Louis van Gaal might have been the biggest youth advocate manager at Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
After guiding the Dutch to a World Cup semi-final, Louis van Gaal was Manchester United’s second try at getting the manager appointment post Sir Alex Ferguson correct.
Van Gaal won an FA Cup for United, but his biggest legacy was introducing the world to Marcus Rashford.
Rashford scored on his debut for United, becoming an immediate part of the first team and never looking back. This was arguably Van Gaal’s biggest strength at Old Trafford, a willingness to trust the youth.
Not all turned out to be top players, but he wasn’t afraid to give out opportunities and reward those who excelled. But the same cannot be said for Ruben Amorim.
Louis van Gaal waves to Manchester United fans.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
What Louis van Gaal said about using the academy at Manchester United
Amorim is criticised for not using the youth, but if he listens to Van Gaal, he would learn that it is something that is non-negotiable at Old Trafford.
Man Utd icon Sir Alex Ferguson perfectly captures the ethos of believing in youngsters ð¥ð
Giving young people an opportunity is a fantastic thing and they very seldom let you down. These lads never let me down when they put that jersey on.
Sir Alex Ferguson speaking at the opening of Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium in 2017
“It is a policy of this club to play with youth players,” Van Gaal is quoted by TNT Sports as explaining in 2016.
More United News
“When you see our season, with 14 injuries in November-December, and all the full-backs injured, how can you solve that? You can’t solve that.
“I took the risk not to sign a player at the time. Instead, I took [Cameron] Borthwick-Jackson, [Guillermo] Varela and Timothy Fosu-Mensah. I have taken a risk, and now I can be happy because we have won something, but it is a very difficult decision to do that.
“I gambled with youngsters. I felt we needed the spirit of the youngsters.”
Amorim, meanwhile, is very reluctant to take these gambles on youngsters, no matter how much he needs a new option or solution.
Continuing, Van Gaal explained that he actually cut the squad down small enough to make the academy a necessity on purpose.
“I created the necessity”, Van Gaal is quoted by TNT Sports as saying. “Manchester United had over 30 players. I brought them back to 23. Then I had an open selection for the youth academy. I did that at every club. That is why a lot of young players have made their debuts with me.
”A lot of trainers, like Mourinho, never give youngsters a chance. Yes, five minutes. Solskjaer, 10 minutes. That is not a chance. A chance is a game.
“Too much experience is not good. Then you have an automatic pilot. You always need imagination, and you cannot forget how inspiring young players can be. If you are not willing to trust young players, you are not suitable to be a manager of a club with a youth education.”
Ruben Amorim must take Van Gaal’s advice
This season simply hasn’t been good enough for United in regard to using the academy, and lots of fans are growing weary of this aspect of Amorim’s management.
Does Ruben Amorim need to improve his use of the academy?⭐️
Amorim has only given 170 Premier League minutes to academy graduates this season… should he give more opportunities and to who? Let us know in the comments
Ruben Amorim in Manchester United attire during loss to Everton.
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
It absolutely needs to improve, and by giving opportunities out, Amorim could also score small wins within the fanbase at a time when he needs all the praise he can get.
Amorim speaks about maintaining the academy record of having one player in the squad from the academy, although at this point, it feels almost like a token record, opposed to one that is worth being proud of.
The head coach has included players from the academy on the bench but has not used them more than once, even when in desperate times. Monday night saw this happen, with Amorim failing to use Shea Lacey, which is a real frustration as his creativity would have been really beneficial.