Seems pretty obvious that it's Van Gaal. I'd be interested to know if we've spoken to anyone else or whether it's like last time where we apparently only spoke to The Chosen One.
I'm bored so thought I'd do a 'mock' interview. His CV over that last 15 years:
Failed to qualify for a World Cup with Holland, finishing behind a team managed by Mick McCarthy.
Sacked as technical director by Ajax after falling out with everyone.
Sacked by Barcelona in January with them three points above the relegation zone.
Won one league title in four years with an unfancied Dutch side, I'd be quite impressed if I didn't know Steve Mclaren had this on his CV too.
Won one league title in two years with Bayern Munich, again impressive if I didn't know Felix Magath had this on his CV, and he wasn't sacked in his second season for leading a team containing Lahm, Muller, Schweinsteger, Ribery and Robben to fifth.
A solid CV but nothing special, and includes quite a few high profile failures. I'm sure there were extenuating circumstances to his disastrous seasons at Barcelona and Bayern, but I know from the abuse David Moyes has received for leading the champions to seventh with an ageing squad following a man who was at the club for 27 years that this board doesn't do extenuating circumstances.
However, we can't just judge these things on his CV, maybe his managerial style suits Manchester United and the predicament we're currently in:
We need a big rebuild and are about to spend a fortune this summer, does Van Gaal have a reputation for being the man for this sort of task? No. He doesn't like to sign players, and prefers to promote youth players, the list of players he's promoted includes Iniesta, Muller, Badstuber and Alba, it's impressive but as far as I know we don't have an Iniesta in our youth ranks. Also, I've learnt from the comments on here about David Moyes promoting Januzaj and Rooney that managers don't get credit for promoting young players when they're good.
Okay, it doesn't matter if he doesn't sign the players, we'll get someone else for that, but this is a massive season for the club, we must get top four, so is Van Gaal known for being a quick starter? No. He's actually known for being the opposite, during that Steve Mclaren emulating spell in Holland he was actually set to resign after one year due to the players failing to adapt to his ideas, but the players begged him to stay and they won the league the following year.
That's fine, he'll start slowly but eventually get it right, so he could be here long term just like we all hoped with Moyes? No. He tends to fall out with everyone, and doesn't stick around long. He's also known for falling out with some high profile players, but that shouldn't be a problem at Manchester United, the players are professional and will play for a manager even if they dislike him and his methods.
What about his style of football though, does that suit the traditions of Manchester United? He plays attacking football, so in that sense yes, but it's in the style of the Dutch total football philosophy, preferring a 4-3-3 formation, so nothing like our fast tempo and direct 4-4-2. That isn't a massive problem though, the majority of Manchester United fans on this forum hate the way Manchester United play anyway.
He doesn't seem to fit but is he cheap and available? Yes. However top clubs like Tottenham want him so you better move fast, Louis demands that you make a decision by the end of this week.