Van Gaal is infamous for his temper

Football fans slag their underperforming players mercilessly. That is to be expected and was indeed the case with Man Utd fans and Danny Welbeck for quite some time. All his promising attributes amounted to very few goals. But when came the time, his Arsenal departure was bemoaned by many because of the sentimental value attached to a true blue club product and the suspicion at age 23, he just might find his best years at a rival. Usually, coaches are even more circumspect. Even when the reinforcements arrive happen to be in the form of Radamel Falcao.

So its rather astonishing to find Louis Van Gaal, supposedly one of the preeminent progenitor of youth talent take Welbeck to the wood shed. More so, since he’s never really worked on developing him. Van Gaal huffed Welbeck was simply not up to Utd standards and there was talent bubbling below to fill his shoes. He also revealed the decision to sell Welbeck was taken well before and was not dependent on Falcao’s transfer. This while he retains Anderson, Ashley Young, and Antonio Valencia, about as egregious as mistakes go. Anderson has been in arrested development for five years now and one suspects he survives because Van Gaal receives from him.

The Welbeck transfer has most recently been criticized by Gary Neville as strange and characteristic of Utd’s uncontrolled transfer policy.

“I can’t work it out. After all the prices I’ve seen paid this summer and, obviously I’ve been working with him the last week, I’m thinking: ‘How is it just £16m?’

A centreforward sold to a rival for little while at the same time paying inflated fees for buying players. Most Utd fans have also voiced skepticism, while welcoming the additions of players like Falcao, Di Maria, Rojo, and Blind. They point to Utd’s shortcomings at central defense and midfield. Especially if Van Gaal has to play his favoured 3-5-2.

Van Gaal’s brutal summation of Welbeck probably has more to do with heading off such criticism. One wouldn’t put it past Van Gaal, given his ruthless streak to undermine a player still in his formative years in the hopes of unsettling him psychologically. No, not even Jose Mourinho, infamous for engaging in a game of chicken with his coaching adversaries, goes after players. One hopes that Welbeck uses this as a wind up to make Van Gaal eat his words. His arrival at Arsenal was the result of divine ordination. As for Van Gaal, he might wear out his welcome if he settles on a familiar authoritarian and antagonistic course just as he did at Bayern and Barca.