Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson has stressed that he has never seen such a pedestrian Manchester United side ever and insisted that Louis van Gaal needs to understand the way the Red Devils have traditionally played.
A 2-1 defeat at Swansea City’s hands at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday saw Manchester United drop down to fourth in the Premier League table.
While Liverpool’s win at Southampton yesterday meant Manchester United are still clinging onto a top four place, the race for the Champions League spots is getting tighter.
Though they dominated the game against Swansea yesterday, the Red Devils rarely worked the Swansea custodian Lukasz Fabianski and resorted to long balls once they went behind.
The former Liverpool defender stressed that he has rarely seen such a pedestrian Manchester United side and is of the view that they move the ball too slowly to cause any problems to opposition defenders.
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“I have never seen such a pedestrian Manchester United team”, Lawrenson said to the BBC.
“And they haven’t had a very bad record, 19 games and very few defeats, but they just move the ball so slowly, they are not a Manchester United team.”
Lawrenson also feels Van Gaal needs to understand the way Manchester United have traditionally played in the past and not try to tinker with it too much.
“And whatever you say about Van Gaal, he is not getting the message through. He has not got the message of Manchester United, the way that they play.
“And I think he has got away with murder to be honest.”
Manchester United now face a vital six weeks in their bid to finish in the Premier League's top four with games against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea on the horizon.
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