West Brom vs Manchester United: Three months on, how does Louis van Gaal compare to David Moyes?

Louis van Gaal declared in July: “Every club where I have been, I’ve struggled for the first three months.” Well Louis, it turns out you haven’t done that badly at all.

The Manchester United manager asked for a three month allowance before he was judged, and after a shaky start, the Dutchman has managed to lift United up to fourth in the Premier League table. Three months down the line, we take a look at how his stats match up to his predecessor David Moyes.

Van Gaal got off to the worst possible start, as Swansea inflicted a defeat on his United side in their opening game of the season. The fear that United had slipped beyond the point of no return was ramped up when MK Dons delivered a shock 4-0 thrashing on a United side that was far from first-choice in the League Cup, and meant that the club who had dominated the last two decades of English football would only compete in the Premier League until January due to the absence of European football.

But reinforcements arrived, with Radamel Falcao, Angel Di Maria, Daley Blind and Marcus Rojo adding to the early acquisitions of Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera, and soon enough United began to click. Victories over QPR, West Ham and Everton were briefly interrupted by the stunning 5-3 defeat to Leicester.

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In fact, United have one point more now than they did at the same point last season under Moyes, and the stats rule in Van Gaal’s favour too.

Van Gaal added when he took over that the squad would begin to understand his method of football. He said: “After that, they [the players] know what I want – how I am as a human being and also a manager, because I am very direct,” and there does appear to be an understanding between the talented attack that the Dutchman has quickly assembled.

One slight concern may be that Robin van Persie has not been as consistent under Van Gaal despite the pair working together with the Netherlands. Van Persie had scored six goals in total under Moyes with three coming in the league, but he has only registered on the scoresheet twice this season. In contrast, Rooney appears to have learnt Van Gaal’s way very quickly, as the United captain has scored three goals in the league this season – the same as last season and two shy of his record in all competitions – although the red card against West Ham remains a disappointment given the circumstances of his sending off.

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Lastly, it’s worth remembering Van Gaal’s sign-off when he spoke in that press conference during United’s pre-season tour of the United States three months ago. “I’m not a coach who thinks short-term, I’m a coach who thinks always in the long-term.” Providing he lives up to his word and continues the rebuilding at Old Trafford, United may not be as far away from a title challenge as many believe. That said, their upcoming matches against Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal over the next month will go a long way to showing us how big that gap really is.

Head-to-head: Van Gaal v Moyes

Louis van Gaal Overall David Moyes

8 Played 11

3 Won 6

2 Drawn 2

3 Lost 3

13 Goals scored 18

14 Goals conceded 12

Premier League

7 Played 7

3 Won 3

2 Drawn 1

2 Lost 3

11 Points 10

13 Goals scored 10

10 Goals conceded 9