Manchester United 'more boring ' under Jose Mourinho, says Louis van Gaal

[Home&Away]

Tactically, perhaps not. But he would still have gone on to break the bank in order to buy a proper midfield, ball playing centre-halves and full-backs that can contribute in the attacking half. After all, LvG himself claimed in his comments that he had reached this squad's ceiling and that this was as good as it would get with them and this particular style of football.

Whether Pep would have found his preferred players in the market or not, we will never know since he is at another club where he found the midfield options he wanted waiting there for him. Mourinho's approach is entirely different to LvG's and, in that sense, he has every right to say that he would have preferred to come to United right after SAF or even Moyes. Nothing wrong with that. What's wrong with Mourinho is that, out of all the players he signed, only Pogba and Matic seem able to make us look like we get closer to becoming a top transition side.

Yes but my reply was for him saying that no manager would have found what LVG left behind as useful - which is most obviously a wrong view as I mentioned before.

In fact this is the wrong thread but some people were asking if they see Jose taking leaving us to take the PSG job - I think this is more than likely because this is the type of job that suits him the best; a blank canvas.

Infact all his jobs; he has been allowed to build a team from scratch be it at Porto, Inter, Chelsea & Madrid. He can do what he wants, play who he wants & play how he wants because ultimately the priority of winning is placed head & shoulders above everything else.

United are the Barcelona of the English league & not the Madrid who get a blank canvas every 4 or 5 years ; we must play a certain way with certain type of players & play the game beautifully as much as we must fight for every ball all the whilst every so often giving youngsters time as well - to top it off win every game at the same time.

It hurts some of our fans to lose against City, whilst it hurts us even deeper that they have played better football than us this season all the whilst playing spme good young players regularly throughout the season thus far (though they are bought).

Do you think Jose wants this added pressure & expectations? I don't think so - I think he is a winner & the best manager to do just that but nothing else.

He prefers a blank canvas - it took him a third of the season to give martial or Rashford games up front as strikers all the whilst still predominantly rotating them - instead of finding a combination that works for all the attackers that the fans love coupled with the ones he finds vital such as lukaku or even Ibrahimpvic last season - it just doesn't work & is a mishmash of ideas.

He doesn't have a blank canvas here; whilst the fans wants a way of seeing martial & Rashford in the team whilst having the expectations of a 80 mil pound striker in Lukaku; Jose would prefer 2x perisic type players on the wings who gets the Job done - can cross the ball in & Lukaku heads it in; that's job done.

He will go to PSG; have a blank canvas except for Neymar the upcoming best player in the world & mbappe the best youngster in the world - most of everyone else can be used or sold as Jose sees fit.

 

[Home&Away]

Moyes was just out of his depth managing a club the size of Manchester United.

LVG shouldn't have been managing Bayern, Barca, Holland.

oh dear - he has quite a resume though right? Clearly did something right as proven by plenty of players & managers, pundits that talk about him. It will always just be the fans that can't see past this & only sees him as Mr negative never positive like the barconela fans called him

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

I think that's an incredible statement,LVG's style of play was ponderous and boring,but more than his style of play,he was terrible in the transfer window.I think we are still paying a heavy price for his recruitment,and I think we need at least another summer to get the squad back in good shape.If we finish 2nd,in such a competitive league,then that's very good progress....It would be our best finish since 2013....

 

[FootballHQ]

oh dear - he has quite a resume though right? Clearly did something right as proven by plenty of players & managers, pundits that talk about him. It will always just be the fans that can't see past this & only sees him as Mr negative never positive like the barconela fans called him

That great Ajax team he managed in the mid 90s kept his name up in lights.

He did fine at Barca, awful first spell with Holland, awful second spell with Barca that lasted six months and then he was really out of top level management for about 5 years until Bayern Munich cam calling.

I'd say at this point he'd be a more effective international manager than club as he showed with Holland. Most international teams are defensive and don't want to concede. He'd have been a good pick up for Belgium at their stage of development I reckon.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

Yes but my reply was for him saying that no manager would have found what LVG left behind as useful - which is most obviously a wrong view as I mentioned before.

In fact this is the wrong thread but some people were asking if they see Jose taking leaving us to take the PSG job - I think this is more than likely because this is the type of job that suits him the best; a blank canvas.

Infact all his jobs; he has been allowed to build a team from scratch be it at Porto, Inter, Chelsea & Madrid. He can do what he wants, play who he wants & play how he wants because ultimately the priority of winning is placed head & shoulders above everything else.

United are the Barcelona of the English league & not the Madrid who get a blank canvas every 4 or 5 years ; we must play a certain way with certain type of players & play the game beautifully as much as we must fight for every ball all the whilst every so often giving youngsters time as well - to top it off win every game at the same time.

It hurts some of our fans to lose against City, whilst it hurts us even deeper that they have played better football than us this season all the whilst playing spme good young players regularly throughout the season thus far (though they are bought).

Do you think Jose wants this added pressure & expectations? I don't think so - I think he is a winner & the best manager to do just that but nothing else.

He prefers a blank canvas - it took him a third of the season to give martial or Rashford games up front as strikers all the whilst still predominantly rotating them - instead of finding a combination that works for all the attackers that the fans love coupled with the ones he finds vital such as lukaku or even Ibrahimpvic last season - it just doesn't work & is a mishmash of ideas.

He doesn't have a blank canvas here; whilst the fans wants a way of seeing martial & Rashford in the team whilst having the expectations of a 80 mil pound striker in Lukaku; Jose would prefer 2x perisic type players on the wings who gets the Job done - can cross the ball in & Lukaku heads it in; that's job done.

He will go to PSG; have a blank canvas except for Neymar the upcoming best player in the world & mbappe the best youngster in the world - most of everyone else can be used or sold as Jose sees fit.

He may leave for (what he considers to be) greener pastures or he may not. I am not as certain as you are about the future. All i know is that he was arrogant enough to take on a nearly impossible job in Spain against the greatest football side i have seen in my lifetime. He knew that it might tarnish his reputation, he knew that he was putting his "special one" charisma on the line but he still took the job. Don't forget that RM was a shambles before he got there, especially in Europe. He even received some harsh beatings, he got humiliated by Pep but he kept fighting on and in the end, he won the title. That's the right kind of attitude for a United manager in my book. Not aspiring to be like anyone else.

I agree that United have a distinct playing style. But the basic principles of that playing style have nothing to do with the Cruyffian approach or LvG's teachings. I grew up with the notion that United were the best England's football tradition had to offer. Liverpool were always conceived as the more continental side. This means that United were all about lightning-quick transitions, wing-play and a tactical naivety (in a good sense, one that values entertainment). While Mourinho's pragmatic football falls short on entertainment in the important games, it's much closer in its basic principles to what United want to represent as a club in the football world.

In the end, yes i think he wants the pressure and the expectations. It's what he's done in his whole career. I will criticize him for his shortcomings but i will not take that away from him. He may be a failure here, who knows. But, unlike LvG or Moyes, he won't blame it on time not being afforded to him and he will not hide behind philosophies of any kind. This much i know.

 

[JPRouve]

He may leave for (what he considers to be) greener pastures or he may not. I am not as certain as you are about the future. All i know is that he was arrogant enough to take on a nearly impossible job in Spain against the greatest football side i have seen in my lifetime. He knew that it might tarnish his reputation, he knew that he was putting his "special one" charisma on the line but he still took the job. Don't forget that RM was a shambles before he got there, especially in Europe. He even received some harsh beatings, he got humiliated by Pep but he kept fighting on and in the end, he won the title. That's the right kind of attitude for a United manager in my book. Not aspiring to be like anyone else.

I agree that United have a distinct playing style. But the basic principles of that playing style have nothing to do with the Cruyffian approach or LvG's teachings. I grew up with the notion that United were the best England's football tradition had to offer. Liverpool were always conceived as the more continental side. This means that United were all about lightning-quick transitions, wing-play and a tactical naivety (in a good sense, one that values entertainment). While Mourinho's pragmatic football falls short on entertainment in the important games, it's much closer in its basic principles to what United want to represent as a club in the football world.

In the end, yes i think he wants the pressure and the expectations. It's what he's done in his whole career. I will criticize him for his shortcomings but i will not take that away from him. He may be a failure here, who knows. But, unlike LvG or Moyes, he won't blame it on time not being afforded to him and he will not hide behind philosophies of any kind. This much i know.

In France, I grew up with the notion that United were the most continental british side not Liverpool.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

In big games we are. No doubt about it. Van Gaal knew how to control games, both with and without the ball. However, in general, no chance.

 

[Home&Away]

That great Ajax team he managed in the mid 90s kept his name up in lights.

He did fine at Barca, awful first spell with Holland, awful second spell with Barca that lasted six months and then he was really out of top level management for about 5 years until Bayern Munich cam calling.

I'd say at this point he'd be a more effective international manager than club as he showed with Holland. Most international teams are defensive and don't want to concede. He'd have been a good pick up for Belgium at their stage of development I reckon.

Valid points - but for a team like Milan who need to learn how to play as a team again whilst finding who is able to do it that coupled with flushing out the rubbish & bloodline through the good enough to youngsters - I believe he is the perfect man for that Job especially since the expectations at the club is particularly low at the moment.

He has one more spell in him at club football I reckon & international football is not his game

 

[AXVnee7]

We’re definitely playing with more freedom under Jose than we ever did under LVG, but he the latter got a lot of stick for his style of play. I can understand why he’s criticising his successor for not producing a great style in the big games.

Unfortunately LVG being sacked was the correct decision but one thing I’ll always respect is that he stuck by his approach in every game and didn’t change it for any opponent. He believes so rigidly in his approach and although it’s not practical I have to respect it. Perhaps imposing his style is why we did better against the bigger teams. The derby game would’ve been very interesting as both Pep and LVG value possession highly.

Ultimately it’s obvious that he’s still hurting from the manner of his departure.

 

[JPRouve]

Football is getting boring, saying that United are one of the more boring sides.

I'm glad to not be the only one. I can't really tell why but it's getting worser and worser.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

In France, I grew up with the notion that United were the most continental british side not Liverpool.

How old are you?

In any case, if you're talking about the heritage of being the first British club to win the big one, i agree. But in the late 80's - early 90's i can't recall how many times i heard that Liverpool were a completely different proposition altogether and in a league of their own during their period of dominance.

 

[Home&Away]

I'm glad to not be the only one. I can't really tell why but it's getting worser and worser.

For me it's the celebrity overpayment aspect of football is changing the sport - for example; I don't think diving has anything to do about getting an advantage on field as it seems on paper; it actually comes from an unwillingness of players to get physical & possibly hurt themselves.

If an average player is worth approximately 40 million pounds in today's market - how much do you think they value their own life & well being? I feel like I see it in every game I watch these days.

Though the quality is not there in woman's football at all; I watched 10 minutes of that & I could see that they had more grit, passion, strength than modern men's football.

 

[JPRouve]

How old are you?

In any case, if you're talking about the heritage of being the first British club to win the big one, i agree. But in the late 80's - early 90's i can't recall how many times i heard that Liverpool were a completely different proposition altogether and in a league of their own during their period of dominance.

Mid-twenties.

 

[Marcky411]

Why are we even reacting to his opinion, not another LvG thread. Obviously a possession based manager will not appreciate a defending/hoofball game where your objective is to give the other team the ball and hope for them to make a mistake and hit them on the counter.

 

[JPRouve]

For me it's the celebrity overpayment aspect of football is changing the sport - for example; I don't think diving has anything to do about getting an advantage on field as it seems on paper; it actually comes from an unwillingness of players to get physical & possibly hurt themselves.

If an average player is worth approximately 40 million pounds in today's market - how much do you think they value their own life & well being? I feel like I see it in every game I watch these days.

Though the quality is not there in woman's football at all; I watched 10 minutes of that & I could see that they had more grit, passion, strength than modern men's football.

It might just be coaching because as a kid I wasn't the diving type and it would actually anger my coaches, they would tell me to go down when the opponents clearly made a foul or was about to.

 

[Jazz]

Again, we had 2 strikers. That's it. And they were both hurt. And before he decided to give Rashford a call he did exactly what you said other managers would do and played an experienced player ahead of him. Rooney and Falcao were out so he played Depay as a striker. That didn't work, so we then had a game against Mitijhad (spelling?) in the Europa League where Martial was lined up to start up front and he got hurt too. So LVG had no choice but to start Rashford and he scored twice. We played Arsenal a couple days later and with everybody out and Rashford doing so well in his debut that he was forced to start in, it was a no brainer to start Rashford again. But don't think for a second that if it weren't for the injuries that Rashford still would have gotten his chance. LVG was very willing to start youngsters at FB. We saw a bunch of kids play there. But not at other positions. His hand was forced here, but he will be the first person to take credit for Rashford...

My point exactly. Other managers would have continued playing Depay there instead of taking a chance on a total unknown academy player. It doesn't matter what the circumstances were that got Rashford his chance - the fact remains that LVG made the decision to still do it without knowing for certain how the lad would react. It was a big gamble and I will give him credit for that.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

This does my absolute head in. It came when he was in charge; he was working with Giggs and keeping an eye on the reserves - managing to go for a winger & playing him as a St who was scoring crazy consistent in his first games.

LVG cpuld have played anyone there but he didn't okay? He picked Rashford & deserves some respect for that.

Because he didn't have any other options. Every single striker at the club was out injured. He had to look at the reserves. It's not like he said "Ok Wayne, you haven't been playing well so you're going to sit out and we are going to give Marcus a chance". LVG left us so light at the striker position that he had to give someone a chance

 

[el3mel]

My point exactly. Other managers would have continued playing Depay there instead of taking a chance on a total unknown academy player. It doesn't matter what the circumstances were that got Rashford his chance - the fact remains that LVG made the decision to still do it without knowing for certain how the lad would react. It was a big gamble and I will give him credit for that.

If Depay had played as a striker during this night, who would have played instead of him on the wing ? We were forced to get an academy player in the starting lineup anyway, because we could barely set up a starting XI with all these injuries.

 

[Home&Away]

If Depay had played as a striker during this night, who would have played instead of him on the wing ? We were forced to get an academy player in the starting lineup anyway, because we could barely set up a starting XI with all these injuries.

LVG & giggs had been keeping an eye on Rashford anyway. He wasn't an unknown player that LVG pulled out of a hat & neither was he a striker where he ended up playing.

Rafael was played instead of Pogba by SAF & was one of the worst decisions made at our club - we could have played anyone else there & possibly lost another wonderfully young talented player.

He had a small squad almost on purpose & injuries forced him to do something - which he did. Give him some credit.

 

[SteveTheRed]

If anyone thinks we played better football under LVG or even Moyes than we do under Mourinho, please let me know so I can ignore you., quite frankly not worth debating football with you.

LVG comments are to be expected of him tbh. He's not going to say Mourinho is doing better than him, when he has a golden chance to big up his efforts and show off.

 

[sunama]

van Gaal doing a Moyes!! Finally we can put all his legacy crap to bed once and for all!

There shall be many people who will still insist that LVG built the foundations for any success which MUFC have in coming years.
LVG needs to stop criticizing our managers, given that his brand of football was the most boring football seen at OT, in recent times.

LVG was NOT good in big games, he lost 3-0 to Arsenal and Tottenham, was humilated in the Europa league by Liverpool. Not to mention his shambolic performances in the Champions League.

Finally, someone is talking sense.
The LVG zealotts are out in force, claiming he did a fantastic job. He didn't. In his first season, we progressed on what Moyes did (not difficult). He did a good job.
The 2nd season was a disaster. We briefly hit 1st place (after a series of boring 1-0 wins). We then lost/drew every game in December and by the end of it, most of us were "LVG Out!", because not only was the football boring, but the results were poor. Losing to Norwich at OT, was our lowest point during his reign. Our players had no idea how to create chances and it almost looked as if they'd been told not to shoot at the goal.

I realise that there might be some Dutch people in here, who feel that they need to be loyal to a fellow countryman. I get that. But to re-write history, is something I cannot agree with.

 

[GiddyUp]

A bit rich from a manager who believed that we should score from our one and only shot on target then pass sideways between Smalling, Herrera, Carrick and Valencia for the rest of the match. He is the main culprit for our slow transitions. This is very obvious without Pogba in the side. Smalling, Mata, Herrera, Martial, Fellaini slow down our opertunity for a quick attack time and time again and we are finding it hard to shake with Mourinhos style of play.

 

[Home&Away]

Because he didn't have any other options. Every single striker at the club was out injured. He had to look at the reserves. It's not like he said "Ok Wayne, you haven't been playing well so you're going to sit out and we are going to give Marcus a chance". LVG left us so light at the striker position that he had to give someone a chance

Again, he & giggs had been keeping an eye on Rashford prior to this; who wasn't a striker either. Managed to make the right decision. If SAF made a bad decision in playing Rafael in midfield over Pogba then playing Rashford upfront was a good decision.

 

[Home&Away]

A bit rich from a manager who believed that we should score from our one and only shot on target then pass sideways between Smalling, Herrera, Carrick and Valencia for the rest of the match. He is the main culprit for our slow transitions. This is very obvious without Pogba in the side. Smalling, Mata, Herrera, Martial, Fellaini slow down our opertunity for a quick attack time and time again and we are finding it hard to shake with Mourinhos style of play.

What utter trash - we can't even string 3 passes together; Jose has shaken off LVG's style of play more than capably

 

[sunama]

LvG did a lot of things right when it came to youngsters - but he signed the wrong players and that cost him his job.

So maybe, he should be in charge of a youth side and not the senior team?

 

[Acole9]

LVG's football was so dull, not sure I could've put up with another season of him in charge.

 

[noodlehair]

LVG has this amazing ability to say something that is completely bollocks no matter how you look at it, yet at the same time also manages to contradict itself. I'm not even sure that should be logically possible but somehow he always manages to do it.

Criticising Mourinho for being boring compared to him whilst at the same time claiming no one criticises Mourinho for being boring was the best bit.

 

[Minimalist]

Just one point. Go back and read some of the threads when LVG was buying these ‘disastrous’ players during his reign. Positivity was rife (even for BFS). Some fecking brass necks in this thread playing with hindsight.

We’ll just skip over this nonsense that every player he bought was shite.

I always have to clarify this but I wanted him gone during his second season but feck me if some of you truly rewrite history.

As for excitement on the pitch - this is honestly becoming cult like around Mourinho. He’s producing football that is moderately better than under Van Gaal (but much more effective against lesser sides). Overall there have been plenty of dull shite performances under Mourinho that wouldn’t look out of place under the former.

 

[Rista]

Deluded old man. He wasn't as bad as Moyes but I have pretty much the same dislike for both of them. He is implying he was doing some sort of miracle at United, as if we were a mid table side. Our football under him was the most boring I ever remember us playing in these 20+ years I've been a fan. Some people have really short memories if they think we're doing "moderately better" than we did in LVG's last season.

 

[noodlehair]

Just one point. Go back and read some of the threads when LVG was buying these ‘disastrous’ players during his reign. Positivity was rife (even for BFS). Some fecking brass necks in this thread playing with hindsight.

We’ll just skip over this nonsense that every player he bought was shite.

I always have to clarify this but I wanted him gone during his second season but feck me if some of you truly rewrite history.

As for excitement on the pitch - this is honestly becoming cult like around Mourinho. He’s producing football that is moderately better than under Van Gaal (but much more effective against lesser sides). Overall there have been plenty of dull shite performances under Mourinho that wouldn’t look out of place under the former.

It's pretty mixed if you do go back. We had a terrible start in his first season, then you had people having a muppet meltdown over Falcao, Di Maria, etc...and others pointing out how he'd left the squad in an imbalanced mess and had resorted to playing unworkable systems to try and shoe horn players in. Others annoyed he'd shipped off the likes of Welbeck to bring in an ageing injured player, on loan. Or that he was playing a 3 centre back system despite having no fit centre backs. Was hardly all roses.

I remember more positivity over the signings the second year but by that point the mood on LVG himself was mixed at best. The only time I remember there being mass positivity was before he was even announced as our next manager, but at around that time there would have been the same blind positivity towards Jose if he'd been touted to replace Moyes.

I don't think there's any comparison in terms of the football we play now compared to under LVG. In his second season I think we went pretty much half a season not scoring a single goal at home in the first half. It took us 70+ minutes to have a shot at home to Sheffield United, bringing sarcastic applause from our own fans. One game against Burnley where the entire stadium seemed to flip after we played the ball back to De Gea from OUR corner. We haven't had any performances under Jose that have been in anything like this category, where as under LVG they weren't even the exception, they were the norm...and I don't think our football is always sparkling now, but people have very short memories as to exactly how awful it was to watch under LVG.

 

[charlenefan]

My lord - that's as much sh*t as what LVG said

Really? I'd argue Moyes didn't have the time to really damage us, he didn't spend millions on rubbish players (say what you want about Fellaini and Mata but they're still contributing massively to us today), nor did he sell anyone who knew what it was like to compete at the highest level.

In LVG's two years he brought in Shaw, Herrera, Rojo, Blind, Darmian, Martial, Di Maria, Falcao, Memphis, Schneiderlin & Schweinsteiger 5 of which are no longer here and who knows how long 2 others will still be here for. He instilled a style of play that took months to coach out of the players. The only good things LVG brought to the club was an FA Cup, Rashford and Martial

 

[lem8sh]

Even thinking about that idiot LVG makes my blood boil.

 

[FlawlessThaw]

Easy to forget but we finished 5th with Van Gaal in what was one of the weakest Premier League's given Leicester and Spurs were the top 2 with just 66 points. Currently we are on course to get around 83 points with the league in a far better position.

I'm not Mourinho's biggest fan and he deserves criticism but Van Gaal made me want to stop watching United play at times.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

LVG wasted £150 million on Di Maria, Depay and Schneiderlin at a time when transfer fees where not as high as they are now! If he had spent more wisely then we'd have a squad now ready to play more exciting football in the big matches.

His football was so boring to watch too. I did like him as a character though. He was more entertaining in press conferences than the team was to watch!

 

[Home&Away]

Really? I'd argue Moyes didn't have the time to really damage us, he didn't spend millions on rubbish players (say what you want about Fellaini and Mata but they're still contributing massively to us today), nor did he sell anyone who knew what it was like to compete at the highest level.

In LVG's two years he brought in Shaw, Herrera, Rojo, Blind, Darmian, Martial, Di Maria, Falcao, Memphis, Schneiderlin & Schweinsteiger 5 of which are no longer here and who knows how long 2 others will still be here for. He instilled a style of play that took months to coach out of the players. The only good things LVG brought to the club was an FA Cup, Rashford and Martial

Roj0, making Valencia + young good wingbacks from average wingers, Lingard, Blind, got rid of of some dead wood not due to Moyes but attempted to rebalanced the squad with from SAF's tenure - that Moyes could not do. Then there is also the stuff that I am biased towards - the fact that possession football would have helped a lot of players progression whilst restricting them during his tenure & a plan coupled with positioning & passing - as well as my belief that the 352 was he only formation that could have been utilised in his 3rd season with the players that were left & the fact we are using it now.

Overall - I don't believe that Moyes or LVG left us in a deep hole as such. I believe this hole was always going to happen after SAF. If we had hired Jose afterwards - he would have done better; won titles and possibly European titles but merely utilised a combination of SAF's players mixed with his; meaning that eventually we would have ended up in a similar situation as we did after S AF; since Jose tends to leave behind a mixture of an ageing squad & players that other managers find hard to utilise to the same effect (happens at every club he is at - examples are matic & Ibrahimvic ).

Moyes didn't dig us a deeper hole; he just did nothing to improve it & our forward plan was stagnated for a season. LVG on the contrary had a plan & he went through with it - as much as he bought some trash, he bought some decent players whilst chucking out all the players that have not been regretted, couple with making the squad younger & closing the gap between the youth team & the first team as well as purely concentrating on an European tactical approach.

 

[GiddyUp]

What utter trash - we can't even string 3 passes together; Jose has shaken off LVG's style of play more than capably

I can tell by you're reply that you didn't even read my post.

 

[IAmAWinner]

Didn't LVG turn down the Kroos deal? Possibly the biggest mistake of his United career. Exactly the type of midfielder we need.
Imagine Matic-Kroos-Pogba, would easily be the best midfield in the world.

 

[lebon]

Pot and kettle comes to mind

 

[Denis79]

In all honesty LVG's brand of football here at United was even below Moyes's in terms of excitement. Always thought when he said that we played well after games with a single shot on target was to protect the players but apparently he's just deluded.

 

[iKeano]

Take this demented fool's words with a pinch of salt. He got booed lifting the FA cup, that's how much Utd fans hated him in the end. He's entitled to be bitter, but he should keep his massive, square head schtum.

Enjoy the mince pies.