Ed Woodward conference call: Louis van Gaal not mentioned in 25-minute long Q&A session with investors

The Dutchman was the elephant in the room once again as investors quizzed the executive vice-chairman on the potential impact of missing out on a top-four finish

Supporters are unhappy with Woodward's management of transfers at Old Trafford (Getty)

Louis van Gaal’s name was not mentioned once during a 25-minute long Q&A conference call between Manchester United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and the club’s investors on Friday.

The Dutchman, whose position is under scrutiny after a disappointing season at Old Trafford, was the elephant in the room once again as shareholders preferred to ask questions regarding staff costs, the pre-season tour of China and the prosperity of the club store.

There was also no reference to the manager in Woodward’s statement on the club’s Q3 results, which announced record quarterly revenues of £113.4million. Last year, Woodward declared himself "pleased with the team’s performance in Louis van Gaal’s first season", describing them as "well positioned to achieve a top four finish... and return to European football next year."

United’s chances of Champions League qualification are significantly poorer this time around. A top-four finish is now out of their hands - dependent on Manchester City's result against Swansea City this weekend - and several of the investors' questions regarded the impact of their probable failure to qualify for European football’s elite club tournament.

Woodward confirmed that the club will only lose money from their lucrative sponsorship deal with kit manufacturer Adidas if they do not qualify for the group stages of the competition in two consecutive seasons, which would trigger a reduction of 30 per cent.

Van Gaal's position has been scrutinised all season long (Getty)

“The short answer is that there is not an impact on [the Adidas deal],” Woodward said. “The cash impact of [the 30 per cent reduction] is spread over the remaining life of the deal. The first year that that could bite us… would be the 2017/18 season.”

United’s executive vice-chairman used his opening message to congratulate academy players who have graduated into Van Gaal’s first team over the course of the last campaign, reserving special mention for the local-born trio of Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson.

“As we look back on our season, I'm delighted by the emergence of our young players,” he told investors. “Marcus Rashford made an immediate impact, scoring goals on his debut in Europe and then two more on his Premier League debut against Arsenal.

“Three of our regular first-team players - Rashford, Lingard and Borthwick-Jackson - have been with the club since they were eight years-old.”

Although both Rashford and Borthwick-Jackson have impressed since coming into the side, they were handed their debuts after injuries to other squad members left Van Gaal with threadbare resources.

When asked by one investor about the importance of an academy in an increasingly competitive environment, the most pointed question of the session, Woodward responded with an answer that may frustrate supporters hoping to see the squad significantly strenghtened in the summer.

“Obviously,” Woodward remarked, “…as [the academy] continues to deliver players into the first-team, that is helping us in terms of net transfer spend.”

Lingard and Rashford have cemented places in Van Gaal's first-team squad (Getty)

Woodward went on to describe the outlay of over £250million since Van Gaal’s appointment as 're-tooling' and said he believes that expenditure on players will decrease in the coming years.

"I do think that things will stabilise in the coming few years but probably continue to be 'lumpy' thereafter," he said. "I can't guide on what that is but as a club we will always invest in the squad to the extent that we feel we need to so that we are challenging for title."

Van Gaal's chances of leading such a challenge next season appear bleak and could be extinguished if favours are not forthcoming from South Wales on Sunday.

A fifth-place finish and Europa League football will, according to Woodward, have little impact on those sponsorship contracts that representatives from Jeffries and the Bank of America were interested in talking about on Friday, but it may hold grave implications for the one deal that was not up for discussion.