It's not a hard "g".
Think "Van Gaal" = "Faan Haal" (which isn't 100% accurate but close enough for an English speaker.
The last "g" is close to the "ch" in "loch" (as in "Loch Ness").
Something like "Faan der Haach", then.
Ten Hag, V̶a̶n̶ d̶e̶r̶ G̶a̶a̶g̶ and McClaren - Confirmed
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It's not a hard "g".
Think "Van Gaal" = "Faan Haal" (which isn't 100% accurate but close enough for an English speaker.
The last "g" is close to the "ch" in "loch" (as in "Loch Ness").
Something like "Faan der Haach", then.
He's from North Wales?
Feels like a hell of a step up from Solskjaer and Phelan, or Ralf and Cornetto. We actually have talented, experienced and fully qualified people in charge
He'll be sent picking cones again like good old times.
I am anger.
The proof is in the pudding. Considering that ETH's training is meticulous and built around high intensity football then I expect leaks about 'the poor quality of training' to re-emerge again. However there's nothing ETH had done that wasn't well thought. Rather then rely on the typical inexperienced former player as most former managers did, he brought Mclaren in who knows his football and is a clear upgrade to the Nevilles, the Carricks and the Fletchers of this world. He came at work early (leading by example) and he also promised recruitment changes without going overboard with criticising this team (open heart surgery or Mourinho's BS) which would keep the chances of mutiny to the minimum. So far, ETH had been flawless.
If you cant speak the language, speak broken english. Works everytime.
We'll call him VDG then.
Gaag like wind
Thanks! Since we're all very familiar with Louis Van Gaal, properly pronounced something like "Hall", my first thought is that the "G" should be pronounced like an "H", but I kept hearing it with a hard "G" and pronounced "GAYg", which just made no sense to me.
And now with the last "g" not being a typical "g" (in English), would it be "HOch" but with the "ch" a somewhat softer than "ck"?
Im under the impression that Scots pronouce Loch more like Lokh.
It's a g that isn't pronounced in any word in English I think. Soft g. Something between.your g and an h I supposed.
Van Der G-ah-g
Does that mean we cannot make “Gaag order” jokes regarding the leaks anymore because of the pronunciation? 
Great to see Schteve back.
Also, the bald men look like they mean business. Serious business.
Also, the bald men look like they mean business. Serious business.
Just say it as your read it, not sure why the G suddenly has to be pronounced as a H.
like everyone says de Gea as de Hea. It's de Gay-a.
Well, it really isn't.
But sure, in some cases it's better to go with a British style pronunciation rather than trying too hard to sound Spanish (or Dutch or whatever the case may be).
The actual "g" sound(s) in both "Gea" and "Gaag" will be very hard to pronounce for most native English speakers.
And that’s why it’s better to just pronounce it as the example I gave, instead of totally messing up a name by pronouncing it like “de Hey-a”
Best of luck to the trio. Hope they will succeed here.
Mclaren at least has got the credentials, winning trophies with Boro and Twente and was the assistant manager during the legendary treble season.
Mclaren at least has got the credentials, winning trophies with Boro and Twente and was the assistant manager during the legendary treble season.
Dutch speakers would pronounce it ch Flemish speakers with g.
It ‘is’ not really that. A usual and respectful take on anyone’s name, though, is to start with how a person pronounces his or her own name, and do the closest you can, accepting variation for dialects, accents and speech impediments.
After a while, very few will say ‘Dzhiggs’ or ‘’Shore-tyre’ anymore.
‘De Hae-a’ is certainly much closer sounding to De Gea’s own pronunciation than ‘De Gay-a’! At least based on my experiences with Madrilenos.
Dutch is a different kettle. I’m not too sure about the pronunciation in Gelderland (vd Gaag) or Enschede (Ten Hag), but in Amsterdam i think the closest to English would be something like ‘Mitchell faan-der Haah’ and ‘Erik ten-Haah’. Maybe we should insist on saying ‘Steve McClaah’ to facilitate rhyming
On a whole other note - knowing that Van der Gaag played two seasons for Motherwell and spent seven years playing and coaching in Funchal (Maritimo), I guess Fergie, Cris and him are going to share a bottle of Bordeaux every weekend from now on
It ‘is’ not really that. A usual and respectful take on anyone’s name, though, is to start with how a person pronounces his or her own name, and do the closest you can, accepting variation for dialects, accents and speech impediments.
After a while, very few will say ‘Dzhiggs’ or ‘’Shore-tyre’ anymore.
‘De Hae-a’ is certainly much closer sounding to De Gea’s own pronunciation than ‘De Gay-a’! At least based on my experiences with Madrilenos.
Dutch is a different kettle. I’m not too sure about the pronunciation in Gelderland (vd Gaag) or Enschede (Ten Hag), but in Amsterdam i think the closest to English would be something like ‘Mitchell faan-der Haah’ and ‘Erik ten-Haah’. Maybe we should insist on saying ‘Steve McClaah’ to facilitate rhyming
On a whole other note - knowing that Van der Gaag played two seasons for Motherwell and spent seven years playing and coaching in Funchal (Maritimo), I guess Fergie, Cris and him are going to share a bottle of Bordeaux every weekend from now on
As a native Dutch speaker, I really wonder what makes you think it should be pronounced like that?
regarding David de Hey-a, here’s how the man himself pronounces his name. @0:20
Does no one else feel the appointment of McClaren is a little bit of a backward step? I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't get it. Maybe he's there as a Dutch translator....
Very experienced at dealing with players, managing a dressing room and has knowledge the Premier League.
Would imagine Ten Hag and Van der Gaag will do most of the coaching.
Great, you’re Dutch! Then you can probably clear some things up. Important, though, is to adapt the explanation for English transcription practices. In English, G as first letter before an a will normally be pronounced hard, like, well, gay. The sound David himself uses does not really exist in English, but will be reminiscent of the ‘ch’ in Scottish Loch or in the English pronounciation of the German composer Bach, for instance. It’s somewhere between an h and a k, quite far from the voiced g. For an Englishman not versed in that ‘ch-‘sound, h will be the closest approximation. Neither is there an i- or y-like sound between the e and the a, as Gay-a would suggest. It’s more like the ‘air’ in hair (no r sound) + a as at the end of Guardiola. I would say ‘De Hae-a’ pronounced in RP English gives a closer rendition of those sounds, but probably there are even better ways.
As for Ten Hag and Van der Gaag, you’re the expert. A Dutch friend of mine from Amsterdam pronounced them not unlike that, but he also stressed that depending on dialects, sociolects and age, some Dutch will pronounce the first G in Gaag closer to the aforementioned ‘ch’ in Loch, some closer to an h, some slightly voiced, and some strongly voiced, like no sound in English or even close to it. His pronunciation was to me certainly more like the H in Hard than the G in Guard. What would you say about this, being Dutch?
Not really. We have no idea how good he is or what his job even is. Pep had Brian Kidd as his assistant and they didn’t turn out shite did they? If we’d appointed him people would give the usual bollocks about mediocrity and shit coaches when no one really has a clue.
I'm not Dutch and it's pronounced 'garg' - as in 'gargle his lemonade.'
Don't disagree with it being an unknown, just feels like a backwards step.
Any news on more additions to the coaching setup? Or any first team coach leaving?
“We are…what you call…underdogsh…”
Dropped 16 hours ago
The glasses Van der Gaag is wearing makes him look like a nutty professor. The mastermind if you will.
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