*** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

[KG]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

I doubt the Mickey Mouse Cup is a priority for LVG and United. One less fixture to worry about.

The LC is a great way to give the youngsters a run out. Priority or not it gives them games which is obviously needed.


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[Bezzey]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

I doubt the Mickey Mouse Cup is a priority for LVG and United. One less fixture to worry about.

What else do they have this year though?

[eyeamg0dly]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

What else do they have this year though?

fighting off relegation is like winning a trophy....

[Leon]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

fighting off relegation is like winning a trophy....

Try again.

On to real talk, this is a pretty good analysis of what LVG is trying to accomplish with the squad. And this is also the number one reason why I don't feel helpless, unlike the last 2 months of Moyes' reign -- there's a clear philosophy on how he wants to play. Moyes tried so many formations and lineups and never settled on anything.

http://babb.telegraph.co.uk/2014/08/van-gaals-philosophy-begins-to-take-shape-still-not-great/

[RoyceDa59]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

Try again.

On to real talk, this is a pretty good analysis of what LVG is trying to accomplish with the squad. And this is also the number one reason why I don't feel helpless, unlike the last 2 months of Moyes' reign -- there's a clear philosophy on how he wants to play. Moyes tried so many formations and lineups and never settled on anything.

http://babb.telegraph.co.uk/2014/08/...ill-not-great/

Very true many people are yelling at him to throw away the 3-5-2 because it is not working but at least he has a clear cut vision on how he wants his team to play in the end. It is like LVG said "it is going to get worse before it gets better". Like you said it isn't as hopeless as it seems.

[Brahvocado]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

3-5-2 isn't his preferred setup though, he has said numerous times that he will be switching to a 4-3-3, which has pretty much always been his preferred system.

[eyeamg0dly]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

He might have the plan but he does not have the right pieces yet. I can't help but scratch my head wondering what he plans to do with the players they have, especially Di Maria.

At least Moyes knew the pieces didn't fit his plan and at least he tried to change the formation to make it work. He had common sense, but I can only assume his players lost their faith and everything fell apart. Ultimately he was still responsible.

Its not LVG's fault or Moyes' that United is in the situation that they are in. I can't help but think that LVG is still struggling to fit that square piece into the round hole and if he can't adapt that mentality, it will cost him his job.

[dubcity]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

Loved seeing Di Maria in the white kit. At least it's a gradual transition from blanco to red. If he can't help then score more goals, LVG might not be around long.

[Leon]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

3-5-2 isn't his preferred setup though, he has said numerous times that he will be switching to a 4-3-3, which has pretty much always been his preferred system.

He might have the plan but he does not have the right pieces yet. I can't help but scratch my head wondering what he plans to do with the players they have, especially Di Maria.

At least Moyes knew the pieces didn't fit his plan and at least he tried to change the formation to make it work. He had common sense, but I can only assume his players lost their faith and everything fell apart. Ultimately he was still responsible.

Its not LVG's fault or Moyes' that United is in the situation that they are in. I can't help but think that LVG is still struggling to fit that square piece into the round hole and if he can't adapt that mentality, it will cost him his job.

3-5-2 can easily go 4-3-3 without changing personnel in-game. The reason why we're going 3-5-2 is simple -- ROONEY, RVP, MATA. He wants to get them all on the pitch at the same time, and why wouldn't you want all of your talented attacking players in there? It's just a matter of seeing if it will work. Long-term though (at least for LVG's time in charge), there will be a gradual shift to 4-3-3, a formation United are very familiar with since Sir Alex played that a lot in Europe.

I also don't see any threat of LVG getting the sack. Results are still expected while a new philosophy is taking shape, but this isn't the same situation as Moyes' 6-year contract without getting interviewed by anyone. He's on for 3 years, long enough for him to do proper work and short enough for the club to assess if the project is working without risking more failed seasons.

Moyes tried many things, yes. If we're talking about where players are on the pitch. The style of play, though, was something different altogether. I watched every game of Moyes' reign -- we had no identity.

Loved seeing Di Maria in the white kit. At least it's a gradual transition from blanco to red. If he can't help then score more goals, LVG might not be around long.

He had a solid debut. I've no doubt he will adapt and we'll start seeing assists. Gary Neville tweeted a good point about Di Maria while watching the match -- United players pass and run with the ball at speed, something Di Maria did against Burnley. He'll fit.

[~LiverpoolRed~]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

Hate to admit it but I'm looking forward to seeing Falcao in the Premier League even if it means he's at Utd. Does this mean LVG will put Rooney in his unfavoured position yet again? My guess is that Juan Mata is going to be the odd man out in your star studded attack.

If 3-5-2 is the way forward what's the likely lineup when all are fit?

De Gea
Jones Rojo Blind
Valencia Herrera Di Maria Shaw
Rooney
Falcao RVP

[Leon]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***





We lost a part of what makes United the club that it is since Sir Matt Busby said those famous words: "If they're good enough, they're old enough." Manchester born and bred and who was good enough to make it. I hope he flourishes as a CF, even if it's with Arsenal. Maybe, we get him back one day.

[Leon]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

epileptic_disco 340 points 7 hours ago*

TRANSLATION
Di Maria: I don't know how to speak English, but I have a teacher and I call Mata if I need help for now.*
I saw what Florentino said. To be able to earn like Cristiano, you need to have won the Ballon d'Or. I don't have much of a relationship with Florentino. He wasn't even there when I signed my contract.
I have never said that I wanted to leave Madrid. I never wanted to. I don't know where diarioas & marca get the things they printed about me during the World Cup from.
I was used to La Liga games. Now I have to adapt. Hopefully we can get United back where they deserve to be.
Cristiano was always on my side. I don't know how long he will stay in Madrid.
What I love more than anything is to play with La Selección (Argentina). Whatever game, I want to be there.
On the day of the World Cup final, a letter came from Madrid telling me not to play. I ripped it up...I want through a lot that (World Cup final) morning. It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me...
I was trying my best to play the final, but there was a 90% risk of getting injured again.
Then I talked to Sabella and I told him that I didn't want to let the team down and waste a substitution after 5 or 10 minutes.
In the end Sabella decided and it was the best [for the team].

EDIT: More quotes sourced from twitter.
When I came on vs Atlético [in the Supercopa], Sergio and Iker told me they had never heard such an ovation at the Bernabeu.
I had proposals from PSG, Monaco, Manchester United... Even Manchester City were around. When you have these proposals...
The normal thing would be that the club offered me a new contract, but they said nothing and only wanted to sell me.
It's impossible Man United don't allow me to go to an international game, because playing for Argentina is what I love the most.
Van Gaal needs time because they're not used to play with three at the back over here.
Here [in England] isn't like in Spain, where you lose three games and you get sacked. Van Gaal will have time to work things out

EDIT: FULL interview in case any Spanish speakers want to listen and translate further.

[Leon]

Re: *** The Official "Red Devils" Manchester United FC Thread***

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/K7YCZx1D8HA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

There's just something really likable about this Mata guy.

Edit: It's also still pretty damn cool to have Falcao playing for us. Can't wait for El Tigre to score!

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ihY3aZB1sEE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Leon]

Re: *** The Official &quot;Red Devils&quot; Manchester United FC Thread***

In lieu of Champions League Football, we've got some Champions League Worthy Excerpts by Rio Ferdinand.

LINK

Some stuff about Moyes:

Moyes’ innovations mostly led to negativity and confusion.
Under Fergie, for example, before a game on a Saturday we always played a small-sided match on a small pitch on the Friday.
We loved it.
We’d get into the mood for the following day by expressing ourselves, having fun, trying stuff out.
You got your touch right, experimented, got the feeling flowing.
We’d done that for years and suddenly — again for no good reason — Moyes changed it by making us play two-touch.
It was especially bad for the forwards who liked to practise their skills and shots and movements. They felt restricted.
You’d come off the pitch feeling blocked, frustrated, like you hadn’t had a chance to express yourself.
We complained but nothing changed. Then people wondered why we looked cramped and played without imagination.
Trying not to lose For years we were one of the best teams at not conceding goals. Fergie’s approach was to focus on the opposition’s weakness.
Yet with Moyes it was always how to stop the other side.
Before every game, he made a point of showing us videos of how dangerous the other team could be.
On the morning of a game we’d spend half an hour on the training ground, drilling to stop them.
There was so much attention to the subject it suddenly became a worry — they must be f***ing good at this to have us spend all this time on it.
That was the different mentality — Moyes set us up not to lose whereas we’d been accustomed to playing to win.
Losing support I think Moyes was entitled to bring some of his staff from Everton but it was an absolute mistake not to keep United stalwarts like the first team coach Mike Phelan, who knew all the quirks and sensitivities of the players.
It meant Moyes missed a lot of the subtleties about players and the culture of United.

Looking back, I’d say David Moyes was unlucky. He and Manchester United were just oil and water somehow.

His ideas weren’t bad in themselves, they just didn’t fit with the group of players and the tradition and recent history of the club.

I don't agree with Rio on everything, such as not getting picked for Bayern, but it does shed some light on what was happening in those 10 months Moyes was in charge.

[Leon]

Re: *** The Official &quot;Red Devils&quot; Manchester United FC Thread***

United agreed in principal for a free transfer with Dani Alves today

Source? None of the sites I frequent (which are reputable) have posted anything official. Also, Guillem Balague, who's usually spot-on when it comes to moves in Spain, says it ain't so.