Robbie Savage: 'Louis van Gaal must go if Manchester United fail to win title'

By Tom Nightingale, Reporter | 12 December 2015

Ex-Manchester United player Robbie Savage says that Louis van Gaal should be sacked if he fails to lead the club to the Premier League title this season.

Robbie Savage has claimed that Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal should be sacked if the club fail to win the Premier League title after they crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage this week.

United's 3-2 defeat to Wolfsburg saw them fail to progress beyond the group stage for only the second time in a decade, and the Red Devils are fourth in the Premier League at the start of Saturday's play.

Writing in his column in The Mirror, Savage insisted that winning the domestic title would be the only salvation for the Dutchman after an underwhelming first four months of the season, and suggested that he should leave the club if he fails to achieve the feat.

"After Manchester United's embarrassment in the Champions League, let's spell out the only road to redemption for Louis van Gaal - if he does not win the title this season, he might as well pack his bags," Savage wrote.

"Winning the FA Cup will not be enough. Not now, not after the way United failed to qualify from a Champions League group they should have been able to negotiate in blindfolds. And forget about the Europa League - there are too many decent sides left in the competition. United are not good enough to win it.

"For me, the equation for Van Gaal is simple: It is the title or bust. I am not in favour of sacking managers - not in mid-season, at any rate - but I know that a lot of United fans have had enough. The jokes are on one of the biggest clubs in the world - and that cannot be right."

Savage pointed to the amount of money spent by the former Bayern Munich and Netherlands manager as a key reason for why his inability to win a trophy with the club would be such a damaging failure.

"Even if the board finds £50m of petty cash down the back of the sofa, I would not give Van Gaal any of it to spend in January," the former Manchester United man continued. "He has already spent £230m, and are United any better off?

"You could compile a team of players Van Gaal that has sold during his 18 months in charge, and it is probably better than the one he fielded against Wolfsburg on Tuesday. Most of us have spent the last 18 months trying to work out Van Gaal's philosophy. We are still none the wiser, and there is £230m less in the bank."

United face a trip to struggling Bournemouth on Saturday evening as they look to strengthen their challenge at the top of the Premier League.