The Gaalacticos

A £150m total spend has well and truly marked Louis Van Gaal's reign at Manchester United as a era of the "Gaalacticos." Much criticism last year for a lack of spending, Van Gaal's vision twinned with vice chairman Ed Woodward's sanctioning of transfers has seen the club bring in some of the world's biggest stars to the Premier League. The problems the side had last year with David Moyes has seen the club take a turn in philosophy, choosing to spend money to fix troubles but, is this the right way to do things?

There's no questioning throwing money at a side will bring instant success, there has been a number of teams in recent history that are a testimony to this. When world class quality like Angel Di Maria or Radamel Falcao who can single handedly sway games Manchester United's way arrive, it is only natural to have a expectation that things must improve. United's summer spending is definitely a statement of intent as their aim is to break back into the top three and get into next years champion's league.  

However, the sale of Danny Welbeck, a player that was held in such high regard at Old Trafford having been at the club since he was 8 years old and was expected to follow the sort of mould that has been a trend at Manchester United since the legendary class of  '92, represents the change from faith in the academy to big spending on quality this year under Louis Van Gaal. The arrival of Falcao meant that Welbeck would have been pushed further down the pecking order and in order to recuperate some of the money spent was sacrificed.

A slow start for Van Gaal's era

In the short term, spending this sort of money may be the right thing to do as avoiding repeating last year's disappointing campaign is priority but in the long term means the potential in the academy may find it hard to break into the first team. Di Maria's arrival could mean Adnan Januzaj's game time is affected despite the Belgian's first team break through being one of the few positives taken from last season.

Even with the blockbuster signings, some argue Manchester United have not strengthened enough in the correct area, defence. The club lost a lot of experience in Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra at the back but opted to only bring in a teenage left back in Luke Shaw with little experience at top level and Marcos Rojo who is also a left sided defender. Rojo can act as a centre back and is likely to adopt that position over the course of the season but, the side needed another experienced centre back. Youth product Tyler Blackett has been given a run in the first team and looks promising however, the defence at Old Trafford is fragile and lacking in depth.

Manchester United's annual wages have also gone through the £200m mark, a 19% rise on last year. Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw, Radamel Falcao are three signings that have all penned deals that are past the £100k a week mark. The club's inner wage structure has certainly risen with their summer deals and if more signings are to arrive, could continue to sky rocket.

Rooney has been appointed captain by Van Gaal

The Gaalactico's have got off to a slow start, chalking up their first win on the fourth attempt of trying. Van Gaal is yet to settle on a preferred formation either, having started with 3 at the back and then altering it to 4 at the back. Van Gaal is yet to fully get to grips with his squad, having had little pre season working with them due to the world cup and will take time before he and his squad fully gel.

Van Gaal needs time and support to restore Manchester United to former glory. It won't be something done in a season but, Van Gaal has already said he is here for three years and looking to bring instant success. Spending the money he has done defiantly suits that outlook but, could sacrifice some of the impressive potential coming through at Old Trafford. The era of the Gaalactico's has begun...