Its like those top movie lists where people pick Citizen Kane because they think it reflects well on them, even though they actually found it boring and didn't finish it.
Was Louis Van Gaal our best "coach" in the post Fergie years?
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100%. The movie threads are just full of these hipsters.
He quite clearly should have been given another year in my view and then the reins should have been passed on to somebody experienced who played in a similar style. Looking back that period of transition was so messy and so full of hubris from the club.
As boring as Lvg was he did get the possession football instilled and introduced martial and rashford into the team. If he had been given another year and some better midfield signings maybe things would have gone up, maybe not.
As boring as Lvg was he did get the possession football instilled and introduced martial and rashford into the team. If he had been given another year and some better midfield signings maybe things would have gone up, maybe not.
Netherlands performing well in WC under van Gaal is not a surprise - we know he's capable of it, especially in cup competitions. Changes nothing about the fact that we got actually worse under him with time, instead of getting better which was the whole idea.
Yes. I liked Van Gaal. I did at the time, and I still do now. He also had the worst group of post-Ferguson attacking players at his disposal.
With that said, I wanted Mourinho to replace him when he did, as the football was horribly sterile. I was an idiot for wanting that to happen, mind you.
With that said, I wanted Mourinho to replace him when he did, as the football was horribly sterile. I was an idiot for wanting that to happen, mind you.
It was the other way around, van Gaal was the one who wanted to sign Mane.
This is actually the right answer.
No idea how he keeps getting promoted. He's the new Oleboii.You are such a clever WUM, always under the radar as if you are making genuine conversation
Our best football since Ferguson was post lockdown Ole with Project Restart, so this makes zero sense.
That's how I'd rank the top 3 with a debate over who was poorer between Moyes and Ole.
If anything, I'd say he produced a team that was overcoached.
Apart from not scoring in a first half for 18 years, he did OK.
Post lockdown, not post pandemic. We were still in the pandemic post lockdown.
Well if you want to narrow it down like that we’re still in the pandemic now.
LVG and Jose were the only 2 coaches we had really that were top tier.
(That's ignoring ETH).
For me its.
ETH
Jose
LVG
LVG should have been given more times, I'd argue that maybe Mendes pushed Jose on United and they obviously wanted him anyway.
(That's ignoring ETH).
For me its.
ETH
Jose
LVG
LVG should have been given more times, I'd argue that maybe Mendes pushed Jose on United and they obviously wanted him anyway.
Even if he was, he wasn't, it isn't achievement worth bragging about.
Not a Ole fan but how is finishing 3rd and 2nd plus europa final is poorer than taking a champions team to 7th. How is that even a debate?
I’m just talking about the signings. I agree he deserves plenty of criticism but I don’t think the signings were really a prominent part of his failings. As I said, he is not exonerated but he didn’t get the same red carpet treatment that ETH has been given. I am not saying LVG would have done any better if he did get the signings he wanted but the idea that he destroyed a good squad and assembled a shit one by design is not accurate.
The board and executives are mainly to blame for the shambolic recruitment over the last decade.
I would add that the board and executives are responsible for the shambolic state of the club full stop (which is barely debatable) but I’m just talking about the recruitment at the moment.
Apologies. I guess I wasn't clear. My definition of "Up to the pandemic" here includes the lockdown period when they played infront of empty seats and half-empty seats which is what I also regard as the best football we have played since Fergie retired. What I meant by post-pandemic was when the PL allowed full crowds to return.
I have seen his great Ajax side a lot. The United under LVG was completely different.
I think he underestimated the problems. He also didn't realise how technically poor the players he had.
He tried to shoehorn Rooney into the Litmanan role. A prime Rooney could have done it. His defense at Ajax was Blind and Rijkaard. Not at peak Rio and Vidic were we at that level. In midfield, Seedorf and Davids. Jari as the player maker. I would say that team would beat any United team we had. Even the Rooney Ronaldo team. LVG was no mug. It was boring as hell but in hindsight he had mitigating circumstances.
Even at the beginning I said that forcing Giggs on him is a big mistake. Yes LVG accepted it but still it was forced on him to accept Giggs as part of the condition of his employment.
I think he underestimated the problems. He also didn't realise how technically poor the players he had.
He tried to shoehorn Rooney into the Litmanan role. A prime Rooney could have done it. His defense at Ajax was Blind and Rijkaard. Not at peak Rio and Vidic were we at that level. In midfield, Seedorf and Davids. Jari as the player maker. I would say that team would beat any United team we had. Even the Rooney Ronaldo team. LVG was no mug. It was boring as hell but in hindsight he had mitigating circumstances.
Even at the beginning I said that forcing Giggs on him is a big mistake. Yes LVG accepted it but still it was forced on him to accept Giggs as part of the condition of his employment.
Yeah, wouldn’t really argue with that. What a general mess we have been over that period.
Jose gave the best press conferences. Moyes the worst. LVG was mid. But they were all hobbled by Glazers and never had a chance on the field.
I’ve thought from the moment he was fired it was a mistake. Maybe the football wasn’t the most exciting but he was laying foundations bringing through young players. Giving him a couple more years then the next manager would have had a solid bases to build of we would have been in a far better position now.
Doing a 180 and bringing in Mourinho the complete opposite type of manager to Van Gaal was the biggest mistake in the post Fergie era.
Doing a 180 and bringing in Mourinho the complete opposite type of manager to Van Gaal was the biggest mistake in the post Fergie era.
The football under Ole was diabolical until we signed Bruno.
So you're taking about a 2 month period during project restart, when we were very good, but Ray Charles could see that was unsustainable. Bruno was putting up outrageous numbers and Martial, Rashford and Greenwood out performed by all reasonable metrics.
Id still have Moyes below Ole, but I thought we'd moved past cherry picking parts of Ole's time here to make him seem better.
LVG was undoubtedly the most boring manager, but that isn't the question in the OP. Under his stewardship we were the most well drilled we've been since Fergie, until very recently.
I vaguely remember seeing an interview with one of his ex players just after he was sacked that said part of his plan is to instill the basics in season 1&2 and then the real attacking football starts in season 3. Who knows what could have happened had Woodward not got trigger happy when Jose was available (and I say that as someone who wanted LVG gone the Xmas before and thought Mourinho was a good appointment).
I found LVG pompous and dripping with self-importance more often than endearing. But Jose was a miserable, self-absorbed toad while he was here and his pressers were the absolute worst. Ralf’s were the only ones I really enjoyed.
Oh yeah I forgot Ralf. They were hilarious.
This thread basically reminds me of the tough question, would you rather sleep with your sister or your mother...... either way you're literally screwed and neither are what you want.
I'd rather have the lads in the team coach themselves over going to any of the managers that we've had bar Ragnick who was only going to be interim.
I'd rather have the lads in the team coach themselves over going to any of the managers that we've had bar Ragnick who was only going to be interim.
Yes Mane said he didn't like the football Van Gaal was playing
Yes, I’m in the same boat. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Wish he had a forward with similar attributes to Robben would have added a new dimension to our play when we played a
3-5-2, as playing that formation with Rooney, RVP/ Falcao we had nobody with the pace to get in behind and stretch the play.
He needed to be tougher with Rooney though (like Jose was/ ETH with Ronaldo) and see his was finished at the highest level though rather then dying on the hill of “my captain shall always play”.
At least we had a style of play and an identity which we haven’t had since. Hopefully ETH can replace him as my favourite manager since SAF but he has a long way to go before doing that.
Insufferable. His football was beyond boring. He put me to sleep, broke players and very nearly put me off football completely. I don’t think I’ve ever recovered totally. And all whilst being an arrogant twat.
The worst by far. So bad I still don't enjoy football the way I used to before him .
Under van gaal, I spend more time making coffee and looking at my phone than the game itself. You can go away for half an hour and nothing happens.
Moyes was fired very quickly. Some would argue he didn't have enough time. He also was the one that directly followed SAF, so the expectations for him were sky high.
Objectively speaking, while I don't for a second think that Moyes was or ever could be good enough for United, and SAF should have never pushed for him, Moyes is 10x the manager than Ole will ever be. Be real now.
The obvious ranking is:
EtH
Mourinho
Van Gaal
Moyes
Ole
Just came out of a LVG induced coma the other day. What's been happening for the last six years?
Nah, because in this case there is no competition.
Boring football. We must pass, pass, pass. Possession without end product. As a character I liked him, his football was just stuck in the past. For those saying he didn’t have the attacking talent.
Mata (chelsea’s player of the year two years earlier)
Rooney
Falcao
Van Persie
Depay
He also let go of:
Nani
Welbeck
Saha (3m)
Hernandez (to Madrid)
Mata (chelsea’s player of the year two years earlier)
Rooney
Falcao
Van Persie
Depay
He also let go of:
Nani
Welbeck
Saha (3m)
Hernandez (to Madrid)
He wasn't right for our setup. Not only was his football despicably boring but his entire idea of nurturing players was off to an extent where we can call it clueless. We were in deep shit after Moyes, but it was salvageable from there since we still had most of the Fergie title winning era players still in the team. By the time LVG left, future looked very very bleak. Plus he also got rid of Bebe.
People complaining about LVG recruitment are vindicating Glazers and Ed.
LVG asked for Kroos and Kante, got Schneiderlin and finished Bastian.
Asked for Lewandowski, Neymar, Hummels, Ramos…
The board didn’t deliver.
LVG asked for Kroos and Kante, got Schneiderlin and finished Bastian.
Asked for Lewandowski, Neymar, Hummels, Ramos…
The board didn’t deliver.
I would have liked to seen Berbatov play under LVG. He could have been the second striker.
He vetoed Kroos. Somehow Moyes had convinced him to join and LVG didn't want the transfer to happen.