Manchester United play with no rhythm and no beat... Louis van Gaal's cautious approach is too slow

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People talk about playing football with a rhythm and a beat. For Manchester United this season, that beat has just been too slow.

There is no excitement in their play. They hold on to possession but everything is pedestrian. 

To get an advantage over your opponents you have to move the ball quickly — you must be brave with the first pass and take risks to gain the rewards. That is not happ ening at United.

Louis van Gaal prefers a cautious approach but to succeed in attack you have to commit numbers forward 

Louis van Gaal prefers a far more cautious approach but football is a numbers game. To succeed in attack you have to commit numbers forward, often through your full backs or extra midfielders. United don’t do that.

Teams like Leicester have had success not from dominating possession but by pouring forward with pace and purpose. But at United it’s very much safety first.

Van Gaal has had plenty of time and has spent £250million on building his team, but after that kind of investment should United’s squad really be so thin?

Anthony Martial has started promisingly at Old Trafford but United still lack numbers up front

They have one first-team right back and began the season with Wayne Rooney as their only striker. 

Yes, Anthony Martial has done well but he was bought in the hope of becoming a centre forward before the realisation that he already was one. 

Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn’t dream of starting a season without formidable attacking options. Van Gaal has also taken some stick for playing kids. 

Marouane Fellaini looks dejected as United reflect on the Champions League exit at the hands of Wolfsburg

There is no excitement in Manchester United's play - they hold on to possession but everything is pedestrian

I don’t mind that. If a player is good enough then I’d rather see a manager showing belief in them and giving them a chance. The problem for Van Gaal is that it exposes the shortcomings in his squad.

Against Wolfsburg, United were defensively poor at set-pieces but they did show signs of fighting to hang on. 

The trouble is they should have been fighting from the off and results like the 0-0 at home to PSV did for them in the end.

United's players, led by captain Chris Smalling, troop off after the final whistle and their early exit

There have been so many changes at Old Trafford to accommodate Van Gaal and his methods that surely the club must stick by him. 

But United are a club used to playing Europe’s elite and the Thursday night Europa League schedule will seriously affect them. 

The good news is that the Premier League is so unpredictable this year that United still have as much chance as anybody of winning it.