I've also been wondering how a manager of LVG's pedigree could f up the level of talent he has at his disposal. A fan could have put out a team of, say, Rashford, Martial, Mata, Di Maria, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Fu Manchu, three other defenders and De Gea and be fighting for the title, you'd think...
Depay hasn't settled half as well as I thought he would. Thought the lad would hit the ground running pretty much from the off, he has all the ingredients to have done so; pace, skill, eye for goal, good free kicks... Yet it's just not clicked so far. Plenty of time to adjust, mind. I really like the look of Rashford, still early doors but he could be another good English striker in the making. His finish last night was of the highest quality. Martial's reminding be a bit of a young Adel Taarabt, bags of skill but doesn't have the footballing head/ composure to make the right decision once he's beaten a man, though that should improve with time. Not really seen too much of Lingard to comment. That young full back, Fosu-Mensah (SP?) looks a player, got some real tenacity to his style and seems hard to beat.
At least LVG's team isn't going the way of the "two fat ladies". I keep looking at Giggs looking at his manager and his expression of doom. LVG's last chance is the FA Cup.Hell! If Wenker can do it why not him...........
I'd like to see what Utd would be like if they picked a balanced side. They were a lot closer last night than they were against us, but it was still a little off. Martial as a striker, Depay and Lingard on the wings, Mata behind the striker with Herrera and Schneiderlin in the middle. Is Rojo any good as a centre-half, as he's a half-arsed left-back? Maybe swap him and Blind. That or drop him and play Fosu-Mensah in the middle. Smalling and either Valencia or Darmian for the other slots, despite the Italian's horror show at the Lane.
There are a lot of very good young players coming through (or acquired at great expense - including Luke Shaw, don't forget) which is reason for optimism, but they need experienced, quality players alongside them to guide them. LvG has recruited badly here - Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Darmian, Rojo have all been failures, Blind has done OK, but isn't a top quality centre back. Of those aleady there, Carrick is past it, Fellaini is a waste of time, Valencia and Young are always injured, but will never recapture former glories anyway, Jones is always injured too and will never progress as a result, Mata and Herrera are good players, but are not played to their strengths and Rooney only performs at his best when fit, settled, motivated and playing just behind a 20 goal striker - and he's doing none of those presently. Most of those need to go. The best teams have a strong spine and this is where Utd are light years behind the best in the PL and Europe. A commanding centre half, holding midfielder, playmaker and goalscoring centre forward would enable the young players to blossom. That's only another £150M to spend. I sincerely hope LvG isn't spending it. Pace in the full back and wide positions is a given when you look at the young talent available, but they need to be encouraged to perform. That means a change of tactics too. Teams need to fear the like of Martial and Depay running in behind them. Receiving the ball in static positions are trying to dribble through a crowded defence will work once in a hundred attempts. Receiving the ball on the half turn with space to run into beyond the defence is a threat every time. Martial and Rashford might ultimately be a front two for Utd, but at this stage, Martial and Depay would be best deployed in a front three either side of a striker who can take chances (a top scorer with 8 PL goals isn't good enough). At 18, Rashford will be used more sparingly or off the bench. He can't carry the attack for a whole season of 50-60 games.
Keep up the good work! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...st-single-handedly-keeping-louis-van-gaal-in/
Would we have seen Rashford had Rooney not been injured? How many other careers has Rooney spoiled by *not* being injured? Thinking internationally particularly, I wonder how those caps could have been better distributed to strikers who never got a chance?
That isn't a fair question to ask when a certain Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey won 62 caps for his country across 11 years of slicing shots out for throw-ins.
Is possibly winning the FA Cup + getting CL last season enough for LVG to compensate for possibly not getting CL this season ??
One can only hope so. Sacking him would make Ed look even more incompetent than he does now. In three years, two managers employed.Two managers sacked.That's dangerous territory for a man wanting to keep his job. Plus, look at the rise in revenue. Glazers should be happy. I remember when £25m from the CL was football utopia. I think it was 6 years ago. That's chump change now.
I wonder what made Rafa apply for the Newcastle job?Did he think he was a saviour to a fallen team?No.It was the money!
