Louis van Gaal is a character
Louis van Gaal’s spell at Manchester United was a mixed bag. There were complaints about the football, accused of being possession football for possession’s sake. But he did win an FA Cup, and was thoroughly entertaining off the pitch even if the team were dull on it.
You may remember him referring to a Sun journalist as “fat man” and commenting on an opponent pulling Marouane Fellaini’s hair, saying it should only be allowed in “sex masochism.”
He’s an interesting guy, not afraid to say what’s on his mind. And his latest victim of his unapologetic bluntness is Paul Merson, former Arsenal player and Sky Sports football pundit.
Paul Merson recently suggested that Liverpool should prioritise targeting the Premier League, saying:
“The quicker they go out of these competitions [FA Cup, Champions League, League Cup], the more of an unbelievable chance they have to win the Premier League.”
“29 years now without the league, what an opportunity, you don’t want to keep playing game after game after game.”
“They’ve not got the biggest squad in the world,” said Merson. “These chances do not come along too often, you win it one year, and the next you’re blown away in 10 games. They’ve got to take that chance.”
Speaking on Dutch television after viewing a clip of Merson’s comments, Van Gaal said:
“This man is not normal. Liverpool shouldn’t take his bad advice into consideration.”
The former Ajax and Barcelona coach must have caught his fair share of Soccer Saturday when United were involved in Sunday and Monday fixtures.
You get the feeling Jürgen Klopp will be on the same side of this debate as Van Gaal. Having come so close to winning the Champions League last season and with a real chance of getting to the final again, you’d suspect that they’ll be giving it everything this season too.
