#3 His attitude
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When Van Gaal first arrived at Old Trafford, it came as a surprise to many that the Dutchman refused to leave the dugout and stand on the touchline during matches. While Van Gaal has claimed that this is because he is a “sitting down coach”, many supporters, who were used to seeing Sir Alex Ferguson wave frantically on the touchline, struggled to understand how the manager could instil any confidence in his players by staying rooted to his seat.
This was perhaps most noticeable during a 2-1 loss at home to Norwich in December. Trailing by one goal with the clock winding down, assistant manager Ryan Giggs could be seen standing on the touchline barking instructions at the side, who failed to show the fighting spirit needed to make a comeback.
As Van Gaal remained in his seat, Giggs was unable to inspire the side who suffered their third successive defeat. The Dutchman was criticised by the media for his motionless behaviour and later said he only instructs Giggs to give out instructions when the side isn’t playing well. It wasn’t exactly a good explanation and it’s hard to tell if he even understood why he was being criticised in the first place.
Apart from his lack of interaction on the field, Van Gaal also has a poor relationship with the media and often makes bizarre statements which make little sense. Frustrated by nearly every question asked by reporters, Van Gaal was recently asked about a large number of empty seats during a home game against Crystal Palace. Believing there is some kind of agenda against the club, the Dutchman responded by saying, “I have not seen a lot of empty seats but you have seen it because you want to see it.”
While most professional managers can understand the role of a journalist, which is to ask hard hitting questions, Van Gaal has become known for his fiery temper and not long ago stormed out of a press conference before calling one of the reporters a “fat man”. Not quite the classy behaviour you would expect from the manager of such a prestigious club.
