There are a lot of things wrong at Manchester United right now, despite Louis van Gaal's insistence that United are extremely well organised and progressing forward.

The performances in the main are, in the words of Paul Scholes, boring. You can say ineffective, uninspiring, safe, but boring probably sums it up the best. In addition, the results are not there since the defeat to Wolfsburg. The league table doesn't\t lie and United are sitting outside of the Champions League places and quite frankly don't look like they are capable of going on a run to even make a challenge.

There are many theories as to where the problem lies, and there is probably a combination of things. Ed Woodward, van Gaal and the players are really in the firing line. And the buck really does stop with them. Any failings are a direct result of their actions. A fish rots from the head, and the men in charge making the decisions are mainly culpable.

Van Gaal's style in terms of how he sets the players up for a game has not changed, and by general consensus, the players are happy playing in this system. If you are looking for something that is indicative of United's woes then it is during a game and how both van Gaal and the players approach a match. Van Gaal sits more often than not motionless in the dugout and has endured criticism as a result. His demeanour doesn't alter from one game to the next regardless of the result.

Van Gaal needs to make his presence felt

His argument is that he does the preparation during the week and is meticulous in doing so. It's his belief that the players go out on the pitch with full knowledge of what they need to do to win the match. He doesn't feel like he needs to stand on the touchline, as the players are ready, and in any case, players cannot be heard. He claims that he could only communicate with one player, and they would have to pass on any messages and he thinks that this is a waste of time. In atmosphere's like the one at Newcastle United on Tuesday, he may have a point. It would be hard to be heard in such a cacophony of noise. However, sometimes van Gaal misses the point. You don't have to shout to be heard. His mere presence on the touchline speaks louder than words.

As a player, if you do something wrong, you are pretty certain that you will hear about it during the extensive analysis following a game. If you see the manager patrolling on the sides, then you may not want to wait to correct any errors, it should have the impact of geeing a player up. We have seen in press conferences that a van Gaal stare speaks volumes, so why doesn't van Gaal at least try to affect a game with his presence?

He doesn't necessarily have to administer any particular instructions, but it is perception. Any player is going to be on their toes when they see their manager, because managers tend to be more conspicuous when things are not right. Everyone can sit back and relax when things go well. The point that van Gaal is really missing is that his current squad need help because they have no leaders amongst them.

No Captains in this team

It doesn't matter how well van Gaal prepares his players prior to a game, when they take to the field the onus is on them to deliver performances and results. If van Gaal is still going to sit on the bench and just take notes, then you need someone on the pitch that is going to carry out your instructions and ensure those around him do also. Sir Alex Ferguson had Bryan Robson and Roy Keane for the main part of his tenure.

They were two of United's greatest ever captains and they were Ferguson's on field generals. Their standards and performances never dropped, and they made sure that those around them were focused. Under no circumstances could anyone slack off, and they were surrounded by much better players than the ones in the current squad.

Wayne Rooney leads by example | Photo via Getty Images
Wayne Rooney leads by example | Photo via Getty Images

Wayne Rooney is now the captain, but he is no real leader. He is the type to lead by example, but what United need is an organiser, and a cajoler. Rooney is vocal, but his outbursts tend to come out of frustration at something going wrong, and that is not necessarily helpful. The great captains are ones that are able to spot danger, and react before something happens.

Rooney was probably handed the armband due to his passion and the chance that he was going to start most games with the lack of options in attack. There are very few other options. Chris Smalling has taken the armband on occasions in Rooney's absence, but despite him growing in stature and putting in some excellent performances, even he is not really a talker.

Robson and Keane not good examples

It is unfair to use Robson and Keane as examples, as they were exceptional but even looking beyond them the likes of Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic did the job with distinction. Vidic, in particular, was a great leader. An incident in one of his first games for United showed how intelligent Vidic was. Running back towards his own goal, he was being pressurised by a forward, and he did no more than to kick the ball out of play. He didn't try and be clever, he just put the ball into touch. Then he got into position to defend and organised. It was simple. No messing about, just sensible defending followed by a quick assessment of where his teammates were and setting the team up to defend. Nobody does that at United right now. They look to themselves and don't seem to have an awareness of what is around them, showing a lack of responsibility.

Everybody makes mistakes. Most goals are scored from mistakes, and where United have been largely good defensively, a lot of that comes from their lack of ambition going forward. At times, United have six defenders with the two sitting midfielders, and that is where a leader could have an influence not just defensively but in attack as well. Keeping your shape as the manager has set up is important, but it is impossible to win games if you try to do that for 90 minutes.

At some point midfielders have to be able to get beyond opponents and support. A good captain can see that and tell players when to go, when to sit and ensure that even if the shape is disturbed, there is still cover to cope with any counter attacks.

There is a lot wrong with United, and it could be that the players are simply not good enough. However, they are good players and even the best players still needed some direction on and off the pitch. United don't have a leader in their ranks and that goes for the players and the manager.

Van Gaal is nobody's fool, but he is neglecting his duty by failing to recognise that his players need help, and he should either address that by bringing in a true leader, or taking some responsibility to get more from his players. It's time to be counted, it's time to stand up.

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