Scholes: Red Devils play 'miserable' football
Trust Paul Scholes to get stuck in.
Staying true to his recent critical form in the media, the former Manchester United man has taken aim at his former club and slammed their recent soulless performances.
Despite riding high in the Premier League this term in third place, manager Louis van Gaal's tactics have been thrust into the spotlight following the Red Devils recent spate of poor performances.
Scholes, who was part of United's most successful era under Sir Alex Ferguson as a member of the famous Class of '92, has chimed in and given the Dutchman's style of play the thumbs down.
Obligation
Writing in his column for The Independent, the ex-midfield schemer said: "Part of being a Manchester United player under Sir Alex Ferguson, perhaps the most important part of being one of United’s attacking players, was that when you were in possession you had to take risks in order to create goalscoring chances. It was not an option; it was an obligation.
"It does not give me any pleasure to say that at the moment I am struggling to watch Louis van Gaal’s team with any great enjoyment.
"At times, United’s football is miserable. To beat opposing teams you have to attack, and to attack you have to take risks. Too few of the players in the current team are prepared to take those risks."
The former England man believes van Gaal should eschew possession for attacking football in order to get the best out of Old Trafford's most creative players like British record transfer Angel di Maria.
Possession obsession
"Of the current team, Angel Di Maria has taken more risks than any other player and, unfortunately, for him it has not worked out," Scholes said.
"He has given the ball away a lot for very little returns. Otherwise there seems to be an emphasis on possession. I would go further than that: there is an obsession with possession.
"United fans don’t care if the team only has 40 per cent possession as long as they are watching an attacking team.
"I was fortunate to play with so many wonderful footballers and under the greatest manager of all time, but I do believe that a club’s ethos, the principles of how it plays, should outlive even the biggest individuals in its history.
"United are about attacking football, and everything else has to takes its place behind that."
Source: The Independent
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