MANCHESTER UNITED may have won the FA Cup but the shambolic sacking of Louis van Gaal confirms the club has lost its class.
Sir Alex Ferguson took 27 years creating and protecting a legacy worthy of the Red Devils’ rich history.
Under the Scot, United's identity was built on loyalty, respect and tradition.
LVG was afforded none of that as news of his axe hit the headlines while he was lifting silverware at Wembley.
Sir Alex’s Manchester United had everything - attacking football, discipline, role models, a British backbone and a never-say-die attitude that proved the difference on countless occasions.
Fergie time was the joke - the "Fergie effect" was the reality. Everyone knows the Class of 1992 and no one forgets the Nou Camp 1999.
But within three years of his retirement in 2013, those he left behind have destroyed every pillar of his blueprint, blinded by their desperate quest for success.
A jealous generation may feel it is high time that a set of fans raised on glory had some time in the doldrums but it is still a shame to see the once-great (maybe twice-great) club floundering in such a manner.
United now fire managers on a routine basis and throw cash around like it's going out of fashion.
Basically, they are just like every other Premier League club.
The 1990s and 2000s saw Red Devils fans chastised for being "glory hunters" or not being from Manchester.
But really it was just annoying that, when a United fan acted like their club was up on a pedestal, they actually had a point.
It was not just the trophies or the fact their unit of homegrown stars fuelled the national team for a generation.
It was also how in tune the club was with its roots and how their history still shaped its future.
Bobby Charlton has the best seat in the house at OT, Matt Busby has a statue outside and Ferguson himself has a stand and a road named after him at the ground.
The Great Scot may have left United with one of his least exciting squads but do not forget he still signed off with the league title.
He had shown the way and the path was clear - it was having faith in young British talent, it was sticking by your manager and it was a winning mentality that money cannot buy.
Above all, his players believed in everything the club stood for. Every kid wanted to play for Manchester United and those who did were forever proud to do so.
The Red Devils had a working recipe for long-term success and adulation. They did not need trophies to win people over, they already had the planet's biggest fanbase. They did not need to buy the world's biggest stars, they created them.
Ferguson would never have spent £59.7million on Angel Di Maria, he would never have wanted David Moyes fired after less than a season and would never have paid Wayne Rooney £300,000 a week.
No player was bigger than the club and, if you threatened to leave, you left.
And now, if Jose Mourinho does replace Van Gaal, the transformation will be complete, world-renowned winners to billionaires’ circus.
The Portuguese is a fantastic coach, nobody is arguing that, but from his eye-gouging antics at Real Madrid to firing Chelsea's doctor last season, he courts controversy and revels in it.
LVG's style of football may have been found wanting and by all accounts he struggled to keep hold of the dressing room.
But as one of football's elder statesmen, who has had success all over Europe, the 64-year-old behaved with honour until the end.
He did not deserve to be hung out to dry for months on end or thrown to the media wolves with no support. Yet even as he lifted the FA Cup, the whispers of his departure drowned out the cheers.
To executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, the trophy may feel like the first step to back to the top. To the rest of us, the club we all had to watch winning title after title has gone.
United have fired managers and spent a fortune in a desperate bid to protect their winning reputation - the ultimate irony is they have destroyed it in the process.
LVG axe seals United's fall from grace
posted on 24/5/16
comment by Edinspur (U1109)
posted 1 hour, 3 minutes ago
This is very true. Pep's challenge at City will be his hardest yet. The league requires total focus for 38 games, unlike La Liga & Bundesliga where they can afford to be in cruise control for half the games of the season. In the EPL, if you are not fully committed then you get results like NUFC 5-1 Spurs.
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Sensationalist rubbish
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Time will tell.
It certainly isnt a given that City with Pep will now conquer all before them. He is an intense man, someone who tends to keep a compact squad. Not too much tinkering. It is a long hard season in the EPL and the challenge is more varied than any other league. I think what this season showed is that quality of player is not good enough alone. You have to have that top work rate too. That is harder to maintain here because every game is a challenge.
I expect City to come good, but not necessarily immediately. It will take time for Pep to get his people in and settled, get his methods across and get the team playing how he wants them.
It will certainly be harder that the 1 (sometimes 2) horse race german league.
posted on 24/5/16
Bore off Hafi you stat obsessed caaaant
posted on 24/5/16
comment by SB&S (U17757)
posted 13 minutes ago
You don't see many pieces that have Mourinho and humility in the same sentence without the word 'lacks' in between. Obviously I don’t know him personally but he seems unable or unwilling to trust youngsters relying on old, expensive / established players but then ‘losing’ most of them in the changing room eventually as he never seems to be able to get the balance right. What’s the betting on Mourinho getting fired before season two in charge? Put me down for a tenner…
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In this situation Jose's strength is also his weakness. He is a winner. He has had a lot of success and really that success has been achieved in one way......his way. We all know what his brand of football is like. Even at Real he had an attitude and played a brand of football that was contrary to what Real are really all about. He was hated by the time he left them, despite trophies.
When push comes to shove, Jose will revert to type. If he needs to win, the thought of using youth or playing open expansive football will not enter his mind.
This is all well and good and he may well bring trophies but ultimately it is the quick fix...its the top most expensive managers and players all brought in to win the league.
Jose's winning attitude (and the ego that accompanies it) will not allow him to ease into this job, spend a season giving youth a chance. That is not what he does.
The only change i can foresee from him is perhaps in the way he deals with the media. I think Utd will not tolerate the sort of bullsheeite that usually accompanies him in press conferences etc, and may be he's reflected on what went wrong with CFC when he lost the plot with the media.
posted on 24/5/16
BTW.....Mata has probably instructed his agent to find him a new club.
Jose demands structure & hard work and Mata for all his quality does not deliver that sort of discipline
posted on 24/5/16
comment by Posh Mufc Great Hafi Not Arrogant Just Better (U6578)
posted 30 minutes ago
MP of Spurs 2 seasons 134 points, LVG of Man Utd 2 seasons 136 points. Must be bad for a manager with no plan to outdo Spurs overall points wise.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/mar/13/louis-van-gaal-mauricio-pochettino-manchester-united-tottenham-hotspur-premier-league-old-trafford
Imagine if Mourinho comes in and has a plan. We should walk the league
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Mourinho plans to drop kick the yoof into row Z, spend half a squillion quid on expensive 'talent', play one formation so he doesn't upset his expensive squad, install a fortress mentality that no one like us (other than the 2nd or 3rd biggest fan base on planet earth) and try to repair the bridges burned with the media. Good plan, at least for the 19 other teams in the EPL...
posted on 24/5/16
comment by TaxiForMaicon (U18583)
posted 5 hours, 22 minutes ago
haha, isn't the point in glory-hunting be to follow the team at the top.
I respect what United stood for. That's as far as it goes.
I'll hang in there and wait for Tottenham to win the title next year, thanks.
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Next year is your year then?
So, we can confirm you aren't a closet United fan.
You're a closet Liverpool fan...
posted on 24/5/16
To be fair, Mourinho handles the cheque book quite well, imo.
At Inter he got Eto'o, Milito, Sneijder and Motta - nearly half the outfield of his treble winning side - with the funds from the Ibra sale.
At Madrid, nearly all the shopping had been done before his arrival. Di María was most expensive signing there, and they fetched a more than handsome profit on him. Ozil went for about 3 times what they paid for him. The price paid for Modric -who's still there and going strong- was perfectly reasonable. Khedira, Diego Lopez, Varane, Callejon...all reasonably priced.
Coentrao was the only expensive flop, and even then JM used him quite a bit in his time there.
posted on 24/5/16
Not sure on this LVG faith in youth and it's reality. Most of those players came through as a result of a huge injury list in those positions. But as soon as their fitness was back and the big game came along in the final...most were dropped in favour of the more senior players.
With the exception of Rashford for Rooney of course....
Would LVG have played these youngsters with a fully fit squad? Lingard aside, I doubt it. But that's just my view.
posted on 24/5/16
adam85 LVG even explained he went with a small squad this season so he could play these younger players. Its just a shame Rashford didn't come in like November or December.
posted on 24/5/16
comment by adam85 (U9560)
posted 2 hours, 33 minutes ago
Not sure on this LVG faith in youth and it's reality. Most of those players came through as a result of a huge injury list in those positions. But as soon as their fitness was back and the big game came along in the final...most were dropped in favour of the more senior players.
With the exception of Rashford for Rooney of course....
Would LVG have played these youngsters with a fully fit squad? Lingard aside, I doubt it. But that's just my view.
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He's trusted and brought through youth at most clubs he's been at, can't all be due to injuries.
Xavi, Iniesta, Victor Valdes, Muller, Kroos, Alaba and Badstuber are all players he gave a proper chance to at a young age.