Hallelujah: Manchester United fans rejoice over Van Gaal's firing
Manchester United confirmed football's worst-kept secret on Monday, ending Louis van Gaal's tenure at Old Trafford, officially sending the Dutchman packing after two lacklustre seasons.
Related: Manchester United sacks Van Gaal as Mourinho prepares to take over
Naturally, Twitter was awash with reaction to the news, despite the fact that it has been expected for quite some time. Fans of the Red Devils, in particular, were in a joyous mood over the 64-year-old's dismissal.
The two years of Louis van Gaal in pictures. #mufc pic.twitter.com/xbnsA1HDTY
— Barney @Red News (@barneyrednews) May 23, 2016
A toast to LVG and all the terrible, boring, sideways and backwards football we had to endure under his management. pic.twitter.com/OSnytKkntR
— Thomas (@ManLikeMata) May 23, 2016
'Hallelujah' seems to be the most popular refrain among #MUFC fans at the moment. United couldn't ignore the weight of opposition to LVG
— James Ducker (@TelegraphDucker) May 23, 2016
Thank you Van Gaal for spending £250 mil and bring Manchester United from 7th place to 5th place, we all really appreciate the great work!
— Paul. (@VintageDeGea) May 23, 2016
LVG should've been sacked last May but I'm delighted it has finally happened.
— Red (@RedS3ven) May 23, 2016
Van Gaal, for all of his perceived faults during his tenure, was praised to some extent for giving opportunities to United's youth, though not everyone saw things quite that way:
Lot of them thanking LVG for giving youth a chance. IMO, youth gave him a chance & because of the them,he was able to keep the job until May
— Naveen Ullal (@UllalIBT) May 23, 2016
Others decided to focus not on the Dutchman, but instead on the future of United legend Ryan Giggs, who had served as Van Gaal's assistant:
And surely time for Giggs to go elsewhere and prove he can become Man. Utd. manager - passed over again & can't be silent sidekick forever.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) May 23, 2016
Much was also made of Van Gaal's dealings in the transfer market, which are believed to have played a major role in his firing:
(Courtesy: BBC)
Dan Roan of the BBC, meanwhile, highlights the downright disrespectful manner in which this announcement was handled by United brass:
In April 2014, United's mishandling of the sacking of Moyes was heavily criticised, the coach humiliated when learning of his demise through the media. The club's hierarchy accepted it was wrong that news had leaked out before the manager had been informed. But two years on, it has happened again ...
Once the news broke on Saturday, it was hard to fathom why they waited to put Van Gaal out of his misery. Once again serious questions will be asked about the way the Glazer regime runs the club - and the way it communicates.