Wednesday 25 May 2016 11:49, UK
Louis van Gaal has been sacked as Manchester United manager. But where did it all go wrong for the Dutchman?
From transfers to tactics, we examine the key issues that led to his tenure as Manchester United boss being cut short…
Transfers
United ploughed staggering sums into recruitment after Van Gaal's appointment, with more than a dozen major signings arriving at a combined cost of over £250m.
Such huge investment demanded a reassessment of expectations at Old Trafford after a woeful 2013/14 under David Moyes, but Van Gaal was unable to fit the expensively-assembled parts together.
Indeed, of the 13 players acquired under Van Gaal, only Luke Shaw (when fit) and Anthony Martial became guaranteed starters, with the likes of Ander Herrera, Morgan Schneiderlin, Marcos Rojo and Memphis Depay all in and out of the team despite their hefty fees.
Van Gaal's failure to get the best out of record signing Angel Di Maria was particularly damning. United made a £15.4m loss on the Argentinian when he joined Paris Saint-Germain just a year after his £59.7m arrival from Real Madrid, and he is not the only departed star who is now shining away from Old Trafford.
United's struggles in attack have been compounded by Javier Hernandez's remarkable success at Bayer Leverkusen, where he has scored 26 goals in 40 appearances, while the departures of Darren Fletcher, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra, Rafael, Danny Welbeck, James Wilson and Nani have also led to a lack of depth in key areas.
Use of Rooney
Wayne Rooney scored in his final Premier League game under Louis van Gaal, but the Manchester United captain's worst-ever goal return for the club in 2015/16 was a significant factor in the team's struggles.
Despite Rooney scoring just two league goals before the turn of the year, Van Gaal continued to pick his leader as a striker and used big-money summer signing Anthony Martial out wide.
"They wanted a guy who scored goals," said Sky Sports pundit Thierry Henry. "They wanted a guy to run in behind fast. [Martial] came in and did that. Suddenly now he finds himself out there, almost not touching the ball.
"If I had a player like that, he would be my No 9 and the rest are around him."
With Rooney so obviously struggling, Henry was not alone in that opinion.
Injuries to Rooney and Martial eventually led to 18-year-old Marcus Rashford seizing his first-team chance.
While his promotion from the youth team again pushed Martial wide when he returned to fitness, the academy graduate gave United the cutting edge they had lacked, scoring eight goals in 18 appearances.
Still keen to accommodate Rooney in his starting XI, Van Gaal moved the 30-year-old into midfield, where he has shone.
United went on to take 10 points from 15 available with Rooney in that position, as well as winning the FA Cup. Van Gaal may regret not altering Rooney's role earlier.
Team selection
Van Gaal's persistence with Rooney was one of many contentious decisions when it came to team selection. His line-ups were maddeningly inconsistent and it was often difficult to see the logic behind Van Gaal's choices.
The Dutchman appeared to be unsure of his strongest team right up until the end. Juan Mata and Martial were routinely played out of position, while others, such as Herrera and Schneiderlin, were left on the bench or frozen out entirely.
In their vital Champions League clash with Wolfsburg, rookie teenager Cameron Borthwick-Jackson was thrown on at left-back ahead of Ashley Young, one of Van Gaal's best players last season. And with his inexperienced side chasing goals that night, his answer was to introduce Nick Powell - who had not featured at all since August last year.
Young himself was used as a left-back, left winger, right-back, right winger and striker in 2015/16.
Van Gaal's treatment of Adnan Januzaj was another oddity. Despite starting four consecutive games for United in August, the 20-year-old was allowed to leave the club on a season-long loan to Borussia Dortmund just before the closure of the transfer window. Following his early return in January, was limited to just a handful of brief substitute appearances.
Style of play
United's turgid playing style under Van Gaal was a major issue for supporters, who made their frustration clear with frequent chants of "attack, attack, attack" at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman's devotion to "control" means they have averaged the most possession in the Premier League, but United have set a new club record for the fewest goals scored in a Premier League season after netting just 49 times in 2015/16. Only Watford, Aston Villa and West Brom created fewer chances.
The home form has been particularly poor, with United scoring fewer Premier League goals than ever before. Their goalless draw against City in October was the first time since 2003/04 that they hadn't had a shot on target in the first half of a Premier League game and, at West Ham in May - in a game they realistically had to win to finish in the top four - United managed just two shots on target in 90 minutes.
The unimaginative, static performances are tough to take for supporters who became used to the verve and attacking adventure that defined Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure.
Having spent over a quarter of a billion pounds on new players, the least they could have expected from Van Gaal was entertainment.
Talk of transition
Van Gaal did not help the situation with some of his comments in press conferences and interviews, particularly when he referred to United's glory days being behind them. "They say a club like Manchester United has to win. That's the past," he said in December.
After the final game of the Premier League season confirmed their fifth-place finish, Van Gaal had a message for the United fans who had booed him: "They are expecting a lot but I think these expectations are much too high, and we are a team in transition."
After the shock of Ferguson's retirement led to United's worst Premier League season, Van Gaal stated when he arrived that it would be a slow rebuilding process. But, two years on, after winning just two more points than Moyes and Ryan Giggs did in 2012/13, the patience of supporters was wearing thin.
After so much expenditure in the transfer market, United should have been performing better - and their manager should have been aiming higher.
