It's not a scandal but he's old enough and wise enough to know he shouldn't show any sign of weakness that could compromise his authority with the squad.
BBC: United hold talks with Mourinho
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It's not a scandal but he's old enough and wise enough to know he shouldn't show any sign of weakness that could compromise his authority with the squad.
Point!Well, he could have said “no comment”. He's making a song and dance about them making a song and dance about it – which is quite unnecessary.
As for authority and signs of weakness – and so forth – it's hard to forget that he all but admitted he was out of ideas and didn't know what to do or where to turn a couple of months ago. He didn't worry about undermining his own authority then – remarkably unconcerned about it, one could even say.
I find it hard to see any clear pattern with LVG myself. He's a bit of a nutter if you ask me. Which isn't the worst a person can be – so there's that. But I don't buy him as a great general anymore than I buy him as a humble victim of circumstances.
Didn't Barcelona go behind Bobby Robson's back to get van Gaal? And Bobby Robson won two cups and wasn't trailing in sixth behind the Spanish version of West Ham.
Yet you are making comments in exactly the same fashion as him, you seem upset.
The media do have an unhealthy appetite for throwing mud his way, just as they do with other managers under the cosh. I am not sure that many have had to put up with this level attention before. They also are not speculating, they are writing as though it is fact, which is quite different.
This thread is the same as Thiago from 2013
More than likely a similar outcome
More than likely a similar outcome
Thiago had a better offer. Does Mourinho?
Might be more like Schweinsteiger, where an older player who's been around the game awhile doesn't mind our recent poor play since he respects the club, and also isn't exactly being overwhelmed with great offers.
How?
I was talking to my mate in the media yesterday, haven't seen him for ages, but he said very matter of factly that Jose is coming, in the summer.
He finds the whole football business pretty disgusting, but he's made a very nice living out of it, thank you very much.
He finds the whole football business pretty disgusting, but he's made a very nice living out of it, thank you very much.
Nah, it's just business.
First time someone used another club to get to us?
Pre Contract 
Thank god If true.
Great if true. If we were to announce him now it would be better.
That's been what's been said for a few weeks now, that he's joining in Summer and Di Marzio has really put his reputation on the line for this one
Madrid would not have fired an icon in zidane so early. Zidane like giggs thinks he is ready for the job and wont do a job for mourinho.
I have an idea for perez, wenger to madrid, pelligrini to arsenal and everyone in football world is happy :P (except zidane and giggs, both of whom can go to a bar and bitch )
Zidane already has the job, I know the club-culture at Madrid is to be cnuts to your heroes but you can't do that to Zidane.
feck him
My hunch is that with Mourinho coming on in the summer we'll allow Van Gaal to carry on at the same salary for next season in some kind of academy director role and then when his existing contract runs out he'll become a part-time advisor on such matters and a club ambassador.
We tried van Gaal as a technical director at Ajax with Koeman as trainer. He has a hard time not sticking his oar in with the first team.
But he'd have retired by then. I'm not saying make him technical director - just give him some kind of role with the academy. Like him or loathe him he's been doing work behind the scenes with the academy, he has a track record with young players. I don't see the point of not keeping someone with that experience behind the scenes in that role.
Potentially we could next season have Mourinho as manager and Ferguson and Van Gaal hanging around the club. I don't see why the latter two don't have contributions to make as far as non-first team footballing matters are concerned, even if it's strictly an advisory position. To not capitalise on that would be a shame
Well, that's hard to argue with. You're right of course. He's very good at organising a club, making the process everywhere transparant and clear. He likes modern tools and trusts experts in their field over his own opinion. He sees himself as an expert on football, and will give his opinion and argue his corner though.
Go home beaver, you're...oh.
Surely the events of the past week will have forced something of a rethink, right?
It doesn't seem that the board really wanted Mourinho anyway. If LVG gives them a glimmer of hope that he can turn it around, they will jog Mourinho on, won't they?
It doesn't seem that the board really wanted Mourinho anyway. If LVG gives them a glimmer of hope that he can turn it around, they will jog Mourinho on, won't they?
Not sure that'd be a bad thing as far as the academy is concerned; having someone with Van Gaal's experience see it as his 'project' working in an oversight/advisory role to Nicky Butt.
Although LVG and Mourinho are friends, right? Maybe the chemistry would be better than it was with LVG and Koeman.
heh, I don't know what the problem would be. He's worked developing youth at Ajax he's clearly been involved in/consulted on the restructuring of our academy set up in the past year. I don't get why we must immediately ensure that such knowledge is nowhere near the club after this season and instead make sure there's some trainee accountant making these calls.
WOuldn't have him involved in the first team, that'd be inappropriate, but as an academy consultant giving Butt the benefit of his knowledge for a few years? Absolutely
Imagine if we go on a mental run, and get top 4/win the Europa and do well in the FA cup.
That might change the overall view, but thinking it now is very kneejerky.
If van Gaal did what he did to Koeman, maybe not. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was our striker at the time, and it is not easy to play as a striker for Ajax. You have to play with your back to goal, hold the ball, distribute to your teammates and still show up at the first post for any cross. You are required to be much more than a finisher, and Zlatan was losing the ball a lot and struggling (he credits his Ajax time now as being very important in his development).
So van Gaal calls Zlatan into his office, and Koeman goes with him (since van Gaal professionally has no business dictating meetings with an individual member of the first team, much less without consulting Koeman). Van Gaal says: "Zlatan, you understand what it is that a #9 is supposed to do?"
He gets some objects and proceeds to explain it to Zlatan. "When the defender goes here, you go here, and if your teammate is here..."
This all seems harmless, but there is a former record-international who is head coach standing right there who you pass over, like you don't trust him to explain to Zlatan what a striker does. Furthermore there is a talented striker struggling for confidence, getting booed by the home crowd and delivering elbows on the pitch left and right, and you think he's doing so awful that you need to explain the basics to him.
Koeman is a proud man, and he and van Gaal had terrible fights after that and within weeks van Gaal was let go as technical director. Van Gaal found that puzzling, since "the technical director is there for the long term and a head coach is more temporary" and somewhere there, technically, he has a point too! But he'd been there not two months I think and Koeman two years, so he was let go.
I love that story, because it is so true to Koeman and van Gaal. Van Gaal would not mind at all if Ferguson came and explained something to one of his players now. He'd probably thank Ferguson for his time and tell the player "you shall listen very well", haha. But Koeman would never do that as he'd find it rude and insulting from a fellow professional.
So van Gaal calls Zlatan into his office, and Koeman goes with him (since van Gaal professionally has no business dictating meetings with an individual member of the first team, much less without consulting Koeman). Van Gaal says: "Zlatan, you understand what it is that a #9 is supposed to do?"
He gets some objects and proceeds to explain it to Zlatan. "When the defender goes here, you go here, and if your teammate is here..."
This all seems harmless, but there is a former record-international who is head coach standing right there who you pass over, like you don't trust him to explain to Zlatan what a striker does. Furthermore there is a talented striker struggling for confidence, getting booed by the home crowd and delivering elbows on the pitch left and right, and you think he's doing so awful that you need to explain the basics to him.
Koeman is a proud man, and he and van Gaal had terrible fights after that and within weeks van Gaal was let go as technical director. Van Gaal found that puzzling, since "the technical director is there for the long term and a head coach is more temporary" and somewhere there, technically, he has a point too! But he'd been there not two months I think and Koeman two years, so he was let go.
I love that story, because it is so true to Koeman and van Gaal. Van Gaal would not mind at all if Ferguson came and explained something to one of his players now. He'd probably thank Ferguson for his time and tell the player "you shall listen very well", haha. But Koeman would never do that as he'd find it rude and insulting from a fellow professional.
Yeah i'd like him as a DOF. Not sure about ambassador mind. I still think he'd rather sail off with his wife and enjoy the sunshine, but i take your point.
Good read.. thanks for that.
If we had actually signed a pre-contract with Mourinho we'd be legally obliged to tell the shareholders. Calling bullshit.
You're welcome.
And is that true, Pexbo? That would really lift my spirits. To know we still have our options open.
And is that true, Pexbo? That would really lift my spirits. To know we still have our options open.
It would be a terrible idea that would blow up in our faces. Far too many egos involved. Friendship or not, the one characteristic of these three men is a love of control.
Let Fergie and Van Gaal have their day in retirement. We had something similar with Sir Matt with him staying in the club (and for a while retaining the manager's office). It didnt turn out well.
Options to get who exactly?
We had talks with Van Gaal months before hand, and clearly had an agreement with him (Hence the end of his talks with Spurs). We didnt announce anything there. I'm sure that announcement rule isnt necessarily black and white, and our legal team will have known about any such loopholes.
Just keep Louis as the media-talker. Press conferences and post game stuff. Keep Mourinho for unleashing a shitstorm. Let Louis slap journalists in the face and call them fat. He can do it from his retirement villa in the Algarve too. Match of the Day chatter via Skype. The future is now.
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