Louis van Gaal walks out of press conference as Man United manager
December 24, 2015
Louis van Gaal left his press conference ahead of Manchester United’s Boxing Day match against Stoke City in a huff less than five minutes after sitting down to field questions. He opened by asking if any members of the press wanted to apologize to him after days of intensified speculation that he will be sacked any second now.
Van Gaal’s fury has only been matched by the media’s indignation that someone would dare take exception to the incessant and eager anticipation of them losing their job.
Thursday's Sun back page:
Sorry#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #mufc #LVG pic.twitter.com/nVGKnh2Wjk— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) December 23, 2015
Thursday's Daily Express back page:
Louis loses it#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #mufc #LVG pic.twitter.com/WtaraXeEAL— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) December 23, 2015
But the media’s collective reaction misses the real story here: that Van Gaal actually left the room as manager of Manchester United. This was nothing short of a Christmas miracle.
All press conferences end at some point. That’s not a headline. Louis van Gaal still having his job despite the toxicity that surrounds him and Jose Mourinho’s sudden availability, coupled with his defiant shutting down of reporters by telling them to “enjoy the wine and mince pie” — that’s a headline (albeit a long one)!
Anyway, the journalists in the Man United press room Wednesday are just lucky Van Gaal didn’t show them his balls to demonstrate his alpha status (as he’s done before).