A Barca fans view on LvG : Makes for an interesting read. Ive been a Barca fan for many decades and am a lawyer by trade but I am a passionate fan of the sport and have worked as a freelance sports journalist and scout/analyst before I decided to get a sensible haircut and job that actually paid some money. I am by no means highly qualified, but my opinions may provide a sliver more of insight than the average fans musings. The question posed in the thread was: Opinions on Louis van Gaal, is he the man to take United back to the top of the league? I dont think just any old manager can take United to the top and I dont think and old manager can be successful with a big club. I do think LvG can though. Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all have managerial stability and comparable squads built for their respective managers vision. City and Spurs have the same stability and logic in acquisitions coming from the boardroom and have hired managers who slot seamlessly into the long term plan. Everton dont have a comparable squad but they do have a very good first XI and a manager backed by the board whos imposed a very clear style. The top of the table is more powerful than I can remember any leagues table being for a long time, its going to take a genius managerial performance to just get a Champions League spot let alone actually challenge for the trophy. You cant look at a few marquee acquisitions in isolation. A 60 million pound first team built by a manager with a clear vision and philosophy with players who know their exact roles in a system and have an immense workrate and resilience can beat any and every team in the world. The more marquee players you have the more likely it is theyll produce an individual moment of genius to combat an equally disciplined opposition or come up with some beautiful combination play. The higher quality players you have the more likely they will be to be able to implement a complex system or learn/adapt to new systems and philosophies or even just keep up the performances more consistently. Youd be very mistaken if you think you can just stick Rooney, Falcao, Di Maria, Ander Herrera, Blind, RvP and Mata together and accidentally plod your way to a Champions League spot on the back of their firepower. When SAF bought RvP he was just adding the cherry on top of a well oiled system. People grossly overestimate how much of a difference individual technical ability or flair makes in a match and grossly underestimate the importance of discipline, workrate, motivation, concentration and a clever, easily implemented system. To illustrate my point let me use the following example: Xavi and Iniestas technical ability has been glaringly apparent since they were in the academy but go back to 2007 and people would laugh at you if you said that in 5 years time, in combination with Busquets, they will form the greatest midfield of all time or even be the best midfield in the world. Back then people would have noted not just all their physical deficiencies - no speed, no strength, no height or aerial ability and their technical deficiencies - bad finishers, no long shot threat , no heading ability, no pressing or tackling ability, average long passes, average freekick and set piece ability. Back then StevieG and Lampard were considered the gold standard for central midfielders - players who were great at a short passing game and technical but also could do so much that Spanish midfielders just couldnt - they both had pace, power, versatility, goal threat as finishers and creators (both had the capacity for a 20 goal or 20 assists season depending on the manager in charge and what role they assigned them). They could both hit amazing free kicks and deliver perfect balls from set pieces, they were both aggressive pressers and known for their work rates, they could both land perfect crosses. In short, they could do everything Xavi and Iniesta could and so much more. Xavi and Iniesta, for all their technical ability couldnt even dream of being as complete a player as these two. How will history judge them now? All 4 will go down as legends but people will talk about Xavi and Iniesta as all time greats, as the best midfield there ever was. People will talk about Lamps & Gerrard a club legend, as a wasted golden generation for England and as a great component of their clubs triumphs. What was the difference? The manager. To do what Moyes or Pulis does is amazing - to be able to drag relegation candidates into comfortable (upper) mid table positions, to create a system that does this and be able to teach it in such a way that not so great players will understand and consistently be able to apply it is amazing. It ensures that youll consistently beat teams in the bottom half of the table and push tems in the top half, occasionally getting a result. But that doesnt mean they will do better with better players. You can be the best drag racer in the world with your souped up Nissan but youll probably crash on the first corner if you get put behind the wheel of an F1 car despite the vehicle itself being so much better. LvG is an F1 operator. Like Guardiola. If you put Pep in charge of Crystal Palace I wouldnt be surprised if he struggled and got them relegated but I still think hes one of the top 2 managers in the world right now. LvG is building a car fit for a club like Manchester United who want to race in and win the F1, not an illegal street race. They want a complex system that creates immensely consistent, high quality performances, that overwhelms fans and neutrals, that consistently wins titles. If you want to build an F1 car you need to spend a lot of money regardless of whos in charge of the build. Youd rather put an engineer with a degree from MIT (LvG) in charge who is qualified to and knows how to lead such a project instead of a mechanic (Moyes) from a shop that modifies Subarus to streetrace - even if he has a great track record in the street racing world. Moyes was just building a gold plated Everton team - asymmetrical shape focussed on crossing and wing play with a winger who cut in (Pienaar -> Januzaj/Kagawa/Mata) and an attacking, crossing fullback (Baines -> Evra/Valencia/Shaw) who overlapped and crossed with a CF good in the air (Cahill -> starstruck by Rooney and RvP who both like to drift into the hole, tried to acquire Cavani for his physicality and workrate) and a midfield that won aerial/physical duels (Fellaini/William), moved the ball wide and had one passer capable of spraying the ball (Arteta -> Fabregas/Kroos/Herrera). The system he envisioned was crap for a club that thinks it is the biggest in the world and demands its teams play with that arrogance. It focussed on defence first, sensible counter attack and risk minimization. At best it may have led to consistent 3rd/4th place finishes but even in anyones wildest dreams Moyes was never going to win a treble regardless of the financial backing he had. He couldnt build or drive an F1 car and it became apparent. Hes a nice man, a ridiculously hard worker and very intelligent but the players were used to a higher calibre of manager and he lost the dressing room - there was no going back. Even the greatest of managers - Pep and Mourinho at Barca and Madrid, respectively, have had to leave club when they didnt feel like they could motivate and command complete authority (imo, this is what makes SAF the greatest of all time - the fact that he never let standards slipped and managed to keep it up for all 26 years at United, something LvG, Pep and Mourinho have all failed at thus far). LvG has always built a winning system, philosophy and mentality at every job hes had. He will again. He has a great blueprint for attacking football. He has the adaptability to implement varying styles - possession football or counter attack. He has the ability to employ various system - 3-5-2, 4-4-2, 4-3-3, diamond midfields, one and two striker systems. It doesnt matter. He researches meticulously and analyses better than almost anyone - Mourinho got his grounding from a lot of what LvG taught him. He is great at spotting and nurturing talent - from Xavi, Puyol and Valdes to Muller, Alaba and Schweini to Seedorf et. al. Its not an accident, he is just a very skillful and talented manager. These are things he can control, these will build a baseline of success and a platform. There are things that no manager can control, variables that can derail the most talented men. Players may just have a bad attitude, they may just be stubborn or stupid or selfish. The media may just hate you because you dont play politics. The fans might turn on you if you drop a fan favourite for the good of the system or to consolidate your authority. They may not have the mental strength to keep up a complex system for several seasons, they may not have the motivation once theyve won trophies. You can influence these matters but failing for these reasons doesnt make you a bad manager, every top manager has succumbed to these variables. LvG fell out with Rivaldo who was a diva that wanted to play CF not winger and would make excuses to pull out of CL games only to be found relaxing in Brazil. LvG said the team was bigger than the player - he may have known that sticking to his principles and forcing the player out would lead to bad results due to our over reliance on him but he did it for, what was in his mind, the greater, long term good. LvG unlike Cruyff didnt pander to the fans with pro Catalan soundbites. Guess who the media and fans loved and who they turned on. Was it stupid? Sure. Do I personally care? Not at all, I know its just lip service and PR. I personally preferred his refreshing no BS approach. I like the British, manager has full authority system that SAF, Mourinho and LvG seem to favour. I dont like the amount of control socios have. They are ignorant and easily swayed by sleazy Presidential election promises. The manage should be arrogant, kick out players who think they are bigger than the club or refuse to keep up the work rate that they had when they were breaking into the tea. I loved Ronaldinho but I supported Peps decision to clear him & Deco out. I though Mourinho was right to force out Casillas - as much as I respect him, Madrid and Spain have been worse because his influence has kept him as a starter despite his obvious decline. LvG is a great manager who has been successful everywhere hes gone. Hes failed too but failed for acceptable reasons, not because of his philosophy or system, a lack of tactical ability, poor scouting or man management. Youll never find another Alex Ferguson but if you have to step down to the next tier of manager, LvG is in that very elite bracket and seems to genuinely love your club. He thinks youre the greatest club in the world and seems genuinely passionate about wanting this job. Your club is in great hands.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 04:37:38 +0000
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