John Peters - Manchester United's main photographer, who has been with the team since 1993, could not hide his emotions when meeting Louis van Gaal, when the Dutch strategist took office at Man United.
For two decades, Mr. Peters has been accustomed to his glorious days with Sir Alex Ferguson, until the legendary strategist retired in the summer of 2013 and was replaced by David Moyes.
The moment Peters recalled Van Gaal's first memory came in pre-season 2014, when Man United won 6, drew 1 and scored 18 goals. New signings like Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw have played promisingly, causing people to gradually forget Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand. At that time, Louis van Gaal appeared as a salvation solution.
Despite the "Red Devils" not being able to participate in the European Cup due to only finishing 7th in the previous season (the worst achievement since 1990), the atmosphere at Old Trafford is filled with optimism. Man City then won the championship for the second time in 3 years, which was the goal that needed to be brought down.
The 2014-2015 season therefore became a milestone when Man United last did not participate in any European tournament. They have only played 44 official matches in the entire season, much less than the 59 matches in the 2024-2025 season. There will be long weeks coming with just one game at Old Trafford, which is easy to imagine.
Last season 10 years ago, after a good start to the season with Van Gaal, optimism broke out in the opening match of the Premier League when Man United lost 1-2 to Swansea at Old Trafford. They continued to draw with Sunderland 1-1, and drew with Burnley 0-0. In between those two matches, the third-place MK Dons also crushed the "Red Devils" 4-0 in the League Cup - a tournament that could fill the empty schedule.
Man United and Louis van Gaal are gradually becoming panicked. They think that the current force is still not good enough. Marcos Rojo arrived from Sporting on 20 August. Nearly a week later, Angel Di Maria joined Real Madrid for a record fee of £59.7 million. However, Van Gaal still did not want to stop.
Van Gaal has given all the players he has taken over the opportunity to give his assessments before the transfer window ends. The aim is to give Man United time to act to avoid another disastrous season. Shinji Kagawa and Danny Welbeck left at the end of that transfer window.
After the international break in early September, the match against QPR is considered a real start. The Red Devils won 4-0 with Di Maria shining, that was when CEO Ed Woodward smiled in the stands.
However, that excitement was soon extinguished by Leicester City. At King Power, Man United led 2-0 and then 3-1 but collapsed quickly, in the end they lost 3-5. The "Red Devils" dressing room witnessed one of Van Gaal's most intense explosions. After 6 matches, his record is only 1 win, 2 draws, 3 losses, still behind David Moyes.
However, Man United fans are patient. Van Gaal insists it will take 100 days to see a tactical mark and he is right. With Blind anchored, the "Red Devils" have only lost 1 of their next 15 matches. They beat Arsenal away, beat Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford, moving from 12th to third on New Year's Day.
In January 2015, Fletcher, Zaha and Anderson left Man United. This time, the FA Cup brought a bit of excitement when Louis van Gaal's team easily defeated lower-level teams. However, the FA Cup journey ended in the quarter-finals after a 1-2 defeat to Arsenal.
Man United continued to play brilliantly in the Premier League, especially from mid-January until the 4-2 Manchester derby victory on April 12. They are close to 2nd place but lost to Chelsea (0-1), Everton (0-3) and West Brom (0-1) have ruined hopes of competing for the championship. Man United have won just one of their last six games, luckily finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League play-off.
It was a season with mixed emotions. Di Maria scored just three Premier League goals and was quickly overwhelmed. Falcao has also disappointed with only scoring 4 goals after returning from a cruciate ligament injury.
Van Gaal has a complete system but comes to the familiar conclusion that there are not enough players to operate it. The Dutch strategist has stayed for 2 seasons but Man United is still eligible to participate in the European Cup in both campaigns and in all subsequent years, until the end of the 2024-2025 season.
Perhaps, like 10 years ago, being absent from the European Cup would be a double-edged sword. Man United and the fans are in pain but it could also be an opportunity to rebuild, as long as they are not worse than the already poor performance last season.
