The Dutchman has struggled to match performances with results at Manchester United so far, but despite some mistakes the sense is that he is heading in the right direction.
COMMENTBy Wayne Veysey
Louis Van Gaal urged Manchester United followers and observers to wait for three months before they could expect to notice his impact at the club.
With the international break neatly drawing a line under this initial honeymoon period, now is the time to assess how the Old Trafford era of the manager Sir Alex Ferguson describes as "formidable" is shaping up.
| RESULTS |
With United 13 points behind Premier League pacesetters Chelsea after just 11 matches, even the most optimistic fan would admit they have almost no chance of claiming a 21st title this season.
| THE STATS | |
| Manchester United have failed to score in the first half in each of their last four Premier League games. | |
United's last four Premier League games have produced a total of just one first-half goal (for West Brom – October 20). | |
| The Red Devils are now unbeaten in five league games at Old Trafford, winning four and and drawing one. It's their longest unbeaten home run since March 2013 (under Sir Alex Ferguson). | |
At the same juncture last season under David Moyes, United had four more points and were just five behind then-leaders Arsenal.
Throw in a League Cup humiliation at the hands of MK Dons and the absence of midweek football to stretch the playing squad, and Van Gaal's reign could be said to have comfortably got off to a worse start than Ferguson's hand-picked replacement.
But it was the end of Moyes' reign which is most relevant, not the start, and while the Dutchman has failed to provide the instant sticking plasters to cover the gaping wounds left by his predecessor, there is reason for optimism.
After the low point of the 5-3 defeat at Leicester City, United have won three and drawn two of their six league matches, including a late comeback to seal a respectable 1-1 draw against high-flying Chelsea. Van Gaal points out that the game at the King Power aside, his defence are tighter than Jose Mourinho's.
Many felt his side did enough to at least share the spoils with Manchester City last weekend and could consider themselves unfortunate to lose.
Those back-to-back clashes against the league's two strongest teams probably came too early for the new, rejigged United, but there was optimism about what was to come.
Ironically, though, the victory against Crystal Palace has tempered expectations somewhat after a stuttering performance. You never quite know where you stand with this United team, and you get the feeling that anything could happen in the clash against Arsenal after the international break.
Considering the club was at a low ebb after Moyes' dismissal, the feeling that things are on the up is justified.
| RECRUITMENT |
United's player trading this summer was a big improvement on the disastrous window of 12 months earlier.
After giving his original squad - minus Anderson - the pre-season tour to the United States to prove themselves, Van Gaal allowed 14 members of his first-team to leave Old Trafford, with six new recruits, including the £59.7m British record signing Angel Di Maria, coming in.
Nani, Shinji Kagawa and Wilfried Zaha were discarded quickly, and even home-grown products such as Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley were deemed surplus to requirements.
But by replacing the departures with players either proven at the highest level - Di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Daley Blind – or with the potential to do so - Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Ander Herrera - Van Gaal oversaw an upsurge of quality and an eradication of mediocrity.
The one sale that could come back to haunt Van Gaal is Welbeck, who has begun promisingly at Arsenal. With Robin van Persie ageing, Falcao struggling for fitness and Wayne Rooney effectively re-classified as an attacking midfielder, the jury is out on the United attack.
The Dutchman decided Welbeck was not good enough for his team, but it would not be the first time he has been forced to change his mind during his short spell at Old Trafford to date. After all, Goal understands he is considering a recall for Nani because, after all, he does need wingers.
Van Gaal may also regret not being able to source a blue-chip centre-back, even if they are thin on the ground across the globe. He was dealt a blow when Thomas Vermaelen moved to Barcelona, but the Belgian's injury problems have ruled him out of the start of the season and the signs are that he may have been a bullet dodged.
| SELECTION AND TACTICS |
Within days of inheriting the United squad from David Moyes, Van Gaal addressed his players and told them they would be working on a new 3-5-2 system due to his concerns he had "too many No.10s" and a lack of ball-winners in midfield.
Positive results on the pre-season tour of the US suggested that Van Gaal had already displayed his renowned tactical superiority, but 3-5-2 proved to be a disaster once the season began and the system was swiftly abandoned.
Considering the majority of summer purchases were made with the 3-5-2 in mind, it means that Van Gaal has changed his approach three times in as many months.
A midfield diamond brought sparkling attacking play in September, but the boss was unhappy with the lack of balance in that mad game at Leicester and has since moved towards a 4-3-3.
But that has failed to get the best out of Angel Di Maria, who has been poor since scoring his wonderful lob in the East Midlands, and the attack which fleetingly looked so brilliant is now struggling to click.
Van Gaal always insists that it is not his defence which has struggled, but the balance of the team, and it seems that Ander Herrera, as one of his midfield links, has suffered for that. Marouane Fellaini replaced him at West Brom, swiftly crashed in a superb goal and currently looks first choice to sit alongside Blind.
"It's too much [changing of the formation] I think, I agree," he told reporters on Saturday. "But I'm looking for the balance and when you see the last four matches, we have had more balance because we haven't conceded many goals.
"Nevertheless, we don't score so much. With the other system, we scored a lot of goals."
Injuries have clearly compromised Van Gaal's revolution, with every member of his defensive pool being sidelined for one reason or another and the manager has been forced to chop and change every game.
Uncertainty continues to afflict United at the back, even though they have now reverted to a flat back-four. With Rojo and Jonny Evans out long-term, and Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Rafael unable to string more than a few consecutive matches together, Van Gaal has dipped into the youth ranks and handed senior debuts to several of United's young prospects, with defenders Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair among those given extended opportunities to prove their worth.
One player who may need to keep his agent on speed dial in January is Juan Mata. The Spaniard has shined only fleetingly at Old Trafford and, despite his weekend winner against Crystal Palace, does not appear to have the unqualified support of Van Gaal.
The former Chelsea man harshly dropped for the defeat at Leicester, and was roundly expected to stake his claim for the No.10 role during Rooney's three-match ban. He was poor, though, and the fact that he only shone off the bench against Palace at the weekend sums up the unpredictable situation at United right now. Nobody quite knows where they stand.
| PERSONALITY |
With his unshakeable self-belief and outstanding track record, Van Gaal is able to absorb bad results in a way that Moyes never could.
Crucially, the Dutchman does not care what the media say or write. He has seen and heard it all before. The only thing that bothers him is winning.
Van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford with instant credibility after guiding a fairly average Netherlands side to the World Cup semi-finals, and, coupled with his dominant personality, there is almost an invisible shield protecting United from the majority of doubters.
The Dutchman has made gaffes, such as admitting the MK Dons defeat was not a shock, but he speaks with total authority and does not look for traps that are not there.
Van Gaal being Van Gaal, he was also confident enough to complain about the demands of United's commercial activities in his first press conference and has made no attempt to hide his distaste for the club's plans for lucrative midweek friendlies overseas in the new year. It is hard to imagine Moyes being that bold.
| TRAINING METHODS |
Training ground sleeping pods, double sessions and practising under floodlights paints the picture of a regime with a strict work ethic.
But United's inability to get anything close to their best team out on the pitch mean the new methods have
been an unmitigated disaster so far.
The injuries began in pre-season when Luke Shaw was sidelined after overtraining in the US, and they have continued thick and fast ever since.
Van Gaal has attempted to rectify the problem by demoting former first-team fitness coach Tony Strudwick and overhauling the backroom team responsible for keeping the players fine-tuned and injury-free.
But questions still need to be asked of a set-up which is producing such a continuous stream of injuries. Compare it with, say, Chelsea, who play twice a week, are in the Champions League and have barely a strain or sprain among their entire first-team squad.
The new manager has made a surprising number of mistakes for someone with such an outstanding record.
In terms of progress, United are making only baby steps and an advance forward is often followed by one backwards.
Yet the sense is that Britain's mightiest club are in safe hands.
United will not win the league this season, as the Glazer family might have hoped after appointing Van Gaal and sanctioning a record recruitment drive in the summer.
But a place in the top three and a return to the Champions League is an eminently achievable target, and one Van Gaal looks capable of.
The title will have to wait until next season.
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