Rafael: "Van Gaal killed my love for United"

Darren Fletcher came up to me -- I love Fletcher, he was so helpful to me -- and he said: 'Not bad for a first game, eh?' He always tried to help me. For example, I was still learning English and, in one game, I didn't play well. Fergie was telling me off, and I was replying to him by smiling with my thumbs up because Brazilians do that. I thought I was showing respect. Fletcher said to me: 'You don't do that.'"

Originally Posted by AK14

"Van Gaal is not a bad coach, but I didn't like his character," Rafael said. "One day, I was in the canteen waiting to eat. Van Gaal used to speak to us after we'd eaten each day. I had a head injury after a game at Yeovil -- one of the few games I played in that season -- and I was touching my injury. After three or four seconds, he touched my head and said: 'Why don't you respect me?'

Tickled me that.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Mou would have despised the lad btw. Imagine the monthly fitness breakdowns.

Mittin is a bit of a stirrer isn't he? Didn't he get Ando to slag off the Big Man too? Again without much substance.

“Get”

"I'd get the ball and look to play it quickly to Cristiano or [Paul] Scholes or [Ryan] Giggs," he said. "So many players you can give the ball too. Fergie always wanted me to get forward. He never said: 'Today we're going to focus on defending.' Never.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

"I'd get the ball and look to play it quickly to Cristiano or [Paul] Scholes or [Ryan] Giggs," he said. "So many players you can give the ball too. Fergie always wanted me to get forward. He never said: 'Today we're going to focus on defending.' Never.

Agreed

However

The state of the squad means there has to be an element of safety first in our play, most of our centre halves are useless and we're playing two of Fergie's wingers at fullback.

Originally Posted by utd99

“Get”

Ask players about the manager who binned them and you'll get such headlines. Getting told to pay attention in a meeting is brutal

Tbf worst part is this:

Players didn't speak back to Van Gaal.

Probably still the same under Mou. Says it all. No wonder he's reportedly happy to sell most of them.

I admit that I fully supported Van Gaal's appointment at the time, remembering the Bayern team with Ribery and Robben in full flow knocking us out the Champions League one year and the Dutch beating the Spanish 5-1 at the World Cup.

Unfortunately i must have sub-consciously blocked out every other Dutch match in Brazil as they were awful. He had to go. All season you could see the confusion on any United attackers face they did not know what to do when they had the ball. Crucially as well, his football was horrible. If LVG had to go for his turgid style of play I don't know why we even considered Mourinho though.

Originally Posted by sub three hours

I admit that I fully supported Van Gaal's appointment at the time, remembering the Bayern team with Ribery and Robben in full flow knocking us out the Champions League one year and the Dutch beating the Spanish 5-1 at the World Cup.

Unfortunately i must have sub-consciously blocked out every other Dutch match in Brazil as they were awful. He had to go. All season you could see the confusion on any United attackers face they did not know what to do when they had the ball. Crucially as well, his football was horrible. If LVG had to go for his turgid style of play I don't know why we even considered Mourinho though.

Van Gaal wasn't sacked for his style of play. It was the results.

Mourinho like Van Gaal has been given carte blanche by the club to play how the £#%&! he likes and will stand or fall on his results.

Originally Posted by sub three hours

I admit that I fully supported Van Gaal's appointment at the time, remembering the Bayern team with Ribery and Robben in full flow knocking us out the Champions League one year and the Dutch beating the Spanish 5-1 at the World Cup.

Unfortunately i must have sub-consciously blocked out every other Dutch match in Brazil as they were awful. He had to go. All season you could see the confusion on any United attackers face they did not know what to do when they had the ball. Crucially as well, his football was horrible. If LVG had to go for his turgid style of play I don't know why we even considered Mourinho though.

He also signed a load of garbage which set us back more than his shit on a stick football did. Gutted it ended the way it did for him but he was the wrong appointment if we're honest

Loved his pressers and interviews though

Originally Posted by andyroo

Van Gaal wasn't sacked for his style of play. It was the results.

Mourinho like Van Gaal has been given carte blanche by the club to play how the £#%&! he likes and will stand or fall on his results.

Aren’t the results a by product of the style of play? The support he got then and even more so now is baffling. If any manager of any other club was throwing themselves on the floor and saying “eat your mince pies” they’d have been destroyed on here for being the embarrassing @#%&!s they are.

Big Louis weeding out the crap

Originally Posted by Jethro

Big Louis weeding out the crap

Then replacing it with bigger crap

Originally Posted by andyroo

Van Gaal wasn't sacked for his style of play. It was the results.

Mourinho like Van Gaal has been given carte blanche by the club to play how the £#%&! he likes and will stand or fall on his results.

I don't doubt he'll get results andyroo, he already has, but Mourinho has never - not at Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Madrid or Chelsea Mk II - produced sides that excite or enthral.

Mourinho as we all know produces functional, organised sides that win but we'll have to sacrifice entertainment for it. Anybody who's expecting any attacking fluidity and team harmony (because if there's one thing Mourinho brings to every job it's bruised egos) can forget it.

This is why his appointment divided opinion from the off, we knew what we were going to get. I'm happy to nail my colours to the mast andyroo, I simply didn't see the fit with us and Mourinho from the start..

Originally Posted by AK14

Then replacing it with bigger crap

Sad, but true. Darmian ffs

Originally Posted by sub three hours

I don't doubt he'll get results andyroo, he already has, but Mourinho has never - not at Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Madrid or Chelsea Mk II - produced sides that excite or enthral.

Mourinho as we all know produces functional, organised sides that win but we'll have to sacrifice entertainment for it. Anybody who's expecting any attacking fluidity and team harmony (because if there's one thing Mourinho brings to every job it's bruised egos) can forget it.

This is why his appointment divided opinion from the off, we knew what we were going to get. I'm happy to nail my colours to the mast andyroo, I simply didn't see the fit with us and Mourinho from the start..

Yeah I didn't exactly think he was a great fit either but this thread isn't about him, or indeed about Van Gaal or even Rafael. I t's about saffers's vindictive quest to rid himself of his richly deserved bedwetter of the year award.

Originally Posted by andyroo

Yeah I didn't exactly think he was a great fit either but this thread isn't about him, or indeed about Van Gaal or even Rafael. I t's about saffers's vindictive quest to rid himself of his richly deserved bedwetter of the year award.

Very well said, though i thought the toys were backin the pram now

Originally Posted by sub three hours

I admit that I fully supported Van Gaal's appointment at the time, remembering the Bayern team with Ribery and Robben in full flow knocking us out the Champions League one year and the Dutch beating the Spanish 5-1 at the World Cup.

Unfortunately i must have sub-consciously blocked out every other Dutch match in Brazil as they were awful. He had to go. All season you could see the confusion on any United attackers face they did not know what to do when they had the ball. Crucially as well, his football was horrible. If LVG had to go for his turgid style of play I don't know why we even considered Mourinho though.

Beat a very good Chile side, beat Australia 3-2 and also Brazil 3-0 in the 3rd place. Was clearly the manager of the tournament

Martial and Rashford didn't look confused at all

Originally Posted by Crumps

Agreed

However

The state of the squad means there has to be an element of safety first in our play, most of our centre halves are useless and we're playing two of Fergie's wingers at fullback.

The Cb's are not useless, they may not be world class but who is in the PL. Despite their flaws it is a better set of options than Liverpool for instance, unless we think the likes of Lovren and Klavan are better than what Utd have.

You can always find excuses to go the cautious route if you want to.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Beat a very good Chile side, beat Australia 3-2 and also Brazil 3-0 in the 3rd place. Was clearly the manager of the tournament

Actually you're right i'd forgotten about those other results S/Side.Red

It's mad, to me United's board have boxed themselves in by their lack of planning, since Moyes. The approach simply seems to have been "get in the biggest name available at the time". Swapping Mourinho for someone else, with another random style change hardly seems the way forward but bloody hell what we've got at the moment is not easy on the eye.

Originally Posted by sub three hours

Actually you're right i'd forgotten about those other results S/Side.Red

It's mad, to me United's board have boxed themselves in by their lack of planning, since Moyes. The approach simply seems to have been "get in the biggest name available at the time". Swapping Mourinho for someone else, with another random style change hardly seems the way forward but bloody hell what we've got at the moment is not easy on the eye.

Absolutely. What probably doesn't help is that Fergie's approach was unsustainable without him. Like it or not these days even attacking football is somewhat structured in some regard, whether it's Guardiola's style of Klopp's orchestrated pressing system.

Fergie maintained an authority and a man management style than meant controlling the dressing room was easy, even without much tactical preparation. But after he left we were probably always going to need to experience a revolution of training and tactical approach. That needed the club to be fully aware of what they wanted to build, and a commitment to it.

Instead they've essentially just thrown money at it.