Former England midfielder Paul Scholes admitted that there was one Manchester United team where he would have struggled to interject his influence in a meaningful way.
Paul Scholes is considered one of the best midfielders of all time and the Manchester United legend had a remarkable playing career at Old Trafford.
A United youth academy product, Scholes climbed into the Red Devils first team under Sir Alex Ferguson as one of the famed ‘Class of ‘92’ breakout stars.
Scholes spent his entire legendary playing career at United – across two separate spells – and hoovered up the major silverware under ex-manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
During his time at Old Trafford, the 50-year-old ex-United midfielder lifted 11 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies among his accolades.
Scholes was a linchpin midfield influence for Ferguson and the former England international was a key part of United’s iconic treble-winning squad in 1999.
The former United midfielder initially retired from football in 2011 before he made a stunning U-turn and returned to Old Trafford as a player in 2012.
Scholes’ spell at Old Trafford as a United player finally came to an end after he was part of the last Red Devils team to lift the Premier League title in 2013.
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Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Paul Scholes’ telling reaction to Louis van Gaal’s approach at Man Utd
Paul Scholes has watched on as a pundit at Manchester United’s struggles in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at Old Trafford after the former manager retired.
United have not won a Premier League title since Ferguson’s departure and Red Devils managers, both past and present, have struggled to restore the club’s status.
Louis van Gaal spent two seasons at Old Trafford as United manager and the Dutchman first arrived at the Red Devils in 2014 as David Moyes’ successor.
The 73-year-old former Bayern Munich and Ajax boss did find success at United, including capturing the FA Cup in his final season at Old Trafford.
However, Louis van Gaal’s reign came to an end in 2016 after the FA Cup triumph and the former United manager was sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho.
During Van Gaal’s spell at Old Trafford, Scholes was critical of the Dutchman’s tactics after United lost to Middlesbrough on penalties in the League Cup in 2015.
The United legend pointed out that Van Gaal’s team did not want “players to beat men” and he would have not enjoyed playing in his side at Old Trafford.
“There’s a lack of creativity and risk,” Scholes said in 2015, as per BBC Sport.
The former United midfielder also told BBC Radio Manchester: “It’s a team now you wouldn’t want to play against because they’re tightly organised.
“But it seems he [Van Gaal] doesn’t want players to beat men and it’s probably not a team I’d have enjoyed playing in.”
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What Louis van Gaal found as a major problem at Man Utd
Van Gaal was met with criticism over the football he deployed at United and the ex-Netherlands boss was often labelled for delivering ‘boring’ performances with his teams.
The former Barcelona and Ajax head coach, much like other United former managers, spoke out about the problems that the Red Devils faced at Old Trafford.
When asked about United, he told The Guardian newspaper in 2019: “The problem begins with, of course, that Manchester United was never refreshed.
“I think when you are a manager you have to refresh every year to keep the team-building process going.”
Van Gaal went on to have a third – and final – spell with the Netherlands national team as a manager before he stepped down from the role after the 2022 World Cup.