This season I have been a little reserved about Van Gaal, a few things concern me about tactics, personnel and how he deploys them but mainly his lack of emotion on the touchline. Yes, great managers do not need to be as excited as a scouser on giro day but at times our players have seen leaderless and in need of someone to grab them by the scruff of the neck...either on the pitch or on the touchline...and motivate them, inspire them or just crack some skulls as Fergie would do. Giggsy has tried, bless him, but he is not someone you would see as a strong vocal enforcer despite his wealth of experience. No, Van Gaal's human statue impression hasn't won me over at all...Van Gaal the touchline manager seems a different person to Van Gaal the manager who attends the press conferences and interviews.
Van Gaal ended his last home match for this season by singing songs, trying to impersonate Delia Smith on the microphone and taking centre stage at the players awards ceremony...clearly someone who is not shy at coming forward. So why not on the touchline during games when we seem uninspired? On a separate note may I just highlight the difference between us and Liverpool. Both have star players who seemingly want away in the summer...we chant DDG's name and plead with him to stay, Liverpool fans boo and jeer and chant songs about his agent. If ever something was needed to highlight the classlessness of scousers then last night was a perfect example.
Any way, back to Van Gaal...last night was the player of the year awards and Van Gaal stole centre stage as well as most of the media's coverage in today's papers. So below I include a full transcript of what our manager had to say -
''When you start a season with 10 matches and 13 points and you are a manager of that club, the most world famous club and you play at home and I am also a human being and I have the experience with other clubs, when you have that result you are not very beloved by your fans and I came in the stadium of Old Trafford, 10 matches, 13 points and I came in and I saw by myself how I have to behave myself and then the public are applauding, standing up and I thought how is it possible that the fans are supporting me?
Thanks to that we could continue – not only me, my staff but especially the players because it is not so easy when you are playing in a great club that you have 10 matches,13 points and a new manager who demands in another way than all the other managers.
It's very difficult and with all the injuries of the first part of the season and then we continue with a spirit in the team, unbelievable, and that's the credit of this team, the spirit. We come from I thought in my memory 13th place to third position in the league.
After so bad start. And then we had to believe the players but also the staff that we could end second. I remember the meeting with the players with the captain Wayne Rooney who's saying 'we go for the second position in the league and I said yes. We go for it!'
You remember the game against Arsenal. We were the better team and the best player on the pitch in my opinion makes an error and we lose that game and I forget the meeting. And then you have to remember that we win six games in a row.
And then we go to Chelsea. You remember away game against Chelsea? No, no, no, you have to listen. I ask you to listen. Because at that time we have 50 points and then Rooney sat in the dressing room we go for the second place, he said that. Then six games in a row we win and then we go to Chelsea. Who are the better team then?! It's easy to say that now in this room. I can believe it but it was the truth but we lost. We lost that game but can you imagine when you have 80% ball possession you have 10 big possibilities and they have three, they have three and they win the game.
When we win that game count the numbers of points we could have won because after that we lost three games in a row. But when you see that we have 13 points and Chelsea have 83 points and we could have been champions.
What I want to say to you, we are very close!.
But as a manager I know that if is not counting, if is not counting, we have to produce more. And believe me the players but also the staff but also the organisation like Manchester United shall do their utmost best and why? Because we have the best fans of the world. Thank you for that and I will see you next season again.''
Van Gaal then left the stage before briefly returning to take the microphone hostage for one last time -
''I want to say something Pay attention to the manager!
Ryan Giggs said to me, and he is always right but in this case particularly right. I have said to you you are the best fans in the world but tonight I was a little bit disappointed and I shall say why.
I have seen a lady who plays the saxophone fantastically. Give her big applause!''
So there we have it, clearly a man who can and will speak his mind and knows when to let his hair down...I just hope next season we see more of an animated Van Gaal on the touchline when it is needed. When we seem uninspired as we did against Arsenal at home after the substitutions, when we need calming instructions as we did away to Everton, when we defensively seemed all over the place, when we need a rocket up our arses when we appalling and wasteful with the ball away to MK Dons...this is what I want from my manager, not a manager who sits in his chair writing notes for the after match debrief but the same manager who isn't afraid to speak his mind, shout his opinions and voice his approval or disapproval.
Just my humble opinion...
Van Gaal ended his last home match for this season by singing songs, trying to impersonate Delia Smith on the microphone and taking centre stage at the players awards ceremony...clearly someone who is not shy at coming forward. So why not on the touchline during games when we seem uninspired? On a separate note may I just highlight the difference between us and Liverpool. Both have star players who seemingly want away in the summer...we chant DDG's name and plead with him to stay, Liverpool fans boo and jeer and chant songs about his agent. If ever something was needed to highlight the classlessness of scousers then last night was a perfect example.
Any way, back to Van Gaal...last night was the player of the year awards and Van Gaal stole centre stage as well as most of the media's coverage in today's papers. So below I include a full transcript of what our manager had to say -
''When you start a season with 10 matches and 13 points and you are a manager of that club, the most world famous club and you play at home and I am also a human being and I have the experience with other clubs, when you have that result you are not very beloved by your fans and I came in the stadium of Old Trafford, 10 matches, 13 points and I came in and I saw by myself how I have to behave myself and then the public are applauding, standing up and I thought how is it possible that the fans are supporting me?
Thanks to that we could continue – not only me, my staff but especially the players because it is not so easy when you are playing in a great club that you have 10 matches,13 points and a new manager who demands in another way than all the other managers.
It's very difficult and with all the injuries of the first part of the season and then we continue with a spirit in the team, unbelievable, and that's the credit of this team, the spirit. We come from I thought in my memory 13th place to third position in the league.
After so bad start. And then we had to believe the players but also the staff that we could end second. I remember the meeting with the players with the captain Wayne Rooney who's saying 'we go for the second position in the league and I said yes. We go for it!'
You remember the game against Arsenal. We were the better team and the best player on the pitch in my opinion makes an error and we lose that game and I forget the meeting. And then you have to remember that we win six games in a row.
And then we go to Chelsea. You remember away game against Chelsea? No, no, no, you have to listen. I ask you to listen. Because at that time we have 50 points and then Rooney sat in the dressing room we go for the second place, he said that. Then six games in a row we win and then we go to Chelsea. Who are the better team then?! It's easy to say that now in this room. I can believe it but it was the truth but we lost. We lost that game but can you imagine when you have 80% ball possession you have 10 big possibilities and they have three, they have three and they win the game.
When we win that game count the numbers of points we could have won because after that we lost three games in a row. But when you see that we have 13 points and Chelsea have 83 points and we could have been champions.
What I want to say to you, we are very close!.
But as a manager I know that if is not counting, if is not counting, we have to produce more. And believe me the players but also the staff but also the organisation like Manchester United shall do their utmost best and why? Because we have the best fans of the world. Thank you for that and I will see you next season again.''
Van Gaal then left the stage before briefly returning to take the microphone hostage for one last time -
''I want to say something Pay attention to the manager!
Ryan Giggs said to me, and he is always right but in this case particularly right. I have said to you you are the best fans in the world but tonight I was a little bit disappointed and I shall say why.
I have seen a lady who plays the saxophone fantastically. Give her big applause!''
So there we have it, clearly a man who can and will speak his mind and knows when to let his hair down...I just hope next season we see more of an animated Van Gaal on the touchline when it is needed. When we seem uninspired as we did against Arsenal at home after the substitutions, when we need calming instructions as we did away to Everton, when we defensively seemed all over the place, when we need a rocket up our arses when we appalling and wasteful with the ball away to MK Dons...this is what I want from my manager, not a manager who sits in his chair writing notes for the after match debrief but the same manager who isn't afraid to speak his mind, shout his opinions and voice his approval or disapproval.
Just my humble opinion...