5 Things That Ronald Koeman Is Getting Right And Louis Van Gaal Isn't
2. Appropriate Signings
Both managers have spent big this summer in an attempt to rebuild their teams, with Van Gaal and Man United splashing out to the tune of £145.5 million and Koeman and Southampton spending £57.9 million (in both cases the club's highest ever summer spending). However, while Van Gaal has focused almost exclusively on building attacking talent, Koeman's signings have involved identifying where the team needs strengthening and buying accordingly. Even while they were enjoying success last season it was very apparent that Saints' squad was excessively slender and that this lack of depth was painfully exposed during a mid-season slump when first team players struggled for fitness. Koeman, therefore, has sensibly strengthened in all areas. However, the need for a more reliable goalkeeper and more solid defensive cover were most pressing, hence the arrival of Fraser Forster and Florin Gardos pre-season. On top of that, Koeman has needed to provide direct replacements for departing players Lallana, Lambert, Shaw and Lovren and sensibly purchased players who could slot into those roles. With Lallana the main creator and Lambert the centre forward last season, Koeman looked to his knowledge of the Dutch league to introduce Dusan Tadic, one of the league's top assisters, and Graziano Pelle, one of the league's top goalscorers, and has been rewarded with impressive starts from both, while Ryan Bertrand has slotted easily into the left back berth vacated by Shaw. Capturing fellow former Ajax man Toby Alderweireld on loan from Atletico Madrid may be Koeman's biggest transfer coup, however, providing the defensive quality lost by Lovren's departure and, ironically, just the sort of player Van Gaal could desperately use right now. At United, David Moyes £37 million signing of Juan Mata in the January transfer window smacked of desperation, buying an admittedly star player in a position where the club already had options rather than addressing the defensive needs. Oddly Van Gaal has chosen to continue this pattern rather than correcting Moyes' mistakes. Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Ander Herrera are all excellent players, but in a team already equipped with Mata, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie it's hard to see where they all fit in, meaning leaving multi-million pound talent on the bench or, as against Leicester, completely unbalancing the team. While all this money has been spent on attacking players, little has done to strengthen the team defensively. While Koeman has signed a variety of defensive players, Van Gaal has bought two left backs (Shaw and Marcos Rojo), with Daley Blind a third possibility in that position, but no centre backs and Blind the closest thing the team have to a holding midfielder. He did a fine job in that position against QPR because Harry Redknapp's team are inept going forward, but was completely exposed against Leicester. Van Gaal has been complaining this week that he has no first team centre backs fit and ready for duty, but much of the blame for that must lie in his inability to commit to the pursuit of a player like Mats Hummels who would have made far more difference to Van Gaal's team than Di Maria, Herrera and Falcao put together.
