by finishing as the top scorer in the Eredivisie and winning the league title with PSV in the 14/15 season.

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Other notable names included the veteran Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Sergio Romero, and Anthony Martial, who broke Luke Shaw’s transfer fee record from the summer before and became the most expensive teenager. The two big name signings from just a season ago were also sent packing after unsuccessful spells from both.

After seemingly taking a step forward in the previous season, Manchester United took two steps back during the 2015/16 campaign. After a 4th place finish in 14/15, which guaranteed Champions League football, we only managed to finish 5th in the league, and crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage.

There were a couple of silver linings from the 2015/16 season though. First, Marcus Rashford broke into the first-team in a Europa League tie against Midtjylland, scoring a brace on his debut. Secondly, United lifted the FA Cup after a win against Crystal Palace, and shortly after, van Gaal was relieved of his duties as the boss man at Manchester United.