Louis van Gaal hits back at Sam Allardyce over long ball jibes

LOUIS VAN GAAL sparked concerns he is cracking under the strain of managing Manchester United after a bizarre press conference.

Louis van GaalGetty

Louis van Gaal reacted angrily to Sam Allaryce's claims about his tactics

In a scene reminiscent of Rafa Benitez’s infamous “facts” rant in 2009, Van Gaal hit back at Sam Allardyce’s dig that he had resorted to long-ball tactics to earn United a point at Upton Park on Sunday.

Whereas former Liverpool boss Benitez produced a piece of paper with a list of bullet points in answer to Sir Alex Ferguson’s theories about referees, Van Gaal handed out diagrams in a bid to disprove Allardyce’s claims.

Benitez’s rant was viewed as a sign he was cracking under the strain of a title war of nerves with Ferguson, and Van Gaal’s outburst led to inevitable comparisons that he is starting to feel the heat at Old Trafford following criticism from ex-players, fans and media over his tactics.

Louis van Gaal rejects Allardyce's claimsgetty

Allardyce was critical of Manchester United's tactics during their 1-1 draw

Clearly bruised from accusations he has betrayed United’s attacking heritage and turned them into a methodical, boring team, Van Gaal handed out copies of the Prozone analysis of Sunday’s game to show the Hammers had played more long balls than United.

“When a colleague of mine [Allardyce] is saying this kind of thing then, yeah, you have to see the data and you have to put the data in the right context,” he said.

“Do you think you can have 60 per cent ball possession by playing long balls all the time? You have to look at the data and then you will see that we did play long balls, but long balls out wide to switch the play, rather than to the striker. A ball to the forward striker is mainly called long-ball play.

“Because I expected this question, I have made an interpretation of the data for this game and I have to say that it is not a good interpretation from Big Sam. It is not so difficult also to read that.

“I am sorry, but we played a ball possession game for 70 minutes. We did not succeed, in spite of many chances in the second half, so then I changed my playing style.

“Then, of course, with the [aerial] quality of [Marounae] Fellaini we played more forward balls and we scored from that, so it was a very good decision by the manager. But when you see the overall percentage of long balls to the forwards, West Ham played 71 per cent and we played only 49 per cent.

“So I give you this [diagram], you can copy it and then maybe you can go to Big Sam and he will get a good interpretation.”

Sam Allardyce: Manchester United s long-ball tactics worked

In this world you have to win and play attractively, but that’s not always so simple

Louis van Gaal

Van Gaal pointed to his success with three of Europe’s glamour clubs, Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, to emphasise his track record of playing attractive football. And he believes the majority of United fans remain behind him.

“You know that when you look at my career,” he added. “In this world you have to win and play attractively, but that’s not always so simple.

“We have played some attractive games and some less attractive games, and that’s the same with every club, so there’s no discussion.

“A lot of the fans are obviously enjoying the games. When I am on the streets they show that to me, so I don’t think we are not playing attractive enough for the fans. I am sure of that. I always get applause so I think everyone is still happy.

“I am happy with the results but we can always improve and that is all part of the process.”

Van Gaal refused to rule out moving Wayne Rooney back up front by dropping Radamel Falcao in a bid to improve United’s cutting edge in tonight’s clash with Burnley.

“We have not decided yet,” he said. “It depends on the circumstances. How satisfied we are or not, how satisfied he [Rooney] is, or not. You will have to see.”

United have handed young defender Paddy McNair a new two-year contract after the Northern Ireland international’s first-team breakthrough this season.

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