Will Smith's outburst directed at Oscars host Chris Rock has been the story of the week, but it was Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal's contentious statements about the club that dominated headlines in the United Kingdom the day before that occurred across the pond.
Van Gaal doesn't exactly exude Hollywood glamour, but he has been known to deliver a few memorable moments at the box office. This is immediately brought to mind by Van Gaal's diving on the touchline at Old Trafford to ridicule Arsenal's antics. Prior to storming out of a press conference just before Christmas 2015, he also begged for apologies from members of the media. Van Gaal was feeling the strain of being in charge of United.
Nowadays, Van Gaal does not have anything to worry about. Despite the fact that the 70-year-old is the manager of the Netherlands national team, the demands of international management are insignificant in comparison to the duties of coaching Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester United. Since taking on the position of national coach last year, the Netherlands has underperformed, and he is set to lead them in the World Cup in Qatar the following year.
In the past, Van Gaal hasn't been known to hold his mouth, and he did an admirable job last week when he attacked the choice to hold the World Cup in Doha. On Monday, he made news once more when he was asked about the potential of Erik ten Hag taking over as Ralf Rangnick's replacement. Ten Hag has been invited to Old Trafford for an interview in order to secure a permanent role there. There was clearly something Van Gaal wanted to express about it as well.
For Manchester United's benefit, Erik ten Hag is an excellent coach "Van Gaal stated this. "However, because Manchester United is a commercial club, selecting a coach is a difficult decision. He'd be better off joining a football team.
Rather than give him advice, I'm going to wait for him to call." - "However, he must select a football club rather than a commercial club."
Contradictory statements from Van Gaal on Ten Hag's future were incongruous. They were intended to serve as a warning to Ten Hag and to have an impact on his decision.
Since leaving Manchester United, Van Gaal has maintained a consistent stance on the club's direction. In 2016, after winning the FA Cup final with Manchester United, Van Gaal was relieved of his managerial duties, and he hasn't been shy about taking shots at the Red Devils.
On record, Van Gaal has referred to United's former executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, as a "evil genius." He has also called Woodward "someone with zero comprehension of football who was once an investment banker." The majority of Manchester United supporters would agree with those statements. In his infamous statement, Woodward boasted that United could earn money regardless of their "playing performance."
Woodward is said to have regretted making the statement, but the harm had already been done. Investors' call in May 2018 verified supporters' fears with that one line of dialogue. Their club was being utilized as a commercial vehicle, with little concern for what really mattered – success and silverware — and with little regard for the people involved. Woodward resigned from his position as chief executive in February, and Richard Arnold has taken over as interim CEO.
Arnold will be well aware that he is already up against a steep uphill battle in filling that role, which was last held by David Gill. He was promoted from his job as managing director, where he was in charge of the commercial parts of the club, and he now has the task of demonstrating that he is a distinct alternative to Woodward. Arnold and Woodward are good friends, and the two of them are both graduates of Bristol University.
Arnold now has the duty of assisting United in returning to where they should be in the standings. Over the last decade, the club has appeared to place greater emphasis on commercial objectives than on on-field performance, and this needs to change. United must demonstrate that Van Gaal's words from earlier this week were incorrect, but they are already creating a complete mess of the situation. That may or may not come as a surprise to you.
United announced their pre-season tour plans on Thursday morning, and they will go to Thailand and Australia to play three games in total. According to reports in the Manchester Evening News, a fourth friendly match could be arranged before the team returns to Manchester.
In addition to the match against Liverpool in Bangkok, football director John Murtough expressed the club's 'pleasure' at the prospect of touring abroad again following Covid-19. The announcement was standard fare, but some fans were certain to take note of the players who were chosen to advertise the tour. Several players from the Manchester United team, including Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo, were depicted in the artwork.
Pogba's recent statements against the club have enraged supporters, and he is expected to depart the club on a free transfer at the end of the current campaign. Even more intriguing is the fact that the midfielder is being used to promote the pre-season trip when he will not even be participating in it, barring a bizarre U-turn.
Even if Van Gaal was right about United, this commercial trick could be enough to show that. Despite the fact that Pogba is not recognized to have played for the club in the last several seasons, he has been picked to be the face of the tour's promotional efforts across the world.
United should at the very least show some respect by not include him in the promotion. The club will always be more important than any individual player.
That is where United have gone wrong, and it is a lesson they must take away from their experience.
