i can't quite remember for sure now, but if memory serves, reports suggested that we were interested in bringing Van Gaal in before he went to Man U. Thank God we got Poch instead. The longer United go without sacking him, the better !
You just never know how a new manager is going to work out, do you? One thing that I said at the time, however, was that when people would say "Well he's a proven winner" I'd wonder how he would get on with a club that isn't one of the top two or one clubs in the country. I know it sounds a bit over the top but how much can we really learn about the quality of a coach's methods when he wins things for Ajax, Bayern Munich, Barcelona? Taking over a team like Tottenham, when you're blown out of the water by at least 4/5 teams money-wise is a totally different prospect. Who knows? Maybe he'll still come good at OT. Considering the mess they're in they're still in with a shout of top 4 and he will be able to throw around the sort of transfer fees and wages that he's no doubt used to. But yeah - very happy we got Poch and not him.
I posted the same comment on the bullet-missed thread. Based on his press conferences, he is struggling with the pressure, not a good place to be. The press see him as their next quarry after the recent demise of Maureen. He needs a run of good results or very likely the hounds will get him. I've always said that you have to give a manager 3 seasons to build his own team, and no one is perfect, there will be a few mistakes. However, Memphis looks like a big mistake, not Premiership material or not shown it yet anyhow. If they lose DeGea at the end of the season, mid table is about the best that they can hope for, he is worth 10-15 pts a season to them. However, Man U are not the kind of team nowadays who will wait 3 years, nor are Tottenham, so I am very glad he didn't come to us. My only concern is with the perennial managerial merry-go-round that goes on within the money-bags clubs, someone will come along and try to poach Poch. Particularly if we were to finish top of the tree this season. A top four finish together with a trophy may be preferable for our long term ambitions.
Must admit, I was one of the foolish lot asking for Van Gaal. Happy to admit I was so wrong about that one. Dogged a bullet for sure. Glad we have Poch in charge.
Mate, if Spurs losing their manager is the price of winning a title then I'd take that! Been a Spurs fan for about 30 years and that would have to be the very best reason to lose a manager that I've ever experienced!
Was van Gaal this negative with his other teams? I don't remember if that way, but distance may have blurred the reality of the situation.
Yeah, I wanted Van Gaal too. The last time we went for experience we got Redknapp and that obviously went well so I was happy for us to go for that again. I thought he was impressive at the World Cup too, not just in terms of making the semis but I thought he showed a pragmatic side. He didn't have a great squad to choose from but got them playing in a way that suited them. It wasn't the typical Dutch attacking style and I thought that was the kind of thing we could do with. I think a fair few people could see this coming after his first season but his United career as a whole has been a bit of a surprise. He's been stubborn rather than pragmatic, defensive rather than adventurous and the only players he's got the best out of have been Smalling and De Gea, although that's been partly because they seem to be kept so busy. He's been AVB all over again and that would've been a disaster for us. I don't think he's been helped by Woodward though. They needed a centre back and a striker yet they signed about 50 midfielders and a young strike who, talented as he is, was always going to struggle to carry the attack with so little experience. Woodward's not been around long but he's messed up every window by chasing lost causes that are never going to be sold, signing big names for the sake of it and leaving important transfers to the last minute. As much as I've criticised Van Gaal, I think there's a good case to be made that both Moyes and LVG were both given little chance of being a success with such a fool in charge of transfers.
I don't think the tactics are that negative. AVB had great success with Porto and has done well with Zenit yet was considered boring and incompetent in the Premier League. I think the trouble is that they've both been stubborn and their tactics aren't suited to the Premier League. On the continent sides are more likely to come out and try to get the ball off you so possession football is more effective, whilst over here many sides will happily defend in numbers and let you keep the ball, only to try and hit you on the counter. There's also an argument with both managers that they've done well only when they have the best team in the league, which hasn't been the case for them in England. Eitherway, what's clear is that United simply are out of form at the moment, their defence looks shaky and they look totally shot of any confidence. It's still the same side that Van Gaal took to the top of the table with the best defensive record in the country so I think the players deserve a fair bit of stick for their role in this.
As I mentioned in another thread, given his stints at Barca, Bayern and with the Dutch team Van Galling should have more than enough experience coping with the pressure of expectations, handling the media and dealing with former players whose opinions carry a lot of weight with the media - yet at no point in his Man Utd tenure has he shown even the slightest aptitude for this. Instead we have seen... - A Wengeresque meltdown after losing to Swansea in February, where he spoke of the team "dominating" the match and creating "chances every two minutes" and claiming Gomis was offside for the winner - even though the statistics, let alone the facts, said otherwise - Also in February, rather than ignore or dismiss Allarshyte's claims his team used long ball tactics, he devoted an entire press conference to trying to disprove this with various charts and graphs - In that same press conference, when somebody brought up the subject that Fellaini played up front in a previous game (catching Van Galling in a lie in the process) he tried to bullshit his way out of it which only made him look like an arrogant buffoon - Back in October, when Paul Scholes criticised the team's lack of creativity or attacking intent, Van Galling's response was literally this: Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me' - Trying to claim he didn't storm out of a press conference by saying he "walked out with quietness" - Saying they were a better team than last season, despite having just been meekly eliminated from the Champions League and the COC in short order - A long string on nonsensical substitutions, which more often than not backfire on him (most notably Carrick for Herreira vs Arsenal last season, Fellaini for Herrera vs PSV, Pereira for Depay vs Wolfsburg, Powell for Mata vs Wolfsburg) The really bizarre one has to be from when he joined Man Utd, and he said his main concerns were whether the players liked him - because prior to that he had a long history of making sure they don't, be it dropping his trousers in front of the Bayern team to prove he had balls, when Gerard Pique's grandfather first introduced him to Van Galling his response was to shove him to the ground and say he wasn't strong enough to be a Barca defender, gloating that signing a six year contract with the KNVB in 2000 would see him win two World Cups...and he promptly fail to qualify for the 2002 tournament, telling Bayern's hierarchy they could "learn something" from his new book - even though they were having their worst-ever start to a season and were 13 points adrift with Van Galling in charge, never bothering to learn Spanish or Catalan despite his stints at Barca, benching Rivaldo for sugeesting he play in his best position, benching Van Persie for Huntelaar because RVP didn't criticise his teammates, his long-running feuds with Cruyff and Koeman...he has a long history of doing anything in his power to make his players despise him.
The remit for LVG is very different : get Man Utd back to Fergie level ASAP. Because as the Moyes sacking shows, we are not waiting around. The remit at Spurs would be : Manager wages and player transfer/wage resources do not grow on trees. You may be using a lot more untested kids than you are used to. Keep us there or thereabouts (especially with the new WHL build happening) .
Lenny I'm now in my 51st year as a Spurs fan and I am probably more hopeful now than any time in the last 40 years. I like what Poch is doing and hopefully Levy does as well, to such an extent that he backs him with a little finance. Poch bringing through youngsters has saved Levy both money and risk. There has to be a little payback. Losing Poch at this time would be a disaster, at last we are on the brink of having a new stadium, which we need to fill to compete with the likes of the money bags teams. Starting over again should not be on the menu. We need to progress and at this stage CL football would be a progression. It would allow us to attract one or a couple of players that could change a very good team into regular title challengers and knockout stage CL competitors. I would not swap all of this for one title. Poch plays an attractive pressing game, unlike the Maureens, Gaals or AVB of this world. I would not want to swap Poch's style for a team that bores or kicks its way to the title. We are Tottenham ffs. In the words of the late, great Danny Blanchflower. "The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It's nothing of the kind. The game is about glory. It's about doing things in style, with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom." At last we are doing things again with style and with a flourish, I want to see how far we can go. I'm sure one day Poch will return to his native Argentina to manage the national side, and probably be very successful, but let's hope he sets up a dynasty here before he moves on. We once let one of our own, Vic Buckingham, slip through our hands, who didn't really go on to do much, except introduce 'the Tottenham way' to Ajax, later known as Total Football and afterwards spent a short time at Barcelona contributing to the setup and style of football that has led to where they are today.
He might be available again soon if anyone's interested. Great CV including an F.A.Cup win in England
One journo has revealed that Van Gaalling was looking to sign Eriksen this summer, which perfectly fits Man Utd's MO of weakening threats to their position as well as Van Gaalling's MO of not realising the reality of their position or the fact Levy has access to sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads.
Not if they've any sense. Time he retired, I think. He's proved to be out of touch with modern players and unfamiliar with the requirements of the PL.
He doesn't seem particularly well suited to La Liga either ...or the Bundesliga ...or international management
What irritated me is that if SAF had neglected the defence and had ageing or misfiring midfielders, he'd make sure the pace of Rashford, Martial and Delay was exploited. He'd have them terrorising opposition defences. There might be a few 4-3s and 3-4s along the way, but Utd's forwards would be feared. Van Gaal attempted to address these weaknesses by blunting the attack and playing a conservative possession game at a snail's pace. That approach won the hearts of nobody.
