Premier League Preview: Manchester United

Last Season: 7th

Pre-Season Prediction: 5th - Van Gaal and his new system will drastically improve the team although the squad just currently isn't good enough. Prediction could change by the end of the transfer window though.

'Last season? What last season?' The Moyes Era has already become known as the Forgotten Era to fans of Manchester United after they suffered unquestionably their worst season at least in my living memory. A seventh place finish,  an overpriced purchase of Marouane Fellaini, failure to qualify from Europe, failure in cup competitions are but a few of Moyes' many failures in his short time as Manchester United manager and the future can only be brighter after that worst of seasons.

The summer started promisingly with the signings of Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw but has rather stagnated since then. Potential deals for Mats Hummels and Thomas Vermaelen both fell through and United still look extremely weak at central defence, especially with Van Gaal opting for three central defenders. It looks like Marcos Rojo may be joining but another centre-back will definitely be needed for ample squad depth. With Michael Carrick out for a few months another midfielder may be required whilst a competent right-sided wing-back is a necessity after the uncertainty of Antonio Valencia in that position.

All of that said, it is uncertain as to whether Van Gall will actually opt for a larger squad after already saying he would prefer to work with a small squad to get back into Europe. Much of this will depend upon who he manages to shift before the end of the transfer window. Rumours are as many as seven players could be departing Old Trafford which would leave the squad very thin. Van Gaal may be willing to gamble on youth but that is a dangerous game considering he has been told to get top four football or he faces the axe.

So far Van Gaal's tactics have been top notch. His 3-4-1-2 tactics have led to an unbeaten pre-season including a trophy as well in the form of the International Champions Cup after defeating Liverpool 3-1 in the final. Six victories out of six - although one was a penalty shoot-out victory against Inter Milan - has left the squad members vocally optimistic. Defensively there is still plenty of work to do as players adapt to this new system, but from an offensive level there has been a marked improvement from the dismal displays of last year.

The general consensus among the media is that 3-4-1-2 is a sparkly new tactic which is completely fresh but the reality is that it isn't. The likes of Wigan and Hull have implemented this in the not so distant past and met with mixed results, as you can see from Wigan's relegation. Unfortunately for Van Gaal he is unlikely to have time on his side. The board as well as the fans are demanding an instant return to Champions League football and if LVG suffers a slow start then the pressure will very quickly start to build. Unfortunately, with the implementation of new tactics and a growing concern about the quality of the squad with little action in the transfer market, it may already be too little, too late for United's European push.

Key Man: Darren Fletcher - With the departures of Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic and Giggs, there has been a major loss of experience in this young Manchester United side. Rooney has been awarded the captaincy and will inevitably be important but Fletcher's importance is greater if not more understated because of his position on the pitch and the dearth of quality in his position. Fletcher will probably be required to play week-in-week-out at this current rate and his stability in the center of the park could be instrumental to controlling the pace of this new side. He will also provide protection for a back-line which is still learning their roles.

One to Watch: Tyler Blackett - With just three current first-team centre-backs and no new signings on the immediate radar, any injuries to either Evans, Smalling or Jones could see heads turned to the reserves. One of the stand-out players in pre-season has been the versatile defender Tyler Blackett, who can play either at centre-back or as the left-sided wing-back. Blackett has impressed with a number of mature performances, especially in the ICC Final against Liverpool and also provided the assist for a last minute goal against Valencia a couple of days ago. With Phil Jones error and injury prone, you could be seeing Blackett starting sooner rather than later.

Best Signing: Ander Herrera - Finally United have signed a central midfielder with a bit of flair and creativity. Central-midfield has been a problem area for the Red Devils for a number of years now but through the signings of young Spaniard Herrera it looks as though it might be solved for now. Herrera's performances have been mixed so far and it still remains to be seen how he will cope with the physicality of the Premier League but he has at least provided some moments of magic including a golden first touch and some quick feet. He seems to be built in a similar mould to Luka Modric and with the right guidance could be just as good.

Dutch Courage or Krul Antics?

So there we have it. Holland's penalty shoot-out triumph over Costa Rica last night confirmed a star-studded semi-final against Argentina whilst in the other match hosts Brazil play Germany. Europe vs South America is the theme and we are in for an a couple of cracking matches. But it could have been completely different were it not for the mind-boggling decision of Louis Van Gaal to bring on substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul solely for the penalty shoot-out.

The rest is history. Krul dived the correct way for all five of the Costa Rican penalties, saving two and ultimately sending his team through to the semi-final, as well as ensuring the first Dutch penalty shoot-out success in five attempts. However, there were two consequential outcries following the game; 1) that Tim Krul's antics before each kick were unsporting and disgraceful and 2) that Louis Van Gaal is a tactical genius.

Let's start with the latter. So the incoming Manchester United manager is supposedly a tactical wizard. There can be little question that the introduction of Krul was a masterstroke. Clearly his height and preparation gave him an edge over Jasper Cillessen although his Premier League record of just two saves in twenty attempts leaves a lot to be desired. However, for me the real stroke of genius was the message it sent to Costa Rica. Van Gaal basically said, 'We've got this weapon on our bench. We're going to use it. What have you got?'. The simple answer was that they had nothing. Keylor Navas, unquestionably one of the goalkeepers of the tournament, failed to even get his fingertips on any of the four Dutch penalties whilst his Dutch counterpart did the business.

So undoubtedly Van Gaal made the correct decision in bringing on Krul and must be applauded for that. Yet it would be foolish to ignore the other 120 minutes where the Dutch failed to break down Costa Rica. In their defense neither did Italy or England but a team with Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder leading the line should realistically pick apart a Costa Rican side ranked 27th in the highly accurate and credible FIFA rankings. When you consider that Van Gaal also threw Huntelaar and Lens into the fray later in the game then questions have to be asked as to how outstanding the tactical nous of this man actually is. Surely a fully fledged tactical genius would have finished this quarter-final match in regulation time rather than having to rely on a penalty shoot-out to complete the job. So Van Gaal reacted to the situation well, but don't be too quick to hurl praise at him. We'll see if he deserves that praise if they're still around this time next week.

So what of Tim Krul. Well in my opinion the only crime he is guilty of is theft. His penalty heroics stole the headlines from another remarkable performance by Keylor Navas but it was his gamesmanship which received the most criticism during his brief stint on the pitch. The wily substitute ensured he patrolled the box as the Costa Rican players wandered from the half-way line, demonstrating his control of the box and sending a message that 'I'm in charge'. Then when they reached the penalty spot he walked right up and told them that he knew exactly where they were going, going right up to the faces of each individual player.

Now this is the part that garnered criticism and I ask you what he actually did wrong. As an ex-goalkeeper myself, (albeit for the third team in my college - a high standard indeed), I can only applaud the Newcastle man for getting inside the mind of the opponent. He told them where they would go and ultimately got all five right, even if he didn't save each and every penalty. But the main question is whether his behaviour was sporting. Is it fair to go towards the penalty taker and talk to them before they take it? Well I don't really see the harm. Players do it all the time around the pitch for free-kicks and just generally in open play so why when it happens in a penalty shoot-out did it receive such negative criticism. It's not like he committed a deliberate handball to prevent a last minute winner or bit someone (hint: a certain banned Uruguayan footballer). Also, its in the World Cup quarter-final. You want to do absolutely everything within the letter of the law to distract your opponent and as the referee did nothing about it then clearly it was within the confines of the law.

So I abhor you to reassess your praise and criticism and actually just have a think about last nights action. I am by no means saying I don't understand the argument behind Krul's criticism and Van Gaal's praise, I'm just saying perhaps a bit more thought and perspective ought to go into both circumstances. All of that said, a special mention to the much unfancied Costa Rica who did not actually lose a single game in normal time during this World Cup. Who had money on that before the tournament? Yeah I thought not.