Philosophy is the buzzword du jour for football managers at home and abroad. After all, it sounds a lot cooler than prosaic words like tactics or style, doesnt it? Van Gaal is one of the worst offenders in the Premier League for overusing the p word. It would not grate so much if it were not for the fact that his philosophy is so hard to understand. Some managers have an easily identifiable style. Jurgen Klopp has gegenpressing; his fast, high intensity heavy metal football. Pep Guardiola prefers a more measured, fluid, tiki-taka style. Ranieris Leicester play fast, direct and with width, catching sides on the break. What exactly do Van Gaals United do? Judging by most of the performances of his tenure, Van Gaals philosophy involves very slow, patient passing. Creating chances and shooting are a definite no-no. Thats what it looks like, anyway. But surely this cannot be what Van Gaal wants. No manager, especially not one of a super-rich mega-club, tries to prevent his team from scoring. So if what we see on the pitch isnt Van Gaals philosophy, then what is? Your guess is a good as mine, and it seems as though the players are as baffled as the rest of us. If the Dutchman is unable to communicate his ideas, then it's time to replace him with someone who can.
David is an office drone and freelance writer for WhatCulture and Moviepilot, among others. He's also foolishly writing a serialised novel on Jukepop and has his own irregularly updated website. He's available for freelance work. Reach out on Twitter to @davefox990
