I think in his interview he says that if we had gone a bit more attacking and played up the pitch then we would have lost more as the players at United are not capable of playing like that. The foundation of the team was not his foundation and he was also new to the PL. I was also wanting him gone then but maybe in hindsight it may have turned out better if he was given one more season. I think he was there for two season? He was too rigid in his style of play but then from the interview I felt that he did not trust his players to play in a different way and we would have been punished more if we do not play with discipline.
Guardian Interview - Louis van Gaal: ‘I thought Manchester United could buy every player'
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What he said is basically if the team doesn't play that way it will be even more exposed given the quality of the players.
I don't think anyone really interfered with Van Gaal (or Mourinho, up until his third season). Yes, they couldn't get every player they wanted, that happens. Yes, you do sometimes put a limit to how much you're willing to spend on a player, and that also happens.
As for the first issue, they just don't think in football style terms, only results. They don't understand what brings those results.
Good post/I agree.
Great word. I gotta remember that one.
and I thought LVG would play exciting attacking football when he signed on. so we were both wrong!
When we go from LVG to Jose it was evident that our board has no philosophy in place and is severely lacking in footballing knowledge. We basically went from a manager who emphasizes possession in his tactics, to a manager that doesn't care much about possession at all. We went from a manager that requires technical players to a manager that requires warriors to fight for him.
This interview basically confirms what I thought. "When I was accepting the job, we never spoke about the system Manchester United played with, or about a philosophy." That is what's wrong with our recruitment. Our severe lack of leadership on the field is also another reason, but that's for another day. The fact that two business executives is making the final decisions on every one of our footballing side of things will completely destroy our club.
This interview basically confirms what I thought. "When I was accepting the job, we never spoke about the system Manchester United played with, or about a philosophy." That is what's wrong with our recruitment. Our severe lack of leadership on the field is also another reason, but that's for another day. The fact that two business executives is making the final decisions on every one of our footballing side of things will completely destroy our club.
And this is the truth. Going from LVG to Jose was the most obvious and biggest fault.
Which is pretty much what Jose said. And Ole too at the latter stages.
I think people don't like him cause he is saying that basically Ole as manager won't work out. Not exactly digging Ole in the interview, but the reason it might fail is because the structure and decision making at the top is too commercialised and not enough footballing men to make the right decisions.
Thats what I don't really like about the decision to hire Ole as permanent manager, it was made by the commercial department because of his 1st 12 games! LVG is spot on about everything he says, and it's kind of worrying the board are still making rash decisions and not getting a proper DOF in!
He is right to an extent but i think people are giving woodward a bit too much flack. We are not arsenal, we have spent, with lvg buying and selling the worst. He came in with a 352, made us buy for the formation then ditched it since it didnt work... Bought another list of players, and still didnt work. We bought like 10 to 12 players under him, no excuse.
When I read the interview, I was shocked about this line. In fact that is about the most shocking quote I have ever read about any professional football club's hiring of a new manager.
LvG is a straight shooter, he was already at Bayern I remember very well, but he's also stubborn like an old donkey. For United I hope he is just still bitter and his memory is blurred because of that.
I always share articles I think people will be interested in without comment, cos I think its best for people to say what they think about the articles and not my point of view on them.
Five pages in though, I think its alright for me to stick my two pennies in and say Van Gaal was terrible for Man Utd. Moyes wasn't up to it but at least after one year of Moyes we didn't have a team full of average dross like Schneiderlin, Darmian, Rojo etc. Van Gaal released title winning players and replaced them inadequately. The real post-Fergie rot set in under him. I find it difficult to give the guy any credit about anything.
Despite the damage Van Gaal did to the club he is still able to give us a window into what is happening behind the scenes. He's managed United, badly yes but he's done it. He knows what the relationship with the commercial side and football side is like. He knows what the scouting system and decision making is like. Everything he is saying about those subjects is concerning. It makes you wonder whether any manager could succeed at the club as its currently run.
PS) Laughable that he claimed Herrera was a key player under him when he went out of his way to marginalise the guy!
PPS) Accepts Rooney was over the hill, that he made him captain to motivate him and yet he thought 'my captain shall always play' was a good approach?
Five pages in though, I think its alright for me to stick my two pennies in and say Van Gaal was terrible for Man Utd. Moyes wasn't up to it but at least after one year of Moyes we didn't have a team full of average dross like Schneiderlin, Darmian, Rojo etc. Van Gaal released title winning players and replaced them inadequately. The real post-Fergie rot set in under him. I find it difficult to give the guy any credit about anything.
Despite the damage Van Gaal did to the club he is still able to give us a window into what is happening behind the scenes. He's managed United, badly yes but he's done it. He knows what the relationship with the commercial side and football side is like. He knows what the scouting system and decision making is like. Everything he is saying about those subjects is concerning. It makes you wonder whether any manager could succeed at the club as its currently run.
PS) Laughable that he claimed Herrera was a key player under him when he went out of his way to marginalise the guy!
PPS) Accepts Rooney was over the hill, that he made him captain to motivate him and yet he thought 'my captain shall always play' was a good approach?
He’s a funny guy but he’s taking the piss
About Di Maria, of course he wanted him, perhaps he wasn’t his first option (Neymar? He really expected us to sign Neymar?).
About Di Maria, of course he wanted him, perhaps he wasn’t his first option (Neymar? He really expected us to sign Neymar?).
Nice read. Thanks for sharing. It very much validates many of the points that some of us fans who are trying to call out the fact that our problems are bigger than the managers. What a shambles of a club we are currently. Ed needs to listen! Ed needs to understand his shortcomings and delegate the footballing side to someone who can run that part of the club.
He had some ambitious ideas about Rashford and Martial. As a very young players they needed some guidance and he was able to offer them that.
Can't say everything looked like Schweinsteiger's physical condition but anyway... Thanks for the FA Cup, Louie.
Can't say everything looked like Schweinsteiger's physical condition but anyway... Thanks for the FA Cup, Louie.
Don’t see what good another terrible transfer window would have done, he was also retiring anyway at end of third year (which often causes issues) and as he admitted he wasn’t building anything. All he was doing was playing negative and basic football because he couldn't do anything else.
If he wanted to play more attacking and have more creative players then he needed to do that at the start of his tenure. We need someone to take club forward not manage with the handbrake on which is exactly what Moyes and Jose did as well.
Still doesn't say it was Van Gaals choice. Yes it he was pleased he got a player in that role, but i think he's diplomatically trying to say he would of signed him 7 years ago, but wouldn't of signed him now. At least if he's first choices were available.
The funds were definitely there at the time to at least make serious offer to Neymar, especially if United were not bothered to splash fees and wages on players like Falcao, Darmian, Schweini or even Rojo.
20m for Blind was a great deal and sensitive signing that left plenty of space to sign big players.
So, people who are clamouring for LVG I feel are looking through his time here with rose tinted specs. Or more likely, didn't actually watch all the games we played under him and only caught the big games on sky where we looked fantastic. As someone who streamed every game in his tenure I can attest that he played the most boring, ineffective brand of football that i've ever seen a Manchester United team play. It was so, so bad, that the majority of people couldn't wait for him to be shown the door.
Now, to contrast that. There may well be a reason why that was the case, and the interview certainly seems to point to the fact that he felt the players were of such a low quality that he had to resort to less attacking football. The same football he employed at AZ because both squads were so bad. I would agree with him 100%, and yes, if he had a better quality of team then I think we would have seen a much, much better Manchester United. In fact, some of the games we played against the top 4/6 we just blew them away at times and his record against those teams was fantastic. However, he couldn't alter his football to beat the lesser teams, and at the end of the day that's where you win the league.
Don't forget as well that his management of players and tactically analysis drowned players in information, not just here, but many of the Bayern Munich players and staff complained about his methods and we have had multiple quotes from the Bayern players/management that directly mirrored the absolute dross of sideways passing and no end product that was the culmination of his time here.
Now, to contrast that. There may well be a reason why that was the case, and the interview certainly seems to point to the fact that he felt the players were of such a low quality that he had to resort to less attacking football. The same football he employed at AZ because both squads were so bad. I would agree with him 100%, and yes, if he had a better quality of team then I think we would have seen a much, much better Manchester United. In fact, some of the games we played against the top 4/6 we just blew them away at times and his record against those teams was fantastic. However, he couldn't alter his football to beat the lesser teams, and at the end of the day that's where you win the league.
Don't forget as well that his management of players and tactically analysis drowned players in information, not just here, but many of the Bayern Munich players and staff complained about his methods and we have had multiple quotes from the Bayern players/management that directly mirrored the absolute dross of sideways passing and no end product that was the culmination of his time here.
Yeah the Rooney thing is genuinely infuriating. Not least since most of us were banging on about him being past it for a long time before. Van Gaal is an odd one alright.
Another disgruntled ex employee. I would have preferred if he had discuss his own failings. He was backed, his choices were awful. I have never seen a United manager where the player ran away from him and won’t even report for preseason. He couldn’t get the best out of Dimaria and Depay. He sold Rafael and bought Darmian, crippling our RB further.
The interview would have been better if those failings were discussed. Rather, he choose to blame the club like everyone else.
The interview would have been better if those failings were discussed. Rather, he choose to blame the club like everyone else.
Had his failings and had to go, but he's not wrong here. Look at the bigger picture.Another disgruntled ex employee. I would have preferred if he had discuss his own failings. He was backed, his choices were awful. I have never seen a United manager where the player ran away from him and won’t even report for preseason. He couldn’t get the best out of Dimaria and Depay. He sold Rafael and bought Darmian, crippling our RB further.
The interview would have been better if those failings were discussed. Rather, he choose to blame the club like everyone else.
No there was no need to make a serious offer for Neymar at the time, that would’ve been an absolute waste of time for everyone involved.
Barcelona only bought him a year before that, he would’ve never left and the club wasn’t going to sell him.
You can tell his football intelligence and analytical skills are off the chart. You don’t get to where he was without being a top analyst. That said, he had obvious failings and to argue that he implemented a boring possession style which only suited lower level players comes across as pretty defensive. Maybe if he had that third year, he would been proven right but at the time when Mou was brought in, I think the majority of fans supported that change.
He said that he was satisfied and filled a need that he identified, that's the only things that matter. You may want to make up a narrative but it's pointless and baseless.
Absolutely, I'm not saying he should have stayed I'm just saying he's got a serious point about the structure of the club.
Only now are people accepting the actual quality of these players. You cannot ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK with these players.
I'm not saying we should sign Neymar but the funds for a superstar profile player like him were definitely there for Louis who decided to spend serious chunk of this budget on fees and wages for a bit pointless players in the end.
So why did he not say 'yes he was my choice' instead of saying 'he would of been my choice 7 years ago at a different club' and then saying 'i was satisfied but i would of had other players' I mean very roundabout way of saying 'yes Di Maria was my choice to come here' despite being asked twice.
Most people know it, saying it is another thing.
Probably because while he was satisfied about the signing of Di Maria, he wasn't his first choice and Di Maria failed, so logically he will point to the fact that he had someone else above him in order to dilute his own responsibility. Bear in mind that LVG actually mentioned Di Maria that summer when he talked about the lack of quality on the wings, he said that we lacked players like Di Maria even though the rumour says that his first choice was Robben.
That's disrespectful to his wife to state that she wasn't the reason he retired.
Fergie saw what coming? The only reason the club is falling apart is because the man who rebuilt it isn’t here anymore, he was bigger than the club, and the club wasn’t prepared, don’t know if there was a way to be prepared, will Barca be prepared for Messi stepping down? I’m not sure about that.
If SAF was younger and the situation with his wife’s sister didn’t happen, he would’ve kept on winning trophies, not sheer domination like in the 90s and late 2000s, but make no mistake, we would’ve been up there in most seasons.
You’re making stuff up man, but you’re completely right about the incompetence of the suits.
No disrespect to anyone, especially not Fergie or his wife, but the reasoning regarding his wife's sister is a smokescreen. He had won the league. It was the perfect way to leave. If United had finished 2nd or 3rd that season, would he have left? No chance. But, most importantly, Fergie saw Man City coming. And so he made the right decision - for him - to leave.
This statement is more appropriate for Mourinho than Van Gaal.
I have a lot of time for King Louis. He had the most difficult job of the post-Fergie managers. He had the blandest team and creative players that didn't produce. One more year with Van Gaal and then over to Pochettino would have been ideal. Rather than falling for all the promises of Mourinho.
Rooney was finally dropped I think around boxing day, against Stoke away. Reports were that week he turned up to Carrington under the influence. Makes you wonder why he insisted on playing him when he was so bad for the style he wanted to play, Rooney was the worst fit. all we were hearing at the time is what a great captain he is, clearly he wasnt
I feel like there was a behind the scenes influence on Rooney starting all the time. I have some thoughts about it, but they're in tin foil territory.
I always thought it was a smokescreen for Woodward. SAF doesn't like him, he had just gotten promoted to EVP the year before, and the club was getting ready to replace Gill with him. Pure tinfoil on my end - I have no evidence either way, I've just always thought the timing of the whole thing was a bit funny.
yeah the debate on here during that time was it must be contract related that he always plays. Neville even mentioned it, this was probably after his 'silent domination' comment when both Nevilles, Owen, Rio, Scholes were all defending him and couldn't see the criticism