If he carries on with this 4-1-4-1 crap, my confidence in the man will fade, and quickly. Absolute shit today. Moyes-ball.
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Quite.
Its like he's discovered Fellaini and made it his mission to make him a good player. Utter joke in all honesty.
Caf is turning I see.
Interesting.
Interesting.
The above. I'm totally baffled by Van Gaal at the minute. I thought he'd stumbled on a formula after the Everton game but he ditched it for West Brom and we've not been the same since. I don't think we look more defensively solid playing 4-2-3-1, we've just been flattered by two average sides in West Brom and Palace and City not getting a handful of penalties. The Chelsea match was the last time we actually looked a decent outfit.
I just believe in him but he's just confusing me right now. Today's game reminds me of last season, which shouldn't be happening considering all the players we have.
Sadly I agree with much of this.
LvG has completely failed so far.
People talking about improvement are saying what they wish they were seeing.
We made a spate of pointless signings, spunking a shed load of cash in the process, without actually sorting any of the crippling issues in our squad.
Our new gaffer is a bit of a myth at the moment.
People talking about improvement are saying what they wish they were seeing.
We made a spate of pointless signings, spunking a shed load of cash in the process, without actually sorting any of the crippling issues in our squad.
Our new gaffer is a bit of a myth at the moment.
That is the downside to playing fellaini, he does give us a physical presence but it inhibits di Maria and it means our passing in midfield is extremely limited, but to be honest however we play we always look like we have no balance and it probably will take until next season to sort it out.
I can't. It's frustrating as hell though.
He's failed after a couple of months? jesus.
He's already mentioned that he had to stop using the diamond because it exposed our defense too much and what good would it do to expose a makeshift defense that has 2 teenagers, a midfielder and a winger?
You lot will be complaining if he switches to the diamond and we concede 4 goals to lose the game.
You lot will be complaining if he switches to the diamond and we concede 4 goals to lose the game.
Well that's a fair load of nonsense.
We are not making things up to make LVG look better. I haven't seen the game today and by all means, I've heard we were shite but we have improved from last season.
We actually didn't, the ONLY questionable signing was Falcao
I have lost some confidence when it comes to him being the right man to lift the team. Too many weird decisions at the same time to feel confident about him.
So Van Gaal out?
That's absolute bullshit.
We needed a left back, midfielders, wing player and a center back. Apart from the center back, we've strengthened every other position.
we made decent signings. We just need to make even more. Too many panicky injury prone defenders.
Simply has to drop 4141 like we dropped that shit 352. Then it was our defenders that didn't keep up with it, now it's our wingers who are a whole lot of shit. It makes me wonder why we've stopped playing 442 diamond in the first place.
And it's unbelievable, unexplainable and so on that di Maria's still taking corners, even when it's a short version with Blind. Rooney took like two corners and he's already created a good chance for Fellaini which was saved by CP's defender, can't remember ADM creating a chance from a corner.
And it's unbelievable, unexplainable and so on that di Maria's still taking corners, even when it's a short version with Blind. Rooney took like two corners and he's already created a good chance for Fellaini which was saved by CP's defender, can't remember ADM creating a chance from a corner.
This.
People forget the champions in waiting played at home to QPR last week and only just won, they had less shots on goal and possession than we did too.
When teams park the bus it is not so easy to break them down and requires patience but with persistence it comes and for us it did, then we closed the game out comfortably.
If we are able to open up at will a palace side parking the bus then we would be competing with Mourinho for the championship.
You're a hard lot to please. Is there a manager you wouldn't complain about? Christ, we are getting better.
Get a grip.
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Funny how it says 2-2 yet Fulham didn't equalise in that game until injury time...
No. It has gone from being funny to just flat out mystifying.
I know that true comparisons will be made at the end of the season and anything done right now is just premature. Having said that, can someone please make an objective and possible accurate description of how things have supposedly improved so far ? I think I need to be enlightened as I cannot believe what I see at times.
I enjoy watching the games now. We have more exciting play. We play in a specific way and you can actually tell players are being coached. Hows that?
Yep. That gif always bugged me. We'd just gone 2-1 up
Exciting play? How do you experience this shite as exciting?
Is the 4-1-4-1 thing something to put Fellaini in there to add some physical presence? I've read a quote about physicality being important in the English game so maybe that's it. Besides, he gives us a threat at set pieces and some defensive cover so I can see the logic in having him there. van Gaal has dropped the diamond because he wanted some defensive protection, but the 4-1-4-1 is neither giving us the defensive protection nor the attacking verve. However, I like the fact that the manager has stuck to what he thinks is right and not changed it every 2 games. If it were so easy, half of us would be football managers.
For me, he has to go back to the diamond. We've got Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool next. We need points from each of these games since these clubs are the ones we'll be in direct competition with. van Gaal has issues to sort out; the defence, Di Maria wasted on the left, Januzaj making pointless decisions. I'm worried, but the one thing we have working for us is that the manager has a clue, unlike the last one.
By the way, the constant moaning on Fellaini is OTT. We've criticized him when he was shit, but he's been decent of late so let's give him some credit. Sometimes, it feels as if some people care more about being right with regards to a player they've criticized or the manager for that matter.
For me, he has to go back to the diamond. We've got Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool next. We need points from each of these games since these clubs are the ones we'll be in direct competition with. van Gaal has issues to sort out; the defence, Di Maria wasted on the left, Januzaj making pointless decisions. I'm worried, but the one thing we have working for us is that the manager has a clue, unlike the last one.
By the way, the constant moaning on Fellaini is OTT. We've criticized him when he was shit, but he's been decent of late so let's give him some credit. Sometimes, it feels as if some people care more about being right with regards to a player they've criticized or the manager for that matter.
I honestly expected a little more from LVG. And the following things are not to my liking:
1. RVP 1st on the team sheet - what's up with that, seriously? He is woefully out of form and he just can't score. He subs everyone else, but not VP. Ok, let's just say that LVG wants to get VP back in form because he is devastating when he is on top of his game, but since the start of the season we haven't seen anything to suggest that he will ever come back to that 2013 season. At the moment VP playing is detrimental to the team and he always plays. I just don't get it. Seems to me that Wilson playing ahead of VP will be better.
2. Fellaini as a TM - ok, this is annoying me to no end. This is the same style that Moyes loved using - using a TM and putting endless crosses. At the moment LVG uses the same thing Moyes used - pointless possession and lots of crosses.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for "LVG Out" or whatever and I'll certainly wait 'till the absolute end of the season because we all know LVG's reputation, but these two things are just plain annoying and are hurting the team.
1. RVP 1st on the team sheet - what's up with that, seriously? He is woefully out of form and he just can't score. He subs everyone else, but not VP. Ok, let's just say that LVG wants to get VP back in form because he is devastating when he is on top of his game, but since the start of the season we haven't seen anything to suggest that he will ever come back to that 2013 season. At the moment VP playing is detrimental to the team and he always plays. I just don't get it. Seems to me that Wilson playing ahead of VP will be better.
2. Fellaini as a TM - ok, this is annoying me to no end. This is the same style that Moyes loved using - using a TM and putting endless crosses. At the moment LVG uses the same thing Moyes used - pointless possession and lots of crosses.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for "LVG Out" or whatever and I'll certainly wait 'till the absolute end of the season because we all know LVG's reputation, but these two things are just plain annoying and are hurting the team.
I can see that we play in a specific way but I don't see anything exciting in our team except from some individual exploits from ADM( when he was on form) and Shaw maybe. The rest IMHO, is still closer to the lethargic, static and boring football we used to play last season.
His problem is that he's a perfectionist and he can't stop tinkering with the formation to try and better it.
He's actually already fixed our formation with the implementation of the diamond, and he should stick to it. Actually I'm gonna say he MUST stick to it.
Even with our injuries, I see no reason at all why we couldn't play this today...
-----------------------DDG--------------------
Val---------McNair--------Blind---------Shaw
----------------------Carrick-------------------
------Fellaini----------------------ADM--------
-----------------------Mata---------------------
------------Rooney-----------RvP--------------
He's actually already fixed our formation with the implementation of the diamond, and he should stick to it. Actually I'm gonna say he MUST stick to it.
Even with our injuries, I see no reason at all why we couldn't play this today...
-----------------------DDG--------------------
Val---------McNair--------Blind---------Shaw
----------------------Carrick-------------------
------Fellaini----------------------ADM--------
-----------------------Mata---------------------
------------Rooney-----------RvP--------------
I trust him, he's a top manager. But like everyone else, isnt immune to criticism. Some of his calls are mind boggling.
LvG is lucky that Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool are all shit this season. The league has got better but all those aforementioned teams have regressed from last season perhaps apart from Arsenal who are the same.
Not saying they have greatly improved, marginally yes - but to be honest, if LVG, a proven winner unlike Moyes, isn't given some leeway, then we might as well sack every manager that doesn't make us a title contending team within three months. We really really need to give this guy some time before we start to have an intelligent reaction to any progress. It didn't really help that he was at the world cup, we lost valuable time for him to assess everything. To be honest, I think he did that during the pre-season and for any intents and purposes that was too late. I would wager we could have brought any of the top managers in and the results would be the same. I'm not saying that LVG won't fail, but I am willing to give him the time to endeavour to create a team that mimics what he has done in the past.
While the points total is poor, van Gaal has failed after two months?
Agreed, the game today was poor, but are you seriously going to ignore the fact that till the Chelsea game, we looked much comfortable on the ball? The fact that we didn't capitulate in the Chelsea and City games after last year is in itself an improvement.
If you expected the issues with the squad to be settled in one transfer window, in a World Cup year, when the manager came in July, you're being unfair. We needed 2 central defenders, one left back, a midfielder, a ball winner comfortable with the ball and at least one winger. The defence and the other midfielder is what we're short of. Even if van Gaal had signed all these players within a month, if you think footballers should magically gel into one unit immediately, well, there's nothing to say, is there?
How can people say we haven't improved at all?
For one thing, we don't retain possession for the sake of possession, unlike under Moyes. We do shift the ball around, it has purpose and the ball circulation isn't remotely as slow as it was last season. The only thing that is making all of our possession come to no avail is the lack of fluid off-ball movement. It seems as though the players have grasped the fundamentals of ball circulation within the system, but there's still learning in process. For one thing, Valencia isn't aimlessly knocking the ball up the wing to no one; Rooney isn't spraying endless long passes to the wing and every play isn't a winger vs full-back isolation move.
Secondly, we're not responding to pressing as badly was we did last season. We now have some form of confidence under pressure in bringing to ball out. If you can't at least see this progression then I'd question whether you watched or analysed football in the first place. It's clear that our midfielders understand better their role in making space for defenders to bring it out and defenders understanding their responsibility to bring it out in order to create some space for midfielders.
For one thing, we don't retain possession for the sake of possession, unlike under Moyes. We do shift the ball around, it has purpose and the ball circulation isn't remotely as slow as it was last season. The only thing that is making all of our possession come to no avail is the lack of fluid off-ball movement. It seems as though the players have grasped the fundamentals of ball circulation within the system, but there's still learning in process. For one thing, Valencia isn't aimlessly knocking the ball up the wing to no one; Rooney isn't spraying endless long passes to the wing and every play isn't a winger vs full-back isolation move.
Secondly, we're not responding to pressing as badly was we did last season. We now have some form of confidence under pressure in bringing to ball out. If you can't at least see this progression then I'd question whether you watched or analysed football in the first place. It's clear that our midfielders understand better their role in making space for defenders to bring it out and defenders understanding their responsibility to bring it out in order to create some space for midfielders.
I see what you're saying and just wanna precise in no way did I try to spark some "LVG out" campaign. Just genuinely trying to understand what's changed.
We won the game and kept another clean sheet, get a grip...
He does however need to stop with RVP being a automatic starter. His legs have gone, even if he manages to find that goal scoring touch he slows us down so much, the team would be suffering to accommodate him.
Di Maria needs to stop taking corners & set pieces. He seems to want to be the main man, have that Ronaldo influence on the game, almost seems to be trying to hard.
He does however need to stop with RVP being a automatic starter. His legs have gone, even if he manages to find that goal scoring touch he slows us down so much, the team would be suffering to accommodate him.
Di Maria needs to stop taking corners & set pieces. He seems to want to be the main man, have that Ronaldo influence on the game, almost seems to be trying to hard.
Cant say I'm impressed with him so far. We've heard all the rhetoric about his philosophy and how he has a specific vision for how his team should play. Yet in practice it looks very like someone randomly throwing shit at a wall and hoping something sticks. He's tried every formation under the sun and yet to find anything that looks like working. Eleven games in and 150 million spent and we don't really look any better.
I get that we have to be patient but I'm concerned. Bad results, bad football and maybe most worryingly a club wide acceptance of lower expectations.. If SAF was there the focus would be clear. How to make up the 13 point gap on Chelsea. Now we're back to talking about top 4 and 3 year plans.
This "top 4" mentality should never have been allowed come into the club. When we had that transitional period a few years back under SAF you could see the hurt and shame in the players, management and supporters. I don't see that at the moment. All I see is players and management who have accepted that they are no longer the best team around. Under SAF even when we weren't the best we never accepted it. The attitude was always to prove everyone wrong.
No matter how weak a team we put out they believed they would win. There was an arrogance and a hunger to prove that the arrogance was justified. "We're Man United, we do what we want" That attitude left the club with Sir Alex Ferguson. All I see at the moment is a manager trying to lower expectations in an effort to protect his own reputation.
I get that we have to be patient but I'm concerned. Bad results, bad football and maybe most worryingly a club wide acceptance of lower expectations.. If SAF was there the focus would be clear. How to make up the 13 point gap on Chelsea. Now we're back to talking about top 4 and 3 year plans.
This "top 4" mentality should never have been allowed come into the club. When we had that transitional period a few years back under SAF you could see the hurt and shame in the players, management and supporters. I don't see that at the moment. All I see is players and management who have accepted that they are no longer the best team around. Under SAF even when we weren't the best we never accepted it. The attitude was always to prove everyone wrong.
No matter how weak a team we put out they believed they would win. There was an arrogance and a hunger to prove that the arrogance was justified. "We're Man United, we do what we want" That attitude left the club with Sir Alex Ferguson. All I see at the moment is a manager trying to lower expectations in an effort to protect his own reputation.
When we played Di Maria, Herrera and Blind in midfield we were very dangerous on the attack but were getting carved open defensively.
I think 4-1-4-1 is his attempt to firm up the defense first, even if the attack suffers. Its working as we're conceding less and looking less frantic, even with our injury problems. Once he is happy there I expect to see the tinkering start with our attackers.
Im abit worried by some of his player selections mind you.
I think 4-1-4-1 is his attempt to firm up the defense first, even if the attack suffers. Its working as we're conceding less and looking less frantic, even with our injury problems. Once he is happy there I expect to see the tinkering start with our attackers.
Im abit worried by some of his player selections mind you.
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