[devo22]

well, we couldn't care less about your ass, Mr. van Gaal. Signed, every United fan. He's probably just butthurt because of all the 4-4-2 chants.

“I know that with 4-4-2, the stats are showing positive results,” Van Gaal said. “We have won more games playing 4-4-2 with a diamond, but when you analyse the game, we have twitched our ass on the bench. I said to my players I was squeezing my ass, but it was the wrong expression – I have twitched my ass on the bench because we were out of balance. When you go back to the press conferences at the time, I have said that we are not in balance [with 4-4-2]. We lost the game against Leicester City 5-3 and that was undeserved, and all the matches when we played 4-4-2, like against West Ham United, it was always twitching your ass and I don’t like it. But maybe then you see, after I switch the system, we have won nine or 10 in a row. Then we lose one match [against Southampton] and the discussion about the system is coming, so it is ridiculous.”

[...]

“He [Di María] played in the 4-4-2 in the left midfield position,” Van Gaal said. “In the 3-5-2, he does not play so much because he has been injured. But he came back and I tried him as a striker because we need also pace in our striker’s position. We have to stretch the pitch – that is also an important aspect of a striker that he can stretch the pitch – and then you make the pitch bigger and your midfielders can play in a bigger space and play a better positional game. I tried that because I didn’t have the preparation time at the beginning of the season.

“Nevertheless, in the last 15 games, we only lost one and that was undeserved. We were the better team. But the players are still not comfortable [with 3-5-2) and it is very important that they are comfortable. I would like them to feel more comfortable, but we have to do our preparation in the season, so we are doing a lot of things during the matches.”

Despite the scrutiny and criticism he has been forced to bear from the club’s supporters and former players including Gary Neville, who claimed 3-5-2 was too slow and risk averse, Van Gaal insists he will not change his approach.

“I have to take into account 600 million opinions?” Van Gaal said. “I have to communicate with my players, observe and analyse my players and my opponent and then I have to make a decision with my staff. But I cannot hear or listen to what the media are writing or what other people are saying or writing because they are never at the training ground and not attending the meetings.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...f-balance.html