Louis van Gaal made plenty of bold statements during his two years as Manchester United manager... but how many of them actually came true?

• Louis van Gaal was sacked as Manchester United manager on Monday
• The Dutchman spent two seasons in charge at Old Trafford
• Van Gaal made many memorable comments during his tenure
• Just before his sacking, he spoke of expectations being too high 

Louis van Gaal's tenure at Manchester United has come to an end after two turbulent years with Jose Mourinho close to taking over at Old Trafford.

Van Gaal has certainly kept us entertained with his comments - some wise and witty, quite a few sharp and acerbic - but how many of his statements have rung true.

We take a look back at 10 of his memorable comments and how things turned out afterwards.

Louis van Gaal made some pretty bold statements during his two years in charge at Manchester United

 

1. 'First I have to see how quickly the players can pick up my philosophy. I haven't worked with most of them and it is very important that there is a click between the players and the manager. For me, the challenge is always first and not fourth.' (July 2014)

At his unveiling as Manchester United manager, Van Gaal set the bar high, suggesting that only finishing first in the Premier League would be good enough. 

It hasn't exactly worked out that way, with a fourth-place finish in his first season followed by a disappointing fifth - and therefore no Champions League qualification - this term.

Van Gaal, pictured with Sir Bobby Charlton at his unveiling, set the bar high with his opening remarks

2. 'I'm not a coach who thinks short term, I am a coach who thinks always in the long term. When I buy, I buy players for the long term, not the short term because I do respect the club a lot.' (July 2014)

Van Gaal was very keen to give youth its chance in the United team, as he had done at his previous clubs Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. 

Though his hand was at times forced by injuries to key first-teamers, he remained true to his word, giving every member of the extended United squad their opportunity. 

His first season saw Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair come into the defence, while his second saw the likes of Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Marcus Rashford emerge.

Meanwhile, one big money signing that didn't last very long was £59m Angel di Maria,  

Young striker Marcus Rashford was promoted to the first team by Van Gaal in an inspired move

3. 'I'm made from a little bit of iron. So I have a shield, an iron shield. Everybody can write or speak about me and I cannot change that.' (October 2014)

Van Gaal has never been one to suffer fools and his nickname 'Iron Tulip' is well-deserved. Coming to United certainly didn't change his belligerence and he clashed regularly with the press.

Unfortunately his unwillingness to deviate from his methods, especially in training sessions and in his insistence on a possession-based game, led to problems with some of the players. 

The uncompromising Van Gaal goes by the nickname 'Iron Tulip' because of his stubborn attitudes

4. 'We have won more games with 4-4-2, but when you analyse the games we have twitched our ass. I said to my players I was squeezing my ass, but it was the wrong expression. I have twitched my ass on the bench because we were out of balance.' (January 2015)

Van Gaal's early experiment with a 3-5-2 formation and flying wing-backs didn't suit the Premier League and was quickly abandoned for a more secure and reliable 4-4-2 as United made a sluggish start to the season. 

Quite what Van Gaal means by this expression is still pretty unclear but there's no doubt there some twitchy moments early on as United's players turned in some patchy performances while they got to grips with Van Gaal's style of management. 

There were certainly some twitchy moments on the bench during Van Gaal's two years in charge

5. 'When you have 60 per cent ball possession do you think that you can do that with long balls?' (February 2015)

Van Gaal's response to criticism from then-West Ham manager Sam Allardyce that his team were a long-ball side was one of the hilarious moments of his tenure.

He had prepared a dossier of statistical evidence to the contrary and brandished it at a press conference before embarking on a bizarre rant. 

Trouble was, as time went on, Van Gaal's insistence that United slavishly retained the ball became a real hindrance to their attacking threat. They would regularly enjoy 60 per cent possession or even more but struggle to do anything with it, leading to fan frustration. 

Van Gaal brandished charts and statistics at a press conference to prove United were not a long ball side

6. 'The fans are shouting every week: Louis van Gaal's army! Louis van Gaal's army! So the fans are very satisfied with Louis van Gaal and the players are satisfied with me.' (September 2015)

At that point, maybe. After all, United had finished fourth the previous season and were back in the Champions League. They had also made a good start to the season and went top of the table briefly in September. 

But the fan satisfaction wouldn't last. From the end of October until January, they played exceedingly dull and stale football and chants backing the manager quickly turned to jeers. 

United fans were initially fully supportive to Van Gaal but things changed as their football worsened

7. 'For me, Liverpool is a fantastic club. Because I have won every game against Liverpool.' (September 2015)

This was certainly true at the time of speaking but wouldn't last. In his first season, Van Gaal's United beat Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford and 2-1 at Anfield. 

Before that, they had also beaten Liverpool 3-1 in a pre-season tour in the United States. And in 2015-16, United won 3-1 at Old Trafford and 1-0 at Anfield in the Premier League. 

However, Liverpool gained revenge when the two rivals were paired together in the Europa League, winning 3-1 on aggregate. 

Van Gaal won his first five meeting with Liverpool but Jurgen Klopp got the better of him in Europe

8. 'In the consistency, he has surprised me, but in terms of his ability, no. Because we have known already for a long time he can do it.' (October 2015)

Van Gaal's decision to sign Anthony Martial for £36m raised a few eyebrows last summer but, as the above quote shows, he never had any doubts about his ability.

In this instance, Van Gaal was proved correct as the French striker enjoyed a very successful season, scoring 17 times in all competitions. 

Anthony Martial has proved himself an inspired signing, with 17 goals in his debut season at United

9. 'The pressure was higher when I was starting out as manager because I had more to lose then but, no, that doesn't affect my hunger or desire now because I don't want to finish my career with the club sacking me.' (December 2015)

Well unfortunately, that's exactly what has happened. Van Gaal was sacked following a fifth-place finish in the league and despite winning the FA Cup last weekend. 

Van Gaal wasn't able to end his career on his own terms but then he didn't perform to expectations this season either. 

Van Gaal gives what proved to be a farewell address to the United fans after the game with Bournemouth

10. 'Expectations can be too high. Our purpose was the reach the top three because we wanted to do a bit better than last year. Yes [we haven't achieved that] but then you have to analyse the circumstances, how I have to work. I am never feeling that I am under pressure. I do what I have to do.' (March 2016)

This was in March, ahead of United's win in the Manchester derby that did keep them in touch with the top four. Ultimately United didn't make it there but Van Gaal's argument that the expectations were too high is a flimsy one given the enormous resources he has had at his disposal. 

The expectation was that United challenge for the Premier League title and also reach a decent point in the Champions League and he fell well short on both counts.

Van Gaal couldn't save his job despite United beating Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup on Saturday