Van Gaal Flatly Denies Rift at United.

'Don't wash your dirty laundry in public'.

Louis van Gaal went on the defensive in his pre-match press conference before the clash with Liverpool after admitting that his captain Rooney and vice captain Carrick had informed him that the atmosphere within the dressing room had been flat recently.

It was honest of him to share this information, but maybe it would have been advisable not to address the issue as what happens behind closed doors should stay there.

There are two issues to look at from his statement one being the fact that the manager shared publicly what should really have been kept in-house, something that Alex Ferguson would have handled without informing the media, and the second being that surely it's the responsibility of the captain to rally the troops and boost morale when it's flagging and not to tittle-tattle to his manager.

To be a club captain takes a certain type of character and a person who can both lead on and off the field and United have been blessed with leaders and imposing personalities in the past that have pulled their teammates up by the scruff of their necks. When you think of the likes of Charlton, Buchan, Robson, Bruce, Cantona, Keane etc. they led by example and earned their teammates' respect by making sure that no player forgot who they were playing for. It does make you wonder how the present crop of players felt once they had heard that Rooney informed the manager of a possible lack of morale.

In the dressing room it is a known fact that van Gaal doesn't say very much before a game as all his work is done in meetings in the days building up to the match so that leaves one person with the responsibility to ensure that the players are focused on the task in hand and that's the captain. However, that is going to be a little harder now that the news is out there and it will be interesting to see how it effects the relationship between the captain and his players.

All this happened on the eve of the clash with United's bitterest rivals Liverpool so the timing wasn't exactly perfect as the media are always looking for any type of discord within the ranks and will spin it to the extreme. Van Gaal tried his best to play down the situation by remarking that his relationship with the players was healthy and his is an open door policy.

Also, where does Giggs fit into all this? As assistant coach he is there to assist and not just in the coaching side of the job but also as an ear for the players, a bridge between them and the manager one would presume.

The rumours of players being unhappy started to come out of the club concerning the treatment of certain team members by the manager and the Spanish contingent being unsettled about the Valdes and De Gea dealings, but this is just an example of teammates and friends looking out for each other. Now that the De Gea situation has been resolved, maybe that will give the squad a much-needed boost for the long season ahead.

With all the new faces in the team, it takes time for players to adjust to their new environment, colleagues and languages. If the atmosphere is flat within the squad then maybe all the players should take a deep look at themselves and never forget that they are playing for the biggest club on the planet and be UNITED.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Football has to 'tackle' a problem.

Call me old-fashioned, but whatever happened to players being allowed to tackle?

After watching the Champions League final and how all too easily most of the Barcelona players went to ground it made me realise exactly how soft the modern player has become.

However, there was one player who stood out in the match for his determination and that was Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal, who was blasted by commentators for his over-aggressive style of play, but I put it down to his true desire to win and a desire not to let the opposition control the play.

Vidal should be praised for his attempt to do something that seems to be frowned upon in the modern game and that is to tackle. I'm in no way condoning over the top challenges but I am suggesting that players should at least be permitted to try and win the ball without the worry of being cautioned for nothing.

It's true that Barcelona has an abundance of quality when it comes to the attack but having said that how many times during the match did Suarez and Neymar fall to the ground from the slightest of touches in an attempt to con the referee and how depressing was it to see how many times it worked. The Turkish referee was shocking in the final and I'm sure the Barca players knew how gullible he was before going into the match.

I can't imagine what would have happened if the hardest men I've ever seen play had been involved in that match. The likes of Bryan Robson, Stuart Pearce, Nobby Stiles, Graham Souness, Jimmy Case, Norman Whiteside, Roy Keane and Norman 'bite your legs' Hunter would have been given their marching orders within the first five minutes.

In fact, I believe that most of the Barcelona side would have thrown a sickie if they had seen those players in the tunnel before the match.

It seems that the main culprits of this namby-pamby style of play originate from South America, which surprises me as back in the 60's the hardest men in the game came from places like Argentina. Cast your mind back to the '66 World Cup when England, not shy of the odd kick out here and there, came up against an Argentine team that coined the phrase 'Argy Bargy'.

Then you had the '68 clashes between Manchester United and Estudiantes in which George Best and Nobby Stiles were lucky to be sent off before being carried off.

How times and players have changed. Nowadays players are streamlined, physically fit and athletic, however, they have another element to their game and that is basically cheating. Put it down to money and pressure it still doesn't deter from the fact that too many players are now adept at conning the ref and, therefore, the fans.

Of course, cheating to gain an advantage is not a new thing, it's been around for decades, but it seems to be everywhere within the game these days right down to grass roots level. I recently went to watch an Under 10's schoolboy's game and one of the youngsters fell to the ground as if he had been shot following the minimal of touches, as he was rolling around his watching dad ran onto the pitch and dragged him up to his feet and told the coach to sub him.

I for one don't blame the kids as they are only copying their idols, but it's up to the pro's and football associations to consider the future of the game. I understand that with all the new UEFA rulings the referees are under pressure to keep a tight control on tackling but it's becoming ridiculous how it's affecting the game as a spectacle.

Something has to be done and quickly before the beautiful game becomes a charade where no contact is allowed between the players. You may think this is impossible, but with Platini at the head of UEFA anything's possible. He may have been a world class player but he was also prone to go to ground far too easily himself.

The answer is to instruct the officials to allow the game to flow and not to let the cheaters control the match or be fooled by their comical theatrics. I'm sure they will soon get to their feet once they realise nothing is forthcoming and get on with showing their true talent.

Thank you Vidal for at least trying to put the bite back into the game.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.