Man Utd Thread:

[Minder]

Low Velocity Grenade is mad taking Giggs on, first sign of results going shit there will be calls for Giggs to get the Gig  , and he will have Scholes on Sky again putting the boot into Van Gaal this time

[laoislad]

Low Velocity Grenade is mad taking Giggs on, first sign of results going shit there will be calls for Giggs to get the Gig  , and he will have Scholes on Sky again putting the boot into Van Gaal this time

Ah no LVG will be given time sure this is Manchester United and they don't sack mangers it's not the United way.

[Geoff Tipps]

Low Velocity Grenade is mad taking Giggs on, first sign of results going shit there will be calls for Giggs to get the Gig  , and he will have Scholes on Sky again putting the boot into Van Gaal this time

I wonder is that light aircraft on standby!!??

[Muck Savage]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quI_LkMj4HI

[ross4life]

Louis van Gaal confirmed as new Manchester United manager http://fw.to/mFHV8JU

The very best of luck to Van Gaal & he'll need all the luck he can get as United have a lot of catching up to do.

Surprised Ryan Giggs' retirement hasn't received a comment here yet. As a Liverpool fan, I just wanted to say well done to him. He's had a fantastic career, and is probably *the* player of the Premiership era. An absolute legend for Manchester United, and someone I've always admired as a player.

Well said AZ. Yes its sad day when one of biggest ever legends for Man United hangs up his boots. 40 years young & as fit as ever, a great career shame he didn't go out on a high like Fergie last year. Will be interesting what Giggs offers to Van Gaals management team.

[rodney trotter]

Yeah Giggs had a fantastic career at Utd, was probaly good enough to play another season. He was a class player at his best. Hopefully himself and Van Gaal can work well together, and maybe one day he will take over himself with better experience.

Shaw deal is suppose to be close, talk that it will be confirmed later this week along with another deal in the pipeline

[Shrewdness]

If there is a second signing in the pipeline, it may well be Toni Kroos or Fabregas if some sources are to be believed.

[TabClear]

I'll be sorry to see Giggs go. Him and Scholes were two United players you could not help but admire over the premierleague era. By far the best out and outt winger the premier league has seen and the ultimate professional.

[mouview]

Van Gaal has a good track record in the main as manager, but his ultra-disciplinarian approach could rub up some of the dressing room the wrong way. Plus, making RVP captain (teacher's pet) could put other noses out of joint. It could be great, it could explode wonderfully worse than the Moyes appointment. God alone knows what LVG will make of Young and Cleverley.

[Milltown Row2]

Van Gaal has a good track record in the main as manager, but his ultra-disciplinarian approach could rub up some of the dressing room the wrong way. Plus, making RVP captain (teacher's pet) could put other noses out of joint. It could be great, it could explode wonderfully worse than the Moyes appointment. God alone knows what LVG will make of Young and Cleverley.

Well it couldn't get any worse........ could it?

[magpie seanie]

Van Gaal is a great appointment. Can't understand the negativity about Giggs as assistant. Did these people harbour the same concerns when Mike Phelan or Meulensteen were appointed as Fergie's no 2? I think a lot of it is wishful thinking by people hoping it doesn't work out. Again - the so-called captaincy issue is a red herring as far as I can see. If Moyes was able to get the best out of Rooney after the mess with Fergie at the end of last season a proper top class manager like Van Gaal surely will unless he deems it too much trouble. One thing is for sure - players will be with him or out the door.

I do think United will buy a few players, maybe not have a great start next season but I think will challenge for the title. Even if they don't make a serious title challenge it's hard to see things being as bad as this season. Even if next season is difficult Van Gaal will deserve time because he is a proven winner and has shown in the past that he can do it. A key difference to this season. Genuinely though, I don't expect things to be near as bad next season, even if United don't get too many players in.

Sad to hear of Giggs' retirement. Think he still could still have offered a little as a player but probably had to retire if he was taking the no. 2 job. What a career. You just cannot say enough about it. Records that will never, ever, be approached. A truly great player with a truly great career. People that can't give him credit today make me wonder.... Good luck to him. He is getting as good an apprenticeship as anyone could hope for. Only time will tell if he will become a good manager but as a United supporter I am happy he is involved.

[rodney trotter]

150mill for LVG to spend, hopefully he brings in some quality, no doubt he will .. http://t.co/RZo0DxqO01

[trileacman]

We all heard from alot of lads how great an appointment Moyes was. He wasn't and I had doubts about him at the time as well. LVG is another poor appointment in my eyes. Been plying his trade in the low-value arena of international management, a fractious relationship with the media and his only significant silverware was 20 years ago when European football was a very different place. He won a Bundesliga at Bayern when alot if lads here would have said it was Mickey Mouse league a long way behind the Spanish and English ones. He didn't build a team at Bayern, was there for about a season and he has a less than distinguished record at signing players. That won't suffice at United with a 150 million war chest.

If you're advocating the great appointment of LVG and Giggs, remember you probably sung the praises of Moyes and ex-United stalwart Phil Neville as well. As a Pool fan I didn't fear the appointment of Moyes, I thought it was an error and once again LVG isn't a signing that sends shivers down my spine.

[rodney trotter]

How are you comparing his CV to Moyes? Nobody was saying how great  an appointment Moyes was at the time. btw he brought through Alaba, Muller, Kroos, Badstuber at Bayern

A decent CV

Ajax

1991-92 Eredivisie: 2nd, Uefa Cup: Winner, KNVB Cup: QF
1992-93 Eredivisie: 3rd, Uefa Cup: QF, KNVB Cup: Winner
1993-94 Eredivisie: 1st, Cup Winners' Cup: QF, KNVB Cup: SF
1994-95 Eredivisie: 1st, Champions League: Winner, KNVB Cup: QF
1995-96 Eredivisie: 1st, Champions League: Final, KNVB Cup: Last 16
1996-97 Eredivisie: 4th, Champions League: SF, KNVB Cup: 1st round

Barcelona

1997-98 La Liga: 1st, Champions League: Group, Copa del Rey: Winner
1998-99 La Liga: 1st, Champions League: Group, Copa del Rey: QF
1999-00 La Liga: 2nd, Champions League: SF, Copa del Rey: SF

Netherlands

2000-02 World Cup qualifying: P10 W6 D2 L2, 30 scored, 9 conceded

Barcelona

2002-03 (at time of sacking) La Liga: 12th, Champions League: 2nd group, Copa del Rey: 1st round

AZ Alkmaar

2005-06 Eredivisie: 2nd, Europa League: last 32, KNVB Cup: SF
2006-07 Eredivisie: 3rd, Europa League: QF, KNVB Cup: Final
2007-08 Eredivisie: 11th, Europa League: Group stage, KNVB Cup: 2nd round
2008-09 Eredivisie: 1st, KNVB Cup: QFs

Bayern Munich

2009-10 Bundesliga: 1st, Champions League: Final, DFB-Pokal: Winners
2010-11 (at time of sacking) Bundesliga: 4th, Champions League: Last 16, DFB-Pokal: SF

Netherlands

2012-14 World Cup qualifying: P10, W9, D1, L0, 34 scored, 5 conceded

[trileacman]

Nobody was saying how great an appointment Moyes was at the time.

I couldn't be assed trawling through the board for examples but there was hundreds. Here's a general gist of how Man U seen Moyes at the start, Rafa at Chelsea he wasn't.



Alaba, Muller, Kroos were all products of Bayern's acadamy. Van Gall was there for a year and a half, he's a minor figure in the development of those players.

Also he was sacked by Bayern, so they obviously weren't a fan of his approach and they been doing pretty fecking well since.




Post- Script: f**k it it's too much fun not to include some more Moyes Hysteria; apologies for dragging it up MS but forgive me if I remain sceptical of the Van Gaal hype machine.

I think United will do well because (a) they have a very good squad as it is; (b) I am pretty sure United will spend a lot this summer to strengthen the squad, the club will be extremely anxious to show the transition is working; (c) after my initial negative reaction I'm beginning to think Moyes is actually the perfect replacement in these circumstances.

As regards to the "back seat driver" issue I cannot see Ferguson doing that. He is far too cute for that. He will help Moyes as and when Moyes wants - I'd be shocked if it hasn't been discussed and agreed.

The big challengers will be Chelsea and city of course (Arsenal will buy and improve but not enough to really challenge). Interesting that all 3 will have new bosses at the helm - who will settle in quickest. My hunch is United is the most stable environment so I'm boldly predicting that Moyes takes the title in year 1!