After Manchester United went down to a fourth consecutive defeat in a row on Boxing Day, many see the exit of Louis Van Gaal as a matter of when and not if. Manchester United lost to Stoke City by two goals to nil, and Paddy Power took the early initiative by announcing they were going to pay out on Louis Van Gaal to be the next manager sacked.
Manchester United looked lacklustre against the Potters and as I tipped in my betting preview for the game, Stoke went on to repeat their 2-0 victory against the blue half of Manchester earlier in the season. Memphis Depay comical diving head effectively gave Stoke a one nil lead before Arnautovic powered home a well deserved second shortly after. United never looked like getting back into the game, and even the introduction of Wayne Rooney coming on at half time, changed little allowing Stoke to hold out relatively comfortably. It’s no secret that Rooney’s form has dipped dramatically, we wrote about it last month, but the lack of creativity and desire is truly concerning for any United fan.
Many former players voiced their concern with Dwight Yorke describing Memphis Depay’s header as the “worst diving header I’ve ever seen.” Rio Ferdinand also posted a tweet shortly after Stoke went two nil up, appearing to be resigned to the situation.
The reason bookmakers like Paddy Power decide to payout early is usually more to do with marketing, than complete unequivocal knowledge that a particular event will in fact occur. It creates interest in the betting market and allows punters to bet on new markets. In this case I can’t see Paddy Power being too far wrong, and with a tough game against Chelsea on 28th December the end for Louis Van Gaal could well come very soon. Paddy Power currently has Jose Mourinho as favourite with Ryan Giggs and Pep Guardiola not far behind. By the time United play their first game of 2016 I fully expect to see a new manager in charge, although it would be extremely amusing to see Jose Mourinho in charge in the home dugout for the visit of Chelsea on Monday 28th December!
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Click to ClaimFrancois is one of Howtobet4free’s co-founders and has written many of Howtobet4free’s popular Betting Guides. Francois also helps run the @howtobet4free_ Twitter account
