MANCHESTER, England -- Louis van Gaal has always said it could get worse before it gets better at Manchester United. He couldnt have thought it would get this bad. Barely two months ago, a jubilant Van Gaal was leaping out of his seat and high-fiving his Netherlands players as he masterminded a 5-1 thrashing of Spain at the World Cup in Brazil. Compare that to the glum, stony-faced figure of Van Gaal who remained glued to his seat during Uniteds humiliating 4-0 loss to third-tier club MK Dons in the second round of the League Cup on Tuesday. To the right of him, Ryan Giggs -- a club great who is now Van Gaals assistant coach -- buried his face in his hands. Even though United fielded a virtual reserve team, albeit one containing established internationals like Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa, it was one of the most embarrassing results in the history of Englands biggest club. Following on from a winless start in the Premier League after two games of Van Gaals tenure, serious doubts are already being raised about the Dutchmans use of the 3-5-2 formation and the lack of depth in his squad, especially in defence. "The process needs time," Van Gaal said. "We know exactly what we are doing." Time is something United doesnt have. David Moyes only lasted 10 months last season before being fired, and Van Gaal has already virtually written off Uniteds chances of winning the Premier League in this second straight year of transition at Old Trafford. With no European football this season, the FA Cup remains the only genuine opportunity for silverware -- and it is still only August. The optimism of pre-season, when United won six straight games under Van Gaal, including victories over Real Madrid and Liverpool, has disappeared. Van Gaal is now left hoping a spending spree of about 130 million pounds ($215 million), capped by the club-record signing of Angel Di Maria for $99 million hours before the MK Dons game, pays off. Van Gaal has played three at the back in his time at United but his defenders look uncomfortable in that formation and the wing backs -- so crucial in a 3-5-2 -- utilized by the Dutchman have no experience in that position. Di Marias arrival will not just introduce pace and fresh ideas into the teams midfield, it might also mean United changing tactics. "We shall see if with Di Maria we have to change the system or not," Van Gaal said Tuesday. With less than a week before the transfer window shuts, the loss again highlighted the need for defensive reinforcements. Left back Luke Shaw and left-sided defender Marcos Rojo have joined but United appears to still require an experienced centre back. The defending was awful against MK Dons, with Jonny Evans -- a regular in recent seasons -- to blame for the first goal. Van Gaal didnt escape blame, either, with critics questioning why he felt the need to rest star players like Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Juan Mata when United isnt in Europe this season. Even with a weakened side, how could a club that won the Premier League 15 months ago and was playing in the Champions League final three years ago play so poorly against third-tier opposition that didnt even exist a decade ago? On Twitter, Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko tweeted "Hahahaha" after MK Dons second goal went in. With only the league to concentrate on until January, the loss may boost Uniteds chances of getting back in the top four and returning to the Champions League. For the time being, though, the embarrassment remains acute. "I am not shocked because I know what can happen," Van Gaal said. "A new team is not built in one month. 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Numbers Game looks into the Islanders getting Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin. The Islanders Get: C Mikhail Grabovski and LW Nikolai Kulemin. Grabovski, 30, has been a productive centre, scoring 160 points in 261 games over the past four seasons, which ranks 98th among NHL forwards. While that alone is a decent indication of Grabovskis ability to contribute as a second-line centre, hes put up terrific relative possession numbers in four of the last five seasons, the only exception being in 2012-2013 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, when he was effectively buried in a defensive role. That led to his being bought out by the Maple Leafs in one of the more ridiculous decisions in the history of NHL contract buyouts. One year after he was bought out by the Maple Leafs and could only drum up enough interest to secure a one-year, $3-million deal as a free agent, Grabovski signed for four years and $20-million with the Isles. Going to the Islanders should offer Grabovski an opportunity to get favourable matchups, with zone starts tilted towards the offensive zone and softer opposition while opponents send their best at John Tavares line and the Islanders put Frans Nielsens line out for the toughest defensive assignments. Grabovski has scored 20 or more goals three times and topped 50 points twice. His career points per game of 0.59 works out to 48 points over an 82-game schedule, so maybe something around a 50-point season is the best-case scenario, but if Grabovski can put up between 40 and 50 points with typically strong possession stats over the course of his contract, he will be a solid addition for the Islanders. Grabovskis departure from Washington leaves a hole at second-line centre, one that still needs to be filled, unless Marcus Johansson or Evgeny Kuznetsov fit into that spot. Kulemin is a 27-year-old winger who scored 30 goals and 57 points riding shotgun with Grabovski for the Maple Leafs in 2010-2011, but has failed to generate much offence siince, scoring 23 goals and 71 points in 188 games.dddddddddddd But, to be fair, Kulemin has been stuck in a defensive role for the past couple seasons, with primarily defensive zone starts against quality opposition. While Kulemin hasnt scored a bunch in the NHL, particularly recently, hes produced enough to believe that there is more offence to be uncovered. He has 11 points in 20 games for Russia at the past two World Championships and 38 points in 36 KHL games while playing alongside Evgeni Malkin, so its not like Kulemin cant find his way around the offensive zone, but he likely needs a centre that will be the creator offensively. With the expectation that Kulemin will skate with Grabovski, he too should benefit from more offensive zone starts and favourable matchups. Maybe that results in Kulemin scoring 35-to-40 points (that 57-point season in 2010-2011 sure appears to be an aberration) and if that comes with solid two-way play then, even at his lofty price, Kulemin can be a worthy acquisition for the Isles. Toronto didnt seem to be in position to pay Kulemin, and they shouldnt have, based on how he was being used. Wingers that are deployed like Kulemin dont tend to get paid. Kulemins contract also runs for four years, paying him $16.75-million, which is a lot given his recent production, but if he gets more of an offensive opportunity, Kulemin has a decent shot at producing enough offensively to justify that price, which is fair for a second-line winger. All in all, this is an aggressive move by the Islanders and suddenly gives them terrific depth up front. So much that they likely need to find room on the wing for young guns like Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome, but its an enviable problem to have so much talent that some of your centres need to find room to play on the wing. Their defence can still get better, but these signings put the Islanders into the mix among playoff contenders for next season. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '