The numbers don’t lie.
Louis van Gaal has gone to the stat sheet in a response to Sam Allardyce’s comments, when he referred to the Red Devils as “Long Ball United.”
[ RELATED: Allardyce says West Ham couldn’t cope with Long Ball United ]
In his presser today, van Gaal talked on Allardyce’s recent criticism of United’s style of play, and even gave himself a pat on the back for his coaching decisions against West Ham.We are playing ball-possession play. After 70 minutes we don’t succeed, in spite of many chances in the second half. Then I change my play style, and then of course, with the quality of Fellaini, we played more forward balls.
We scored because of that also, so I think it’s a very good decision of the manager.”
The Dutchman then perused through his dossier, showing off his mathematical skills while comparing Manchester United’s long-ball rate of 49 percent to West Ham’s rate of 71 percent.
Van Gaal then offered up his stat sheet to the reporters, and asked them to bring it to Sam Allardyce. “I will give it to you. You can copy it and then you go to Big Sam, and maybe he can give a good interpretation.”
It’s clear that van Gaal was upset with Big Sam’s comments, especially considering that West Ham is widely known for a direct style of play. But bringing out the stats to shoot down Sam is classic Louis van Gaal, one of the most clever and entertaining managers in the league.