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Manchester United Thread

Agree with beachryan, I think Van Gaal at this point is overrated. In the last 15 years, he had a horrible year with Barça, finishing 5th or something like that, and a horrible second year with Bayern.

The problem for United is that there's not any clear cut candidate outside Klopp. Tough job for the board. They missed the change to get either Guardiola or Mourinho a year before, so no pitty for them.
 
Pep is ours.

Will be interesting to see who Van Gaal goes after in the transfer market. Dunno what his track record is like?
 
Godotelli said:
Pep is ours.
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What makes you say that? You've got Audrey Roberts, she's doing a fine job.

robertspellegrini.jpg
 
beachryan said:
Why do people have so much faith in Van Gaal? Other than some brief success (before blowing up) with Bayern, he's doing nothing for 15 years.

If it was 2002 I agree his CV would be up there with the very best in world football, but he's not really been delivering since then.

His CV is quite similar to Sven's...

Klopp is the dream, won't happen and I love him even more for it.

Who knows what the hell the Glazers will do though. Probably bring in their favourite dog walker.
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Hes not perfect, however hes far more capable than David Moyes. Nothing at United will be alien to him as hes managed the worlds biggest clubs and won trophies at these clubs.

Probably his biggest plus is he has a footballing philosophy and one that doesn't revolve around crossing at every opportunity.
YouTube - Van Gaal: My philosophy makes me one of the best

The other options are IMO

Simeone
Blanc

And below that maybe

De Boer
Martinez

Like I said I have no problem with Van Gaal and maybe Giggs as assistant for 3 Years and then to try again for Klopp or promote Giggs at that point.
 
Steak Bake said:
This is the worst thing that could have happened to the rest of the Prem league. United are going to change everything now, they'll focus on tactical managers, bring in better players and basically go on to dominate again - they are simply too huge a club not to.

I really fear we'll land Moyes. I hope Levy doesnt even consider him :(
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My guess would be that if van Gaal leaves for United, you will end up with Pochettino. Southampton -- with their German chairman -- can then bring in Tuchel.
 
Steve-O21 said:
If I were the chairman at one of Norwich, Sunderland, or West Brom and my club retains their Premier League status, I would jump at the chance to land someone like Moyes. He would provide the managerial stability those clubs have severely lacked over the last couple of seasons.

I wonder if Giggs (if he replaces Moyes) will be a permanent appointment? I have no idea how good of a manager he will be. Gary Monk is having a difficult time at Swansea, despite being "one of the guys". Could Giggs be on the receiving end of similar in-fighting and dissent?

That brings me to my next question: What is United's long-term plan regarding their managerial position? If the rumors are to be believed, Giggs will take over for the interim; van Gaal will take over during the summer. Van Gaal is not a permanent solution. He will be a stop-gap until a relatively young, ambitious individual becomes available.

Which top-flight managers fit that profile? The following list is composed of managers 55 years old and younger:

  • Benítez - won CL, already managing a CL team for next season, ex-Liverpool, rotation policy is as good as it is bad
  • Blanc - CL experience, MU ties, already managing a CL team for next season, tactically not dynamic
  • Conte - CL experience, most underrated manager in Europe, one of the most tactically astute managers in the world (e.g., easily switches between 3- and 4-man defenses), rebuilt Juve into a dominant force in Serie A after Calciopoli, has struggled in the CL w/ a team that should make quarter-finals every season
  • de Boer - CL experience, prioritizes youth, overly confident in domestic ties (probably because Ajax will most likely lift their third successive league trophy)
  • Donadoni - CL experience as a player, attacking football, will he have the command of the MU dressing room (e.g., Euro 2008?
  • Garcia - CL experience, a possible Mourinho in the making?, identifies bargains in the transfer window (e.g., Benatia, Gervinho, Strootman), consistently gets Totti to track back
  • Guardiola - won CL, will be better prepared to adapt to English football now that he has managed in Germany, speaks English, wedded to attacking football, but tactically plays to the strengths of his teams, he is the trendsetter for European football ATM
  • Klopp - CL experience, speaks English, too intense to sustain success at an English club for multiple seasons?
  • Martínez - no CL experience, attacking football
  • Montella - CL experience, attacking football, ability to gel w/ senior leaders on team (e.g., Totti), thriving at a club with good administrative stability
  • Simeone - CL experience, has created a true sense of camaraderie from board to fans at Atleti, will his passion carry over to an English-speaking side?, can he get the best out of his players season after season like Ferguson, or is he a 3-4 year project where both he and the players burn out by the end?
  • Spalletti - CL experience, adapts his tactics to his personnel, maybe he can get the best out of Rooney?
  • Tuchel - no CL experience, attacking football, prioritizes youth, Klopp-lite
  • Valverde - CL experience, attacking football, prioritizes youth, clubs consistently get results against Barcelona and Madrid
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Excellent post btw, thanks.
 
How many Dutch players would Van Gaal sign for United? What I remember from him is turning Barcelona into Ajax Mk.2 and showing terrible man management skills.
Come to think of it, I do hope you get him! :D
 
Rentboy said:
How many Dutch players would Van Gaal sign for United? What I remember from him is turning Barcelona into Ajax Mk.2 and showing terrible man management skills.
Come to think of it, I do hope you get him! :D
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Honestly, United could do worse than to pick up Martins Indi, Blind, and or Depay. Martins Indi and Blind have the temperament to become special players. I have not seen enough of Depay to see if he will continue to develop as his current rate, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him be an impact sub at the World Cup.

Also, from the little I know of van Gaal, he does have good man-management skills. However, he often succeeds in environments where the players are hungry and humble for success.
 
Hehe: Man Utd shares close more than $1 up after Moyes sacking at $18.78 - total value of club has risen by around £110m in last nine hours.
 
I'd take Anceloti.

A highly experienced, still relatively young manager that knows what it takes to win the EPL.
 
Shooto said:
I'd take Anceloti.

A highly experienced, still relatively young manager that knows what it takes to win the EPL.
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:LOL: We'd all take Ancelotti but that's no different to saying we'd take Pep or Klopp, he isn't available.

I also think fans need to move on from the

"Well he's OK for a couple seasons but we need someone long term"

There isn't another Sir Alex, we need to adapt to the modern times and with that comes the unfortunate situation that we'll likely be looking for a new manager every couple of years, its no different to any other big club.

EDIT:

Seems more leaks (which is worrying in of itself) however SAF was fully behind decision to get rid of Moyes and Ancelotti does indeed head our short list of potential candidates.

Ancelotti, Van Gaal and Simeone.

Ancelotti sits above the other two with the other two both having positives and negatives.

thankfully all sound far more exciting than David Moyes :))
 
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I see Ancelotti for couple more years at Real, he's doing very good job there , even if he won't win la liga or champions.
 
Ancelotti was fantastic with Chelsea, well i should rather write "Chelsea were great under Ancelotti".
Never understood why they sacked him.
 
Of course we should be looking for someone long term. United don't want to be changing managers every couple of years. Obviously the chances of another 25yr manager is very unlikely but you want some stability for at least 5 years if not more.

What worries me is giggs being mentioned. I think the next manager has to show how serious we are about getting back to the top.

Ancelloti would be great, better than klopp, but I agree it'd take a lot to get him, but send the right message.
 
gerd said:
Ancelotti was fantastic with Chelsea, well i should rather write "Chelsea were great under Ancelotti".
Never understood why they sacked him.
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At last I agree with one of your posts. Fantastic manager and coach, one of the best around - he'd fit United like a glove.

Meanwhile we'll get another dud.
 
Steak Bake said:
Good one! I'll score that a: 7

(-3 for bad English)
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Another very cheap shot. Perhaps we could continue this discussion in my native language, i wonder if you would do better than most non native English speakers here.

Welcome to my ignore list. Have a good life, see you under another nick in a couple of months.
 
gerd said:
Ancelotti was fantastic with Chelsea, well i should rather write "Chelsea were great under Ancelotti".
Never understood why they sacked him.
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Because Roman runs Chelsea in strange ways. He thought AVB had some magic notions about football and that he could win anything.
Sacking Ancelotti. Buying AVB out of Porto. Sacking AVB.
Nothing can surprise you when it comes from Roman and Chelsea.
 
Shooto said:
Of course we should be looking for someone long term. United don't want to be changing managers every couple of years. Obviously the chances of another 25yr manager is very unlikely but you want some stability for at least 5 years if not more.

What worries me is giggs being mentioned. I think the next manager has to show how serious we are about getting back to the top.

Ancelloti would be great, better than klopp, but I agree it'd take a lot to get him, but send the right message.
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Yeah but as we saw with Moyes, prioritizing 'longevity' doesn't work out if that person can't get results.

Klopp, Simeone and Blanc are capable of being here for 10 years but what are the chances things work out that way.
 
Ancelotti would be excellent. I'm now rooting for Bayern, as I figure if Madrid don't win the CL or the League, he'll be shown the door.
 
Nice, even more reason for me to support Belgium at this WC - Adnan has declared he'd like to play for them.

...wait, what do you mean they probably won't take him? Well boo.
 
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