Louis Van Gaal | 2015-16 Performance Thread

[Oneunited26]

Summary of Van Gaal’s performance so far:

Pros:
1) Currently 2 points off the top, in line with expectations of challenging for the title
2) Acceptable CL results
3) Sorted out United midfield with addition of Bastian and Schneiderlin
4) Sorted out defence, helping Smalling becoming world class
5) Acceptable record against league rivals with 3 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses against City, Chelsea and Arsenal
6) Perfect record against Liverpool with 3 wins out of 3
7) Unearth a gem in Martial despite a lot of unbelievers vs money spent
8) Sorted (got lucky) with de Gea’s contract
9) Promoting youth from United academy with Lingard, Pereira and Wilson. Invest in good prospects with Martial and Memphis
10) Entertaining press conference.

Cons:
1) Unable to bring the best out of Di Maria and Falcao
2) Boring football
3) Unable to bring the best out of Januzaj… yet
4) Starting Rooney
5) Boring Football
6) Losing 3-0 against Arsenal
7) Not serious enough with the league cup (including losing 4-0 vs MK Dons)
8) Boring football
9) Starting Rooney
10) Starting Rooney
11) Too much philosophy
12) Sitting in the technical area instead of being on the touchline

Verdict:
More Cons than Pros = Sack

I also believe the manager does not really need to be shouting out there, when in reality there is nothing he can do, its his job to start the right team and tactics, and hopefully he makes the right subs that can win us 75% of our games if he is a trophy hunter

Has for VG? let him see out his contract and bring someone new in, the worry? who is available, and that is real million dollar question. VG will be remembered if we continue this pattern has a disappointment, but will leave that wont be remembered for the wrong or right reason's, just someone who created stability nothing more, nothing less

 

[IwatUwat]

Was speaking to my dutch mate last night, and he raised the point LVG historically does play attacking football, we forget that all too often. Ajax, Barca, Bayern, Az, they were all attacking teams. What LVG does do is adapt and try to build a team to meet what is required. Holland team basically went back to possession football and a 3-5-2 almost a 5 at the back, but they got a long way in the world cup and it worked. But historically he is building what he thinks he needs.

Last year we were bad but learning possession, this year we have got possession now learning creativity amongst possession...I do believe he is building something here. I do also agree its boring to watch at times and very frustrating, but as Scholes said he is positioning us and without playing well we are still competing.

 

[prateik]

We nearly made it to the quarter finals of the Carling cup guys. Its all good.

Also, Boro beat City 2-0. We held them to a 0-0 draw.. fecking get in!!

 

[Pogue Mahone]

We nearly made it to the quarter finals of the Carling cup guys. Its all good.

Also, Boro beat City 2-0. We held them to a 0-0 draw.. fecking get in!!

Dunno why people are losing their shit over that comment. It's a fair point. And I'm saying that as someone who is deeply unimpressed with our capitulation on the night.

 

[Zexstream]

Dunno why people are losing their shit over that comment. It's a fair point. And I'm saying that as someone who is deeply unimpressed with our capitulation on the night.

I vaguely remeber Moyes saying something similar, something along the lines how we had to play like Liverpool's standard or something!

 

[SirAF]

Dunno why people are losing their shit over that comment. It's a fair point. And I'm saying that as someone who is deeply unimpressed with our capitulation on the night.

Because he's an idiot.

 

[Jagga7]

The way I see it is that he steadied the ship after Moyes had sank it. But all we are at the moment is a pretty good team. With the level of investment we have put in, a lot of managers could make us a pretty good team. I'd be happy for him to see his contract out and get someone else in.

 

[SirAF]

The way I see it is that he steadied the ship after Moyes had sank it. But all we are at the moment is a pretty good team. With the level of investment we have put in, a lot of managers could make us a pretty good team. I'd be happy for him to see his contract out and get someone else in.

Which has been the plan from the get go. He is here for three years to steady the ship and lay the platform for the next manager and yet people are waiting in line to have a go just because they don't like his brand of football. Some of our fans deserve to go another season with no CL, to be honest. See how they like that.

 

[Zexstream]

I wonder where we would be with LVG if Dave had gone to Real?

 

[charleysurf]

The way I see it is that he steadied the ship after Moyes had sank it. But all we are at the moment is a pretty good team. With the level of investment we have put in, a lot of managers could make us a pretty good team. I'd be happy for him to see his contract out and get someone else in.

so yeah, he does his 3 years and that's that. You 100% agree with Van Gaal on his statements on the matter. Well done.

 

[iKeano]

Which has been the plan from the get go. He is here for three years to steady the ship and lay the platform for the next manager and yet people are waiting in line to have a go just because they don't like his brand of football. Some of our fans deserve to go another season with no CL, to be honest. See how they like that.

So all fans and the club have to suffer to teach a few unrealistic fans a lesson.
Harsh!

 

[prateik]

Dunno why people are losing their shit over that comment. It's a fair point. And I'm saying that as someone who is deeply unimpressed with our capitulation on the night.

Does he mean Boro are good enough to beat City every time? Obviously not. he is pointing out a bad result for City. What does that have to do with anything.

He might as well say we lost to MK Dons who were in League one so drawing against Championship side is a step up.
Pointless excuse.

iirc, City were away and got back the morning of the match. They might have underestimated Boro, but their players had a more legitimate excuse than what we did.

 

[SirAF]

So all fans and the club have to suffer to teach a few unrealistic fans a lesson.
Harsh!

Collective punishment!

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I wonder where we would be with LVG if Dave had gone to Real?

Tbf Navas has been in exceptional form for Madrid.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Does he mean Boro are good enough to beat City every time? Obviously not. he is pointing out a bad result for City. What does that have to do with anything.

He might as well say we lost to MK Dons who were in League one so drawing against Championship side is a step up.
Pointless excuse.

iirc, City were away and got back the morning of the match. They might have underestimated Boro, but their players had a more legitimate excuse than what we did.

It's to remind everyone that bad results can happen in a cup competition. Specifically, bad results for huge Manchester clubs playing against Middlesbro.

I'm as Van Gaal-sceptic as the next man but I really hope we're not yet at he utter fecking tediousness of the Moyes era, where every single sound-bite coming out of the bloke was used as a stick to beat him with...

 

[stubie]

LVG is in the process of doing what Fergie did between 2004-06. Transition periods take time, I would much rather have 2/3 transition years followed by a successful period for 7/8 years every 10 years.

 

[SirAF]

LVG is in the process of doing what Fergie did between 2004-06. Transition periods take time, I would much rather have 2/3 transition years followed by a successful period for 7/8 years every 10 years.

People are underestimating how has to be done to get the team back on track. Back on track meaning, being one of the top teams in the world. It's not done in one or two seasons.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

People are underestimating how has to be done to get the team back on track. Back on track meaning, being one of the top teams in the world. It's not done in one or two seasons.

This is true. Although we should already be one of the best teams in our league, considering how poorly the best teams in the league is doing in Europe. Granted, we made the top four last season (just) but it's not unreasonable to expect us to be a lot more convincing this time round, especially with Chelsea and Liverpool having such terrible starts.

 

[Welsh Wonder]

It's to remind everyone that bad results can happen in a cup competition. Specifically, bad results for huge Manchester clubs playing against Middlesbro.

I'm as Van Gaal-sceptic as the next man but I really hope we're not yet at he utter fecking tediousness of the Moyes era, where every single sound-bite coming out of the bloke was used as a stick to beat him with...

It does seem like we're at the stage where everything he says and does is being microanalysed to find a reason to criticise him and call him an idiot.

 

[prateik]

It's to remind everyone that bad results can happen in a cup competition. Specifically, bad results for huge Manchester clubs playing against Middlesbro.

I'm as Van Gaal-sceptic as the next man but I really hope we're not yet at he utter fecking tediousness of the Moyes era, where every single sound-bite coming out of the bloke was used as a stick to beat him with...

That is totally fair.
But it didnt sound like that.
We nearly got to the quarter finals. We did better than City did against them.

That is not the same as saying it was an upset and it was a bad result for us.

Van Gaal comes across as extremely confident.. which is great a lot of the time. But then there are times when it seems like he is in his own little bubble and isnt seeing something that is clearly a problem.
I might be reading too much into it though.

 

[SirAF]

This is true. Although we should already be one of the best teams in our league, considering how poorly the best teams in the league is doing in Europe. Granted, we made the top four last season (just) but it's not unreasonable to expect us to be a lot more convincing this time round, especially with Chelsea and Liverpool having such terrible starts.

I agree with that, although we just have to wait until the end of the season to pass a complete judgement - as boring as that sound.

 

[stubie]

I agree with that, although we just have to wait until the end of the season to pass a complete judgement - as boring as that sound.

This season should lay down the foundations for a stronger title challenge next season, what we could do with is an FA Cup win (Think we will finish 2nd in the league) to kick start the players with that winning feeling again.

 

[SirAF]

This season should lay down the foundations for a stronger title challenge next season, what we could do with is an FA Cup win (Think we will finish 2nd in the league) to kick start the players with that winning feeling again.

Yes. When van Gaal got the job I thought this should be basically the expectations:

Year 1: Back in the CL
Year 2: Challenge for the title/or thereabout
Year 3: You can't "budget" a title win if you understand, but at least put together a strong title bid.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

That is totally fair.
But it didnt sound like that.
We nearly got to the quarter finals. We did better than City did against them.

That is not the same as saying it was an upset and it was a bad result for us.

Van Gaal comes across as extremely confident.. which is great a lot of the time. But then there are times when it seems like he is in his own little bubble and isnt seeing something that is clearly a problem.
I might be reading too much into it though.

He's in the same situation you see with all managers whose team isn't delivering. Damned either way. If he appears downbeat and apologetic he'll get shit for spreading negativity in the camp, if he's bullish and defensive about the results he'll be called arrogant and out of touch. Pressers are a complete waste of everyone's time tbh, bar the injury updates. You never ever find out anything useful or interesting and managers always end up having pointless petty spats or saying stupid stuff when they're under pressure. Fergie was no different.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

I just don't think we'll win anything under him.

He seems to go on these little runs where he does everything well and it looks like we've turned the corner, the most recent being when he played Martial up front and we started to actually score goals again, but then he'll change his mind on a whim and we go back to being boring and shit, most recent being putting Rooney up front again.

I've thought all season we'll have a similar season to last time, maybe slightly better in finishing 3rd with Chelsea being such a mess. If Pep or Ancelotti are gettable in the Summer I'd definitely let Van Gaal go.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I just don't think we'll win anything under him.

He seems to go on these little runs where he does everything well and it looks like we've turned the corner, the most recent being when he played Martial up front and we started to actually score goals again, but then he'll change his mind on a whim and we go back to being boring and shit, most recent being putting Rooney up front again.

I've thought all season we'll have a similar season to last time, maybe slightly better in finishing 3rd with Chelsea being such a mess. If Pep or Ancelotti are gettable in the Summer I'd definitely let Van Gaal go.

That's a worry for me too. Our best football of last season came when arguably injuries forced him to pick a team/formation that we'd all been crying out for and as soon as he had more options to choose from we went to shit again.

 

[CG1010]

That's a worry for me too. Our best football of last season came when arguably injuries forced him to pick a team/formation that we'd all been crying out for and as soon as he had more options to choose from we went to shit again.

I didn't know we were crying out for playing Fellaini, Young, Blind (at LB) and dropping Di Maria last season! The red card to Di Maria was definitely a blessing in disguise then.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I didn't know we were crying out for playing Fellaini, Young, Blind (at LB) and dropping Di Maria last season! The red card to Di Maria was definitely a blessing in disguise then.

I was definitely calling for Di Maria to be dropped. He had been shite for ages. I also wanted us to play with a lone striker, which Van Gaal was strangely reluctant to do. The combination of Di Maria's suspension and Van Persie's injury forced him to play Rooney up top, ahead of a proper midfield 3 and boom, we played our best football all season.

Now I'd be a lot more confident in his managerial skills if those tweaks had been all his own making.

 

[drdoityourself]

This is basically the system most teams play. A 4-2-3-1. But we need players that are suited to those positions to actually see a good balanced performance. Mata, how good as he is is not a right winger. Lingard is just starting out. Depay has hit the ground lying down.
So the foundation is good:
The defence is good with Smalling in beast mode. Darmian should however be contributing more on the offensive end.
Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger are a good combination. We've got the possession bit nailed down.
We need to drop Rooney as he isn't the best player in any of the positions on the pitch. Martial should be played up top. As soon as we get performances from the wingers, that suit the formation, I believe we'll be quite fun to watch.
Before the season I had high hopes in Depay and Januzaj, that's a bit naive and we're at least one winger short.

I still believe in Van Gaal, but he needs to start selecting the attacking side of the starting 11 on merit.

 

[iKeano]

Collective punishment!

 

[iKeano]

I was definitely calling for Di Maria to be dropped. He had been shite for ages. I also wanted us to play with a lone striker, which Van Gaal was strangely reluctant to do. The combination of Di Maria's suspension and Van Persie's injury forced him to play Rooney up top, ahead of a proper midfield 3 and boom, we played our best football all season.

Now I'd be a lot more confident in his managerial skills if those tweaks had been all his own making.

Totally agree, Di Maria deserved being dropped.
Rooney deserves to be dropped and Martial definitely doesn't deserve to be shoved out to the wing neutering his clearly evident goal threat.

 

[PvsNP]

 

[SammyUnited_83]

Fecking hell, Urruti levelled in the 118th minute? Get in!

 

[SammyUnited_83]

LVG is in the process of doing what Fergie did between 2004-06. Transition periods take time, I would much rather have 2/3 transition years followed by a successful period for 7/8 years every 10 years.

Only difference was Fergie was in it for the long haul, LvG has one and a half seasons to go before someone else comes in, rips it up and starts again.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Bit sneaky the way they leave out forward passes. With the most possession you'd expect us to have the most passes, in every direction.

Still, the bottom half makes fairly grim reading on its own.

 

[marlowe78]

I just don't think we'll win anything under him.

He seems to go on these little runs where he does everything well and it looks like we've turned the corner, the most recent being when he played Martial up front and we started to actually score goals again, but then he'll change his mind on a whim and we go back to being boring and shit, most recent being putting Rooney up front again.

I've thought all season we'll have a similar season to last time, maybe slightly better in finishing 3rd with Chelsea being such a mess. If Pep or Ancelotti are gettable in the Summer I'd definitely let Van Gaal go.

The main reason why I tend to overreact when we have a poor set of results is because I'm tired of being led into a sense of security by this guy only to see our form deteriorate and the same problems come up again. That run of games at the end of last season when we only managed to beat Palace and couldn't score at all is a prime example. It seemed to undo all of what we had accomplished in the big games against Spurs, Liverpool, and City. Every time we get a few solid results and we seem to have momentum, other teams adapt to what we've been doing and we take weeks to figure out our next move. We also have ridiculously poor games like the nonsense on Wendesday.

We can't possibly look good in every single game but he seems ridiculously slow to change or fix what is obvious even to the general public. It was clear last season that we were playing too many out of form strikers at one time, using RVP and Falcao with Rooney in midfield and it seemed injuries forced LVG's hand in finally using the lineup that we wanted. Now he is persisting with Rooney, who is in the worst form of his career, and hindering Martial by playing him on the wing. Dropping Rooney would not magically cure our problems in attaack but it's the most obvious first step to take.

Everything about the Premier League is faster than in other leagues - the game is played faster and decisions need to be made faster. I don't know if it's his age or just his general stubbornness, but LVG seems to be very slow to catch onto things that can make us better than we're doing now. I'm not going to slate everything he's done this season because we definitely have a better squad and I actually think the 4-2-3-1 has worked well for us but IMO we are underachieving.

 

[Amir]

That's a worry for me too. Our best football of last season came when arguably injuries forced him to pick a team/formation that we'd all been crying out for and as soon as he had more options to choose from we went to shit again.

That's not completely true. We just beat City 4-2 when we lost four players ahead of the game at Chelsea - including losing Carrick for the season, which was massive - and he was forced to make several changes, including moving Rooney to midfield. Our form nosedived, but it wasn't through having many options but actually having lost a few of them.

 

[TheGame]

Its the transfer policy which has aided to our lack of options in attack. Why get rid of RVP, Nani and Hernandez? All would have got games and would have provided cover as well. At least one of RVP or Hernandez should have been retained. Rooney was meant to be a no9 now he cannot play in that position so he seems to playing deeper. Martial has been a good signing but it playing out wide. We are now talking about splashing out more money on Kane?? We are starting to become another club spending money willy nilly however not getting any sort of consistency within the team.

 

[SirAF]

Only difference was Fergie was in it for the long haul, LvG has one and a half seasons to go before someone else comes in, rips it up and starts again.

The hope is that they will hire someone with a similiar philosophy, so it won't be a case of starting all over again.

 

[Amir]

We've already seen the squad that Fergie presumably thought would see us through these next few seasons completely torn apart (got rid of Hernandez, Cleverley, Welbeck, Kagawa, Nani, Rafael etc.) no reason to assume Van Gaal's succesor won't do something similarly radical (maybe getting rid of Depay, Blind, Rojo, Darmian, Carrick, Rooney etc). And that's just an overhaul of personnel.

But that's not my point. Changes could also be made if we bring in another manager who is possession based because that's the way it is. Sometimes manager A likes a player more than manager B.

At the same it, it's not as if bringing in a manager who plays a different style of football automatically means wholesale changes and losing everything we've gained in the last couple of years.