And Now for Something Even More Boring-er

photo by Petteri Sulonen	via PhotoRee

In which Correspondent Ed questions whether Red Devils' bossman Louis Van Gaal knows what he is doing:

What happened to Manchester United?  My son can still watch them but I sure can’t.  How did a team with Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Radamel Falcao, and Juan Mata become so ugly?  The best part of any United game these days is watching David De Gea save them from losing to teams like, say, QPR, by launching himself all over the pitch.  No really, that IS fun.

So is Louis Van Gaal the problem?   Is his system so inflexible that it’s taking the joy out of United even though it’s resulting in wins?

According to the press, LVG has commented (or at least tried to comment — someone needs to send him a Rosetta Stone asap) that the team scores more from a 4-4-2 than his chosen 3-5-2, but that the team also doesn’t set up well in the former.  I think he means that the defense isn’t too good, and that they don’t have a good enough midfield.  I could have told him that before they dropped a ton of jingle on that loan deal for Falcao.  But I also think that the 3-5-2 doesn’t help on either side of the ball.  Is that okay to say?  I mean, this isn’t David Moyes we are talking about.  LVG may just be beyond criticism.

I Know What You're Thinking (about United, Spurs and Liverpool)

Ed weighs in on some football and a fantasy trip to the Hawaiian Islands:


I've decided to take a brief time out from my recent Magnum PI immersion and give you, my many fans, a few tired thoughts from the weekend's action.

 

First, United under Van Gaal is starting to look more like United did under Alex Ferguson -- more the red ferrari than the blue Vauxhall wagon of Moyes's tenure.  They're winning when they really shouldn't be, and scoring when the other team seems to have more chances.  Part of that always seemed to be luck when Ferguson did it, but interestingly it looks the same for Van Gaal.  In addition, Van Gaal seems hell bent to prove that you can be totally weird and yet still beloved by fans and players alike so long as you are winning.  As I write this, I remain unclear as to why he likes to do his homework during games, and why sometimes it appears that he needs to be nudged and awoken to the fact that his team has just scored.  His post game interviews?  Not really English.  Kind of.  Maybe a little.  But not really.  And finally, the flat face, the kooky hair style -- really?  

 

Second, Spurs fans love affair with Harry Kane is getting as strong as Higgy-baby's love affair with the Lads.  Alongside a forgettable Roberto Soldado, Kane scored yet again and did a terrific job as target man as well.  As for another Spurs' Academy product, Ryan Mason, I'm still unclear why he's starting.  He's certainly feisty and decent with the ball, but Dembele showed he is dramatically better both offensively and defensively.  I suspect Moussa will be included in the starting lineup more frequently in the weeks to come.