Very true but if you're going to stick with those players (league title winners AND seasoned professionals) at some point you have to take an inclusive approach to deciding on our style of football. Instead he continued this endless playing the ball out wide and lumping cross after cross after cross after cross. There were some ridiculous records being created for crosses every time we played. It was clear it went against the grain for every player there, especially the senior players. I can understand why they lost faith in him. I dont excuse it but I dont blame them either. There are players there particularly in our defence who have never recovered mentally imo.
I was prepared to give Moyes more time because I knew how difficult the job was. Yes, he had done himself no favours by getting rid of the coaches too quickly. Fergie could have had a word but he didn't want to be like busby and undermine his successor. Truth be told someone should have told him that these players would respond to their old coaches and may better to slowly get into the job instead of doing a wholesale clear out. I was disgusted more with the players than with Moyes. Yes they were champions and Moyes hadn't won anything yet. So what? He is the manager and should be listened to and obeyed. It was obvious to me that when we were being beaten by the likes of WBA and Saints at home, I called for the sacking of the ****ing players not Moyes. As I had said umpteenth time last season, the behaviour of the senior players had been disgraceful and unacceptable whether unwitting or not. Moyes had an impossible task and I can understand united sacking him but for me it was a sad occasion. UIR is talking **** if he said I had compared Moyes to SAF and that I said that he needed the same length of time as fergie. I have said many times that what fergie has done was exceptional and will never be repeated. As for LVG and this season. Let's be clear that if the RS had not been such a pile of **** LVG would have struggled to even come close to a 4th IF he had performed as he did. He took everybody by surprise (including the pundits and many of his own fans) by coming good against spurs and the then 'flying' RS team. Then after a good performance if not result against the chavs, he did badly again. By rights he should have struggled to get CL but the bunch of pussies that are the current RS managed to do even worse and totally collapse after their humiliation at our hands and worse they managed to make Stoke look like Barca by being Rodgered 6-1 when they needed the points. The irony of the season is that the RS of all people had been instrumental in helping LVG and United get the that CL place. It only needed them to play half decent in the last 7 matches for them to come 4th.
I never called for Moyes to be sacked. I never would for any manager at United. I would have been content to give him time. I didnt blame the players for the position we ended up in but I criticised them for the gutless performance away to Olympiakos but by that time it was second half of the season and much of the damage was done.
I think LvG did just enough to hit his target this season on purpose. I feel he used the first half of the season and certain games in the second half to find out about the ability of his players to adapt to other positions and tactics, also to give under-performing players a fair chance (Falcao, Evans, AdM and RvP). When he needed the points to stay ahead of the pack he used the players to much better effect, as other teams started to falter he went back to experimenting. Next season he will have a much better idea of his squads ability and I expect us to start fast.
I view this season as an assessment. van Gaal is now better prepared and knows what is required. The first half was what would normally take place in pre season. van Gaal missed it so had to assess the players on the fly. Much like Diego says.
Aye that's what I was talking about. Moyes was always damned if he did, damned if he didn't, and not helped by a change of CEO at the club at the same time. That said, no one was expecting him to be script perfect, but he seemed to be exactly the opposite - if he had a call to make he almost invariably seemed to make the wrong one. You could expect a few stumbles and missteps along the way as he learned the ropes, but I'd honestly struggle to name one major decision he got right last season, other than refusing to sell Rooney in the summer. That's ultimately why he went imo - no one expected a title challenge, but as Tobes said he was just so obviously uncomfortable under the pressure that the board obviously had no confidence he would improve this season. LVG has been freed from all that, and whilst he inherited a worse squad than Moyes he has been given the freedom to tear it up and start again, but also has the expectation that he will do just that. So no excuses - he makes the calls around how the squad and team are built, he has the experience, and he has to deliver next season.
I should just say that I agree that Moyes wasn't the man for the job and it became more apparent as the season wore on. He was in over his head, clearly, and made some massive **** up's. His statements regarding City and Liverpool (that we aspire to be City and that we are underdog's for our game v Liverpool at Old Trafford) are what sealed it for me, it was obvious he wasn't up to it. I'm more making a clear distinction of the blind unstinting faith in van Gaal and the blind unstinting hatred of Moyes. If Moyes is there to be criticised then so is van Gaal, who has had it piss easy by comparison. Yeah, no excuses next season as he won't have any. He's pretty much got away scot free this season and has been allowed to get on with it, if we revert back to some of the ****e he churned out this season next season then he'll rightly be in the firing line.
No need to panic people. The universe is working towards a greater good. Rodgers gets sacked soon Rafa gets sacked soon Rafa returns to Liverpool Profit
It is amazing how a slip changed the course of history. Imagine what would have happened if Stevie had not slipped... Just the thought gives me the shivers. The reality is much better and the memories of that great summer...