Look, this may be a little long, but I think many people need to see in the future (both here and in the press).
LVG was tasked with an incredibly difficult job. He inherited a squad that just finished 7th and was really, really poor. His job was to transition the club to the post-Ferguson era. Well, the first challenge is to rebuild the squad. He has been absolutely magnificent at that. Forget Di Maria, forget Falcao. No one knows how much of that was Woodward and how much was LVG. Either way, before you place blame on LVG for Di Maria's failure, you know exactly 0 information about his work ethic, training habits, locker room presence, and so on. The press (and here) need to stop acting like they know.
The part of rebuilding the squad that is massively underrated is the # of players needing to be integrated at once. Think about City- they weren't immediately successful. It was only 3 years or so after the big spending where the rewards came. There's a reason for that. Memphis, Darmian, Herrera, Rojo, Martial, Shaw, Scheniderlin, Schweinsteiger, Blind, they will all likely improve. Mourinho will get the credit, but LVG would have had the squad improved, there's 0 doubt about that in my mind.
All of LVG's past teams have been absolutely incredible after he left. We are seeing why. Its clear a new nucleus has formed, and those players will move United forward. The squad is improving, with players like Lingard able to come off the bench and be immediately impactful (not just the goal, his overall play was great). I'm worried (greatly) United has been very short sighted in not allowing LVG to refinish building the squad. Long term benefit has been downgraded for short term success.
Lastly, lets not forget that this year has been rough. We all saw how brilliant Rooney was today. His injury for 2 months was obviously negatively impacting the results. Shaw has been a massive miss on the left side. Secondly, its been incredibly random this year with 3 delayed games.....especially 2 massive away games vs. Spurs and West Ham. If preparation is right and the team are all set, maybe a draw or win vs. West Ham is on the cards and a better performance vs. Spurs.
Either way, I think we have so much to appreciate about LVG. His job, quite frankly, has been thankless. I may be the only person on earth thinking this, but I wish he was given another year. For all the "we will stick by the manager" from United fans during Fergie's era.....its all a bunch of tosh. Most of you are absolutely no different than any other fan. All the mocking "philosophy" and saying how stupid LVG is....just fuck off, honestly.
Always remember one thing: LVG, his management team, other EPL managers, etc know a fucking shipping tank's worth of football knowledge more than you, the media, or anyone else does. When they make a decision, it comes from a much more educated place than any hacky opinion a media member has.