After a win, "LVG is safe for now."
A loss or a draw, "LVG OUT."
Why is it that people seem to have so much to say about Van Gaal? I guess it's because we can't seem to decipher whether or not his coaching tactics works for the Red Devils.
Along side others like Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, and of course Sir Alex, Louis Van Gaal IS a high profile manager.
Even though he hasn't had many significant achievements in his coaching career, I think he's a pretty good manager and is extremely experienced.
Let's not forget his 2010 Bayern Munich victory, being the first ever dutch coach to win the Bundesliga.
So, here is what I think is the reason for the big hoo-ha over Van Gaal.
My take on LVG's struggle...
1. Style of Play
 |
| Same Moyes, SAME. |
Sir Alex, our last manager (Let's pretend Moyes never came into the picture. We do not deserve to put ourselves through that pain all over again...), left behind a team with a solid defence and an aggressive attack.
They were still a winning team and could stay this way for a season or so.
However, when LVG came into the picture, they couldn't maintain their spot because of the change in their matchplay.
First, let's just take a moment to think about the clubs that LVG has coached.
-AFC Ajax
-Barca
-Bayern
None of them are English clubs.
In my opinion, I feel as though Van Gaal just isn't used to the English game.
Just think about Serie A, Bundesliga and La Liga.
English games (supposedly) are more exciting- the ball doesn't move around too much, longer passes, and it's just faster in general.
Aside, from him not being used to the English game, it's also about the fans not being used to HIM and HIS game.
I think he has more of a conservative style of play, which is something WE just aren't used to.
WE being Manchester United supporters, who have been supporting over the last 2 decades.
Also, ever think about what made Man Utd so strong a few seasons ago?
It was the wingers. Remember players like Coppell, Giggs, Kanchelskis and Beckham? (Just to name a few...) Yeah, those were the strong wingers. Sir Alex made sure to have strong wingers that could create goals.
Ahh, remember when the most exciting games were between Man Utd and Chelsea/Arsenal/Liverpool etc...?
Those were games that I would look forward to because there was so much excitement. Solid defence and, goal after goal after goal.
(Let's just take some time to reminisce over some of these memorable moments.)
1. FA Cup 1999:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quI_LkMj4HI&hl=en-GB&gl=SG
2. 2011 EPL :
3. Champions League 1999:
4. Champions League 2008:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UARBGqfPPrA (Just skip to 2.23, that's where you see the good stuff...)
Now back to reality... *SIGHS*
But now, all our frustration comes from the fact that we just aren't getting THAT type of football from Van Gaal. He isn't Sir Alex (and is nowhere near), and we aren't quite accustomed to his matchplay.
Van Gaal keeps his defence strong.
He puts a lot of focus on his defenders and doesn't want to let any goals in.
I feel as though he has transformed the defence into something else.
Here's a quote I found from an article...
"Van Gaal's style of football is nothing short of boring and his flair players are struggling to score goals."
I think that says it all......
2. Money Spent vs Performance Level
Of course, when you have someone spend as much money as Van Gaal has during his time at United, your first instinct would be to question whether or not that the money spent has made any difference to the performance of the club.
LVG has spent a hefty sum of £250million on players such as Angel Di Maria for £59.7million (LMAO look how that turned out), Ander Herrera for £29million, Luke Shaw for £27million and Memphis Depay
for £27million.
Okay sure, Herrera and Shaw were good buys, but the rest?
 |
| (I'm not gonna lie, he's my current lock screen saver........ i mean, LOOK AT HIM.) |
Take Di Maria as an example... Almost £60million spent on this Argentine winger. He started off well at Man Utd but slowly... well, you know the rest.
How about Memphis Depay? He has faced similar setbacks as Di Maria and we are all left to question his ability to carry his (iconic) jersey number.
All this money spent..... but yet, no progress made.
3. The Press
For me, I think that the press has played the biggest role in influencing the way we view Louis Van Gaal as the Manchester United manager.
I don't know if it's just me, but I think that the English press is the WORST. They can be so nasty and harsh, and it's honestly terrible.
Sure, Van Gaal hasn't been the BEST, but I just feel as though he hasn't been given enough time to prove himself.. After all, it's only been 2 seasons, and to be fair, it took Sir Alex 3 seasons to start winning games and eventually, taking home titles.
The media is just so quick to give their comments on Van Gaal after every single game, and it's quite unfair to him because fans would then expect instant improvement in Man Utd's performance level. And IF NOT, they would immediately associate a loss/draw/maybe just a bad game with LVG being sacked.
Look at how ridiculous and misleading these article headlines can get...
I don't know if it's just me, but I think that the English press is the WORST. They can be so nasty and harsh, and it's honestly terrible.
Sure, Van Gaal hasn't been the BEST, but I just feel as though he hasn't been given enough time to prove himself.. After all, it's only been 2 seasons, and to be fair, it took Sir Alex 3 seasons to start winning games and eventually, taking home titles.
The media is just so quick to give their comments on Van Gaal after every single game, and it's quite unfair to him because fans would then expect instant improvement in Man Utd's performance level. And IF NOT, they would immediately associate a loss/draw/maybe just a bad game with LVG being sacked.
Look at how ridiculous and misleading these article headlines can get...
When in reality, we don't know what the hell is going on within the Manchester United management, and what their plans are.
Give this article from the straits times a read.
http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/no-sackcloth-and-ashes-for-me-says-defiant-van-gaal
This particular paragraph to be exact:
I just think that the media makes LVG's situation seem far worse than it really is.
To end this post, let me just say that all of this is just MY opinion.
I don't wish for Van Gaal to be sacked, but I do wish that he could maybe twig his tactics to suit their play better.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Football is a hard game; There's no denying it. It's a game that can bring out the worst in you."
-Sir Alex Ferguson.
31.01.16
