Jose Mourinho rants at Graeme Souness and Jamie Carragher

Originally Posted by Semantic Lisp

and yet season 1 will end with no foundation whatsoever in the making

Did the season end already then?

The official Chelsea instagram page

https://instagram.com/p/0NwWo-QC8m/

Originally Posted by HERTS_RED

The official Chelsea instagram page

https://instagram.com/p/0NwWo-QC8m/

I wouldn't mind, but that Liverpool pic doesn't even remotely resemble what they did the other night. Morons.

Originally Posted by HERTS_RED

The official Chelsea instagram page

https://instagram.com/p/0NwWo-QC8m/

i bet that's mourinho's doing as well

'we will fight them on goals on sunday, we will fight them on instagram...'

Originally Posted by utd99

Did the season end already then?

the overall standard isn't that high in here is it

Originally Posted by Semantic Lisp

and yet season 1 will end with no foundation whatsoever in the making, which would seem a bit of an oversight considering how obvious it was to everyone that sorting the defence out was blatantly the top priority

no-one should be remotely fooled by the defensive record United has somehow achieved so far either because both the number of chances the opposition has created and how easily they've been created has been truly shocking game in game out, and only the GK has kept the score down.

the worry is that not only is De Gea likely to leave sooner rather than later, but LVG is unlikely to be in a position to jettison any of Evans, Smalling and Jones in the summer, let alone replace all of them at once.

In terms of foundations, the players that stay will have benefitted from working under van Gaal, as most players do, and he’s had a season to truly assess what further changes are needed. It's not much, but I think it's the start of something hopefully positive.

Yes the defence needed sorting, but the realisation that the young players Fergie based our future on largely aren’t going to prove good enough makes it a lot more difficult, as it turns out van Gaal is having to build pretty much a whole new team. As you suggest, the next central defensive partnership looks unlikely to include Evans, Smalling or Jones, while Rafael looks doomed and the Clevz, Welbz and Kagawa situations didn’t work out.

With half a dozen of the most experienced players leaving over the last 18 months, van Persie’s decline and the greater frequencey of Carrick’s injuries, a new United is having to be built far more quickly than is ideally healthy, isn’t it?

Originally Posted by Semantic Lisp

the overall standard isn't that high in here is it

Well it improved briefly.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

In terms of foundations, the players that stay will have benefitted from working under van Gaal, as most players do, and he’s had a season to truly assess what further changes are needed. It's not much, but I think it's the start of something hopefully positive.

Yes the defence needed sorting, but the realisation that the young players Fergie based our future on largely aren’t going to prove good enough makes it a lot more difficult, as it turns out van Gaal is having to build pretty much a whole new team. As you suggest, the next central defensive partnership looks unlikely to include Evans, Smalling or Jones, while Rafael looks doomed and the Clevz, Welbz and Kagawa situations didn’t work out.

With half a dozen of the most experienced players leaving over the last 18 months, van Persie’s decline and the greater frequencey of Carrick’s injuries, a new United is having to be built far more quickly than is ideally healthy, isn’t it?

i'd put money on it he decides on a quality RB and a central defensive leader

lvg has had two key battles this season: firstly he's had to come to terms with an injury-prone collection of players, and secondly he's had to make allowances for the results pressure he's been under in what is an unusually competitive league compared with previous big jobs in club football he's had. he's done very well on both counts imo, but the football has suffered for it, and his philosophy has rarely shone through on the pitch. however, when it has it is clear that even the players most criticised may slowly be adapting; it is possible that even the 3 central defenders may not be beyond help if lvv can ever manage a consistent team selection.