2014/15 Barclay's Premier League Thread

[Bagor]

With over half the season gone the jury is starting to return their verdict on van Gaal.

Me? I think that he is a remarkable De Gea away from sitting in midtable. Boring lifeless football and I am absolutely sick of 3-5 effin 2. Spoke to my buddy yesterday and he reminds me of Big Ron II and I am just about old enough to remember the hype around him. Both had big presences and not much deliverance. He's been found wanting.

And this is just a personal theory but for me the great managers (the Fergies, Mourinhos) are in the game. They're on the edge working the 4th official contesting every decision, REACTING to events on the field, going with their gut because they are INVOLVED not sitting in the dugout, playing with little buttons on a magnetic board.



[end rant]

Anyways Manchester Evening News delivers a less than flattering opinion piece on him.

Never before has Van Gaal had more players available for selection at United and yet he named a striker in midfield and a midfielder as a striker.
Wayne Rooney, dining off his two-goal display against Newcastle on Boxing Day, confirmed he is most definitely not Paul Scholes.
Almost every one of his ostentatious crossfield passes were either intercepted by an opponent or punted out of play. It was not a coincidence that on the one occasion he looked capable of threatening Jose Fonte and Florin Gardos he found himself up front.
Managers before Van Gaal have appreciated Rooney's supposed selflessness and interfered with his development to the detriment of the team. Ander Herrera, unfairly overlooked for the starting line-up again, should feel especially aggrieved.
Angel di Maria, too, was dire on a day he confirmed he is most definitely not Arjen Robben. Van Gaal recently opined United "still have to find out" Di Maria's best position and Southampton's victory confirmed it was not as a striker.
Wilfried Zaha was warned he only had a future at United if he could be converted into a striker. Van Gaal, though, lamented in August United "don't have wingers of the highest level... like Di Maria".
Robben excelled as a striker for the Netherlands at the World Cup. He destroyed world champions Spain, scored against Australia, earned the penalty that won the last 16 tie against Mexico and converted in the quarter-final shootout.
Di Maria may be left-footed and capable of playing on the wing, but he is dissimilar to Bayern Munich's No.11.
United's record signing was transformed into a flamboyant box-to-box midfielder by Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid. Di Maria is dogged, as well as dexterous, and Van Gaal ignored those qualities against Southampton.
His decision to start the Argentinean in the "Robben role" was all the more maddening for supporters when Van Gaal confirmed Radamel Falcao was "rested".
Falcao had seven days' rest after the Yeovil FA Cup tie and was United's most accomplished performer days earlier at Stoke City, only to be substituted.
The Colombian's absence was keenly felt against Southampton, as United failed to register a single shot on target for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Arsenal in May 2009. That day they were crowned champions; a feat they will not manage this May.
Despite United's issues in defence, they are struggling in attack and Van Gaal is creating new problems, rather than solving them, after five goals in The Reds' last five Premier League games.
United's football during the 11-match unbeaten run was invariably insipid. The much-heralded 3-0 conquest of horrendous Hull was notable for a distinct lack of creativity after Rooney provided the two-goal cushion in the 42nd minute, a game Van Gaal described as United's "best match of the season".
United were inferior after Gabriel Agbonlahor was sent off in the draw at Aston Villa, professional against Newcastle, the second-half at Tottenham was woeful and the New Year's Day fixture with Stoke was uglier than the Britannia's locals who appear on transfer deadline day.
Naming an unchanged side two days later suggests Van Gaal is coaching like a manager drunk from his World Cup success.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....is-van-8422979

[rubecube]

[devo22]

The thing that irks me most is that van Gaal is so stubborn. He should look at the player material that he has and adapt the system to get the most out of his players, not squeeze the players into his 3-5-2 at all cost. It's not working. United neither have strong centre backs nor great wing backs to make this system work. Also, I think he's trying to be too smart at times ... that lineup against Southampton was a disaster. Really, Blind as a CB? Di Maria up front in the Robben role? Rooney as CM? Sorry, but that was atrocious. That game was extremely important, it was simply not the time to experiment like that.

Also, van Gaals handling of Herrera and Falcao really pisses me off. Herrera is such a creative player, he's simply a joy to watch ... and we all know what Falcao can do, and yet, van Gaal still never drops Rooney or van Persie at all. It's frustrating. He has so much creativity at his disposal, he should use it once in a while.



against strong opposition, you could still go for something like this:



I like van Gaal, but he needs to get his act together quickly and stop trying to be so stubborn. Play your strongest team and play your strongest players in their best positions. It's not rocket science.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

The thing that irks me most is that van Gaal is so stubborn. He should look at the player material that he has and adapt the system to get the most out of his players, not squeeze the players into his 3-5-2 at all cost. It's not working. United neither have strong centre backs nor great wing backs to make this system work. Also, I think he's trying to be too smart at times ... that lineup against Southampton was a disaster. Really, Blind as a CB? Di Maria up front in the Robben role? Rooney as CM? Sorry, but that was atrocious. That game was extremely important, it was simply not the time to experiment like that.

Also, van Gaals handling of Herrera and Falcao really pisses me off. Herrera is such a creative player, he's simply a joy to watch ... and we all know what Falcao can do, and yet, Van Gaal still never drops Rooney or van Persie at all. It's frustrating. He has so much creativity at his disposal, he should use it once in a while.

I completely agree, but at the same time he was handed a blank cheque to rebuild the team, he should have been using that money to buy players that fit his ethos, if he didnt then hes insane.

If the Board tells you; no more money, achieve your objectives with what you've got.

Then yes, you're right.

If you're given an objective and limitless resources to accomplish it then his purchases should have moved the team closer to its goals.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Locke

I completely agree, but at the same time he was handed a blank cheque to rebuild the team, he should have been using that money to buy players that fit his ethos, if he didnt then hes insane.

If the Board tells you; no more money, achieve your objectives with what you've got.

Then yes, you're right.

If you're given an objective and limitless resources to accomplish it then his purchases should have moved the team closer to its goals.

the thing is, he wasn't handed a blank cheque. Herrera and Shaw were not his buys at all, they had already wrapped those deals up for some time and he just gave his final approval. Di Maria and Falcao are no brainers if you can get them, nobody would turn that down ... and the general belief is that those were more of statement signings than anything else. That only leaves Rojo and Blind, and those are just depth signings. They obviously wanted to bring in another CB or two, but the market was really thin. Benatia turned them down because he wanted CL football (understandable), Godin didn't want to leave Atletico (understandable), Arsenal didn't want to sell Vermaelen to them (thank god, bullet dodged) and unfortunately, Garay had already signed with Zenit after Moyes vetoed that deal for Garay a year before (sigh). Who else would have been available that was clearly better than what United already had at CB?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

the thing is, he wasn't handed a blank cheque. Herrera and Shaw were not his buys at all, they had already wrapped those deals up for some time and he just gave his final approval. Di Maria and Falcao are no brainers if you can get them, nobody would turn that down ... and the general belief is that those were more of statement signings than anything else. That only leaves Rojo and Blind, and those are just depth signings. They obviously wanted to bring in another CB or two, but the market was really thin. Benatia turned them down because he wanted CL football (understandable), Godin didn't want to leave Atletico (understandable), Arsenal didn't want to sell Vermaelen to them (thank god, bullet dodged) and unfortunately, Garay had already signed with Zenit after Moyes vetoed that deal for Garay a year before (sigh). Who else would have been available that was clearly better than what United already had at CB?

I dont know what the market was like for CBs or anything, I just know that from coaching soccer, when I coached lower-tier teams you had to do your best with what you had, but when I was tasked to coach elite teams I had the luxury of picking players that fit the system and style that I wanted.

That was the impression of LVG that I got, he could do as he pleased and that money was effectively no object.

I wasnt aware that he didnt have any input other than acceptance over Shaw and Herrera, although they and Blind and Rojo arent exactly a bunch of scrubs.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Locke

I dont know what the market was like for CBs or anything, I just know that from coaching soccer, when I coached lower-tier teams you had to do your best with what you had, but when I was tasked to coach elite teams I had the luxury of picking players that fit the system and style that I wanted.

That was the impression of LVG that I got, he could do as he pleased and that money was effectively no object.

I wasnt aware that he didnt have any input other than acceptance over Shaw and Herrera, although they and Blind and Rojo arent exactly a bunch of scrubs.

I get what you're saying. I guess my main point is - why play 3-5-2 if some of your best players have to play out of position in that system? It's madness. You have Angel freaking di Maria at your disposal, plus Rooney, Mata, Herrera, Falcao and van Persie. Let them do what they can do best ... and van Gaal is not doing that right now, and that's what's frustrating the hell out of the fans right now.

The thing is, he actually tried that first lineup that I posted three times this season. They absolutely destroyed QPR (4-0) with it, then lost to Leicester (3-5) thanks to defensive errors and Mark Clattenburg, then beat West Ham (2-1) despite Rooneys stupid red card. It was a fine system, but I guess it clashed with van Gaals possession fetish ... let's face it, Herrera, di Maria and Mata are all very creative players and of course they are not going to have the same passing rate than players who play it safe. But it's not an issue because they create havoc and will score you goals if you give them the freedom to be creative ... but van Gaal seems to have an issue with that, unfortunately.

The stats would also back me up in my case for dropping the 3-5-2:

with 4 at the back: 10 games, 6 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses, 20 goals for, 12 goals against
with 3 at the back: 11 games, 4 wins, 5 draws, 2 losses, 14 goals for, 9 goals against

[Bagor]

Gets worse. He's officially lost the plot.

Got Di Maria, Rooney, Mata but no ..... Jones is the designated corner taker??

Just waiting now for Januzaj to come on and replace Evans at CB.

[Bagor]

One goal in six hours with 3-5-2.
Takes Evans off, goes to a back four and scores within 5 minutes. Go figure.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Bagor

One goal in six hours with 3-5-2.
Takes Evans off, goes to a back four and scores within 5 minutes. Go figure.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody. Van Gaal is just too damn stubborn, it's frustrating.

[cam_wmh]

Wasn't overly impressed with Falcao today, but was with Wilson - especially his second effort on the clinching goal.

[d_phaneuf]

there's a linesman in the Spurs game that I would really be shocked if he does another PL game the next month

it didn't effect anything in the end, but he called Vertonghen offside for a pass inside the spurs half

[Locke]

Haha oh Fabio Borini.

He got a goal today, which is good. But watching him play....

We've all played with a guy like Borini in men's league or rec, a guy who doesnt score often but after he finally gets one hes so pumped that hes the guy who scored that hes so focused on scoring again and he just makes dumb, boneheadedly selfish plays and he winds up taking shots he shouldnt and just generally being an idiot.

[d_phaneuf]

no video but here's a picture

flag up offside

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Got Di Maria, Rooney, Mata but no ..... Jones is the designated corner taker??

you really couldn't make it up. What's next, Evans takes the freekicks and penalties (if they ever get one again)?

[devo22]

at least the United fans still have all their marbles together. "Over 99 per cent" want to keep De Gea instead of getting Bale.

The vast majority of Manchester United fans want David de Gea to sign a new contract rather than see him used in any swap deal for Gareth Bale, according to a new poll.

De Gea put in another top-class performance on Saturday in United's 2-0 win at QPR. The Spaniard, who has 18 months left on his contract, has been linked with Real Madrid and reports over the weekend suggested the goalkeeper could be used in an exchange that would see Bale move to Old Trafford.

The Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST) asked United fans what their preference would be in a poll on their Facebook page.

MUST asked: "If you had a straight choice to either keep David de Gea or sell him as part of a player exchange deal for Gareth Bale with Real Madrid, what would you choose to do?"

Twelve hours after posing the question, MUST said "over 99 per cent" of the 600-plus fans who responded said they would prefer to keep De Gea.

"With this in mind it signals the challenge (executive vice-chairman) Ed Woodward and (owners) the Glazers have to get Manchester United's most popular player signed up on a new contract, before Real Madrid attempt to prise him away," a MUST spokesman said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...reth-Bale.html

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

at least the United fans still have all their marbles together. "Over 99 per cent" want to keep De Gea instead of getting Bale.

Ergo Van Gaal is going to do it anyways.

I think de Gea is infinitely more valuable to United than Bale would be.

[rubecube]

I don't see why Bale would go to United anyways. He's had it pretty good at Madrid so far.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I don't see why Bale would go to United anyways. He's had it pretty good at Madrid so far.

why not? Van Gaal could need another centre back, so he'd be a great fit.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I don't see why Bale would go to United anyways. He's had it pretty good at Madrid so far.

And United shouldnt be worrying about scoring goals with the players they have, they need to keep them out of their net.

Not to mention, what can United offer Bale that he doesnt already have?

Hes playing in the CL, hes on a great team, and hes being paid a fortune.

I suppose United could pay him more, but how much more makes it worth it?