"Fantastic" Martial! | Manchester United 3 Liverpool 1 | Louis Van Gaal Press Conference
Of course, yeah, he says. When Man United came in for me, there were other clubs - Barcelona, Madrid, Roma, Chelsea - that potentially wanted me. But my whole thinking was: "I want trophies." If I"m looking at it now and all those clubs come in for me now, I"m thinking, Who"s got a better chance of giving me a trophy. Is it Man United? Would you sit there and say Man United have got the best chance of winning me silverware as a player? That"s the question you"ve got to ask yourself. I don"t think Man United are going to win the league this year.
Ferdinand then offers the prediction that City will canter to the Premier League title by at least six points and will also provide the best hope for English clubs in the Champions League. The simple reason, says Ferdinand, is that Manuel Pellegrini how ditched 4-4-2 and is now playing three in the centre.
How Man Utd stars turned on Van Gaal
Don"t play 4-4-2 in the big games, says Ferdinand. You get out numbered in midfield, you"ve not got the personnel to cope with it. People talk about 4-4-2 with Man United but, in our big games we played three in midfield every time.
Van Gaal will probably again start with three in midfield against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday but the similarities with what Ferdinand experienced under Sir Alex Ferguson pretty much end there.
The philosophy is completely different, says Ferdinand. Their philosophy at the moment seems to be, we"ll keep the ball more than you, you won"t have comfortable possession. Us suffocating you with possession is our first form of defence. Man United supporters now have to go away and re-educate themselves on how to watch Man United. Don"t go there expecting to see free-flowing, attacking, gung-ho football. It"s methodical, side to side, wait for an opportunity to come. They suffocate other teams.
"People who are old enough to remember those times, they want fairytales and they"re going to reminisce. The younger generation, they"re not so attached to that and they can move on, but they"re going to want to move on to a style that they like. Everyone"s got different tastes. I think Van Gaal is big enough, strong enough and experienced enough to know that he"s not going to please everyone.
Man Utd vs Liverpool: as it happened
The departure on loan of Adnan Januzaj to Borussia Dortmund reinforces Ferdinands assessment. He is a wonderfully talented kid, says Ferdinand. He is one to take people on and plays with a little bit of fairytale and imagination but if you look at Angel Di Maria, what he said when he left, he had a way of playing and his idea of playing was free-flowing and off the cuff and you can"t do that in a Van Gaal team.
Ferdinand would still have liked the chance last season to play under the Dutchman. I was disappointed that I wasn"t allowed to stay, he says. Speaking to the lads now, they say it"s a great education. It"s different to what they"ve ever know. Everything"s changing other than the groundsman and the chef. I was talking to Nemanja Vidic and we were both saying the change is unreal in terms of the personnel and the transfer policy. We were saying, "If they"d spent 50 million when we were there, we"d have won how much more?
When it is pointed out that his United team did regularly reach the Champions League semi-final or better with less investment, Ferdinand replies: Yeah, that gets on my nerves as well.
Some of the spending, though, has clearly also bemused the former United captain. For all their attacking flair, the last great Ferguson team was built on a defensive foundation of Ferdinand and Vidic that has never truly been replaced.
You think, You"ve spent all that money, where is the centre-half? says Ferdinand. Daley Blind? Hes a fantastic all-round footballer but he"s not a defender. He"s not going to spot danger as quick as a natural defender. He"s indecisive in certain areas, he"s not comfortable, he"s not used to being in certain positions and then the ball is behind and he can"t recover.
Ferdinand also suggests that it was easier for him to arrive in a dressing-room full of so many established greats 13 years ago than it will be now for Anthony Martial. When I went to Man United, it was a great place in terms of protecting players, he says. I went into a changing room with Roy Keane, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Veron. Martial"s coming in now under huge expectations and there"s no-one there, because I think all of them are still there trying to prove themselves other than Rooney really.
Talk of those United legends also prompts another thought. Ferdinand is currently working as a BT Sport pundit but wants to go into coaching and, while Ryan Giggs is Van Gaals assistant, he is adamant that United must never waste that well of newly retired and legendary former players.
It is vitally important that they keep that lifeblood, says Ferdinand. You saw with Liverpool how it messed them up over the years. I think it is an important part of a club"s DNA. New players coming in need to see the history walking around that club. Sir Bobby Charlton is there all the time. That needs to happen with the next generation of players now.
As for his wider Champions League prediction, Ferdinand believes that Chelsea may suffer for not further reinvigorating their squad and still thinks that the mentality at Arsenal will prevent a realistic challenge. Ultimately, he expects Barcelona to again prevail.
The real top, top drawer players are playing for Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern, says Ferdinand. They make big differences in the big games and you have to be a special team to stop those players.
Watch PSV v Manchester United on Tuesday 15 September live and exclusive from 7.30pm on BT Sport 2. BT Sport is the new home of European football, with all UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches exclusively live. Visit bt sport.com/europe
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/11860731/Manchester-United-cannot-win-the-Premier-League-this-season-says-Rio-Ferdinand.html
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