Louis van Gaal pulls rank on England over Manchester United’s physios

Posted Tuesday, September 30, 2014 by theguardian.com

· Tony Strudwick and Rod Thornley to give up England duties
· Manchester United may play mid-week friendlies
· Van Gaal concerned over mounting injury crisis

Louis van Gaal pulls rank on England over Manchester United’s physios
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, right, with his fitness coach Tony Strudwick on a pre-season tour.

Louis van Gaal is to withdraw Tony Strudwick and Rod Thornley, two members of the back-room staff he inherited at Manchester United, from part-time duties with the England team to focus entirely on their work at Carrington.

Strudwick, who has been a fitness coach at Old Trafford for seven years, and Thornley, a masseur, have been sharing roles with the national team of late and will join Roy Hodgson’s England staff as normal next week for the Euro 2016 qualifying games against San Marino and Estonia. However, they are expected to stand down from the England staff after those fixtures and, in future, will spent international windows at the club.

Van Gaal has seen his squad badly affected by injuries since taking up the reins this summer, with Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young, Phil Jones, Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini all in rehabilitation. With that onerous injury list in mind, the United manager wants his staff to focus entirely on club duties and the Football Association has been made aware of that intention.

Representatives of the governing body hope to speak to Van Gaal after the forthcoming fixtures but, with the manager’s decision apparently made, they anticipate restructuring Hodgson’s backroom team before November’s qualifier against Slovenia and friendly against Scotland in Glasgow.

Thornley, a former non-league striker whose elder brother Ben played for United and Huddersfield Town, has been a long-standing member of the FA’s medical staff, having been recommended for the position by the former captain, David Beckham.

Strudwick, in contrast, has been involved in the set-up only since just before the summer’s World Cup and has recently seen his duties tweaked at United, having been appointed head of athletic development this season. United have confirmed the fitness coach, who joined from Blackburn Rovers in 2007, is now working across all age groups at the club, “with Louis van Gaal for the first-team right through to Paul McGuinness in the academy”, following the arrival of the manager’s trusted aide Jos van Dijk in the summer. United added in a statement: “Introducing this new role and using Tony’s invaluable experience in sports science, which spans over 20 years, shows the club’s commitment on placing greater emphasis on developing players for long-term success.”

“I am thoroughly enjoying this new role,” said Strudwick. “With increased importance on developing players for the future, the athletic component becomes critical in their advancement and to have the chance to work with the younger players, who are in the early stages of their career, as well as the first team, will give a continuity of progression which is critical to their future success.”

England’s medical staff are headed by Dr Ian Beasley and the former Arsenal physio Gary Lewin, who is close to resuming his duties after fracturing and dislocating an ankle in the celebrations of Daniel Sturridge’s equaliser in the defeat by Italy in Manaus in June. Another physio, Steve Kemp, oversaw touchline duties for the friendly against Norway and the Euro 2016 qualifying victory over Switzerland last month. Hodgson will continue to benefit from the expertise of other medical staff affiliated to Premier League clubs, with Manchester City’s Carlo Sertori among those still doubling up.

United are looking at playing lucrative friendlies overseas to fill the midweek void left by the absence of European football this season and the early Capital One Cup exit. The Middle East would be the most likely destination. “That’s something we continue to look at, as always making sure that the preparations we do on the pitch come first,” United’s managing director, Richard Arnold, told Associated Press.

Arnold said Van Gaal, who complained about the effects the pre-season tour to the US had on preparations, was being fully consulted. “I can only speak positively of my experience with the manager in terms of his understanding of what’s required to get a first-class team on to the pitch and also what’s required for running a club of our magnitude,” he said.