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Watching Manchester United struggle through this season, it’s understandable why fans are clamoring for confirmation that unloved manager Louis van Gaal is out the door by mid-May at the latest. With Jose Mourinho wandering around telling everyone all of his plans, save where he’s going, it is almost as if the team is enjoying tantalizing without any interest in easing the United faithful’s choleric impatience.
But with the crumbling of Manchester City’s season on display at the Etihad this Sunday, perhaps United have revealed a secret genius in playing management decisions so close to the vest. Because with the little sliver of authority left to van Gaal, he may yet navigate the team to the top four at the expense of the more forthcoming City.
Much like the United chatter of the moment, it was speculated for months that Manuel Pellegrini wouldn’t see another season at City. But for all the column inches wasted on Pep Guardiola’s likely new home, the team seemed focused on the moment. Ever since City put that story to bed, though, it has been disaster on nearly every front for the Blues.
Simply take a look at the numbers. Before Guardiola was announced at the beginning of February, City were three points from first. They are now one point from sixth and 15 from the title.
Looking back at the pre-Guardiola days, the title seemed imminently winnable. The team hadn’t lost since mid-December against title-rivals Arsenal. They had a better goal difference than Leicester and a deeper bench to draw from as the season dragged on. They would have, at that moment, likely been considered favorites (most still discounting Leicester’s long-term chances).
But since then, it has all come apart somehow. City have lost four of their last seven in the league, with their only wins coming against quick-sinking Sunderland and sunken Aston Villa.
Suddenly, United-levels of panic are to be seen on all sides. Questions are rising whether this team actually has the drive to stay in the top four at all. Even as Champions League results remain favorable, all hope of Premier League glory has been tossed aside. And should Paris Saint-Germain play as well as expected in the coming weeks, that last lane for glory could also be shut off.
The likely beneficiaries of all this could well be furtive, frustrating United. Should City continue with these results, it will be between the Red Devils and West Ham to take that final Champions League spot, and United may have just enough in them to grab it.
So, as irksome as the obfuscation is at United, fans ought to let the management keep mum. Because, as it stands, that strategy may allow Mourinho to inherit a Champions League side, while upfront Guardiola picks up the pieces at a club his honesty wrecked.
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