Luke Shaw made five Premier League appearances before breaking his leg and, with a rating of 7.36, has ended up being United’s best performing player and would undoubtedly have made the team if he was fit.
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United were relegated to the Europa League by virtue of goal difference, and Rooney admitted the team’s sorry return of 49 goals – their worst in 26 years – was the main reason for their failure to force their way into the top four.
Van Gaal conceded that the their standing represented a “step back”, but said that Leicester City’s title triumph proved anyone could win next season.
However, Herrera has launched a defence of his embattled manager ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final showdown with Crystal Palace at Wembley.
“I think the interest of the club and the interest of the fans is more important than the manager”, Van Gaal said Thursday when asked about the significance of the game to his future.
“I know where the fans are coming from because I’ve been part of the Manchester United set-up for over twelve years so I knew what was required and what Sir Alex Ferguson demanded”, Meulensteen told 888Sport.com.
“Qualification is not a title – a title is the FA Cup, is the (league) championship”, Van Gaal said.
Louis Van Gaal is confident on his prospects of remaining Manchester United manager next season, despite admitting his side have taken a step backwards over the last 12 months.
“What it shows it how hard it’s become for managers these days because there is 24/7 publicity around the club and players”.
He was in the starting line-up when Crystal Palace drew 3-3 with Man United in the 1990 Final (before losing the replay 1-0), and he was manager of West Ham when they drew 3-3 with Liverpool in the 2006 Final, going onto lose on penalties. Oh, partly. Partly. No, I think it is like that [because the fixture was rearranged]. We are very close but when you don’t win, you have nothing.
“Now obviously it is a bit different with England, still being a striker for England”.
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THE referee for the FA Cup final will be one of the Premier League’s most experienced officials, Mark Clattenburg. “I have tried to explain that. Hopefully we can end the season on a high”. Thankfully the one decent move in the whole of the first half came just before half-time, and it resulted in Captain Rooney finishing a chance he had started to score his 100th goal at Old Trafford.
