Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Ferguson not a problem, says Van Gaal

18:21

By: TBMU Admin On: 18:21   In:   No comments

Ferguson not a problem, says Van Gaal

Ferguson not a problem, says Van Gaal

Posted: 20 May 2014 01:26 AM PDT

The national coach of the Netherlands was confirmed as Uniteds new manager on Monday, having been strongly linked with the role for a number of weeks. Ferguson brought an end to his hugely successful Old Trafford reign at the end of the 2012-13 season and played a part in choosing his successor, David Moyes. However, the former Everton boss struggled in his new position, parting company with United in April after just 10 months in charge. Ferguson has remained a visible presence at the club in his new role as a director. However, Van Gaal, who will begin work with United after the FIFA World Cup, insists that will not cause any problems for him. I will definitely have a dram (drink) with him soon, he told Dutch television station RTL. We have done that several times before. We can really cope with each other. I dont think he is the biggest problem for this job, because I am always putting more pressure on me than anyone else.

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The joy, the pain, the chest hair: Eleven iconic images of Ryan Giggs, in his own words

Posted: 19 May 2014 11:30 AM PDT

The Class of 92 That's obviously a photo of the famous youth team. Eric Harrison got a special award from Carling because all those players had made their first team appearance by then. I had been playing in the first team a few years by then and the others lads came after me. Eric was a great coach. He was old school, you didn't mess with him, he was a typical Yorkshireman. You didn't want to get on the wrong side of him but he was a really good coach. That was a pretty special youth team and I don't think anything like that will happen again. I think six of the players went on to get at least 50 international caps each and played for United hundreds of times. It was such a one off. Stranger in Moscow I think that was one of my first trips to Europe with United. I think we were playing Torpedo Moscow in the UEFA Cup [in 1992]. We actually got a bit of time to do some sightseeing and we went to see Red Square and the Summer Palace. A group of photographers asked me to pose with the hat which is something I wouldn't do these days, but as a naïve 18-year-old I thought 'yeah, why not?' You wouldn't be able to do that these days because there's a good chance you would get mobbed so you're more confined to your hotel room. That's one way that football has changed. Pre-season is a bit better because you have two or three weeks to look around a place. At the double That was my first FA Cup and we also won the league that year so to win the double was amazing. I grew up watching the FA Cup and I always dreamed of walking up those steps to collect the FA Cup so to finally fulfil a boyhood dream was a great feeling. To share the moment with Eric was also great because he had such a big influence on my career. He came to the club when he was 26 and he was a ready-made professional. I was still a teenager and I really looked up to him because of the way he prepared and the way he delivered on the pitch every Saturday. In the youth team we were always encouraged to do extra training but when you saw Eric doing it you realised that when you got to the first team you didn't stop trying to improve. Toffee trouble That photo sums up the way I felt after one of the most disappointing seasons I can remember with United. Everton beat us in the FA Cup final and anyone who has lost a cup final will tell you it's one of the worst feelings in football. I hadn't played the last three or four weeks of the season because I did my hamstring in the semi-final of the FA Cup so I came on as a sub at Wembley and didn't do a lot. So both personally and as a team that moment marked the end of a really disappointing season. We had lost out in the Premier League to Blackburn and then we lost the FA Cup. The worst thing about losing in the FA Cup final is that you have the whole summer to think about it and stew on it. If you lose a match in the league you always have another game to get it out of your system but you can't do that after the FA Cup final. The Knight, the Prince and the Wing Wizard I'm looking pretty young there! I think it was at Old Trafford and four or five players plus the manager went along to support an event for the Prince's Trust. To meet Prince Charles was a great honour especially as he is the Prince of Wales. That was the first time I met him and I was quite young so it was nice that he knew who I was. He knew his football and he was very impressed with Old Trafford. That's been one of the good things about being a professional footballer, you get to meet other famous people and to meet Charles was a real privilege. Is that...? Surely it can't be...? Yes it is! Gary Pallister! That photo is of a restaurant opening we were invited to. Bill Wyman was a nice bloke. You get invited to a lot of things when you're a footballer and that was one all the lads agreed to go along to. It was for a restaurant called Sticky Fingers which isn't there anymore but we had a good night. Getting shirty Blimey, the rug! That was obviously after the goal against Arsenal in the semi-final of the FA Cup. I think if you asked most players what it feels like to score a goal it's hard to explain but something seems to just take over you and sometimes it's hard to control yourself. When you score a goal in an important match that feeling gets multiplied by 10 and it's a great feeling. I lost all feeling at the time and I just decided to whip my top off and go and celebrate. That was one of the personal highlights of my career and a goal that people always talk about. A few people gave me a bit of stick for my hairy chest but I just about got away with it because the goal was such a good one. That night in Barcelona That was one of the best nights of my life. The club had been trying to win the Champions League for a few years so to finally win it was amazing. To share it with Becks was very special because we had grown up together playing in the youth team. He usually played on the right and I played on the left so we made a great partnership. [FourFourTwo: We see you've got a beer in your hand...?] Amstel were one of the competitions sponsors so we thought we should make the most of it. We went back to the hotel that night and had a big party. When in Rome... That was one of the most disappointing nights of my career. The complete opposite feeling to when we won in Barcelona. The hype around the Champions League final is massive and you can't help but get caught up in it so to lose in the final is pretty devastating. It's like with the FA Cup final when it's the last game of the season. You have seven or eight weeks of stewing on it, constantly thinking about it on the beach when you're trying to enjoy your holiday. That was a particularly bad night because we never really turned up and we didn't play well. But it also serves as a great motivation because it makes you want to come back and put things right and you're even more determined to be successful. On the spot That was my penalty in Moscow in the Champions League final against Chelsea. I think that was the last penalty that went in because Anelka missed the next one so to score the winning penalty was great. To be honest, I was just relieved to see it go in. The pressure was massive and it's a long walk to the penalty spot. I had a bit of the jelly legs making that walk but at the same time I felt pretty confident. I had practiced a lot in the build-up so I was happy with how I was going to take it. There was a big gap between winning the Champions League in 1999 and winning it again in 2008 so I probably appreciated it a bit more the second time around. It was also a special night because I surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton's appearance record for United. Shushing the 'noisy neighbours' That was when I scored in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City at their place. We actually lost the match but we went on to beat them in the second leg and got through to the final. I always enjoyed scoring against City. I was at their Centre of Excellence from the age of 11 to 13 so to score at their place was always nice. The rivalry with City has changed massively over the years, especially now they have come into so much money. It's so much bigger these days. I think I didn't lose a derby match for the first 20 and then we lost a couple at Maine Road and the last few years it's been an awful lot tighter.

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True cost of a Premier League season ticket in 2013/14

Posted: 19 May 2014 09:30 AM PDT

The annual Football Value League Table from VoucherCodes.co.uk examines how much season ticket holders paid per win and per goal on home turf over the 2013/14 season. Rivals United have taken a hit since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. After coming second in the Value League last year they have plummeted seven places in the table to 8th in 2013/14; their supporters paying £79.22 per home win, £35.45 more per win at home than they did last year. After a disappointing season all round, Fulham are not only facing up to relegation but have also suffered the ignominy of coming bottom of the Value League. The Cottagers won just five of their league games at home in 2013/14 (26 per cent), meaning Fulham's season ticket holders will have paid a whopping £128 for each win at Craven Cottage - or £26.67 for each goal. Read on for the full information - and check out theChampionshipprices, too... INFOGRAPHIC The true cost of a Championship season ticket

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Mourinho hails great manager Van Gaal

Posted: 19 May 2014 09:12 AM PDT

After widespread speculation, it was confirmed that Van Gaal would be the permanent successor to David Moyes at Old Trafford. Ryan Giggs has retired from playing to become Van Gall's assistant manager - having led the club on an interim basis at the end of the season. And Chelsea boss Mourinho, who worked with Van Gaal at Barcelona, was delighted with the news that his former colleague would become an adversary in next year's Premier League campaign. Both clubs will be out to improve on this year's league finishes, after Chelsea ended third behind Manchester City and Liverpool, while United failed to qualify for Europe altogether, finishing seventh - their worst placing since coming 13th in 1990. "He is a great football manager and I am happy he joins me in the same country and the Premier League," Mourinho said. "But more important than that, he's a great guy, a great man and I wish him well." Perhaps the greatest achievement of Mourinho's career - his treble with Inter in 2010 - was capped by a 2-0 victory over Van Gaal's Bayern Munich in the UEFAChampions League final.

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How Van Gaal can make Man United great again

Posted: 19 May 2014 08:23 AM PDT

After the trophy-laden years of Alex Ferguson's reign, the appointment of David Moyes as his successor failed to yield the desired results for the United fans and board alike. Moyes departed in April, with the club languishing in seventh, having lost almost a third of their Premier League matches under the Scot. Their eventual seventh-placed finish was their lowest in the league since ending the 1989-90 campaign in 13th position and, below, we look at areas that Van Gaal will need to address if he is to return the club to winning ways. Find a consistent central defensive partnership With Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic set to leave the club, a gaping hole has been left in the United backline. The duo developed a formidable partnership for United over the years and, despite playing less regularly together due to injuries in recent times, still looked to be United's strongest pairing. The likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones show potential, but too often this season United's selection at the heart of the defence was altered from game to game, and that inconsistency contributed to their downfall. Replace theexperience and leadership leaving the club Along with the departures of Ferdinand and Vidic, Ryan Giggs' retirement to take on the role of assistant manager under Van Gaal and Patrice Evra's expected exit means the squad will be shorn of a wealth of experience.Van Gaal needs to bring in senior professionals who will lead by example on the field, and to take some of the burden off Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. The great United teams over the past two decades were littered with players of strong character and vast experience in the game, and Van Gaal needs to restore that calibre to his squad. Buy a dynamic midfielder United's midfield was criticised for being too one-paced this season, with the likes of Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley and Marouane Fellaini all coming under fire for ponderous displays. In the past, United's game was based on fast, attacking football, and Van Gaal must bring someone in who can break from midfield and drive the team forward at pace. Use Giggs' extensive knowledge to his advantage Confirmation of Giggs as the Dutchman's assistant manager was no great surprise, and Van Gaal needs to utilise the 40-year-old as best he can. Giggs has spent the last 24 years at Old Trafford, even managing the club at the end of this season, and knows the club better than anyone. Van Gaal would be wise to tap into that knowledge and ensure the club move forward while sticking to the principles that have made it one of the best in the world. Find a way to get the best out of Mata, Van Persie and Rooney Juan Mata's arrival from Chelsea in January raised hopes of a revival in the second half of the season among United fans - a recovery which never quite materialised. Although the Spaniard showed flashes of brilliance, he was often used in wide areas, away from a central position where he could influence the game more tellingly. As the three outstanding players in the squad, Van Gaal needs to figure out a way to use Mata, Van Persie and Rooney in the same system, without the trio getting in each other's way.

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Giggs open letter to Man United supporters

Posted: 19 May 2014 07:30 AM PDT

The Welshman had previously led the club on an interim basis following David Moyes' sacking, and will go down as by far the club's most decorated player with 13 Premier League medals, four FA Cups and two UEFA Champions League crowns to his name. Giggs announced his decision in an open letter to the club's fans, which can be read in its entirety below. "Today is a fantastic day for Manchester United. Louis van Gaal is a great appointment and let me begin by telling you how delighted I am to be working with someone of his calibre. His credentials are second to none and I'm positive the club will thrive under his leadership over the coming years. "I would also like to take this opportunity to announce my retirement from professional football and embark upon a new and exciting chapter in my life, as assistant manager of Manchester United. I am immensely proud, honoured and fortunate to have represented the biggest club in the world 963 times and Wales 64 times. "My dream was always to play for Manchester United, and although it saddens me to know I won't be pulling on a United jersey again as a player, I have been lucky enough to have fulfilled that dream playing with some of the best players in the world, working under an incredible manager in Sir Alex Ferguson, and most of all, playing for the greatest fans in world football. I have always felt and appreciated your support. "I want to also give a huge thanks to the backroom staff and support teams we have and have had at Manchester United over the years. I would not have achieved the success I have without your continuing dedication and commitment to creating the best environment to enable the players to thrive. "I would not have won 34 trophies in my career without you. I would also like to say a special thanks to my friends and family for all your love and support. "For me, today is a new chapter filled with many emotions - immense pride, sadness, but most of all, excitement towards the future. "United fans I hope will share and echo my belief that the club, the management and owners, are doing everything they can to return this great club to where it belongs, and I hope to be there every step of the way. To the greatest fans in world football, thank you, I have loved every minute of playing for you and representing the biggest and best club in the world."

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Giggs announces retirement from playing

Posted: 19 May 2014 07:09 AM PDT

The Welshman retires with 963 appearances to his name, having racked up an incredible 13 Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two UEFA Champions League crowns to become by far the club's most decorated player. In an open letter to the club's fans, he said: "Today is a fantastic day for Manchester United. Louis van Gaal is a great appointment and let me begin by telling you how delighted I am to be working with someone of his calibre. "I would also like to take this opportunity to announce my retirement from professional football and embark upon a new and exciting chapter in my life, as assistant manager of Manchester United. "I am immensely proud, honoured and fortunate to have represented the biggest club in the world 963 times and Wales 64 times." Giggs made his debut as a 17-year-old flying winger against Everton in March 1991 and lifted his first silverware in the shape of the 1991 UEFA Super Cup - coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Red Star Belgrade. He was immediately thrust into the United first team by Alex Ferguson - becoming the first of the legendary 'Class of 1992' to break into the side. As the likes of Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers followed him into the team, United began to dominate English football, winning seven of the first nine Premier League trophies. Perhaps Giggs' most memorable contribution came on April 14, 1999 with United and Arsenal locked at 1-1 in extra-time of their FA Cup semi-final replay. Giggs picked up the ball in midfield before slaloming his way through a series of defenders and slamming the ball into the roof of the net. An historic treble of league, Cup and Champions League was secured that season - the only such feat ever achieved by an English club. As the years drew on, Giggs remained as his previous academy colleagues left the club, and his role changed too - becoming a cultured playmaker in the centre of the park. He also managed the club on an interim basis this season after David Moyes' sacking - highlighting the esteem and regard he held at Old Trafford. His final appearance for United came as a substitute in their 3-1 win over Hull City, while his last goal was scored the previous season against QPR in a 2-0 triumph.

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Giggs thrilled to be Van Gaals assistant

Posted: 19 May 2014 06:36 AM PDT

Following the departure of David Moyes last month, the Welshman took over for the final four games of Uniteds Premier League season, winning two, drawing one and losing one. Van Gaals appointment as a permanent replacement for Moyes was made official on Monday - the club also confirming that Giggs would become assistant to the Dutchman. Giggs had previously hinted he could leave Old Trafford as he takes his first steps into management, but he will continue to learn his craft under the 62-year-old. It remains unclear whether Giggs will continue as a player at Old Trafford, but the 40-year-old said he was looking forward to working under a coach of Van Gaals experience. I am thrilled to have the chance to serve as assistant manager, he said. Louis van Gaal is a world-class coach and I know I will learn a lot about coaching from being able to observe and contribute at such close quarters. Manchester United has been a huge part of my life and Im delighted to be able to continue that relationship in such a key role. Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward, meanwhile, felt that Giggs long career at United would help Van Gaal to settle in once he arrives after leading Netherlands at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Im delighted that Louis has chosen Ryan as his assistant, Woodward said. Ryans association with the club spans over two decades and his knowledge and stature will be of great use to Louis. In addition, this is a fantastic opportunity for Ryan to learn his trade alongside a world class manager whose attacking instincts and belief in youth are tailor-made for Manchester United.

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Profile: Louis van Gaal

Posted: 19 May 2014 06:19 AM PDT

Alex Ferguson's 27-year tenure at Old Trafford was always going to prove a tough act to follow, and so it proved as successor David Moyes failed to stamp his authority on a United side that fell well short of defending its 13th Premier League title, won in Ferguson's last campaign at the helm. United's record appearance maker Ryan Giggs took over on a brief interim basis but, following continuous speculation that Van Gaal would be the man to take the reins permanently, the announcement was made official on Monday, with the Dutchman signing a three-year contract, which will take effect after the FIFA World Cup. Van Gaal has vast experience of working at some of Europe's elite clubs, having won domestic titles in Netherlands, Spain and Germany as well as a UEFA Champions League title. Below we profile the impressive track record of the 62-year-old. September 1991-June 1997: Ajax Van Gaal guided the Amsterdam giants to victory over Torino in the UEFA Cup final at the end of his first season in charge. The KNVB Beker followed the next season, before the first of a hat-trick of Eredivisie crowns in the 1993-94 campaign. The second of those three successive titles was augmented by Champions League glory in 1995, as Patrick Kluivert's late goal earned a 1-0 victory over Milan in Vienna. July 1997-May 2000: Barcelona After a trophy-laden tenure at Ajax, Van Gaal moved to Catalan giants Barcelona after the departure of Bobby Robson, where he led club to four major titles. His reign began with UEFA Super Cup success over Borussia Dortmund, before a La Liga and Copa del Rey double in 1997-98. A second league crown followed in the next campaign, before Van Gaal departed Camp Nou to take charge of his national side. July 2000-January 2002: Netherlands The move into international football proved ill-fated as Van Gaal oversaw a disastrous FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the team fail to qualify for the finals for the first time since 1986 - Jason McAteer'sgoal guiding the Republic of Ireland past the Oranjein the play-off stage. July 2002-January 2003: Barcelona Van Gaal returned to manage Barca but failed to live up to the heights reached in his first spell in charge, and the Dutchman left in January with the side struggling in mid-table. July 2005-June 2009: AZ The coach returned to his homeland to manage AZ in 2005 and led the side to their first national title for 28 years in his fourth season in charge. July 2009-April 2011: Bayern Munich His success at the AFAS Stadion attracted the attention of Bayern, and the decision to move was immediately vindicated as Van Gaal delivered a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in his first season at the helm. They were denied the treble by Jose Mourinho's Inter who won the UEFA Champions League final 2-0 in Madrid to seal their own trio of titles. August 2012-July 2014: Netherlands Taking over from Bert van Marwijk, Van Gaal's second spell in charge of the Dutch national team has proved more successful than the first, as he guided the side to this year's Brazil World Cup in impressive style, winning nine and drawing one of their 10 qualifying matches to finish nine points clear of second-placed Romania.

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Man United appoint Van Gaal as manager

Posted: 19 May 2014 06:03 AM PDT

The Dutchman, who has been linked with the position since David Moyes was relieved of his duties in April, will assume control of the Old Trafford outfit after leading his country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Van Gaal's distinguished coaching career has seen him win domestic titles in his native Netherlands, Spain and Germany with Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, as well overseeing Ajax's UEFA Champions League victory in 1994-95. The 62-year-old will now be tasked with turning United's fortunes around following Moyes' ill-fated 10-month spell at the helm, which resulted in them relinquishing their Premier League title and failing to qualify for next season's Champions League. The club's Premier League title defence never materialised, ending the season in seventh position, and a failure to secure Champions League football for next season proved the final straw for the club's owners.

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United close to pronouncing Van Gaal

Posted: 19 May 2014 02:54 AM PDT

A team of linguists has been working behind the scenes for weeks to successfully utter the 62-year-old's name, and reports from Old Trafford earlier today suggest a breakthrough is close. "Naming Van Gaal is not as easy as it looks," said a United source. "After the deceptively straightforward 'Louis' you jump straight in to the 'van', which you might think ends with a simple alveolar nasal, but it turns out to be a velar nasal. It might not look like much, but Van Gaal can tell. "And then there's the voiced velar fricative to kick off the 'Gaal'," the source continued, "which has been a total nightmare. We keep accidentally making it voiceless, and if we do that he'll jump down our throats. "That might actually make it easier to say, though, come to think of it." The source confirmed that the team had nearly cracked the voiced labiodental fricative that concluded Van Gaal's name, and that all that remained was to make sure Sir Alex Ferguson wasn't present at the unveiling, "or all our work will have been for nothing". United were widely criticised for appointing 'easy option' David Moyes last summer, who had a mere seven phonemes to his name, and the decision to approach the unfamiliar West Germanic language family has been praised for its boldness. However, the naming of the former Ajax boss may not be welcomed by Manchester United's stars, given his reputation for reacting badly to substandard pronunciation attempts. At Barcelona, Van Gaal signed only Dutch players after despairing of Spanish attempts at alveolar lateral approximants, and at Bayern Munich he infamously locked Luca Toni in a room for nine days with only a bottle of water and a stash of Rosetta Stone CDs. United's announcement has been delayed, however, after alarming reports surfaced that Van Gaal's first name is actually Aloysius.

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Did that really happen this season? The 16 funniest moments you already forgot

Posted: 19 May 2014 01:01 AM PDT

Mourinho - 'The Happy One' It's been a typically tetchy season for Señor Jose on his return to the Premier League. He's picked fights at every turn, made enemies inside and outside of Stamford Bridge, belittled referees, bullied ballboys and generally behaved like the Jose Mourinho of old. All of which makes it ironic and worth recounting that he painted himself as 'The Happy One' when he first returned last summer. Happy? He doesn't seem very happy. And having seen his team bottle the title chase, he also doesn't seem much like 'The Special One' either. Hungry Like The Wolf When Dutch hitman Ricky van Wolfswinkel opened his Norwich account just 71 minutes into the opening day of the season, steering an expert header out of Tim Howard's reach, we all thought he might just be worth the £8.5m price tag hanging heavily on his shoulders. Twenty-six games, no further goals and one painful relegation later, we realised he actually wasn't. Willing, yes, just clearly not able. Manchester United Top The Table A confident, competent and at times classy 4-1 win away at Swansea on the opening weekend of the season in which Robin van Persie picked up where he'd left off suggested 'The Chosen One' David Moyes would take it all in his stride. One down, 37 to go. What could possibly go wrong? Di Canio's Madness He may not actually be a goose-stepping fascist sympathiser, but the first few weeks of the season served to confirm that Paolo di Canio is about as unhinged an individual as the Premier League has ever seen. Having signed 14 new players over the summer months, he never stopped complaining of needing more to make his revolution work. Before he had chance to see it bear fruit, the Italian dictator found himself standing a coward's distance away from the Sunderland fans at the Hawthorns, imploring them to keep their chins up after another sobering defeat, their fourth in five games. Owner Ellis Short responded with a gesture of his own; a slitting motion drawn across his throat, and Di Canio was dispatched. The first sacking of the season, and by far the most popular. Public Enemy Suarez Serves His Sentence By the end of the season, as the world lined up to lay accolades at his feet, it was easy to forget that Luis Suarez spent the first six games of the season sat twiddling his thumbs with a dark cloud above his head. He wasn't the messiah back then, just a very naughty boy found guilty of biting an opponent and slapped with a 10-game ban. Thirty-one mainly magnificent goals later, all of his sins were forgiven and largely forgotten. Well, apart from that one. And the other one. Alan Pardew meets Manuel Pellegrini Several weeks before the Newcastle manager made headlines landing the type of pathetic headbutt that would have a 12-year-old child laughed out of school, he found himself in a less celebrated rumpus with the Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini. Allowing himself to become psychotically overheated over an offside decision, Pardew was caught telling his opposite number to "Shut your noise you f*****g old c***". For the record, Manuel Pellegrini is 60, Alan Pardew is 52. He's no spring chicken himself, that f*****g old c***. Wigan. In Europe Zulte Waregem 0-0 Wigan Athletic. Did this really happen? And if it did, why? Spend In Haste, Repent At Leisure Hindsight is a very convenient caveat, but when considering the most hopeless signings of last summer who sank without trace, of which there are many, it's worth revisiting the remarkable goings on at Tottenham Hotspur. Otherwise known as How Not To Spend The Bale Billions, Andre Villas Boas was rich beyond his wildest dreams and had a point to prove to Roman Abramovich. So he brought in seven men who were expected to galvanise Tottenham's charge for a Champions League place – Nacer Chadli (£6m), Vlad Chirches (£8.5m) and Etienne Capoue (£8.6m) for small beans, Christian Eriksen (£11m) and Paulinho (£17m) in double figures, and Roberto Soldado (£26m) and Erik Lamela (£30m) for what we now know to be silly money. The only point AVB proved to Roman Abramovich was that he was probably right to sack him at Chelsea, for of those seven men, only Eriksen could be considered money well spent. AVB of course paid the price for such spectacular failure, but you've got to wonder about the sanity of the man at the very top in all this. Daniel Levy is held up as being one of the shrewdest operators in the business, a man who strikes a hard bargain and likes to hold all the aces in any transfer dealings. He must have been off ill the day Spurs wrote all those cheques... Chris Smalling: Suicide Bomber The Manchester United defender made a large number of poor decisions over the course of last season, but none more brain-dead than hosting a party dressed as a suicide bomber. #LOLZ, as they probably don't say any more. Any suggestions that Sir Alex served punch dressed as Dr Harold Shipman have clearly just been made up. Alf Garnett Refs Chelsea-Arsenal What could have been a lively encounter between title-chasers Chelsea and not-so-much title chasers Arsenal was ruined as a contest when Andre Marriner brandished a red at Kieran Gibbs after he palmed away a goal-bound effort in the box. As we all recall now though, it wasn't Gibbs at all, but his team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. An honest mistake? Very probably, but cue the Twitter outrage nonetheless. Jack Wilshere Smokes A Tab Was it more depressing that a professional footballer should be spotted chugging on a fag outside a nightclub at 3am, or that such a sighting was considered to be front-page news by one particular newspaper the following day? We can no longer be sure. Vincent Tan. Vincent. Tan. The suspicion that Cardiff's Malaysian might be making it all up as he goes was given legs last October when he sacked the club's experienced and respected head of recruitment and replaced him with Alisher Apsalyamov, a 23-year-old from Kazakhstan who'd done some work experience at the club over the summer. Sadly, work visa issues put the kibosh on that ingenious little plan. Bad Kompany A series of imperious performances from Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany helped secure the Premier League title and very almost erased the memory of that impossibly comical slow-mo OG at Fulham. Almost, but evidently not quite. Of the 1,052 goals scored last season, this is by some distance our personal favourite. The Miracle Of Crystal Palace Lost. Lost. Won. Lost. Lost. Lost. Lost. Lost. Lost. Lost. Sacked. As the plaudits now rightly rain down on Tony Pulis' bald bonce for masterminding the most improbable relegation escape, it's easy to forget just how inept the rag-tag rabble he inherited from Ian Holloway had been during those first few weeks of the season. Looking back now, how Palace survived a Premier League campaign for the first time and avoided Derby County's 11-point haul is nothing short of preposterous. Morgan Amalfitano's Devastating Dink Looking back on the season as a whole now it's over, it's amusing to recall the number of hopeless home defeats Manchester United suffered against teams who hadn't won at Old Trafford in aeons. Yet it's easy to forget how the sorry run started – with Morgan Amalfitano's cool-headed run and dink over David De Gea and Saido Berahino's low strike on September 28. It gave West Brom a 2-1 victory, secured their first win at United in 35 years, and saw a large white flag of despair hoisted high above Old Trafford. By the season's end, six more teams would have inflicted defeat on the champions at home, a record high in the Premier League era, which is why it all feels so familiar now. Flamini-Wilshere-Gibbs-Cazorla-Wilshere-Cazorla-Giroud-Wilshere-Giroud-Wilshere-WTF! We all remember that Arsenal scored a wonder goal against Norwich City last season, but it's only by watching it repeatedly that the ridiculous magnificence of it all begins to sink in. Truly, truly ridiculous. Hold on though, was that third pass Gibbs or Oxlade-Chamberlain? Andre?!

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Van Gaal hints at Van Persie captaincy

Posted: 19 May 2014 12:40 AM PDT

Current Netherlands coach Van Gaal is widely expected to take the reins at United following this year's FIFA World Cup, with his appointment reportedly set to be announced before the tournament. The club's captaincy is up for grabs as former incumbent Nemanja Vidic is joining Inter ahead of the 2014-15 campaign. Van Persie is Van Gaal's skipper at international level, and theformer Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss lauded the striker's ability and leadership qualities after seeing him score a wonderful goal in his side's 1-1 friendly draw with Ecuador on Saturday - labelling him a "fantastic captain". "He (Van Persie) is my captain, he's my top scorer in the one-and-a-half years that he has played for me," the 62-year-old is quoted as saying. "I think you always make a player captain when you have the same morals and philosophy. "Not only about football and tactics and what is happening on the pitch, but about life. "I think that's very important and I believe that Van Persie and Van Gaal share the same philosophy."

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