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What do we think of LVG so far?

Giggsy'sChestRug

Posts: 40
Registered: 20/11/2014

14 Jan 2015 17:21

It's not been pretty so far, but I think we need to give him the benefit of the doubt. Think back to 1989 - 90 season, nobody would have predicted that a few years later we would be the dominant force in England, let alone that it would last for the next two decades. The football we were seeing was awful, we couldn't buy a win with a sackful of cash and set of corrupt officials. I actually see a lot of parallels with that season to our current situation. Like then, we'd been mediocre the season before, so we went out a spent a load of cash of a brand new team(about £10 million I think), broke the British transfer record (only that time for a defender, Gary Pallister) and the team was struggling to gel. I've seen on some websites that fans are panicking because he didn't come in and fix things immediately. I think some of these people think that if we sacked LVG now, and brought back Fergie, that qualification for the Champions League would be a given. It wouldn't. We need to be patient - the REAL fans will be. Only the plastics will be calling for his head.

Danny

Posts: 16
Registered: 05/10/2014

14 Jan 2015 17:33

We shouldn't have to be patient, we need success now. Last season was a joke, and if things dont improve we will miss out on the top 4. Our defence is a joke, I cant think of any of our defenders that would get in City or Chelsea's line up. He's on the same amount of points as Moyes was last year, and spent £150 million to get there. LVG out!

Giggsy'sChestRug

Posts: 40
Registered: 20/11/2014

14 Jan 2015 17:41

Yes, he's on the same amount of points as Moyes was, but let's be honest - have you ever seen an injury crisis quite like the one we have had at Old Trafford this season? I haven't and I have been supporting the Reds since Ron Atkinson was the manager. I dont feel comfortable with our defence, but if you look at the stats, they haven;t actually conceded many goals. But they always LOOK like they will. LVG has a proven track record of building winning teams, give him the time and I am sure he will do the same here.

Danny

Posts: 16
Registered: 05/10/2014

14 Jan 2015 17:51

We dont have the time to wait and see what happens, we need to finish in the top four. I have been a loyal fan for nearly 15 years, but I cant bear to watch them at the moment. We need to get LVG out and bring in Mourinho or Guardiola.

TheSalmon

Posts: 21
Registered: 18/09/2014

14 Jan 2015 19:12

Danny if you've only been a fan for 15 years, you clearly need to brush up on your history. You've obviously never known anything other than United being one of the top 2 or 3 teams in the country. They've always been the biggest, but they haven't always been the best. My mum and dad used to go and watch them when they actually got relegated, and stayed loyal throughout - seems unthinkable now doesn't it. Point I'm trying to make is that we dont have a divine right to success- I hope you didnt just start supporting United because they were successful? I support them because they're my local team.

TheSalmon

Posts: 21
Registered: 18/09/2014

14 Jan 2015 19:37

Giggsy'sChestRug, I agree with you about LVG. He's won the title with every club he's ever managed, and his Ajax team from 1995 are the best club side I've ever seen. They were awesome, but they didn;t win everything overnight. You've also got a great point about the money we've spent, the amount we spent in 1989 is probably somewhere around the equivalent to what we have have spent this summer. You cant buy half an entire new team, and expect it to gel overnight, just because of "how much money we spent". It doesn;t work like that. People complaining about the 3 at the back - maybe because he doesn't trust any of our centre backs to operate as a pair (cant say I blame him).

It actually offends me that people rate that Barcelona side of a couple of years back as the best ever (going slightly off subject). BASED ON WHAT? Al they did was pass, pass, pass, pass (the 2006 team, with Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco, Guily were far more pleasing on the eye). It was entertaining for a while, but actually gets quite boring after a couple of games. And calling them the best ever is doing a massive disservice, not only to van Gaal's Ajax side, but the Milan side of the late 1980's (Gullit, Rijkaard, Van Basten, Maldini, Baresi), and several sides throughout history. Hate to say it, but even the Bin Dippers had a few sides that could at least make the claim, as do Madrid and both Bayern Munich and Ajax in the 1970's. And, of course, our 1999 Treble winners.

As soon as van Gaal was appointed manager, I was pleased, because I've seen the kind of teams he produces. Give him time, and I'm sure he will get it right.

Giggsy'sChestRug

Posts: 40
Registered: 20/11/2014

14 Jan 2015 19:49

My thoughts exactly, Salmon. I'm not saying I'm enjoying the current brand of football, it's bloody painful to watch sometimes, but, unlike Moyes, this is a manager who has proved it at the biggest clubs across Europe. Moyes instantly looked like a fish out of water, even he didn;t believe he was good enough for the job, and I think that quickly transmitted to the team. Some people say that the players weren't playing for him - its possible that they just weren't sure what they were doing. I backed him all the way until that Everton game - after that, it was actually impossible to defend him. I ran out of excuses after that.

I've also heard the argument that this team were champions 18 months ago. No they weren't. Our three most experienced defenders have moved on, as have Welbeck, Cleverley and Hernandez, and a couple of squad players like Nani, Buttner (and Anderson might as well not be there nowadays). That's around 70% of the squad. Also, RVP is either in decline or is sulking because we aren't building the team around him (which is what won us the title in 2013, when he was the hottest striker in the country). So, no, it's not the same team that were champions.

FrankMead

Posts: 26
Registered: 06/09/2014

15 Jan 2015 17:56

I'm agreeing with most of whats been written in this topic. I've got total faith in LVG. Just because its not looking great at the moment, doesn't mean thats how it will always be. You rip a team apart and replace most of it with new players (lets not forget that Giggs and Scholes have both retired since we last won the title), you cant expect it to gel straight away - it might do sometimes, but it will usually take a while. And despite the fact that it's not been the most entertaining brand of football to start with, for the most part we;ve kept winning. His target was champions league football, and we're in the top four right now.

People who say we got beaten by "little" Southampton. Yeah, the same "little" Southampton who've also been in the top four most of this season, and who clearly had a game plan. I noticed in the first ten minutes on Sunday, we were trying to go forward, but their shape was excellent and they pushed us back, and what had seemed like a promising move ended up with a backpass to De Gea.

One thing I will say I was annoyed about is the dropping of Falcao. Why was he not at least on the bench? He's been playing much better than RVP, putting a shift in, getting involved in the build up play. I cant honestly say I agree with every decision he's made so far this season, but the same said of Fergie. He was making mistakes up until his last season in charge, and I'm not just talking about letting Pogba go. I remember in his last Manchester derby, City won 2 - 1 with a great goal from Aguero. But against Yaya Toure and David Silva (a midfield mix of pace and power), he played Carrick and Giggs against them.

Fergie would make baffling selections like that often throughout his career, most of the time they paid off - as is evident by the success he brought us. Just because we dont understand everything LVG is doing, doesn;t mean there isn't a reason. Time to get behind the team and stop complaining - we aren't the top dogs in England (or even Manchester right now), but I believe this guy has the pedigree to get us there.

UTID

GeneHunt

Posts: 37
Registered: 20/11/2014

19 Jan 2015 19:14

Until he has properly put his own "stamp" on the team, and shaped it in his own image, I don't think we can pass too much judgement. I would rather give him the time to get the team playing how he wants it to, than panic just because we aren't looking convincing at the moment.

With regards to the 3 - 5 - 2 system, I agree with the comment above that maybe he doesn't trust any of his centre backs to operate as a pair, and maybe this is WHY we haven;t actually conceded many goals this season (apart from the capitulation at Leicester), even though we look anything but solid. I also dont think we have the full backs to operate with a 4 - 4 - 2 or 4 - 3 - 3 system. Luke Shaw has struggled for fitness since we signed him, and Rafael is a good footballer but not the most defence-minded player (bit of a concern, seeing as he is a defender by trade). This is what LVG means when he says that the team would be unbalanced with four at the back.

The biggest thing I can think of to piss on the bonfires of those know-nothings who want LVG out is this; the press were already digging Moyes's grave by Christmas last season, and he was gone three months later. I haven't seen one single story in any paper that says LVG is under threat of the sack. If there was even the slightest fear in the boards' minds that they had got the wrong man, I think there would have a least been a whisper of it somewhere in the press.
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