Well, adopted something similar to what Mourinho did when Real got the better of Barca during those years.
When?
1. Where were all you anti-Mourinho cnuts this time last season? It felt like the Caf to a man bemoaned the fact that Evil Charlton denied us Mourinho last season. If there was a poll last season after Moyes got the sack, asking users to choose between Mourinho and LVG, Mourinho would win by a landslide
2. I was against Mourinho back then because of his abrasive personality, and tendency to disappear after 3-4 years on the job. Would have preferred someone who was willing to work on the club for a longer period of time ala Ferguson. I've resigned that thought as naive, and even though I still think he can be a cnut at times, I wouldn't mind bringing him on if he was available and LVG wasn't our manager. I like LVG though.
3. I don't mind his style of football. He is extremely pragmatic, and it has bit him in the ass multiple times in the Champions League (against PSG, Atletico with Chelsea for starters), and cost him the league last year. That said, some of his teams have played excellent football (Madrid in 2011-12, Chelsea in 04-05, first half this season). Nothing wrong with being smart, no one remembers the boring tie vs Barcelona in 2008, all that remains is the CL trophy. And he is great at winning. All the comments of "he should be ashamed" reek of Wenger.
2. I was against Mourinho back then because of his abrasive personality, and tendency to disappear after 3-4 years on the job. Would have preferred someone who was willing to work on the club for a longer period of time ala Ferguson. I've resigned that thought as naive, and even though I still think he can be a cnut at times, I wouldn't mind bringing him on if he was available and LVG wasn't our manager. I like LVG though.
3. I don't mind his style of football. He is extremely pragmatic, and it has bit him in the ass multiple times in the Champions League (against PSG, Atletico with Chelsea for starters), and cost him the league last year. That said, some of his teams have played excellent football (Madrid in 2011-12, Chelsea in 04-05, first half this season). Nothing wrong with being smart, no one remembers the boring tie vs Barcelona in 2008, all that remains is the CL trophy. And he is great at winning. All the comments of "he should be ashamed" reek of Wenger.
Most teams are forced to play on the counter against Barca. Even Arsenal who love possession. Not like we did that in every big game. And yes we will win the title if not next season then in two years time im fairly confident of that. We won it when Mourinho was still at Chelsea and we did playing much better football so yes it can be done.
He specifically said in an interview in the lead up to the final, that he would never set a team up like that in a final. Something along the lines of it would go against the clubs attacking philosophy.
So it wasn't a tactical mistake but a conscious decision.
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Personally I think that's a mistake.
People are as dead set against Simeone as they are Mourinho I assume?
I image most are. Simeone is still slightly unknown, no one really has any idea what he could do with a unlimited budget(Although I image it's not to different to what we see now)but we do know what Mourinho does.
Biggest difference is Mourinho's squads have been worth 10 times Simeone's, if not more. Simeone can do what Mourinho does but with a far smaller budget. Having said that, there's no guarantee that Simeone can do just as well with a big transfer budget. I think he can easily be successful with an unlimited financial backing but can he do it playing good football like Pep or LVG? We'll never know unless he leaves Atletico.
Why should he feel ashamed of going ultra-defensive against us? It's his fecking right to do so. That said I don't understand why champions elect side with seemingly better players all over the pitch should line up like that. Even his biggest fanbois stress that United only started playing well in the last month so the comparisons with Fergie against Barca in 08 are ridiculous. First of all, we don't play Barca style, secondly we're in a transition period with 4 key players injured. So if you compare Mourinho's decision with that of Fergie in 08 at least don't dig a hole in your argument by saying we are flavour of the month. That's not even taking into account the fact that Fergie did that away from home and the stake was CL final while Chelsea were home and dry already imo. The comparison that would bear any resemblance would be us going ultra-defensive against Chelsea at OT in 08/09 for example. Or 07/08. Has that happened? No, we crushed them playing scintillating football.
As for Sir Bobby - I think he meant Mourinho's character and eccentricity more so than football style and tbf I agree on that. We see Mourinho in a slightly more positive way because of his relationship with Fergie. Because of his admiration and friendship he hasn't said many bad words or done ridiculous things to our club like he does to others. Van Gaal is moody as well but I can't see him putting a finger in sb's face without a reason. Mourinho lacks class for me.
Obviously he was much better candidate than Moyes, even if you take his eccentricity and ultra-defensive football into account but now that we have Van Gaal and play some cracking stuff - I don't want him. We'll win trophies playing better football, introducing youngsters and avoid controversies.
Cal? - you must really love the guy. Ever since I was promoted you always give that impression that you love Ronaldo and Mourinho more than United which is amusing. I seriously believe you'd have replaced Fergie (before his retirement) with Mourinho if given half a chance.
As for Sir Bobby - I think he meant Mourinho's character and eccentricity more so than football style and tbf I agree on that. We see Mourinho in a slightly more positive way because of his relationship with Fergie. Because of his admiration and friendship he hasn't said many bad words or done ridiculous things to our club like he does to others. Van Gaal is moody as well but I can't see him putting a finger in sb's face without a reason. Mourinho lacks class for me.
Obviously he was much better candidate than Moyes, even if you take his eccentricity and ultra-defensive football into account but now that we have Van Gaal and play some cracking stuff - I don't want him. We'll win trophies playing better football, introducing youngsters and avoid controversies.
Cal? - you must really love the guy. Ever since I was promoted you always give that impression that you love Ronaldo and Mourinho more than United which is amusing. I seriously believe you'd have replaced Fergie (before his retirement) with Mourinho if given half a chance.
As others pointed out, he built up his record against Fergie when we had the likes of Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson in CM and were nowhere near an impressive machine he had at his disposal at SB.
As soon as Fergie had a finished article of a team playing at a level required, he met Mourinho's Inter in CL and absolutely shat on him tactically both home and away with the agg score 2-0 flattering Mourinho no end. He also got the better of Mourinho's Real in his final season tactically and would have gone past them playing Tom Cleverley in CM (with all due respect) if it wasn't for that cnut of a ref.
Mourinho's just that type of a manager that always seems to strike luck everytime he has his back against the wall. Except for against Guardiola that is. Howard tourette's attack at OT when Costinha scored the winning goal, Scholes's goal being called offside while he was onside by a countrymile. Getting 0-0 with his Inter side vs us whereas they could have lost 0-3. Then that ref 2 years ago just to name a few. Make no mistake, Fergie was lucky many a time in his career so I guess it's just the thing about top managers but it does inflate his record vs Fergie whereas I only think he got the better of SAF from 2004 - 2006.
2 months you have been playing well, why dont you wait and see if this translates into season long affairs before the bold statements. 6 months before that you were playing worse than we have been lately.
It is kind of bold statement if you take into account that Van Gaal will only be here for what - 3 years? What I do believe is that we have as much chance of winning trophies with Van Gaal here as we would have with Mourinho with this current team and if it comes with better football, I'm all for it.
You can't say enough about Van Gaal's exploits this summer with a sorry Dutch team. Mourinho did extremely well with his Porto side but first of all - he needed a travesty of decision at OT (not the last time) and countrary to the general opinion, had a fantastic team at his disposal as proven when most of his first team players went onto having great careers at top clubs. The fact that that year's UCL was the poorest since I can remember with most top clubs off colour has helped a lot. Since then he was opportunistic for me and extremely lucky. Went to Chelsea and won trophies having a beast of a squad while others, including us, were nowhere near it. Got fecked over as soon as we arised. Had top top players in his time at Real and still didn't win UCL. Didn't even get to the final. He murdered La Liga in his penultimate season there which for me is his biggest achievement to date. Did so playing tremendous football as well ! the irony.
He comes back to England and guess what. We get Moyesed and are a shambles of a team, Arsenal are Arsenal as mentally tough as a weeping willow which left him competing with City. In his second season he will have won the league but again, was it that tough given our poor settling period? If Van Gaal can get that 2nd spot this year then I must say it's a solid argument that we are likely to win trophies with him just as much as we would with Mourinho.
Well fair enough if that's how you feel. But personally i respect that he had the balls to opt to just play his own in a game in the biggest game possible against probably the best team in history.
Even if he had did a Mourinho and parked the bus and stunk up the final we probably would have been beaten anyway that Barca side were just too good for a team playing a 37 year old Giggs in midfield.
Don't get me wrong, Mourinho is indeed a proven winner and if it was between him and Wenger I would choose him without hesitation. With Van Gaal, though, I'm positive we're more likely to win the league in 3 years' time than Arsenal are for example for he's a proven winner as well. So if I do believe that Van Gaal can do as well here as Mourinho would have then I choose better football. Obviously I may end up looking silly in 3 years' time but the signs are positive.
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Mourinho with his Porto and Chelsea 04-05 side all on the pitch would have lost that, Barca were that good.
Definitely mate best team i've ever seen. I was gutted to lose that 2011 final but in hindsight i'm glad we didn't park the bus. According to Alex Ferguson finals are spectacles and both teams have a responsibility to entertain and i agree.
Mourinho is a proven winner who plays shit-stain football. I will say I thought he was the only one with enough resilience and ego to immediately succeed Ferguson, but now that ship has passed I wouldn't want him anywhere near our club.
Now, that Barca side were great, but they were far from unbeatable, a few teams in La Liga did it, Inter did it in 2010, Chelsea would have done it in 2009 if it wasn't for Ovebro...
No team is unbeatable, but in 2011 they were something else much better than they were in 2009. It's just highly unlikely we could have beaten them in 2011 with the midfield we had no matter what formation or tactics we employed in my opinion.
Who sent off the wrong player.
Think we'd all take a bit of Mourinho anti-football this weekend...
This ignores the fact that the Barcelona side were beaten the year before and after by teams coached/influenced by Mourinho.
Just like Mourinho's Inter were raped by us in 08/09 and won the treble the very year after. Just a year is a long time in football at this level.
I do think he's the best manager in the world since Sir Alex's retirement, and have said many times before and after the day Sir Alex stepped down.
I want to have the best players, manager at United, hence I'd love to see Ronaldo and Mourinho at United (probably can't be together), is that so wrong？
I can understand your frustration concerning last season when we got Moyes instead of Mourinho and didn't buy too many class players (bar Mata) as Moyes and Fellaini had atrocious time. But you should leave it like that for your own sake. That ship has sailed. This season we brought in the best manager and the best player (Di Maria) available. People are quick to dismiss that after a couple of bad performances or, in Di Maria's poor few months, but it's true (see Van Gaal's summer exploits and Di Maria's last season). You surely didn't expect us to sign Ronaldo...I do think he's the best manager in the world since Sir Alex's retirement, and have said many times before and after the day Sir Alex stepped down.
I want to have the best players, manager at United, hence I'd love to see Ronaldo and Mourinho at United (probably can't be together), is that so wrong？
Oh I'm certainly happy with the turn around in summer 2014, in terms of manager and player recruitment, and Van Gaal & Di Maria are probably as well as we could have done last summer.