Tuesday 24 May 2016 07:00, UK
Louis van Gaal has been sacked by Manchester United and is expected to be replaced by Jose Mourinho - but how much of an improvement did the Dutchman make at Old Trafford after taking over from David Moyes in 2014?
After two seasons, one FA Cup win and fourth and fifth-place finishes, we look at whether United progressed under Van Gaal...
Premier League
David Moyes oversaw a dramatic drop-off in performance by Manchester United, following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement - and Louis van Gaal has failed to deliver substantial improvement in his two years in charge.
After winning the Premier League with 89 points in Ferguson's final campaign, United finished the 2013/14 season with just 64 points in seventh. Moyes was sacked in late April.
There was a six-point improvement in Van Gaal's first season, which was enough to grab fourth and a return to the Champions League - although that points tally would only have been good enough for sixth the previous year.
A total of just 66 points in Van Gaal's second season saw United miss out on Europe's elite club competition once again.
Van Gaal has insisted expectations are too high for his "team in transition" but while the Old Trafford faithful may crave a return to their title-winning days under Ferguson, the past two seasons have barely seen progress from the calamitous 2013/14 campaign.
This season, United have finished with their second-worst Premier League points total, joint-lowest number of wins, second-most defeats and fewest goals scored. It's been their second-worst Premier League season. Van Gaal's first year in charge was the third worst.
Europe
Manchester United's return to the Champions League this season - thanks to a play-off win over Club Brugge - was seen as a significant milestone in Van Gaal's three-year 'transition' period at the club. Under Moyes, United missed out on European football for the first time in 25 years. At the end of Van Gaal's first season, normality was restored.
Yet there was nothing familiar about United's group-phase exit into the Europa League this term. "You should really be cruising through that group and probably qualify with two games to go, resting players with the Premier League in mind," Tony Gale told Soccer Special. "The old United would have done that."
In fact, the United of 2013/14 were doing just that under Moyes. While domestically Moyes' men struggled, they cruised to a first-place finish in their Champions League pool, winning four and drawing two of their six games. Robin van Persie's heroics were needed to overcome a first-leg loss at Olympiakos in the round of 16 but a valiant defeat to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals was no embarrassment - a word used to describe United's group-phase exit by former players this season.
There was more humiliation to come with a 2-1 defeat at FC Midtjylland in the Europa League before a last-16 exit in that competition to Liverpool, following a poor first-leg performance at Anfield.
Capital One Cup
It seemed odd for Van Gaal to cite United's Capital One Cup 'run' as evidence of their progress under his management following their Champions League exit in December. This season, they beat Championship side Ipswich at home before losing on penalties to second-tier Middlesbrough after a goalless draw at Old Trafford.
Granted, it was an improvement on the 4-0 defeat Van Gaal's United suffered at then-League One MK Dons in round two of the competition in 2014/15.
United's loss to Boro came in the fourth round - but they were granted a bye into round three thanks to their European qualification. Going two rounds deeper into the League Cup seems like a small step forwards at best. It's also worth remembering United were Capital One Cup semi-finalists under Moyes - and only a penalty shootout defeat away from making the final.
FA Cup
Louis van Gaal described Manchester United's FA Cup win as a proud moment for himself and the club - but with news breaking about his future, celebrations were overshadowed by talk of Jose Mourinho.
United had needed late goals against Sheffield United, West Ham, Everton and Crystal Palace to clinch the silverware and, despite Van Gaal delivering the first major trophy since Ferguson's departure, the triumph felt like a footnote to his tenure, rather than a significant moment in the team's progress.
Last season, Van Gaal took United past Yeovil, Cambridge United (after a replay), and Preston before losing to Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
Players
Progress cannot simply be measured in results. There have been many changes to the Manchester United squad since Van Gaal took charge. Around £250m has been spent on new signings, including a British transfer record fee for Angel Di Maria, who lasted barely a year.
In have come Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind, Victor Valdes, Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Sergio Romero and Anthony Martial.
Gone are Robin van Persie, Nani, Rafael, Javier Hernandez, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Shinji Kagawa, Danny Welbeck, Darren Fletcher and Wilfried Zaha.
Are United better off with the squad they have now? Van Gaal conceded earlier this season the playing staff still needs strengthening: "I'm happy with my squad now but we can strengthen the selection still in [certain] positions. For example, the left-back position is not so [well] covered."
In terms of United's youth ranks, Marcus Rashford has been a huge hit in the second half of Van Gaal's second season, with the 18-year-old scoring five goals in 11 Premier League appearances. Jesse Lingard has also been a fixture of the first-team. But Adnan Januzaj is not the only player to have seen his progress stall over the past two years.
Conclusion
In terms of the Premier League, Van Gaal has only added six and then two points to the total gathered by David Moyes and Ryan Giggs in 2013/14 - resulting in one top-four finish.
That return to the Champions League ended in disappointment, with United falling well short of their performance in the competition two seasons ago, and was followed by painful defeats to FC Midtjylland and Liverpool in the Europa League.
There has been no dominant domestic-cup competition victory over a major rival in the past two seasons, despite an FA Cup victory in 2016.
All of that after spending over £250m on new players.
Van Gaal was adamant progress was being made. With seven league titles and a Champions League win on his resume, his assessment cannot be dismissed. But the evidence suggests there was a lot more progressing to be done - and the United board appear to have seen enough.
