Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has hit out at manager Louis Van Gaal for being obsessed with possession and betraying Manchester Uniteda s ethos and principles. He also criticized the Dutchman for wasting Wayne Rooney in the midfield in order to accommodate the ineffective pairing of Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao.
Terming his age at Manchester United as the a golden eraa for the club, Paul Scholes said that Sir Alex Fergusona s team was built on the principle of playing attacking football. He believes that in his style of football, Van Gaal has betrayed Sir Alex Ferguson by being too obsessed with the idea of keeping possession.
a Part of being a Manchester United player under Sir Alex Ferguson, perhaps the most important part of being one of Uniteda s attacking players, was that when you were in possession you had to take risks in order to create goalscoring chances. It was not an option; it was an obligation.a
Paul Scholes also said that he did not enjoy watching Manchester United play as they hardly play attacking football and are scraping past teams like Burnley FC.
a It does not give me any pleasure to say that at the moment I am struggling to watch Louis van Gaala s team with any great enjoyment. They beat Burnley on Wednesday night but it was Burnley who had by far the best of the first half. At times, Uniteda s football is miserable.a
Paul Scholes also singled out Angel Di Maria as the only attacking-minded player in the current Manchester United side which is otherwise a obsesseda with the idea of keeping possession.
a Of the current team, Angel Di Maria has taken more risks than any other player and, unfortunately, for him it has not worked out. He has given the ball away a lot for very little returns. Otherwise there seems to be an emphasis on possession. I would go further than that: there is an obsession with possession.a
Paul Scholes also hit out at Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao, who according to the former Red Devil, look like strangers on the pitch. Scholes believes that the duo have cost Wayne Rooney the chance to play as a striker, which is undoubtedly his best position.
a We come at last to the two strikers, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao. I feel they look like strangers at times, while Wayne Rooney is moved around the team to accommodate them.a
a Wayne can play anywhere on the pitch. He is so willing, and he will give you at least a 7/10 performance most times. Against Burnley he ended up as a defensive midfielder. At other times he has been pushed out to the right-hand side, where he will look for the strikers early or switch the play. But if Van Gaal does not think Rooney is a better option up front than the other two then there really is a problem.a