Posts Tagged ‘Louis van Gaal’

Jose Mourinho To Take Over At Manchester United?

Posted: February 6, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion
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Leicester City v Chelsea - Barclays Premier League - King Power Stadium

If it is true that Jose Mourinho’s advisors have been contacted about him taking the Manchester United job, then the appointment needs to be announced fairly quickly.

According to the Manchester Evening News, talks have been held but nothing has, as yet, been agreed. Here’s the article.

Louis van Gaal has a little bit of credit in the bank thanks to the last two wins which, in my opinion, actually say more about the players taking control than the manager.

They went out to try and prove that they are not as bad as the manager appears to want to make them look. Van Gaal’s one good decision, (if indeed it was HIS decision), was to play players in their favourite positions, particularly Juan Mata.

Anyway, back to Mourinho. Apparently his heart is set on the United job and resistance to his arrival at Old Trafford is softening. This could be due to his polite and respectful silence since he left Chelsea, which could also be seen as a display of how much he wants to be the new man at Old Trafford. It could also be, however, that his detractors have seen the lack of any success brought by their first and second choices! (more…)

Wenger, Van Gaal, Pellegrini & Hiddink A Couple Of Years From Now!

Posted: February 5, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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In two years time in the Algarve, at the Vale de Lobo retirement complex for ex-Premier League managers, Louis van Gaal will sit down by the pool along with Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger and they will talk about the old days.

Louis will begin with how it can all go wrong. Citing the approachment of old age during his tenure at Manchester United, he will point out that, nowadays, this football management malarkey is a game for the youngsters.

Stressing that he tried to reproduce the successes he had enjoyed at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he will point out that tactics, which were winning titles many years ago, are not even staving off relegation at some teams presently. Just look what happened to big clubs like Aston Villa, Sunderland and Newcastle United!

The problem was that, with the onset of old age, he had to rely on the players coming up with training routines and tactics and, when he did, the team became quite good. They had left it too late to finish in the top four so Jose Mourinho now occupies Louis’ old seat. If only he would have thought of it years ago, he could have saved himself a lot of headaches and Advocaat. (more…)

Better From Van Gaal’s Manchester United

Posted: February 2, 2016 in Football, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(Jesse Lingard takes the plaudits for his goal although he did very little else throughout the game and was extremely lucky to stay on the pitch for the entirety without being substituted)

If this is one of van Gaal’s “match-by-match” nights then he will still be in charge at the weekend.

Manchester United players played the first half as though they thought that Pep Guardiola was coming to Old Trafford rather than the Etihad. They certainly didn’t look like the players who weren’t interested in playing for their current manager just two or three games ago.

A headed tap-in by Lingard from a cross by Borthwick-Jackson opened the scoring and this was followed twenty minutes later with Martial ending an excellent move by placing a curling shot into the top left hand corner, leaving Butland spectating with the crowd.

So at half-time United, contrary to the majority of their other games at Old Trafford, had scored two goals, normally they can’t score ONE!

Hopefully Louis wasn’t going to spoil anything during his team talk such as telling Anthony Martial that he was rubbish or that De Gea only does what he is supposed to do. (more…)

Manchester United Going Backwards With Woodward & Van Gaal

Posted: February 2, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(I make no apologies for writing yet another article on the desperate duo responsible for the demise of my football club. My logic is that the more that can be written about how they are destroying the great name of Manchester United, then the more chance that something will be done about it. So here goes.)

Is this another no-lose game in Louis van Gaal’s match-by-match scenario? I’ve lost track! Stoke aren’t a team I would choose for a must-win game but, as Louis doesn’t appear to have to be a beggar, then he must be able to choose the games for which he comes under the mildest possible scrutiny.

What I do know is that while all this messing around has been going on with van Gaal, who should have been sacked weeks ago, Manchester City have agreed the departure of a better manager than he is and the arrival of a much better manager than he is.

This all leaves Ed Woodward as the chief Ostrich with his head so deep in the sand that only his feet can be seen sticking out. (more…)

Manchester United Must React to Pep Guardiola Becoming Manager At Manchester City

Posted: February 1, 2016 in Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Manchester United simply have to react to the news that Manchester City have signed Pep Guardiola as head coach for the next three years starting in the 2016/17 season.

To muddle through with van Gaal, another old man who is, currently, nowhere near as successful as his equally geriatric counterpart at the Etihad is suicidal nonsense.

City are grabbing the bull by the horns! Manuel Pellegrini could end this season with four trophies. Remembering what happened with Jupp Heynckes at Bayern Munich, he will surely win at least three! It is very unlikely, but it is possible.

Van Gaal will be very lucky if he wins one.

City are replacing an already successful manager with another, younger one. United aren’t even considering replacing their boring, unsuccessful manager yet.

United fans are already fed up with the boring football. They move like waves between cheering a United win, then booing the next insipid performance. After years of success it is hardly surprising that the Old Trafford faithful have turned on van Gaal. They turned on Moyes as well but both were given a fair crack of the whip even if they would both deny it if asked. (more…)

Why Wayne Rooney & John Terry Don’t Need To Defend Their Managers

Posted: January 31, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Many a time, when a manager is under pressure, one of the team’s star players will decide, unwisely, that he should speak up on behalf of the beleaguered boss.

Usually it is the captain who will step forward to the microphone and recent examples have included John Terry, during the last few games of Jose Mourinho’s reign at Chelsea and Wayne Rooney at Manchester United.

The reason it is not necessarily the brightest move to make is because it puts even more pressure on the manager.

The captains in question no doubt feel that they are doing the manager a service by voicing their opinion that the players “are the ones who go out onto the pitch”, and that “the manager can only pick the team, he can’t play the game”, but, in fact, the reverse is true.

Yes the manager picks the team so, it can be argued, he isn’t doing so very well if they keep losing! Also, the captain is indirectly admitting that the players aren’t performing for this manager. So surely it would be better to keep mum and get on with trying to help the manager with the performances ON the pitch rather than OFF it. (more…)

Does Jose Mourinho REALLY Want The Manchester United Job?

Posted: January 31, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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If Jose Mourinho is serious about the Manchester United job he is remaining very calm and quiet about the fact.

It could be said that, by staying completely out of the limelight, he is adopting exactly the right tactics to secure himself the position.

Whether he likes it or not there are obviously detractors at Old Trafford and these are the people he needs to bring onside.

Of the people who matter the chances are that he would have the support of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill. This would probably be enough to secure the backing of Ed Woodward who, as somebody who knows very little about football, has to rely on the knowledge of others when making managerial appointments. It is also important that he trusts the right people because, at the end of the day, he is the one shouldering the responsibility, hence his reluctance to dismiss Louis van Gaal.

The biggest name in the anti-Mourinho corner seems to be Sir Bobby Charlton, if we can believe what we read in the noble press. Now, however, his dissenting voice is less likely to be heard. (more…)

Van Gaal And United Get It Right On The Night

Posted: January 29, 2016 in Manchester United, Opinion, The FA Cup
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(United’s other scorer, Daley Blind, would have been in this photo but he was out of position!)

Yet another “last game in charge” passes by for Louis van Gaal and he still remains in the Old Trafford hotseat! Mind you, if he doesn’t get sacked after losing games at home he is hardly likely to be removed after a 3-1 win away in the FA Cup.

It is reaching the stage now where nobody knows what he has to do to lose this job. Maybe wear a David Moyes mask, as he managed to lose the job with a better record than the Dutchman! Tonight though, was not going to be the last time the Dutchman was sat in the Manchester United dugout.

Having surrendered places in the Champion’s League, the Capital One Cup and the top four of the Premier League, United, at this precise moment in time, only have the Europa League and FA Cup left to play for. So both take on added importance, particularly as the Europa League winners will be granted entry into the Champion’s League next season. Having said that, the United faithful will take a trophy of any description at present!

Before the game Louis van Gaal had said that he hoped that the players would take their form and confidence from the training ground into the match. The problem with training is that it tends to be concentrated on the next opponents so in this case that would have been Derby County. (more…)

Is Jose Mourinho Distancing Himself From The Manchester United Job?

Posted: January 27, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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If Manchester United are trying to distance themselves from Jose Mourinho and put him off the idea of becoming their manager, then they are probably being successful.

Mourinho, as manager of Chelsea, has been able to witness first hand the bungling Ed Woodward at work during the transfer windows. In his first one he managed to overpay for Marouane Fellaini, a player a lot of United fans still haven’t got used to seeing in a United shirt. He did this by missing a release clause expiry date in Fellaini’s contract with Everton, which meant paying ÂŁ4 million more for a player nobody wanted except David Moyes.

In his second window, having announced that United could afford to buy any player, he then proved what a superlative negotiator he was by spending ÂŁ15 million more than he needed to on Angel Di Maria, a fact proven when he was sold to PSG a year later for, guess what, ÂŁ15 million less than was paid for him.

At this stage in his career Mourinho, secure in his job at Chelsea, would have just laughed at the incompetence of it all. It probably confirmed to him that he had made the right decision in returning to Chelsea. He would have been aware that the transfer window jokes would not have surfaced had his friend, Sir Alex, remained in charge and that Fellaini would have remained at Everton and Di Maria would probably have gone elsewhere. Ferguson wouldn’t have fallen for buying him for a year while PSG served their transfer ban and then letting him go to them at the first opportunity. (more…)

The Manchester United Circus Needs A Ringmaster, Not This Clown!

Posted: January 26, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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It is not a case of the lunatics having taken over the asylum, not yet anyway. It is more that the clown is in charge of the circus and people are laughing, as they should be when watching a circus.

Manchester United PLC is, to the vast majority of supporters, a massive company such as BP, BT or Natwest Bank for example. Those supporters are not interested in the balance sheets, the profit and loss accounts or the day to day ups and downs of the stock market.

Not in the slightest. There will be some who have shares and therefore take an interest in their performance on the market, but not many.

Manchester United Football Club is different. To the supporters this is THEIR club.
They ARE interested in the day to day goings on at Carrington and Old Trafford, in the same way as, when I was a young supporter, I wanted all the news I could get from the ground and the Cliff.

The point I am making is that, to Manchester United fans the world over, Manchester United is about football and nothing else. (more…)

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