I think he's right, just read the interview with LvG on skysports, he basically says that DiMaria has to buy into his philosophy more
Henry Winter interviews Ander Herrera
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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.
Since Di Maria was converted into a midfielder I guess.
He's a very unorthodox midfielder, granted, but if Van Gaal wants midfielders that will keep possession 90% of the time then signing Di Maria for £60 million seems a bit stupid now. That money could have been much better used. Possession football is just not his game. He's all about taking risks, constantly trying to make things happen, forcing the issue etc etc And losing the ball comes with that territory. A bit like when Giggs played in midfield for the last couple of years. He'd have games where nothing would come off and he'd frustrate the hell out of you. Same could be applied for Herrera. So £90 million on the pair just seems..well..bizzare. Neither seem to fit the typical M.O of a Van Gaal player.
Complaining about Van Gaal signing Di Maria is a bit like doom and gloom mongers of the past who cried their eyes out when the likes of Ronaldo, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher and Gary Neville were utterly piss poor under Fergie in their first season or two before becoming invincible monsters a season later
But Di Maria seems like the total opposite of everything Van Gaal wants in a player. Same with Herrera.
Personally I love both of them, and they'd both be in my team week in week out, with the freedom to express themselves.
I'd probably faint like a woman if I ever had the chance to meet Mata and Herrera. Impossible to dislike them.
I agree...but Antonio Valencia and Phil Jones pretty much lose possession every time they get the ball but they are willing to at least make an effort to win it back so Van Gaal can be a mass contradiction at times with selection. Herrera is utterly outstanding but right now he looks much more like an attacking midfielder than the box to box monster that we need. So I sort of understand why Van Gaal can't fit him in at times. We annihilated Swansea but still lost and that possibly can be attributed to the fact that Herrera is not a box to box monster and is more of a slick passing attacking midfielder. Di Maria was absolute Dog-pants against Swansea but once he gets used to constant crap weather, Ugly birds and a completely new language then we may have one hell of a player on our hands
Very nice interview 
Notice the difference in how he speaks about Rooney and Scholes. Scholes sounds like, well, Scholes, Rooney sounds like Alan Smith. At least he sounds like a good captain.
Those players were young and unproven during their early career at United. Di Maria is already considered one of the best players in the World.
Not really. van Gaal wants us to go all out when the players have the space to play a risky game. He's mentioned this in his presentations and interviews. He's not like Sir Alex or Klopp in that he won't accept an early long/through pass when it isn't viable. Basically, if there's a good enough chance that we'd lose the ball, don't take that option.
Our players are just thinking too hard and have yet to fully adapt to his ways. I think that's why van Gaal's frequently stated that our performances still aren't good enough.
… philosophy
A terrific player and a very very likeable person. Hopefully Anders stay with us for years to come. As for the hints at LvGs' tactics - pass the ball sideways, create space - I am sure Herrera is a must player in this tactic. Mobility all over the pitch is a must as well. I dont see how Fellaini or Tony V would fit in such system. Also, as we do most of the passing in our own half, we allow opposition to keep their shape and make defending easier for them. There is no such a rule that opposition will chase the ball if you pass it in your own half. They will keep compact and wil not lose their shape. Imagine current United side against Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen. We would probably have 65% possession, but once they win the ball back their counter atracks would be lethal.
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Yeah, because telling the players to play as a team is stiffling individual quality. Did you watch any of Van Gaal's previous teams?
Herrera clearly said Van Gaal wants Di Maria to wait for the right moment then take his man on, this is somehow interpretted as not wanting Di Maria to take risks or stifling him, it is a component of Van Gaal teams that they pass the ball swiftly and once there's an opening, you got for it, a beautiful brand of football once players get it. Not everyone is going to coach like Ferguson, some of you need to get used to that. The fact that we can't defend is even reason enough while we should play this way, but no, let's just pump it forward and let Di Maria take on his man every single time, even though it might leave us exposed, the gung ho approach. Di Maria if given absolute freedom is a very similar player to Nani [and not many of you liked him] because he loses the ball too often, it's a part of his game that Van Gaal thinks he can improve on, hence this. I've watched most of Van Gaal's team and not one of them lacked breath-taking attacking football, his Bayern team were not dull to watch, Arjen Robben went from inconsistent to world class under Van Gaal. You have to watch Van Gaal's previous teams to understand how we'll play when things finally clicks. This notion that he's stiffling the attack is both silly and moronic, new methods take time to get used to, and as Herrera rightly said, no player is more important than the others, that's how a team should think, but some of you will choose to ignore that, it doesn't matter how much Di Maria was bought for, if he's truly a great player, he'll work hard and adapt his game and be better off for it because he's working with a manager who has managed to improve countless players who were/are better than him.
Seems the players rate Januzaj themselves. Would love Adnan to get an extended run in the first team
Nice interview, I enjoyed that. I love this lad and I hope he goes on to play for us for many years to come, he has a fantastic attitude.
Except for the quote above from one of our own players which directly suggests Di Maria and others are discouraged to try and take players on or try anything adventurous when there's a sideways pass readily available to them. I'd also be more ready to dismiss it as nonsense if it didn't fit in perfectly with the shite we serve up on the pitch every single week.
If what Di Maria's produced this season is what United or Van Gaal would consider or expect to be the norm from him, then someone seriously needs to be sacked for paying so much money for him.
TBH the Herrera interview is the first time in a long time I've heard anyone working at United come out with anything that sounds remotely intelligent or clued up. Maybe he should be manager.
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That's as close as he's going to come to saying a number of players don't naturally like his tactics.
Its odd though as you'll get people on here saying its about clever play, yet its so clever we resort to pumping it to Fellaini when it doesn't work.
Our most exciting players are being stifled in favour of caution, makes me sad
Its odd though as you'll get people on here saying its about clever play, yet its so clever we resort to pumping it to Fellaini when it doesn't work.
Our most exciting players are being stifled in favour of caution, makes me sad
He's saying he wants to emulate Scholes, but the thing with that is when you listen to Scholes talking about how he liked to play...he'd have been sitting on the bench if Van Gaal was his manager.
I just can't get my head around the idea of assembling a bunch of talented players and then trying to force train them into playing like average ones. How stupid do you have to be to think this is a good idea just because you call it a philosophy?
I thought that was pretty much what he was saying. Di Maria and Januzaj are the best dribblers but they have to pass more. He basically said Di Maria isn't allowed to play like he did for Madrid.
The Herrera must be doing a pretty good job of emulating Scholes.
Well that's bullshit for a start. They're being encouraged to wait for the right moment to try something adventurous, not ignore the opportunity every time they can pass sideways instead. Big difference.
Anyway, I see you ignored the point about Robben under Van Gaal. How does this fit with his alleged refusal to allow players to express themselves?
Wait for the right moment to take your man on...there's just so many problems with that based on what I'm seeing on the pitch.
Firstly, our possession doesn't naturally create those moments. Rolling the ball around at glacial pace between defenders does not create openings.
Secondly, this order is likely creating problems where our players think twice before taking chances.
Thirdly, it's boring. We want players to produce moments of brilliance. This shits on that idea.
Van Gaal makes football more complicated than it needs to be. Why not let players trust their instincts and play their game that got them to where they are. LVG is so far up his own arse, it's untrue. He doesn't need to teach these players how to play. All he needs to do is play to their strengths.
If he wants something different from them, why sign them in the first place. Complete stupidity.
Firstly, our possession doesn't naturally create those moments. Rolling the ball around at glacial pace between defenders does not create openings.
Secondly, this order is likely creating problems where our players think twice before taking chances.
Thirdly, it's boring. We want players to produce moments of brilliance. This shits on that idea.
Van Gaal makes football more complicated than it needs to be. Why not let players trust their instincts and play their game that got them to where they are. LVG is so far up his own arse, it's untrue. He doesn't need to teach these players how to play. All he needs to do is play to their strengths.
If he wants something different from them, why sign them in the first place. Complete stupidity.
So that cnut is/was his idol.
It's easy to say the 'right moment' as that qualifies the tactics as impossible to argue against from the off. In effect what that means is being more cautious and not taking the risks even when the players think may produce a piece of football magic.
We've already had the likes of Ribery in the past saying they didn't enjoy their football under LvG. Robben within the Dutch team was almost a one man attack most of the the time with the rest of the team supporting him, it's very different when your talking about midfielders.
I'd actually changed my mind during this week to be more positive, nerves today has changed that somewhat
And who decides when the "right moment" is?
The answer, as taken directly from what Herrera has said, is very obviously Van Gaal. Presumably because he doesn't trust his own players to make their own decisions during a game...I can't get my head around how that is good management. I'm sorry. You pay hundreds of millions of pounds to asssemble some of the most talented people in the world at doing their job, and then decide you don't trust them to do it properly because you know how to do it better than them? Only an ignorant idiot thinks like this
It's been evident in how we've played all season. It's evident in the way Van Gaal misuses or freezes out every single one of our players who attempts to play with any flair. It's evident and all but confirmed in what Herrera has said.
I don't really care about Robben. I care about how Van Gaal is managing Manchester United. Robben isn't at United. In anycase the counter argument would also be that Robben playing with freedom (and in a more advanced role than Di Maria plays for us) was literally the only thing that stopped Holland from being shite at the world cup.