Former player Markus Neumayr offers a European perspective of United’s season.
Markus still takes a keen interest on how his old club are doing and has seen signs of improvement under Louis Van Gaal, a manager who is still well respected around Europe: “I’ve watched nearly every United game this season. You can see that Louis Van Gaal has brought in a new style of football with more variety in terms of tactics and the positioning of each player.
“Van Gaal’s reputation around Europe hasn’t changed. He is a manager who can create a special atmosphere at a club and bring United back to where they belong. I think his statistics and the trophies he’s won still speak for themselves.”
On how United’s season has gone down with people on the continent Markus says: “People are starting to recognise that United will soon will be back to their best after a disappointing last season. They can see that something is starting to grow and the last few results against the top teams in the league have shown their development.”
Markus also asserts that United’s following abroad hasn’t been diminished by them not playing in the Champion League this season: “United are still seen as a big player in European football despite them not playing in the Champions League this season. Every week their results are discussed and people speculate as to how much time it will take before we see the best of this great club again.”
The 29 year-old was captain of United’s reserves during his time at the club and with the Under-21s currently sat at the top of the Barclays Under-21 Premier League gives his views on the importance of the club doing well at this level: “It is very important that United are number one in youth football and development. It is part of the history of the club that youth players are put in the first team and go on to become world-class players. “That’s always been the special thing about Manchester United and that’s why the youth teams are so important to the club.”
Markus now plays for FC Vaduz who play in the Swiss Super League and is confident of avoiding relegation after the club were promoted at the end of last season: “Things are still going our way. Unfortunately we lost the last game against our closest rivals FC Aarau who are battling with us against relegation, but we are still five points ahead with a much better goal difference. “We will stay focused and sharp, we know that there are still eight games to be played and every single one of them can be decisive.”
