His one of our few intelligent technically gifted players, Sir Alex even admitted he wasn't sure how to utilize Kagawa because he never had this type of player. Van Gaal would value the qualities Kagawa can bring to the table IMO.
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
- Status
He did ok with some if his signings in 2009, DDG , jones, smalling, Hernandez, RVP. But over 4 summer transfers it was not enough. I defiantly think his summer 2009 transfer activity was beyond crazy, after losing to barca in Rome, especially losing Ronaldo and tevez, the replacements were a worrying sign
Himself and Wayne appear to have hit it off.
Himself and Wayne appear to have hit it off.
Until he sees Waynes first touch in training
Looks like Van Gaal is about to give him a slap across the face.
Herrera is taller than I imagined! Also looks dapper as f**k in a suit
He's six foot, I think. May be taller.
How so?
Just sarcasm, has Wayne has a habit of giving the ball away
No problem. Everyone did last season though.
Think that is a bit unfair. The academy over the years has produced a significant number of PL standard players. The fact is the CL changes meant we needed players at CL to compete with the top teams that only buy the finished product e.g. madrid, bayern.
if we just wanted to be in CL and not make an effort to win, ie Ajax, then maybe we would have stuck with some of those players.
throughout Fergies reign he gave numerous youth the opportunity to show what they can do. Most just proved they would be little more than squad players at best.
Yea I agree
But that is where Mourinho does get the unfair stick, that he never brought anyone through, when reality is? all the best managers spend big. I think that is why we finished 7th, scared of a foreign manager like a mourinho, and wanting this so called continuity with Moyes because he is like fergie. When the goal of MUFC is getting the best man for the job
Interesting to see this BBC article re LvG's previous falling out with people: http://m.bbc.com/sport/football/27511927
And first time I hear about what happened between him and RvP, which has a good ending fortunately.
It looks like he made a few enemies and hasn't been afraid of so doing. And one can see his man management skill did leave leave something to be desired. He might be too confrontational in the publics eye. Sir Alex has a lot better skill than him in that regard.
Well hopefully there will be more harmony in our club under him than these cases in his past.
And first time I hear about what happened between him and RvP, which has a good ending fortunately.
It looks like he made a few enemies and hasn't been afraid of so doing. And one can see his man management skill did leave leave something to be desired. He might be too confrontational in the publics eye. Sir Alex has a lot better skill than him in that regard.
Well hopefully there will be more harmony in our club under him than these cases in his past.
You mean Schweinsteiger, Müller, Lahm, Kroos, Alaba etc... (can add Badstuber and Hummels, too - even if the later plays now for Dortmund)
I think the real art is to have a backbone with players from your own academy or that came to your club early and are attached - and add the flair players to it.
What maybe is significant, too, is the type of players a academy creates. Bayern creates a lot of very good defensive midfielders - apart from Müller and Kroos (but he was already a finished product when he came with 16) all others were defensive or central midfielders in their latest youth years. That already started with Hamann, Hargreaves etc.
You have to add to it - else it does not work. Badstuber and Hummels went into defense, Lahm and Alaba onto the wing, Schweinsteiger and Hargreaves were played in various roles.
Last edited:
If i'm not mistaken the precedent generation goes back to Babbel in the late 80s ?
Yes, Babbel, Hamann etc. were the guys Hermann Gerland brought out in his first stay at Bayern. He then went away and was head coach at other places only to come back again about 2000. Hermann Gerland is the former U23-coach at Bayern. He has the eye for players that can make it and it is a special kind of breed he promotes starting with Babbel, Hamann etc. Guys with quality that do not mind to work for the team and all made it to the German national team. Since van Gaal he is assistant coach for the first team and somewhat the good soul of the club.
Kroos is a different story - he did not play much for the U23 - he went directly from youth to the professionals as he already was a star before.
And Müller is the odd one out, too - but with him Gerd Müller probably had a hand who is the U23 attacking coach and was already talking about him before he got onto the "big stage".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27511927
I just hope he doesn't piss off too many people at United.
I just hope he doesn't piss off too many people at United.
I hope the improvements to our training ground like new turf and a way to stop the wind are completed before our team comes back to Manchester. I don't want anything that might even slightly hinder the development of our team in such an exciting season. 
I wonder, how long will it take most of our players to 'click' with van Gaal and his tactics? When will it be, like crystal-clearly, visible that new tactics, schemes and so on are implemented? Not talking about formation itself.
That depends on many variables, let's hope it is sooner rather than later.
The striking thing about this is how, just by being nice, Van Gaal has won so many round to his ways already. It does make you wonder what the atmosphere at Carrington and in the dressing room was like last season. Honestly, I'm a little surprised that Van Gaal is getting such a good press just for talking to the training ground staff. I'd have thought anyone stepping into a management role anywhere would make some effort to get to know his staff..?
Some players will find it very easy to adapt, players like Herrera, Shaw, Rafael, Mata, Kagawa, RVP,Januzaj and maybe Rooney while others like Valencia, Fellaini and our CBs who are a bit uncomfortable on the ball might struggle to cope. Our most difficult tasks will be learning how to press as a team and playing from the back instead of just hoofing it upwards or to the wings.
You're having a great night. Rooney's shit, Fergie's as bad a coach for young players as Mourinho... what's up next?
I am so pumped right now for the pre season friendlies.
The guy will get praised for everything. A similar way in which the press seem to exaggerate Mourinho's influence, I think we'll see the same here.
With regards to them sleeping pods, they're a bit silly. I would rather sleep in bed, than in one of those isolated pods. Feels unnatural. Then again, I ain't a footballer, high roller so perhaps it's a different environment.
Also, LvG will want to make the training pitch smaller, so players can be sharper with their first touch and decision making.
It's the Moyes effect. People dispise him, so to make them self feel better will praise LvG.
Also, LvG will want to make the training pitch smaller, so players can be sharper with their first touch and decision making.
It's the Moyes effect. People dispise him, so to make them self feel better will praise LvG.
You will be able to see it visibly really early, the issue will be that individual mistakes or limitations will limit the result of it. I.e the extremely high pace of passing may very well become sluggish instead as a poor touch or a need for one touch extra would ruin the tempo for the entire team.
Despite being his biggest critic, I think he might take a shining to Valencia for the same reason Fergie did - because he will follow instructions well and despite being completely incompetent with the ball in an attacking sense, he'll conform quite happily to LvG's tactics.
It won't necessarily be the most technically gifted guys who adapt quickest to LVG. I mean Dirk Kuyt got a lot of praise for the tactical flexibility and intelligence he brought to the Dutch team, even from people like Cruyff. Who knows which players will impress LvG in a similar way?
I find the latter half of your point important. I do have a hunch that our attacking players will flourish under Van Gaal. Even under Fergie, our counterattack play was always excellent. Noted for brilliant one touch movement, we'd smash past our opponents over the years. It was when Ronaldo was last around we saw the full effect of one-touch movement in our team. Since then, we've not done that. In Fergie's final year, we didn't counterattack much, rather we played with a solid number 9 running the show - RVP.
The likes Of Rooney, Mata, Kagawa, RVP and even Herrera will relish Van Gaal's one touch quick play. W'e've seen all of them play that way for their clubs at times and they've look very comfortable doing it.
Our midfield is the cause for worry as most people know. We don't have a man who initiates those movements from the back. Carrick did that three years ago to tremendous effect and he was our most important player at that time. Cleverley, believe it or not, had that one touch movement and looked really promising, until Kevin Nolan smashed into his legs from behind in that match against Bolton a couple years ago. Clevs hasn't looked the same player since. Herrera may well be that person, but he'll need help.
Another problem we might face is the extreme lack of technical/tactical prowess down the wings. Nani is far too inconsistent and tactically weak. Valencia may be tactically better but he lacks the technical qualities of a Robben or Depay as we witnessed in the WC. Let's not even talk about Ashley Young. I don't rate him one bit. He's had his moments. Especially in his first season. The moment the shit hit the fan he's looked lost on the pitch more times than not. He's not a very intelligent player, but you could argue that he can be effective on his day.
Smalling is a decent ball playing defender and even better is Johnny Evans! I don't think people give enough credit to his passing. He does all the things De Vrij does for the Dutch and is a better defender over all. Jones is a jack of all trades, yet his ball retention under pressure is questionable. Luke Shaw is infinitely better with the ball and he's shown that with Southampton time and time again over the past two years. in the PL. I'm not talking about effectiveness, rather his ability to play intelligently from the back. Rafael is even better with the ball at his feet and I think he'll really flourish under Van Gaal. Unlike the typical Brazilian player, Rafael doesn't mind being schooled or yelled at. He's all heart and we've seen that over the years. Aggression is a quality Van Gaal will develop in him.
Finally De Gea. LVG could not ask for a better player at the post to initiate his style of play. At ease on the ball and temperamentally excellent. LVG promoted VDS to greatness and De Gea is in the same mould, except with even better distribution at his grasp.
These are the key areas LVG will have to work on. It's also how his philosophy could work (with the right players!)
Now all we need is a Vidal in the middle of the park to dominate that space and bring "stability" to the team. Add a top class winger to the mix and winning the league is no longer a joke. We're going to be alright.
He wouldn't of had total power regarding football matters at Barca and Bayern when he was in charge. Hopefully he'll be far more comfortable here than he was at those clubs. Sure, he'll clash with a few players in his time, but so did Fergie.
I think it'll take a while, so many changes, also he'll need time to really evaluate his squad, so it's fair to say his second season the transformation will be much clearer.
Also he gives 100%.
I can see him making a very good deputy right back since the possession based system, collective pressing and consistent playing / training time in that position would hopefully reduce the defensive errors he will make.
Offensively, he will probably not be expected to just blast the ball randomly at the first defender but play more passes and cut backs to players in space.
I get the impression Rooney and Van Gaal will get along. Rooney is a grafter, even in training.
There's been a lot of talk about van Gaal and Rooney possibly not getting on well but I'm beginning to think that he can have a big effect on his game. I think Rooney could have the better season out of him and RvP next year, and potentially the best of his career in the league as we have less games overall.
As much as people like to call Wayne egotistical and selfish and all that in between, we have to acknowledge that he's hard-worker. He's the type who would respond to a coach consistently on his back I think. Wayne's always been up for new ideas in training, even under Sir Alex. However, if his ego has beset him with some god-complex over the past year or so, then we might be in trouble.
- Status