1. No, I don't think that is all, the operative word in my post being "doing what he wants" which includes taking some ridiculous punts at goal and trying to beat a man at times when Shaw was in a better position. Van Gaal gives roles to players; the ones who are supposed to provide the attacking thrust are Mata, the number 10, Memphis and Rooney. It is another matter that there is a lack of pace there. This Herrera stuff, he played against Swansea, didn't help us much, did it? Besides, now that Januzaj is gone, he's likely to start at number 10. He hasn't used him because we have better options for the 2 in midfield. It's not because he dislikes Herrera or something like that.
2. We play a 4-2-3-1 system. The 2 in midfield are holding midfielders, something van Gaal alluded to when he talked about Herrera and the "double 6". We play 4-2-3-1 because it leaves us less open on the counter than the 4-3-3. Van Gaal is not going to switch to a system we are vulnerable in away to a decent team like Swansea, especially when we're trailing. The 4-3-3 win streak was based on a different formation to what we employ now. We may go back to that, but for now, the 4-2-3-1 is here to stay. Which is why I said that Fellaini isn't a holding midfielder.
3. The same players who "could" open them up did nothing for 70 minutes. Herrera was anonymous, Memphis was poor, Rooney....
I agree with you, we need pace up front. However, Fellaini in midfield isn't going to produce that; we need signings for that to happen. The "mindless hoofball" as you call it was used because van Gaal believed that we would get more joy using that tactic instead of Hernandez. It was a tactic simply to get a result, not some deep football philosophy tactic which says anything about the way van Gaal plays the game. Fair enough, you could argue that he may have used Hernandez but to read too much into this Fellaini in the last 20 minutes is unfair. Who cares what Gary Monk or anybody else thinks? Honestly, United fans are more bothered about how we come across, if all this talk of "embarrassment" and the like is considered.
Samwise!