Wake Me Up Before You Resign: Louis van Gaal Edition

Before yesterday’s not-exactly-shocking announcement that Pep Guardiola will indeed manage Manchester City from next season onwards, there had already been plenty of managerial drama in the Premier League. What with Liverpool – and frankly, most of the other teams’ fans – falling head over heels for the newly-appointed Jurgen Klopp, and Jose Mourinho being sacked by Chelsea, can we expect the next big change to take place at Old Trafford?

After the horrible home defeat at the hands of Southampton, most of the fans were more than disheartened –they booed the team off after the first half, and then on the final whistle too. Louis van Gaal accepted that they were right, and presided over an improved display against Derby in the FA Cup, but that isn’t likely to change many fans’ minds.

United have only won three out of their last 13 games – against Swansea City, Sheffield United, and Liverpool – and with their performance being so consistently lacklustre, Champions League qualification looks increasingly uncertain, even though we’re only five points of fourth in the table as it stands.

Right now it seems that the team is in a dire need of a change before it’s too late, if Chelsea’s example has taught us anything. The question is how long Louis van Gaal will continue dragging this show on –UK-licensed bookie TonyBet has the odds for that: it’s a 1/2 for him having left by the Chelsea game, 13/20 by the Stoke game, and a very unlikely 9/1 for him being in charge for the first game of the 16/17 season.

While Premier League teams, and modern clubs in general, are notorious for their trigger-happy approach, a lot of people would have expected van Gaal to have been sacked by now, so obviously the board must have their own reasons – or maybe they just need that last push. And then we will be able to move onto the next question – who is the best manager to replace the Dutchman, when he inevitably falls off this rollercoaster ride?