Paul Parker: Louis Van Gaal is "selfish" and "stubborn"

Former Manchester United right back Paul Parker, who played over 140 times for the first team under Sir Alex Ferguson between 1992 and 1996, has claimed that current manager Louis Van Gaal is “selfish” and as put the “fear of God” in the players in an article he wrote for Eurosport.

Louis Van Gaal “selfish”.

In his article Parker claims that the Dutchman Louis Van Gaal, is a “selfish” and “stubborn” manager, going as far as to claim that “At the moment, we have to say he's not man managing that team.” Parker believes that Van Gaal to become a good manager especially at Manchester United, must learn to adapt and be flexible with the players stating that “All those players he's got are not bad players, and they've not played negative football all their lives.”

This criticism comes after former players Roy Keane lamented the style of the Manchester United he used to play under, as well as claiming that Wayne Rooney is “awful” as well as Paul Scholes claiming that this is not a style of play and tactics he would have liked to play under.

While Parker does disagree with Keane, claiming that Rooney is not an awful player claiming it is Van Gaal “putting the fear of God” into the players that has caused Rooney’s dramatically poor form by a man of his stature.

Anthony Martial “doesn’t look like he’s enjoying himself”

Parker points out youngsters Anthony Martial and Memphis Depay as his main examples, as well as involving former player Angel Di Maria and  current fan favourite Ander Herrera, as to why Van Gaal’s tactics and man management are ruining players.

Parker claims in his article for Eurosport that Martial “looks like a boy who doesn't smile anymore. He doesn't look like he's enjoying himself.” He argues in the case of Angel Di Maria that “why did Angel Di Maria - arguably Real Madrid's best player before he left them - start off great at United after a very good World Cup, then drop his performance by about 80 per cent?”

As for Memphis Depay, Parker claims he has been made into a scapegoat and he wouldn’t be shocked if he felt a “million miles from home” and that Herrera is “probably unsettled” as well as being given no “freedom”.

Is this criticism justified?

While in the eyes of Paul Parker an ex-professional, the main issue at Manchester United is the man management of boss Louis Van Gaal, is it really fair to claim it is down to just him?

The reality is unless any of the players are brave and enough and arguably foolish enough, to openly come out and criticise Van Gaal’s style of management fans will never truly no if what Paul Parker is saying is true.

But some of what Parker claims does make sense, Martial seems like a different man to who he was when he first joined, he went through the struggle of moving around three different positions to try and accommodate Rooney and in that period he no longer seems the energetic youngster who came off the bench against Liverpool for his debut. Memphis has yet to settle into life at Manchester United at all, while one can claim he hasn’t adjusted to the Premier League yet, that may be true but the top goal scorer from the Eredivisie, should not be struggling to the extent he is. Memphis is another player who Van Gaal has reportedly been strict on in training.

Herrera is in and out of the side, there seems to be nothing good enough he can do to confirm a starting spot and even now there are rumours he wants to leave due to Van Gaal. Then the case of Di Maria, he was performing superbly from the start with that stunning goal against Leicester, he got injured and came back to the side a different man. The similarity? During his time out injured reports emerged of an argument between Di Maria and Van Gaal.

Lastly there are the cases of Javier Hernandez and Victor Valdes. Hernandez was never given a chance to play under Van Gaal, despite the urgent need for a striker and the second the Mexican publicly spoke out he was dropped. Valdes reportedly refused to play for the under 21’s and since Van Gaal has completely isolated him, refusing to even invite him to the UNICEF Gala according to Valdes’s wife.

How much of these rumours are true can only be known by the United players themselves, but there is a scarily reoccurring theme between all these players. Every player has reportedly fallen out or struggled to suit Van Gaal’s man management style.