The last time Manchester United had a season devoid of European football was also one of the last in-person squad photos the players assembled for.
Looking back at that line-up in September 2014, the squad is larger than necessary for a season where United played a meagre 44 domestic matches. Ben Amos, Anderson, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira and Anders Lindegaard are four inclusions by default.
Amos and Lindegaard did not play all season. Pereira and Anderson each played twice and Lingard once. United got Amos, Anderson and Lindegaard off the books in 2015.
Jonny Evans, Tyler Blackett, Robin van Persie, Angel di Maria, Rafael da Silva, Radamel Falcao, Darren Fletcher and Adnan Januzaj had gone when the squad reassembled in front of the Scoreboard End a year later. United had the luxury of cutting their losses on misfits and past-its without any financial ramifications back then.
Ruben Amorim would probably scoff at the recommendation of 27 senior professionals. United are provisionally aiming for 26, which does not seem like much of a difference but is a logical number.
Three of the 26 would be goalkeepers, so whittle that down to 23 outfield players and you have two XIs and three players as cover.
Van Gaal actually used 38 players in his first season, a number skewed by the wholesale changes he made for the shocking League Cup thrashing by MK Dons in early August. Saidy Janko, Reece James, Marnick Vermijl and Nick Powell were all one-and-done for the campaign that balmy night.
Injuries also forced Van Gaal's hand. Paddy McNair did not have his own Wikipedia page when he made his debut against West Ham United 11 days after the first team's class photo. Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones were, of course, all out
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