Angel di Maria: I was played out of position at Man Utd

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Randall Flagg said:
Kagawa had a promising 1st season.
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He did not, it was not even average, it was a bad one. He hardly scored at all, just 6 goals, 3 against Norwich, a relegation team. And that Norwich game was like the only highlight of his United career under Fergie. In what top games has he played under Fergie? He sat out Real's return one, that i remember, not sure about Madrid, but even if he played he did nothing good there. I can't remember him playing against Arsenal, Chelsea or City that season. The guy was almost a ghost, some "promising" season that.
 
I am with Di Maria about positions. I always said it was extremely stupid by Woody and LVG. It's not rocket science, it's actually easy. If you buy a very expensive player, you built your team around him. Which means manager has to be on board with this signing, manager must have a clear idea of how to use him. And you play a 60m player in his preferred position, while other adapt. Based on how LVG used Di Maria, long before that Young situation, whifting him from AM to LW, then to SS and RW, it's clear that he did not have the vision where Di Maria should play. Which means he did not exactly wanted him, it like "it's better than nothing". This approach is completely okay when you talk about i don't know a gambles like Pato or Remy at Chelsea. But when this sort of things happens with the most expensive player in UK, that clearly a lack of professionalism.
 
Goblin shouldnt talk about his time with us,he was forced out from RM against his wish,wanted to go to PSG but they couldnt afford him,so he joined us as bypass option on year on more then good wages,did feck all and went in full "cba" mode.
 
Saf said as much that he was disappointed that he never got the best out of Kagawa. Then again buying RVP never helped
 
Robbo 7 said:
ADM is good enough to play in several positions and he has done that throughout his career (as far as I'm aware). The problem was he didn't want to be here and wanted a move to PSG.
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Well, this entirely really.

I can't believe such a quality footballer of his level couldn't put in some good shifts in a few different positions.
How many of us at the lowest levels managed to perform well at different positions!

One of the weirdest games he had for us was on as a sub at Anfield.
He was complete muck that game, seemingly ever touch was a worst case scenario of sh!T play. He even caught the ball on the pitch for goodness sake.
Yet he still created a quality assist for Mata's goal.

That sending off v Arsenal was a personal lowlight. Absolutely ruined our chances, and let Arsenal get a rare win at our place. Thankfully we did so well with such a weakened team this season against all odds!
 
People are throw words like coward too easily. He didn't settle, didn't get on with the manager, didn't enjoy the huge step down and decided to step back up. Shit happens. He could have done better but so could us as a club at the time and LVG as a manager. It was s collective period of feckuppery by a lot of people involved with United that's unsurprisingly still the case.
 
cyberman said:
He's hardly going to admit he failed to adapt to English football now.
He is a winger converted to a midfielder. If we remove the few games he came on as a sub and played up top then where did we play him that he struggled so badly to overcome? Centre half?
He wanted to stay in Madrid where Madrid are routinely getting their asses handed to them without a word of complaint. Where was his "I'm a winner" attitude then?
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His last game for Madrid was winning the Champions League final.
 
Randall Flagg said:
He is a moany little pussy

But a world class player.

Very Badly mis-managed and has to go down as the worst transfer of all time

And how Woodward didn't even break even on the transfer fee would be hilarious if it wasn't the club I supported
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When has a player ever been sold at breakeven after leaving in those circumstances?
 
Ronaldo wanted to leave too after the WC 2006. Was he a coward too? Or was it rather that we had a manager who convinced him to take care of him, who told him he was needed very much and who made him feel special?
LvG seems to have a huge problem dealing with players who have an ego or who need more attention for whatever reason. Reality is however that some of the best footballers fall under this category and we cant avoid or sell all at the first opportunity.
 
Giant Midget said:
His last game for Madrid was winning the Champions League final.
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His entire career has shown he doesn't need to win major titles to be happy. One season doesn't change this. Even then he only came into his own after Christmas.
Not everyone who helps his side win a title is a serial winner.
 
CM10 said:
I really don't understand this narrative that seems to have been created and widely accepted as fact with di Maria. Many seem to begrudge his decision to leave and question his commitment to the club when they don't know the whole story.

It was clear that van Gaal was neither getting the best out of the player, nor did he think too much of him. In that situation, is it not better we get a large chunk of the initial fee back and accept it hasn't worked? I think he could've left under much worse circumstances and it seems awfully small time to play the blame game over what is mostly speculation.
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Did you see any of LVGs interviews during preseason when asked questioned about ADM before his move? Yes, he might have misused or not get the best out of him consistently but he wanted him here this season. Likewise this formation he is been persisting would have looked livelier with him in it.
His transfer was just best for both parties considering he didn't show up for preseason and ended spending time in the Middle East. If am absolving him off all blame, I'd do the same for the club as well. Unlike most people I don't think he under performed, it was more of inconsistency as a by product of not only learning about United/teammates/manager but also language/league,etc.. believe we were most likely to see him close to his best after the first season(btw even Zlatan can speak Spanish and large SA contingent).
 
Even if Di Maria stayed, do people really think things would have improved this season? I dont think so, his move was justified. Coward or not, his career is back on track, while we are still shit, with or without him and van Gaal showing no signs of improvement either.
 
The fact it didn't work out here is on the club for me. United fans will say how shit he is or was as a way to get over it but the fact is when we signed him he was one of the best players in the world. He's a star player. And if anything him wanting out has been justified we've taken another big step backwards from last season and he's happy in Paris. Can't really blame him.
 
Thats like me saying i was shit at work today because I didn't sit in my normal seat.
 
Excuses for me, the guy is world class on his day but feck me he was weak mentally. Look at Bale, he's played out of position, went to a knew league, boo'd and attacked by fans and he went off and worked harder whereas Di Maria who is more talented managed to cry like a bitch and handed in a transfer request for an easier ride.
 
Invictus said:
Some rather harsh criticism being levied against Di María, IMO. The way it appeared was - Di María wanted to go to Paris Saint-Germain, yes. But United wasn't a step down as in if we had gotten our act together, we're as attractive a club to play for as them, if not moreso - given the relative gulf in historic stature of the duo. If say Fergie (or any quality man manager - Ancelotti to name one) was our manager instead of Louis, I have no doubt in my mind that he would've assimilated Di María into the squad, and made him feel as one of our own (Carlo did exactly that in Di María's last season at Real where he was incredibly unsettled to start with, but turned it around to become arguably their second most important player in La Decima in the midfield alongside Modrić and Alonso).

Lots of Iberian and South American players have a tough time adapting, but the key lies with how the manager handles that situation on an individual basis. De Gea has spoken about regretting the the decision to join United too (through the early weeks and months), but Fergie put an arm around the lad, his form improved - and now he seems relatively settled. With Di María, you get the sense that he didn't envisage a chance of success at United (he's been vindicated on that point, for now) and feel appreciated by the manager - who played him up and down in an unsettled starting XI, and likely didn't give him the confidence and backing he needed when things started to go tits up, and didn't devise a system to help him, somewhat.

Yes, he's a professional, and he should get over it - but there are different shades to each player, and when you have a manager like Louis who treats everyone in a monochrome fashion (apart from his select pets, that is), there's bound to be a fallout. Di María was a bit gutless yes, and even when he was given some individual freedom - he didn't really shine in a way that would justify the price-tag; but I'd allocate a nigh equal amount of blame with Louis, who seems really dense on an emotional level, despite harping about 'human qualities', and 'democracy', and other tripe - and probably burnt his bridges with the player, instead of trying to find common ground (bit similar to the Hernández episode).
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This is exactly how I see it, great post.
 
Whinging moaning Michael. Glad to be shot of him, couldn't count on him when the chips were down. Go play where you're told to play and get on with it.
 
WhoDaGOAT said:
Because Young adhered to the philosophy and was a safer bet.

di María has his fair share of problems, but his creativity couldn't be questioned. Even in a poor season for both him on a personal level and the club as a whole.
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It wasn't just a question of the manager choosing his favourite. On here the consensus was that Young was playing much better and deserved to keep Di Maria out. This in spite of Di Maria's assist contribution which was actually good.
 
Didn't really want to come here.
Ended up doing so as it was the only option.
Fancied it for a month with the nice weather and pitches.
Quickly stopped fancying it, not helped by a range of positions, and the burglary.
Eventually became a bit of a liability, and was comfortably kept out of the team by Young.
 
KikiDaKats said:
Did you see any of LVGs interviews during preseason when asked questioned about ADM before his move? Yes, he might have misused or not get the best out of him consistently but he wanted him here this season. Likewise this formation he is been persisting would have looked livelier with him in it.
His transfer was just best for both parties considering he didn't show up for preseason and ended spending time in the Middle East. If am absolving him off all blame, I'd do the same for the club as well. Unlike most people I don't think he under performed, it was more of inconsistency as a by product of not only learning about United/teammates/manager but also language/league,etc.. believe we were most likely to see him close to his best after the first season(btw even Zlatan can speak Spanish and large SA contingent).
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I don't think he should be absolved of all blame. I just think it's unfair to fault di Maria for everything that went on.

I was more worried about the fact that we didn't bring in a replacement, despite having the best part of the summer window to sign one.
 
Hope he carries on feeling vindicated, he left and should rightly be regarded as the most expensive flop in the history of this country. I don't care how much he's tearing up the French league, teams like Troyes players probably have second jobs, perhaps as cones.
 
People can't get around the fact that he didn't want to be here in the first place. LVG is on record saying he pleaded with him to give it another go. His whole psychology about the move meant it was always going to be a fecking failure. Read the interview with his mum again. You will see we were right to let him go.
 
Trying to imagine what would have happened to Cantona if LVG was in charge of him.

Di Maria didnt want to be with us to begin with, but when we first signed him, he looked happy. I think United as a club (mostly LVG as a manger) should have done so much more to make him feel part of the club and part of the plans especially following the season he had with Madrid. Its a shame it didnt work out for him with us but I think he needs to take part of the blame for that as well. In the end, he just didnt want to be at United and rightfully at that stage, we had to let him go.
 
Di Maria is speaking the truth.

Why would he want to stay? For people going on about cowardice. It was clear for us on the outside LvG is a clown, I imagine it's clearer for the players. Be played out of position and dropped for Ashley Young, or go and be a star for a better side in PSG?

People will go on about Ashley Young being great etc, he wouldn't even make the bench for PSG. Di Maria is one of their stars.
 
He is right 100% but any sympathy I might have had disappeared with that Arsenal game. He is the thickest footballer Ive ever seen play for us, and this is a club that empoyed Carlos Tevez. He might have been a llot better with a less mentally challenged manager in charge, but he'd still have been a massive idiot and he'd still have fecked off the first chance he got.

That said, the main fault still lies with the club for signing him without doing any homework at all on his character, or whether LVG would be able to manage him effectively. When you think about it, nothing about his failed stint here was especially surprising.
 
noodlehair said:
That said, the main fault still lies with the club for signing him without doing any homework at all on his character, or whether LVG would be able to manage him effectively. When you think about it, nothing about his failed stint here was especially surprising.
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I don't think the club would be able to determine if LVG could manage anybody effectively. His track record so far with both signed and home grown players has been extremely sketchy. You'd have more luck signing a bunch of nobodies and making them into a team than profiling players to fit Van Gaal's methods.
 
Perrick Dubois said:
I don't think the club would be able to determine if LVG could manage anybody effectively. His track record so far with both signed and home grown players has been extremely sketchy. You'd have more luck signing a bunch of nobodies and making them into a team than profiling players to fit Van Gaal's methods.
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Yeah, so you don't pay £60m for a player in a position we don't really need players in then.

I don't think it's unreasonable at all to expect that if the club spend a record fee on someone, they might do a bit of research into whether the player is a good fit first. In fact the idea they wouldn't is utterly laughable, yet is pretty obviously what happened.
 
noodlehair said:
Yeah, so you don't pay £60m for a player in a position we don't really need players in then.

I don't think it's unreasonable at all to expect that if the club spend a record fee on someone, they might do a bit of research into whether the player is a good fit first. In fact the idea they wouldn't is utterly laughable, yet is pretty obviously what happened.
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Agreed, seems a case of "get him in and we'll see what we can do with him... " and then it all blowing up in their faces when he didn't want to play for Van Gaal because he has a head like an uprooted parsnip.
 
True he was moved around a lot but he might have nailed down his favourite position in the side if he had bothered to actually try in half the game he played in and not been a whinging spineless cnut.

If he didn't feel safe in Manchester and had to flee the country because someone broke his windows and tried to get in, god only knows how unsafe he must feel in Paris after the terrible events there last year.
 
Trizy said:
Excuses for me, the guy is world class on his day but feck me he was weak mentally. Look at Bale, he's played out of position, went to a knew league, boo'd and attacked by fans and he went off and worked harder whereas Di Maria who is more talented managed to cry like a bitch and handed in a transfer request for an easier ride.
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He might not possess the best attitude, but I do think the comparison with Bale is a bit off. Bale's move was a huge step up, whereas Di Maria's wasn't really. He left winning the CL to join a team in transition and struggling.
 
LouisDanGaal said:
Hope he carries on feeling vindicated, he left and should rightly be regarded as the most expensive flop in the history of this country. I don't care how much he's tearing up the French league, teams like Troyes players probably have second jobs, perhaps as cones.
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I'm sure the sames applied to Terry and Cahill and whatever else Chelsea served up? He was rather effective at Stamford Bridge about a month ago.
 
Rado_N said:
When has a player ever been sold at breakeven after leaving in those circumstances?
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A player who wants to leave but is wanted desperately by a filthy rich club who 12 months previous paid more for David Luiz.

We should have made a profit
 
Randall Flagg said:
A player who wants to leave but is wanted desperately by a filthy rich club who 12 months previous paid more for David Luiz.

We should have made a profit
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A player who was bought for a record fee and hasn't worked out as hoped and is being moved on at the will of both parties. We were in a far from optimal bargaining position, as is almost always the case when players leave United.
 
Randall Flagg said:
A player who wants to leave but is wanted desperately by a filthy rich club who 12 months previous paid more for David Luiz.

We should have made a profit
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There was no way PSG would have paid more after the manager at the club depreciated his value significantly.
 
Absolutely despise LvG, but despise Di Maria even more. He simply quit on the pitch. He was not even trying at the end. Poor performances can be excused when you are being moved all over he pitch, but no excuses can be made for this quitter.
 
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