Last summer, Manchester United agreed a hefty loan deal to secure one of the best strikers in the world in the form of Radamel Falcao.
The Colombian international has a better goal scoring record as compared to Rooney and Van Persie and the Red Devils secured a world class striker.
However, months gone by and it looks highly likely that Falcao will leave the club at the end of the season. Only 4 goals in 20 appearances and the Monaco star is regarded as a flop but is it all really his fault?
Playing Time:
Falcao has featured in 17 league games for Manchester United, been part of the starting XI only 12 times, what is worse that the former Atletico hitman has only played 90 minutes in just three games.
That is not much playing time for someone who has missed a lot of last season through injury and needs consistent games to get back to his best. Van Gaal has taken him in and out of the line up only to hurt his confidence more.
Playing Position:
For FC Porto and Atletico Madrid, Falcao used to score for fun playing in his preferred central forward position. However, there he was the key star upfront, scored 70 goals in 90 apps for Atletico and 72 goals in 87 apps for Porto playing in a system with lone striker, waiting for the final ball and rarely did he miss.
Apart from not playing him regularly, Falcao, for the first time has been part of a system with two strikers upfront under Van Gaal and with constantly changing partnerships.
Van Gaal’s Tactics:
Manchester United’s game play and tactics have been criticized heavily this season. Despite having quality players who are good on the ball, United have mostly played long balls much to the despair of supporters and surely the players as well.
Manchester United are only second to Burnley when it comes to playing long balls in the premier league this season. Such tactics only diminish the use of top players’ qualities.
There is no doubt that Falcao has hit bad form but there is also no doubt that Van Gaal has done little or nothing to help him get his confidence back. Lately the Colombian was not even used against Arsenal in the FA Cup and then played an U21 game.
The only possible solution for Falcao is to leave as under the management of Van Gaal, there is no way he can progress and get back to his best.
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REVEALED – Why Falcao is a Man United Flop – Not his Fault
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