Morgan Schneiderlin left Manchester United for Everton during the January transfer window, after a disappointing time at Old Trafford. Schneiderlin had arrived from Southampton with great hopes attached, but he failed to live up to expectations and Jose Mourinho could find no place for the Frenchman.
Now at Everton, and with former Southampton manager Ronald Koeman, Schneiderlin is hopeful of giving his career a kick-start. Failure at Manchester United is hard to argue against, but Schneiderlin lays the blame at Louis van Gaal’s door.
The Dutch manager had bought Schneiderlin to play a disciplined role in midfield, which is pretty much the only reason to buy Schneiderlin, but the now Everton midfielder felt his role was too restricted.
Speaking to French newspaper L’Equipe, the 27 year old said: “This first year with Louis Van Gaal sticks in the throat. I didn’t take any pleasure on the pitch. He left me little freedom in my game, even though I have quite a lot of experience in the Premier League.
“With him, I felt like playing a robot. They said to me, “You must never go and get the ball in this part of the pitch, you must not do this, that…” These instructions may have disturbed me a little.
“When a player wonders during a game – “But what does the coach want me to do in this situation?” – he begins to be less efficient. Especially at Manchester United, in a context where all matches are scrutinised by the media and where one can quickly be criticised from everywhere.”
Schneiderlin is clearly a little bitter about his time at Manchester United and, despite Van Gaal going and Mourinho coming in, things probably got worse for the midfielder. He seems to absolve Mourinho of blame for that, suggesting that what Van Gaal had somehow done to him was the catalyst for everything.
Manchester United fans will agree with Schneiderlin’s sentiment about Van Gaal’s restrictiveness to a point, but given this is a defensive midfielder it’s difficult to know just how much freedom he expected.
Schneiderlin last played for Everton on March 18th, and he’s a doubt for the club’s match against Leicester City.
