Welcome to Vanchester: Betfair hoist giant poster to mark Louis van Gaal's first game at Old Trafford

Welcome to Vanchester, Louis!

Louis van Gaal takes charge of Manchester United at Old Trafford for the first time on Tuesday night, and Betfair are there to welcome the big Dutchman to the city...

As Louis Van Gaal gets ready for his first game in charge at Old Trafford, against Valencia on Tuesday night, excitement has gripped Manchester. And if Man City's lacklustre performance against Arsenal in the Community Shield is anything to go by, this season is wide open. So for that reason, we're celebrating the optimism of the year ahead with a poster renaming the city 'Vanchester'.

In a nod to the 'Welcome to Manchester' poster that Man City displayed upon the signing of Carlos Tevez in 2009, we've erected a Welcome to Vanchester version to give football fans something to get them fired up.

Louis Van Gaal has overseen a pre-season revival and fans of the club will be expecting great things this year. Our workmen were busy putting up the poster in Piccadilly Gardens in the centre of Manchester to greet fans as they walked to work this morning. 

Consumer PR Manager Harry Phillips said: "We're all about excitement at Betfair, and Louis Van Gaal's arrival in the Premier League certainly brings that. Manchester United struggled last season, but the big Dutchman has given them a real lift and we wanted to celebrate what he will bring to English football. He's 5/2 to be manager of the month in August, and the question is will he have the same effect as Jose Mourinho did when he took the country by storm in 2004?'