Shinji Kagawa: We've learned a lesson

Shinji Kagawa has vowed he and Manchester United will use the disappointment of last season as a "trigger" to improve this term.

The Japan midfielder made 14 league starts in 2013/14 but was not entirely satisfied with his contribution as the Reds finished outside the European places in seventh. He believes team-work and honest endeavour is the key for both him and United to achieve success under new manager Louis van Gaal.

"When I look back, last season was tough," Kagawa told ManUtd.jp. "I will use that frustration as a trigger to express myself this season, challenging myself to do new things. I'll work hard to achieve goals and results. I'm really enjoying myself, it's my third year with United and I know my team-mates very well.

"We've learned a lesson from last season. It is important for us to stick together and work towards the same goal. We can do much better if we can bring out the best of ourselves. We want to keep succeeding in the manager's new system, and we want to win trophies. That's what the fans expect."

Van Gaal tried some of his squad members in new positions on the pre-season tour of the United States. Ashley Young was deployed as a wing-back, Wilfried Zaha played up front and Kagawa adopted a holding midfield role.

"It has been seven or eight years since I played as a defensive midfielder, but the important thing is I do my best in whatever position I am asked to play in," Kagawa said. "I have to achieve results wherever I play.

"The boss told me to be mindful about the distance between defensive midfielders and to be more conscious of the choices I make when I receive the ball – in other words, how I should help build the attack."

Reading the last few pages, it's quite clear that the Kagawa critics are 10 times worse than the so-called "cult of Kagawa". It's all just lies or wild theories from that side. Time to set the record straight:


1. Fergie did rate Kagawa
I can't believe people still doubt this! 75% starts in the league when he wasn't injured and roughly the same in the CL speaks volumes. Kagawa was clearly first choice for the left wing, and first choice for the no.10 position the moment Rooney or RVP was out.


2. You don't know why Kagawa leaves now
For all we know, it's Kagawa that pushes the move, not Van Gaal. And even if Van Gaal is the one pushing the move, you don't know the reason for this either. Mata is most likely the reason, but that isn't a critique of Kagawa in itself. It just means that Mata is prefered over Kagawa. But what if Moyes never signed Mata? There's a high chance Kagawa would have been a central part of Van Gaal's plans then.


3. Kagawa not making it for us does not equal him being unsuited for the PL
This is another trainwreck of a theory that only a person without any logic would be willing to believe. That or a hardcore anglophile. Just because Kagawa didn't move heaven and earth for the most static top team in the PL, it doesn't mean that he's unsuited for the whole damn league! The physicality was never a problem. In fact, he's better than Mata in most of these aspects. You can't blame the pace either, because Kagawa thrives under pace, unlike half our starting XI.


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Conclusion:
The only coach so far that we know didn't rate Kagawa, is Moyes. Who cut Kagawa's playtime in half(considering injuries)? Moyes. Who made Kagawa third/fourth choice for the AM position instead of second? Moyes. Who decided to sign Mata? Moyes.

Do you see the pattern here? It's as if Moyes was on a personal quest to feck up Kagawa's career. You can say that we don't know what happens on the training ground, but Rio stated in an interview with Andy Mitten that Kagawa was the best player in training. The Japanese are known for being extremely self-critical and always blaming themselves, even when it's not their fault. But I doubt that Kagawa is able to go to bed without cursing Moyes a few times.

Fergie rated Kagawa and treated him well, which resulted in a decent first season. 6 goals and 6 assists in the PL and CL over roughly 1500 minutes is more than good enough for a new-born winger who's able to play no.10 as well. Moyes effectively ignored all this and went with a different approach(which didn't work, as we all know). And then, just to make sure Kagawa's United days were over, he signed Mata so that when the next manager came in to fix his mess, he'd have no choice but to bench him.

Fergie = rated Kagawa and added him to his strongest XI.
Moyes = didn't rate Kagawa at all and made him 3rd/4th choice both on the wing and in the no.10 position.
Van Gaal = too early to say. The only thing we know is that he prefers Mata, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't rate Kagawa.

Moyes had barely seen Kagawa at that point and wanted to learn more about a player about whom Sir Alex Ferguson had left glowing reports.

David De Gea wrote:Thanks for all mate! @S_Kagawa0317 !! We'll miss you!! Good luck on your new adventure.

Juan Mata wrote:I would also like to wish all the best to Shinji Kagawa, a fantastic player but especially a great person. It’s been a pleasure to be his team-mate and I’m sure both Borussia Dortmund and fans everywhere will enjoy his football again.