Louis van Gaal deserves credit for putting his faith in youth instead of signing proven players at Manchester United, according to Paul Merson. Having brought in Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria during his first season at Old Trafford, Van Gaal has since taken a gamble on relatively unproven players, with Anthony Martial, Memphis Depay and Matteo Darmian brought to the club at the start of the current campaign.The Dutchman has come in for intense criticism in recent months as Uniteds alarming slump has seen them eliminated from the Champions League and fall out of contention for the title. Van Gaals youngsters We look at Louis van Gaals Manchester United academy graduates A lengthy injury list has forced Van Gaal to blood several academy prospects in recent weeks, with Marcus Rashfords remarkable step up to the first team the highlight as United claimed vital wins against Midtjylland and Arsenal respectively.And Sky Sports pundit Merson believes the criticism of Van Gaal has been harsh, particularly in light of his youth policy compared to other league managers. High-profile signing Radamel Falcao failed to produce I feel sorry for Van Gaal a bit, Merson said. He could have come into United and spent all that money on 28-year-olds, proven footballers who have won things.That might not have helped the club in the long term but it might may have delivered a trophy. However, in three years time it would leave the club in a worse place than they are now.But he hasnt done that. He went out and has bought youngsters for the future and has given other youngsters a chance. Marcus Rashford grabbed two goals and an assist on his Premier League debut Its not the same as [Arsene] Wenger, who has been manager for almost 20 years. Van Gaal has been there for less than two, so its a completely different case.He has bought players for the future for United as a club. Hes not thinking of himself, hes hoping they are going to be in a better position when he leaves.United will be out to maintain their recent upturn in form when Watford travel to Old Trafford on Wednesday night. Rashford has scored four goals in his first two Manchester United games The Reds have the chance to win four consecutive games for only the second time this season, with victory keeping their slim hopes of finishing in the top four alive.Merson believes Uniteds signings, aided by their unfazed academy players, are starting to settle into life at one of world footballs biggest clubs and has tipped the resurgence to continue. Van Gaal has bought players for the future, for United as a club. He’s not thinking of himself, he’s hoping they are going to be in a better position when he leaves. Sky Sports Paul Merson United are really getting some momentum behind them and the goals of Rashford seem to have lifted the whole club and the fans, Merson added. When one of your own scores a couple of goals, then the supporters walk away seeing a brighter future.Away from him, it feels like some of the others are now getting used to playing for a very big club. Van Gaal has invested in Uniteds future with the acquisition of Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial Anthony Martial was playing in front of small crowds at Monaco and now hes learning his trade in front of 75,000 at Old Trafford.Watford will be hard to play against but I expect United to win on Wednesday. Also See: Man Utd close to 1,000 goals Man Utd v Watford preview LVG: Leave Rashford in peace Keep Rashford hungry Marcus Foligno Wild Jersey .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Jared Spurgeon Wild Jersey . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. http://www.authenticwildpro.com/Jason-zucker-wild-jersey/ . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. J.T. Brown Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Zach Parise Jersey . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Englands rugby union team and Team GB are in talks about sharing know-how and training bases in their twin attempts to triumph in Tokyo.Team GB chief executive Bill Sweeney invited England coach Eddie Jones to the British Olympic Associations London headquarters on Monday to discuss ways the two teams could help each other for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Olympics.Speaking to journalists, Sweeney explained he has known Jones, who is half Australian and half Japanese, for many years and it made perfect sense to explore any opportunities to help each other out in Japan.Hes there in 2019, were there in 2020, said Sweeney, of a man who just led England to an unbeaten record in 2016, having previously coached Japan for three years. There have to be some areas of common interest that we can talk about and thats good news.Sweeney said Team GB was well advanced in their Tokyo 2020 plans, having already signed agreements with training venues but were open to sharing them with Jones, although Englands needs are slightly different, given the nationwide nature of the Rugby World Cup.Team GBs main holding camp will be Yokohama and Sweeney said pre-Games planning was already ahead compared to four years ago in regards to Rio, which is partly to do with the BOAs improved finances. New chairman Hugh Robertson praised Sweeney and his team for fixing what he described as the pickle that the BOA had got itself into after London 2012, and said the organisations commerciaal strength enabled it to look forward to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and 2020 Summer Olympics in the Japanese capital with real confidence of further success.ddddddddddddt was a point Sweeney picked up, saying that when he talks to his peers abroad Team GB is now considered a dominant Olympic force thanks to 20 years of targeted funding via UK Sport and the on-the-ground execution that the BOA delivers.Our primary purpose - our only purpose, really - is to make sure athletes can perform similar feats to what they did in Rio, said Sweeney. And being a privately-funded body weve got to generate our own commercial funds. But were in great shape. Were in much better shape coming out of Rio than we were coming out of London.If you asked now what our vision is for Tokyo compared to Rio, we could give you a very detailed answer - we feel very much ahead of the curve in terms of the issues we need to deal with going into Tokyo.But we think that one of the challenges we will face coming into Tokyo is that were looking at a city of 38 million people, with a very different culture, it can be a bit overwhelming at times.Thats why were thinking of bringing everybody through Yokohama. Its the best place to make that transition. Eddie may think similarly but hell have a very strong point of view because hes half Japanese, anyway. ' ' '
