Eamon Dunphy believes that Louis van Gaal is in a "danger zone with Manchester United fans" after a string of distinctly average performances and some questionable tactical decisions.
United were fortunate to snatch a 1-1 draw against West Ham at the weekend, a result which saw them slip into fourth place, just one point clear of Tottenham in the race for Champions League football.
Hammers manager Sam Allardyce criticised the Red Devils’ approach after the match, labelling them as ‘Longball United’ and with Wayne Rooney being forced to move to midfield to accommodate others, Dunphy believes Van Gaal is getting his tactics wrong.
“I think they were poor, very lucky to get away with it [against West Ham] and in the two games against Cambridge they were poor as well,” Dunphy told RTÉ Sport.
“Van Gaal hasn’t got it right, he’s got Rooney in the wrong position - I understand Rooney hasn’t had a shot on target in 2015, which is an extraordinary statistic.
“All around the pitch you can see [the players] are unhappy, they don’t understand the tactics. In every interview he gives he refers to his tactics, his vision of the game but ultimately what matters is the players on the pitch, particularly if you have a lot of quality as they have. It’s their vision and their instinct for the game that wins you matches.
“They managed to climb to third in the league but United still have that fear factor and teams don’t believe they can beat them, they still have a bit of that with Van Gaal, but they look very badly organised, weak at the back and they’re in need of a coach.”
Van Gaal has won as many league games as David Moyes had at the same stage of last season, 12, and Dunphy believes that the Dutchman is benefiting from a lowering of expectations from fans.
“If David Moyes had done this he’d have been pilloried,” he said.
“This guy has a CV, it may turn out he went to Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Ajax when they were the most powerful clubs in their leagues anyway.
“He has a habit of falling out with all kinds of people, losing his temper, disrespecting players and I think he’s in a kind of danger zone with Manchester United fans.
“Fellaini started up front in the home game against Cambridge in the Cup last week, he started up front beside Van Persie, I mean that’s mad stuff! Rooney was deep in a midfield position and that’s just not right.
“I think we’re entitled to ask questions of this guy.”
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