Way too obvious and way too not messing up the team.
Louis Van Gaal | 2015-16 Performance Thread
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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.
Way too obvious and way too not messing up the team.
Not sure what's mental about not wanting to play an unproven teenager when we already had two unproven youngsters playing up top. Quite sensible if anything.
So why buy him and play him on the wing, rather then buying an actual winger?
Didn't the caf collectively have a massive moan when LVG played Depay as a second striker to start with? I'm sure, you, like 90% of the caf wanted him played out wide because that was supposedly his best position.
The same unproven teenager that he then proceeded to bring on later in the game anyway?
Well first of all he didn't play as a second striker yesterday, and secondly, it was hardy a shocking conclusion to come to that Memphis is a left winger, seeing as he'd just had his great season playing there, when we then proceeded to buy him.
Yet, one good performance upfront and LVG suddenly 'knew' that was his best position all along. Despite having played him as #10 or winger in all his games previously.
Coming on for 10 minutes is much less pressurising than playing for 70 minutes
Because there is no difference at all in bringing on a youngster in the first twenty minutes to bringing him on in the final 10 minutes for an ineffective Mata to inject some pace into the side?
He certainly wasn't playing as a #9 either that's for sure and kept drifting all over the place. Was much closer to a second striker/#10.
The point being, some people (and you specifically) will look to criticize no matter what choice LVG makes. You were already criticizing LVG and wanting to play Depay as a winger before he had played a single league game for us.
He didn't bring Pereira on for Herrera for the same reason he doesn't like to utilize Mata in the #10 position. Both of them are soft, concede possession easily, struggle in tight areas and most importantly they offer very little to nothing when we're defending off the ball.
The latter is what separates Herrera from the other two and makes him an option in that role for LvG. When asked about Herrera in the #10 position, he replied "i consider him an option in the #10 role because when he plays there we can have three holding players in the midfield". And it's quite true that Ander doesn't feel uncomfortable whenever he's instructed to play his part in the midfield battle, to close down people and dive into challenges. It's a natural part of his game.
Judging by what LvG has done over the last 1 season and a half i'd say that, if Fellaini was available, he would have replaced Herrera and the formation wouldn't have changed. He probably thought that, with Lingard, Mata and Pereira in front of them, Bastian and Morgan would have problems controlling the game, they would be be forced deeper and that would result to a huge gap between the midfield and the attack.
Flores read all of that very well, he made the right subs and made our 3-5-2 look very ineffective in the second half. He could have gotten a point out of the game too but fortunately for us he didn't. We were unlucky to miss Fellaini, Rooney, Martial and Herrera got injured. I'm not expecting to see the 3-5-2 anytime soon unless all of those players are missing at the same time again.
The latter is what separates Herrera from the other two and makes him an option in that role for LvG. When asked about Herrera in the #10 position, he replied "i consider him an option in the #10 role because when he plays there we can have three holding players in the midfield". And it's quite true that Ander doesn't feel uncomfortable whenever he's instructed to play his part in the midfield battle, to close down people and dive into challenges. It's a natural part of his game.
Judging by what LvG has done over the last 1 season and a half i'd say that, if Fellaini was available, he would have replaced Herrera and the formation wouldn't have changed. He probably thought that, with Lingard, Mata and Pereira in front of them, Bastian and Morgan would have problems controlling the game, they would be be forced deeper and that would result to a huge gap between the midfield and the attack.
Flores read all of that very well, he made the right subs and made our 3-5-2 look very ineffective in the second half. He could have gotten a point out of the game too but fortunately for us he didn't. We were unlucky to miss Fellaini, Rooney, Martial and Herrera got injured. I'm not expecting to see the 3-5-2 anytime soon unless all of those players are missing at the same time again.
The number of armchair managers in the Caf who are so sure of seeing the 'obvious substitution' of Pereira for Mata is more than the stars of the sky and sands of the sea combined.
I don't know who Wiggy is?
Louis wanted a left footed centre back, he signed Rojo because he clearly liked what he had to offer and Rojo was an upgrade on nobody since he didn't have any player that was left footed and a centre back, Blind was signed for midfield.
Out wide he has Young, Memphis, Mata, Lingard and Martial who can play there, in the case of Memphis he commented he is the best player in his position in his age group and we must develop him. With those players already it is no surprise he wants quality that matches his profile for the wide position of quick and creative, he didn't see the point in keeping Nani about as he doesn't have the quality he wants.
And 'What's our strike force look like', Louis said Martial is in his opinion the best player in his age group, if you don't think he's good enough that's your opinion but the manager thinks he will be the quality player he wants, at least watch Martial play before you judge him.
So you are saying Louis van Gaal cannot take some responsibility for the victory? He himself said it was a consequence of the team spirit, that's the first time we have scored a late winner since Ferguson retired.
'14/15 Newcastle away. But agree with your overall point.
He's certainly lost a lot of weight.
LVG annoys me but after such upheaval we need to steady the ship. This current system is boring but necessary.
Possession is probably the most effective way of creating team cohesion.
I'm at fast counter attacking fan and always will be. But we have an identity now with so any new faces.
7/10 so far.
Possession is probably the most effective way of creating team cohesion.
I'm at fast counter attacking fan and always will be. But we have an identity now with so any new faces.
7/10 so far.
I have to say that I think LvG has done reasonably well so far. I admit, it hasn't been brilliant. Far from it. I'm sure many of us have walked away from matches feeling frustrated, but LvG has steadied the ship, given the team a defensive steel we lacked previously (teams used to cut through us like a hot knife through butter, not anymore) and gotten us the results we desperately need. We must remember that he is rebuilding from scratch and his rebuilding has meant that we now have the second youngest team in the league with hardly any players from the SAF era.
Sure the goals are yet to pour in, but let's not forget that this is a work in progress and that even in SAF's time, we didn't always play pretty football, especially in the CL and other tough, tactical matches, where possession is king. SAF admitted as much, in the early 2000s, which is why he experimented with 4-5-1 and when that failed, he went and got the help of Carlos Queiroz.
I still remember from the "Sack Fergie, Sell Goggs" (that's not a spelling error ) days where people used to moan that SAF had lost it and we had shit players playing shit football, how other teams had Lampard, Gerrard, etc, while we had Djemba Djemba. SAF was called a dinosaur and it was time to for us move on, apparently. Of course, SAF then went on to sign Carrick and the rest is history. Despite the number of people who called Carrick a shit player. The trophies kept rolling in with him as one of the key players. And now people are begging to go back to the SAF days. Funny how life is, sometimes.
It's all about finding that balance. I don't know if he will ever find that balance, but he has the track record and he has delivered decent results thus far. This is the most important thing. No reason not to follow him further down the road on this adventure, at least until his contract expires. I sincerely hope he retires with a league trophy in his hands.
Sure the goals are yet to pour in, but let's not forget that this is a work in progress and that even in SAF's time, we didn't always play pretty football, especially in the CL and other tough, tactical matches, where possession is king. SAF admitted as much, in the early 2000s, which is why he experimented with 4-5-1 and when that failed, he went and got the help of Carlos Queiroz.
I still remember from the "Sack Fergie, Sell Goggs" (that's not a spelling error
) days where people used to moan that SAF had lost it and we had shit players playing shit football, how other teams had Lampard, Gerrard, etc, while we had Djemba Djemba. SAF was called a dinosaur and it was time to for us move on, apparently. Of course, SAF then went on to sign Carrick and the rest is history. Despite the number of people who called Carrick a shit player. The trophies kept rolling in with him as one of the key players. And now people are begging to go back to the SAF days. Funny how life is, sometimes.It's all about finding that balance. I don't know if he will ever find that balance, but he has the track record and he has delivered decent results thus far. This is the most important thing. No reason not to follow him further down the road on this adventure, at least until his contract expires. I sincerely hope he retires with a league trophy in his hands.
I was feeling genuinely buoyed by the performance until I logged onto the Caf. Numerous posters have a definite agenda against Van Gaal.
We played good football and fashioned a lot of chances against Watford. When the players are profligate, I fail to see how the manager can take the blame for that. As well as a fabulous goal from Depay, Lingard could've had a brace, Schneiderlin channelled his inner Van Basten and almost scored a worldie, Smalling was denied by a great Gomes save and we generally looked very menacing. If anything, we just lacked that killer nous, unsurprising given there was no Rooney or Martial. I'm genuinely amazed that anyone could paint the performance in any way negatively. Watford clung on, drew one world class save from De Gea and then got a fluky penalty. We were all over them and, in the end, got what we deserved.
We're a fecking tough side to beat these days, we clearly have a fantastic team spirit and we're well positioned to be topping the league soon and qualifying from the CL group stage. We're well set for a very good season.
We played good football and fashioned a lot of chances against Watford. When the players are profligate, I fail to see how the manager can take the blame for that. As well as a fabulous goal from Depay, Lingard could've had a brace, Schneiderlin channelled his inner Van Basten and almost scored a worldie, Smalling was denied by a great Gomes save and we generally looked very menacing. If anything, we just lacked that killer nous, unsurprising given there was no Rooney or Martial. I'm genuinely amazed that anyone could paint the performance in any way negatively. Watford clung on, drew one world class save from De Gea and then got a fluky penalty. We were all over them and, in the end, got what we deserved.
We're a fecking tough side to beat these days, we clearly have a fantastic team spirit and we're well positioned to be topping the league soon and qualifying from the CL group stage. We're well set for a very good season.
But some posters will say you are wrong because we are tough to beat only due to DDG. As if somehow DDG wasn't part of our defence.
Exactly.
Don't if it was mentioned before the game but Watford had only let in 4 goals(3 in one match which was against Arsenal)all season before we played them. It's not a easy place to go, so to get a win there and in the manner we got it was great. Anyone complaining after is just being an arse for the sake of it.
That was even from Smalling's header. This match pleased me indeed and I can only agree with your post. I am usually skeptical but considering the injuries before and during the match, I'm very happy with the performance and result.
We're still in a rebuilding phase. The squad itself had to be rebuilt (virtually overhauled, not just rebuilt), but the way the newly rebuilt squad performs had to be rebuilt as well. I'd like to have seen this rebuilding take place more quickly, but several headwinds have conspired against us.
First is the shocking play of Rooney. Second is the disappointing opening act of Memphis as a United player. These are two players who at this point in the season should be scoring at a rate of 1 goal for 2.5 games, but that's not happening. So we've had to rely on a 19 year old newbie for goals but even he's hit a bit of a dry patch after an incredible start. With Rooney and Martial out we had no consistent goal scorer to rely upon.
We were missing key players but got the ugly win. When you can win ugly without key players you just might have a squad capable of going the distance.
First is the shocking play of Rooney. Second is the disappointing opening act of Memphis as a United player. These are two players who at this point in the season should be scoring at a rate of 1 goal for 2.5 games, but that's not happening. So we've had to rely on a 19 year old newbie for goals but even he's hit a bit of a dry patch after an incredible start. With Rooney and Martial out we had no consistent goal scorer to rely upon.
We were missing key players but got the ugly win. When you can win ugly without key players you just might have a squad capable of going the distance.
It was definitely an encouraging performance and result, considering our injuries and the opposition. Also a damn sight more entertaining that most of our games this season. I'm starting to think it's the influence of Lingard but we've finally started getting the opposition keeper's knees dirty. Long may it last!
It'll be interesting once Rooney is back, probably against PSV. The big question for me is whether Rooney's presence thwarts the team's flow or whether he's been the unfortunate victim of a rigid system.
When everyone is fit, I'd absolutely love to see Schneiderlin holding, Hererra alongside him, Rooney in the hole, Lingard to the right and Martial and Memphis interchanging between the left flank and centre forward position. That's probably too attacking for Van Gaal's liking, but it's the sort of set up that'd leave our captain with no excuses.
Even in the Arsenal game, they outplayed Arsenal in the first hour and should have been a couple of goals ahead. They are a very good team with a very good coach.
I think we've showed more intent from our the CSKA game onwards. I think the bore draw against Palace resulted in a big kick up the arse and I don't think it's down to a change in system or personnel, just being a bit more committed to attack.
You could argue that it's a response to the obvious displeasure from our fans. Either by getting a response from the individual players, or the manager himself. The big difference in these last three games is that we're belatedly spending more time in each game trying to "attack, attack, attack"!
Starting to see a few people in the media claim that our wins are due to de Gea like they were last season? Am I missing something here? He was great against Watford but for most games this season, he's hardly been tested. Our wins are due to our defence and midfield not giving anything away, not our keeper bailing us out. Strange really, but I've seen multiple journos write articles that say de Gea is the main reason we're up at the top of the league again.
I think it's a narrative that's developed and once they're attached to a player, team or manager they're hard to alter.
Its a bit of a stupid point considering Romero is terrible but has kept 5 clean sheets from 7 games only conceding 3 goals while De Gea has kept 7 clean sheets from 14 games and conceded 11 goals. De Gea is brilliant but its unfair to say he's winning us games or being tested anywhere near as much as he was last season. Personally I wouldn't even have De Gea in our top 3 performers this season never mind saying he's the reason we're top of the league.
Its because of this bizzare agenda that its City's or arsenals to lose, even though we have shown easily enough this season to merit our discussion as a title challenger ahead of an arsenal side that once again are showing the SAME problems they have shown for a decade now. Too many injury prone players, and not enough proper cover in instrumental positions such as defensive midfield, centre back and up front.
Honestly think city have the most talent, but we have the best drilled side, nothing to do with de gea this season (well no more so than any good side with a top keeper)
Outclassed by PSV tonight. Don't let the possession stats fool you.
They've been extremely comfortable playing on the counter, and have looked far more threatening than us whenever they've broken forward with numbers.
They've been extremely comfortable playing on the counter, and have looked far more threatening than us whenever they've broken forward with numbers.
This Fellaini tactic is absolutely pathetic.
We are not shite by any means but we are fecking dull.
Bizarre substitutions, again.
Another one of those performances that is going turn a few more people against him. Wouldn't be surprised if there are some boos shortly.
Piss off Louis.
Needs to win against Wolfsburg or he should be sacked. Not even flamboyant attacking football to show for our lack of results. Not good enough.
2nd half yes.
This sort of game just sums up to a tee the problems we're having under him.
Boo this crap.
Shockingly even more boring than all the rest of the 0-0 draws. Get him out.
fecking hopeless. Doesn't have a clue.
Get rid off him now.
Bringing on Fellaini was one of the worst decisions by a manager this season. Something you'd expect from a Conference boss.