Unpopular Opinions Thread

[DOTA]

I think referees are good at refereeing and get ridiculous amounts of stick for errors.

Rodriguez would have been better value than shaw

We do actually have to have some defenders, though.

 

[sun_tzu]

We do actually have to have some defenders, though.

Indeed

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Rodríguez_(footballer)

 

[birdy2121]

Not saying I belive this 100% yet but does anyone else thing LVG is over rated in terms of his philosophy. He seems to be a poor in game manager at club level.

 

[DOTA]

Indeed

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Rodríguez_(footballer)

Thought that might happen, just after I posted...

As you were.

 

[Conrad]

Not saying I belive this 100% yet but does anyone else thing LVG is over rated in terms of his philosophy. He seems to be a poor in game manager at club level.

Is this just based on the fact that he doesn't get up and shout stuff?

 

[iBoss]

Is this just based on the fact that he doesn't get up and shout stuff?

He needs to high five his players when they score. It makes a lot of difference.

 

[limerickcitykid]

When players like Lampard did it, its okay, but Lukaku against West Brom was ridiculous. He was there for one year on loan, hardly enough time to build up a bond with the club and it's fans. It annoys me to see it, and it's happening more and more these days.

Holohan, I think it was, was the worst when he didn't celebrate against Villa last season because he nearly signed for them. Madness.

I don't remember when Hoolahan did this but he could have been not doing it out of respect for Villa but to show disrespect to Norwich for declining his transfer request when they were hardly playing him out of spite to Paul Lambert.


Personally I think celebrating as a whole is fecking stupid. cnuts like Sturridge with their gay little dances and shit. Just high five your teammates and get on it with it.

 

[sullydnl]

Not saying I belive this 100% yet but does anyone else thing LVG is over rated in terms of his philosophy. He seems to be a poor in game manager at club level.

LvG was generally overrated by a lot of the caf before the season started. This time last year he would barely have featured in any discussion of the best managers around but, once we actually appointed him, he suddenly became a genius and one of the best around.

That said, the vast majority of criticism I've seen directed at him so far has been fairly petty, I think. He hasn't done much wrong but is suffering as people were unprepared for such a slow start to the season despite it being quite inevitable imo.

 

[sun_tzu]

Is this just based on the fact that he doesn't get up and shout stuff?

I imagine it's based on leicester turning round 1-3 into 5-3
Certainly not something people were throwing about a few weeks ago anyway

 

[Conrad]

I imagine it's based on leicester turning round 1-3 into 5-3
Certainly not something people were throwing about a few weeks ago anyway

Yeah, there probably are some legitimate concerns to be had about his reign so far but as far back as MK Dons I've seen people, on twitter, criticise Van Gaal for "sitting on his arse" while we lose. I even (sort of) knew a guy who would complain that Fergie wasn't out of his dugout enough. Always makes me suspicious of people who moan about a managers impact on the game as to at least a few people that means how much do they bollock the players. Which is especially ridiculous when we've just been hammered by a team who's manager spends all his time watching in the stands.

 

[Sweet Square]

Not saying I belive this 100% yet but does anyone else thing LVG is over rated in terms of his philosophy. He seems to be a poor in game manager at club level.

Prime example of why I hate these sorts of threads. This isn't a unpopular opinion it's a wrong one.

 

[pocco]

Yeah, there probably are some legitimate concerns to be had about his reign so far but as far back as MK Dons I've seen people, on twitter, criticise Van Gaal for "sitting on his arse" while we lose. I even (sort of) knew a guy who would complain that Fergie wasn't out of his dugout enough. Always makes me suspicious of people who moan about a managers impact on the game as to at least a few people that means how much do they bollock the players. Which is especially ridiculous when we've just been hammered by a team who's manager spends all his time watching in the stands.

...whilst his assistant was camped out on the touchline.

 

[Conrad]

...whilst his assistant was camped out on the touchline.

Getting the odd message relayed to him to pass on which is hardly the constant raving that some people seem to mistake for good management. Ferguson himself was not the most active touchline manager, though when he was there he was explosive, he had Phelan pass on most of his messages. It's fairly obvious that it's the quality of the messages passed on that is the most important and not the frequency and volume of the messages. Moyes was pretty regular on the touchline for all the good that it did him.

 

[pocco]

Getting the odd message relayed to him to pass on which is hardly the constant raving that some people seem to mistake for good management. Ferguson himself was not the most active touchline manager, though when he was there he was explosive, he had Phelan pass on most of his messages. It's fairly obvious that it's the quality of the messages passed on that is the most important and not the frequency and volume of the messages. Moyes was pretty regular on the touchline for all the good that it did him.

Who's saying that he should have gone mental though? I think any sign of life from our coaches would have been appreciated.

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

Yep Really annoying when you see our staff just sitting on the bench and looking at the sky. But maybe its a mind feck kinda thing, we were all so used to seeing Fergie rage on the touchline in the 90th minute until we scored the winner. Good times.

 

[Conrad]

Who's saying that he should have gone mental though? I think any sign of life from our coaches would have been appreciated.

Well maybe it doesn't need to be mental but some people seem to prefer it to be often and obvious. I'm sure it would be appreciated but for me that's all it comes down to. Some fans would find it more reassuring if they could visibly see action being taken but that doesn't mean that Van Gaal being on the touchline talking the players through the game would actually be helpful or that action isn't being taken (They hardly had the camera trained on the bench the whole game. Giggs may well have been up passing on things).

 

[Jerch]

Hummels would be a disaster in our defence because he is to slow. We need mobile and quick defender if we are going to play with high line like the past two games.

 

[Lawman]

Mata won't cut the mustard here.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Hummels would be a disaster in our defence because he is to slow. We need mobile and quick defender if we are going to play with high line like the past two games.

He does like his line high - and I doubt he's going to change that.

I agree that Hummels isn't ideal for that sort of defensive approach. He's a very good player, needless to say, but you don't want him playing catch-up. He may have a decent top speed in him, but he certainly doesn't look very quick when he suddenly has to change pace and rush back.

 

[NoLogo]

He does like his line high - and I doubt he's going to change that.

I agree that Hummels isn't ideal for that sort of defensive approach. He's a very good player, needless to say, but you don't want him playing catch-up. He may have a decent top speed in him, but he certainly doesn't look very quick when he suddenly has to change pace and rush back.

Dortmund is playing one of the highest defensive lines in the world which is a pre-requisite to their full field pressing. So I can't really see where the myth comes from that Hummels can't play in a team with a high defensive line.

Mata won't cut the mustard here.

I'm afraid you are right about this part. I have a feeling that he doesn't fit into van Gaal's game plan just like he didn't fit into Mourinho's. Which is a real pitty because I like the lad.

 

[Stack]

Raheem Sterling is over rated

 

[Carlsen19]

Mata won't cut the mustard here.

Which is a massive shame, as he's infinitely better as a number 10 than Rooney is.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Dortmund is playing one of the highest defensive lines in the world which is a pre-requisite to their full field pressing. So I can't really see where the myth comes from that Hummels can't play in a team with a high defensive line.

Maybe he can. I was commenting on the fact that he doesn't look particularly swift in certain situations. You don't need to be lightning quick to play in a high-line defense, but it doesn't hurt.

 

[birdy2121]

Prime example of why I hate these sorts of threads. This isn't a unpopular opinion it's a wrong one.

Hard to say wrong really at this stage is it? We were 3-1 up vs a promoted team and crumbled. At 3-2 or even 3-3 he could have changed the game by adjusting the tactics when he saw the huge momentum shift long before we went on to loose 5-3!

 

[birdy2121]

LvG was generally overrated by a lot of the caf before the season started. This time last year he would barely have featured in any discussion of the best managers around but, once we actually appointed him, he suddenly became a genius and one of the best around.

That said, the vast majority of criticism I've seen directed at him so far has been fairly petty, I think. He hasn't done much wrong but is suffering as people were unprepared for such a slow start to the season despite it being quite inevitable imo.

Says it all about some of the hipster fans on here who worship big names and use forums to talk about decisions as if there being made on football management games.
The Anti SAF threads I have seen over the years directed at a manager who gave us everything a football fan could ever wish for, shows the level some "fans" operate at.

 

[Sweet Square]

Hard to say wrong really at this stage is it? We were 3-1 up vs a promoted team and crumbled. At 3-2 or even 3-3 he could have changed the game by adjusting the tactics when he saw the huge momentum shift long before we went on to loose 5-3!

You said LVG had a poor record at club level(The lost against Leicester doesn't change anything about LVG standing in the game).

That's simply untrue.

 

[birdy2121]

You said LVG had a poor record at club level(The lost against Leicester doesn't change anything about LVG standing in the game).

That's simply untrue.

Its not about where a manager has been its where he is at. And I am stating from what I have seen and also from the words of fellow dutch people in the media that LVG has been caught on the backfoot in terms of the premier league game and how to effect and win games.

 

[Sweet Square]

Its not about where a manager has been its where he is at. And I am stating from what I have seen and also from the words of fellow dutch people in the media that LVG has been caught on the backfoot in terms of the premier league game and how to effect and win games.

You were criticizing he's club record so it actually does matter what he's done at previous clubs(Record- the sum of the past achievements or performance of a person, organization, or thing.)

You might have a point if you were talking about Van Gaal's start at United. But you weren't you were talking about he's club record in total.

Not saying I belive this 100% yet but does anyone else thing LVG is over rated in terms of his philosophy. He seems to be a poor in game manager at club level.

Which again is simply untrue.

 

[birdy2121]

You were criticizing he's club record so it actually does matter what he's done at previous clubs(Record- the sum of the past achievements or performance of a person, organization, or thing.)

You might have a point if you were talking about Van Gaal's start at United. But you weren't you were talking about he's club record in total.


Which again is simply untrue.

OK I will rephrase that to "from what I have seen" - I am assuming you unlike me have followed him and watched him change games at club level. Lets not forget he has won things with clubs that for sure repersented a smaller challenge than the one on his hands now.

 

[JUPITER]

Ok, unpopular opinion...

There's a small hierarchy of self interested figures within our dressing room and club who are way too powerful within the squad and could remove any manager who they decided to.

Van Gaal knows this and is effectively placating this element by making Rooney captain, refusing to drop or sub RvP and taking Giggs on as assistant and constantly talking him up as our next manager after only working with him for a matter of weeks.

This element is different, but comparable in its negativity to the drinking culture that Fergie had to clean up in order to move the club forward, and the wisest thing Van Gaal could do is find some way to remove Giggs and sell on Wayne Rooney.

 

[Cheesy]

Ok, unpopular opinion...

There's a small hierarchy of self interested figures within our dressing room and club who are way too powerful within the squad and could remove any manager who they decided to.

Van Gaal knows this and is effectively placating this element by making Rooney captain, refusing to drop or sub RvP and taking Giggs on as assistant and constantly talking him up as our next manager after only working with him for a matter of weeks.

This element is different, but comparable in its negativity to the drinking culture that Fergie had to clean up in order to move the club forward, and the wisest thing Van Gaal could do is find some way to remove Giggs and sell on Wayne Rooney.

I think this is bordering on a conspiracy, to be honest. Even if they've got big egos, RVP and Rooney as players don't have the power to remove a manager. The fact is that they are top footballers and would make it into many major teams. The dropping of Mata seems to be getting overstated by many if we think he's behind RVP and Rooney because they have too much power.

Not to mention that if he'd wanted to get rid of Giggs, he probably could have done so. He had the cards in his hands by and large when he took on the role here, and if he'd been completely and utterly opposed to Giggs as manager then he'd have been able to get the job without Giggs being there. He's someone who will be bold and controversial if he needs to be, so I doubt he's simply pandering to lots of others figures.

 

[Sweet Square]

OK I will rephrase that to "from what I have seen" - I am assuming you unlike me have followed him and watched him change games at club level. Lets not forget he has won things with clubs that for sure repersented a smaller challenge than the one on his hands now.

No not massively and really it's only after he got the United job that I went on a Van Gaal binge. But it's clear that Van Gaal's got no problems at handling club football(He's partly responsible for the recent great teams of Barca& Bayren ). To put it simply he changes football clubs not just football games(Yes I undertand how Rawkish that sounds .I'm sorry)

As for the challenge Van Gaal faces he's said himself that he's never being in this situation before. So he knows him self how tough this job will be.Although if he were to win the league and bring United back to the top I would still think it wouldn't be his highest achievement(His time at Ajax and what he achieve there is very special and as is winning the league with AZ.)

 

[bosnian_red]

Hard to say wrong really at this stage is it? We were 3-1 up vs a promoted team and crumbled. At 3-2 or even 3-3 he could have changed the game by adjusting the tactics when he saw the huge momentum shift long before we went on to loose 5-3!

No, it's just wrong. He's proven it everywhere else he's been. He has a win percentage for his whole career at 61.38% compared to Fergie who is at 58.14%. Obviously he's not better then Fergie or something like that but he's a world class manager, it just takes a while for the team to adapt to him.

As for that individual freak result, you can say stuff like that for a lot of games under Fergie or anyone else. It just happens.

 

[DWelbz19]

Dortmund is playing one of the highest defensive lines in the world which is a pre-requisite to their full field pressing. So I can't really see where the myth comes from that Hummels can't play in a team with a high defensive line.

Which is also the case for Germany's WC squad. Low had them playing suicidally high, and apart from being burned for pace by Messi (not many are able to keep with him) he was one of the best CBs of the tournament. Besides, we really haven't played that high-line of a defence.

 

[birdy2121]

No, it's just wrong. He's proven it everywhere else he's been. He has a win percentage for his whole career at 61.38% compared to Fergie who is at 58.14%. Obviously he's not better then Fergie or something like that but he's a world class manager, it just takes a while for the team to adapt to him.

As for that individual freak result, you can say stuff like that for a lot of games under Fergie or anyone else. It just happens.

In the easy leagues for the biggest teams vs the toughest league - one is rather more impressive. But I take ur point he is a winner.

 

[bosnian_red]

In the easy leagues for the biggest teams vs the toughest league - one is rather more impressive. But I take ur point he is a winner.

Well the German league and Spanish league are both excellent leagues as well. Also when he was in Netherlands he won the champions league with ajax and won the league for the only the second time in their history with az Alkmaar, the last time being in 1981. Whatever you think of him, you can't really ignore his record at previous teams, and IMO its just a matter of time until we become more consistent.

 

[birdy2121]

Well the German league and Spanish league are both excellent leagues as well. Also when he was in Netherlands he won the champions league with ajax and won the league for the only the second time in their history with az Alkmaar, the last time being in 1981. Whatever you think of him, you can't really ignore his record at previous teams, and IMO its just a matter of time until we become more consistent.

Hope you are right mate.
My point regarding the leagues was that Real Madrid and Barcelona managers always have superb win percentages as they so dominate the league to the extent that they win most games. In the UK to get those win percentages is far harder due to the much more even distribution of wealth and competition.

 

[matherto]

Hope you are right mate.
My point regarding the leagues was that Real Madrid and Barcelona managers always have superb win percentages as they so dominate the league to the extent that they win most games. In the UK to get those win percentages is far harder due to the much more even distribution of wealth and competition.

Back in the day Real and Barça were nowhere near as dominant as they are now though.

 

[ninety]

This isn't specifically related to United but its going to be an unpopular opinion nonetheless.

It's about the popular podcast the Football Weekly. Let me start off by saying I really like AC Jimbo and co, they are often entertaining to listen to and is frequently amusing. But a lot of the time, for me, they offer almost nothing by the way of insight into football. All I've managed to glean from their discussion on the premier league so far is that: a) United are defending poorly, b) Diego costa is scoring goals for Chelsea, which is good because goals are good, c) Liverpool not doing as well without Suarez, d) QPR are in trouble and Ferdinand looks slow.

I realize its not a podcast about in-depth tactics or whatnot but for me all they do is state the bleeding obvious. I enjoy listening to the podcast because it covers leagues that I don't watch and James Richardson's knowledge of Serie A is next to none, but I often get the impression that they don't really watch a lot of the games. I feel like I could get a bunch of fellow caftards on here with a Dictaphone and a few pints and come up with more insightful stuff than them, particularly so on the premier league.

 

[zing]

This isn't specifically related to United but its going to be an unpopular opinion nonetheless.

It's about the popular podcast the Football Weekly. Let me start off by saying I really like AC Jimbo and co, they are often entertaining to listen to and is frequently amusing. But a lot of the time, for me, they offer almost nothing by the way of insight into football. All I've managed to glean from their discussion on the premier league so far is that: a) United are defending poorly, b) Douglas costa is scoring goals for Chelsea, which is good because goals are good, c) Liverpool not doing as well without Suarez, d) QPR are in trouble and Ferdinand looks slow.

I realize its not a podcast about in-depth tactics or whatnot but for me all they do is state the bleeding obvious. I enjoy listening to the podcast because it covers leagues that I don't watch and James Richardson's knowledge of Serie A is next to none, but I often get the impression that they don't really watch a lot of the games. I feel like I could get a bunch of fellow caftards on here with a Dictaphone and a few pints and come up with more insightful stuff than them, particularly so on the premier league.

Douglas Costa?