Ole Gunnar Solskjær's Cardiff Press Conference | Updates from 9am

[Damien]

What irritates me the most though is the fact that in case we have someone like Conte, Jardim, Zidane or Blanc on our list why we did not try to get this guy as soon as possible. The remaining season would have been such a great chance to get a clear picture about what and who is needed in summer 2019 and beyond.

Many managers of that stature - even if they're free - aren't hugely keen on taking over a club mid-season. Better to take over before a season starts when there is a fresh slate. Blanc would probably come now, but I don't think he's enough, and the others have question marks.

At least now we can bring in a director of football first then get the manager who wants to work with them after. We tried the other way around with Mourinho but Mourinho didn't want one so we never got the DoF in the end.

 

[SqueakyWeasel]

"It feels like home"

That's all Jose needed to learn and he would have understood us a bit better!

Welcome home Ole

 

[red thru&thru]

The biggest testimony to Ole from this press conference is, even the journalists were smiling. They all seemed upbeat. Great testimony that to Ole and the club.

 

[Robbo's Shoulder]

Good interview, very refreshing to see it being about the team and not the individual. I'm not expecting miracles over the 1st few games especially with it being a very busy Christmas period but I'm definately looking forward to games again.

 

[Kapardin]

Looking forward to the game tomorrow but I cannot fully share the enthusiasm by most here. Say what you want about Mourinho but replacing a manager of his status by some former club legend having made his experience as manager in the Norwegian league does not sound like the best plan ever.
Ole has no experience in facing players like Salah, Aguero, Hazard, Mbappe, Neymar etc.
These guys might have their fun with our new "attack, attack, attack" and "the opponent does not matter - we are going to play our style" approach.

What irritates me the most though is the fact that in case we have someone like Conte, Jardim, Zidane or Blanc on our list why we did not try to get this guy as soon as possible. The remaining season would have been such a great chance to get a clear picture about what and who is needed in summer 2019 and beyond.

It seems we really put all our hope into getting Poch on board.

However, I cannot wait to seeing us play tomorrow.

Enough of knee-jerk appointments. For one thing, Conte is Mourinho mk2 and Zidane has question marks about him over how he would fare with average squads. I'd have liked Blanc on an interim basis with option to make permanent, since I am not sure he can handle this league. But Blanc might not have accepted an interim gig.

Jardim seems a fit but again, he won't take an interim job in all probability. So, best we give time to Ed to make the right decision this time.

 

[Ibrahimorich]

OK, I really loved that. Having seen and heard him now I'm much more optimistic about this. Said all the right things. How it's about playing without fear, expressing and enjoying yourself.

Nice mention of the 5-5 too. I'd rather see us in some crazy high score draws than the boring shit that Mourinho served up.

 

[SalfordRed18]

Sir Alex was 45 when he took over at Man United in 1986. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is 45. Coincidence? Or destiny? Hope he gets the support and patience Fergie got in those early years.

Fergie had to clear out some of the club heroes at the time, like Whiteside, who thought the party was more important than the game, and he had to bring others, like club captain Robson, back into line. Ole, or whoever is eventually appointed, has a similar job to do now to get the club back to where it should be.

Neither. Literally neither.

 

[sunama]

Media lady looks like she’s feeling her job getting a little easier.

The toxicity level when the new manager arrives, is usually zero.
Usually, after 2 years, toxicity levels reach extreme levels.
This pattern has been repeated.

Personally, I want to see how Solkjaer does, in terms of results (and playing style, which is secondary), before I cast any positive/negative judgement.
Give him 5-10 games, to see if things change.

 

[devilish]

"No-one has been on the bench more than me."

That's a great quote.

Fred begs to differ

 

[royboy16]

Hey Rojo,I bet you 20k, Ole will have a full head of grey hair once his 6 months is up

 

[Bewildered Dave]

Neither. Literally neither.

You’re sure? Two managers aged 45 being appointed 32 years apart in circumstances when the club is struggling for success, without any apparent causal connection, seems to fit the definition of coincidence to me.

 

[midnightmare]

Fred begs to differ

Fred’s been in the stands more than on the bench, surely? So yeah, Ole it is. And, umm, you do realize Ole spent almost a decade mostly on the bench!

 

[Smores]

Said all the right things but i expect that from Ole he's a good lad.

The line about the club having its targets already was interesting though. Who the feck is making these decisions? Get a fecking a DoF in even as a temp and take it out of Woodwards hands

 

[grahamo]

Fred begs to differ

to be fair. Fred has deserved to be on the bench. Maybe Solksjaer can help him find his Mojo again.

 

[devilish]

Fred’s been in the stands more than on the bench, surely? So yeah, Ole it is. And, umm, you do realize Ole spent almost a decade mostly on the bench!

It was meant as a joke. Chill up

 

[Random Task]

8:00

The video has been blocked.

 

[devilish]

to be fair. Fred has deserved to be on the bench. Maybe Solksjaer can help him find his Mojo again.

Really? He barely got a sniff of first team football

 

[EwanI Ted]

Looking forward to the game tomorrow but I cannot fully share the enthusiasm by most here. Say what you want about Mourinho but replacing a manager of his status by some former club legend having made his experience as manager in the Norwegian league does not sound like the best plan ever.
Ole has no experience in facing players like Salah, Aguero, Hazard, Mbappe, Neymar etc.
These guys might have their fun with our new "attack, attack, attack" and "the opponent does not matter - we are going to play our style" approach.

What irritates me the most though is the fact that in case we have someone like Conte, Jardim, Zidane or Blanc on our list why we did not try to get this guy as soon as possible. The remaining season would have been such a great chance to get a clear picture about what and who is needed in summer 2019 and beyond.

It seems we really put all our hope into getting Poch on board.

However, I cannot wait to seeing us play tomorrow.

I think the Board is right in taking its time to restrcture behind the scenes, considering how it wants the team to develop over the next two to four years, and then picking a manager that fits into that. All those names you mention have their merits, but they're different types of manager, and unless you know what you want from your manager, you can't pick the right person.

I also think that bringing in a manager midseason is usually a bad idea. Yes they get the chance to see the players in action, but the downsides are many - there's no time to work on fitness, tactics or transfers, much of what makes a manager a success. With the club already in a tailspin, the only thing you have in the toolbox to turn things around is trying to motivate the players. That's a big risk for a new long term manager. If, say, Conte comes in and immediately loses a bunch of games, he'll be sucked into the crisis without a doubt.

I think the most sensible thing is to choose in the spring and and announce in the early summer. The new manager can assess the squad from a distance, but then gets an extended period to improve fitness, buy in new players and to get the players to understand how the new guy approaches the game. That gives him the best possible chance of success.

 

[Random Task]

 

[Andersons Dietician]

“At Manchester United you play without fear and you express your skills, go out and express yourselves, take risks, be the kids that love football”

Almost brought a tear to my eye hearing that, finally after the last 2 and a half years a manager who knows what it’s all about. How great is it to see a happy confident guy who just looks thrilled to be in the position he is and actually work and interact with the journalists. Hopefully we batter them on Saturday but I’m guessing there will still be some rust on the team.

 

[Maticmaker]

“At Manchester United you play without fear and you express your skills, go out and express yourselves, take risks, be the kids that love football”

Almost brought a tear to my eye hearing that, finally after the last 2 and a half years a manager who knows what it’s all about. How great is it to see a happy confident guy who just looks thrilled to be in the position he is and actually work and interact with the journalists. Hopefully we batter them on Saturday but I’m guessing there will still be some rust on the team.

Yes, right up your street this. I remember your exchange of posts sometime ago with a poster called "I Believe" (whatever happened to him?), you valued Morata better than Lukaku as I recall. Do you think Ole might be tempted to try a swap with Chelsea in the January window?

 

[peridigm]

Arsenal are more than capable of having a wobble and one of the teams above us is Spurs, whose manager seems to be having a strange change of mind about things.... Its very possible

Not the same Arsenal. Spurs will be there.

 

[breakout67]

How can you not love this man? I really hope we do some great things in his short stint here. I don't think we will do anything under him, but at least we are seeing something new and different. If any players don't play for this man then they are dead to me.

 

[golden_blunder]

Looking forward to the game tomorrow but I cannot fully share the enthusiasm by most here. Say what you want about Mourinho but replacing a manager of his status by some former club legend having made his experience as manager in the Norwegian league does not sound like the best plan ever.
Ole has no experience in facing players like Salah, Aguero, Hazard, Mbappe, Neymar etc.
These guys might have their fun with our new "attack, attack, attack" and "the opponent does not matter - we are going to play our style" approach.

What irritates me the most though is the fact that in case we have someone like Conte, Jardim, Zidane or Blanc on our list why we did not try to get this guy as soon as possible. The remaining season would have been such a great chance to get a clear picture about what and who is needed in summer 2019 and beyond.

It seems we really put all our hope into getting Poch on board.

However, I cannot wait to seeing us play tomorrow.

You realize that Pep only coached Barca’s B and zidane the same at Madrid?

Ole has coached united reserves, Molde, Cardiff and Molde again. He’s not inexperienced.

Knowing the club is one thing but he’s onboard because of his infectious personality, his love of attacking football and united traditions.

Let’s actually see him in the job before coming over all negative already!

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Yes, right up your street this. I remember your exchange of posts sometime ago with a poster called "I Believe" (whatever happened to him?), you valued Morata better than Lukaku as I recall. Do you think Ole might be tempted to try a swap with Chelsea in the January window?

Not sure, we used to have a private chat as I knew him from Talking Reds but don’t think he has been active for over a year.
I think it was more I taught Morata was a better all round footballer and would suit what I imagine Jose would want to do better but I would have been happy with either but none have really lived up to expectation although I think Rom can do so much better for us and hopefully Ole can finally get him banging in the goals and understands he’s a finisher, just put the ball in front of him.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Media lady looks like she’s feeling her job getting a little easier.

I was just thinking that. Karen looks relieved she isn't going to have to smooth troubled water every press confernece.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Well I'm sure feeling the Christmas spirit now!

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Missed this as I was trudging round Tesco doing the Christmas food shop.

 

[Slevs]

I've been in love with her for years. Even has the ability to literally get a bus parked just by mentioning Mourinho:

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

I'll fully support Ole for manager as long as she's around.

 

[manichester]

War is over peace is restored behind the scenes, if the players do not respond they are idiots not to get behind Ole and the club.

 

[midnightmare]

Looking forward to the game tomorrow but I cannot fully share the enthusiasm by most here. Say what you want about Mourinho but replacing a manager of his status by some former club legend having made his experience as manager in the Norwegian league does not sound like the best plan ever.
Ole has no experience in facing players like Salah, Aguero, Hazard, Mbappe, Neymar etc.
These guys might have their fun with our new "attack, attack, attack" and "the opponent does not matter - we are going to play our style" approach.

What irritates me the most though is the fact that in case we have someone like Conte, Jardim, Zidane or Blanc on our list why we did not try to get this guy as soon as possible. The remaining season would have been such a great chance to get a clear picture about what and who is needed in summer 2019 and beyond.

It seems we really put all our hope into getting Poch on board.

However, I cannot wait to seeing us play tomorrow.

Such optimism! Bizarre. Almost as if Jose has done a full dementor act on you. Ole has managed a bunch before - including our reserves and first-team strikers too. He's no mug. And if you don't rate his exploits at Molde in the league, how about when he topped his Europa group with Molde? Or actually managed to beat Sevilla (eventual winners) in the EL in a game (lost over two legs of course) - something Jose couldn't do? Ole may not be the ideal choice for a long-term manager (Oh! How my inner-muppet yearns for him to prove me and everyone else wrong on this!) but he's quite certainly a great choice as interim manager. Just look at the uplift in mood already! And a lot of that uplift is coming on the basis of fans and the media etc. having no apprehensions about "What if this too is the wrong appointment?"

 

[Inigo Montoya]

"It feels like home"

That's all Jose needed to learn and he would have understood us a bit better!

Welcome home Ole

TBF that was never going to happen.Thre guy lived in a hotel FFS

You realize that Pep only coached Barca’s B and zidane the same at Madrid?

Ole has coached united reserves, Molde, Cardiff and Molde again. He’s not inexperienced.

Knowing the club is one thing but he’s onboard because of his infectious personality, his love of attacking football and united traditions.

Let’s actually see him in the job before coming over all negative already!

Not forgetting the talent Pep had at his disposal in a 2 horse race!

Pep would have been sacked at Cardiff too

 

[Maticmaker]

Not sure, we used to have a private chat as I knew him from Talking Reds but don’t think he has been active for over a year.
I think it was more I taught Morata was a better all round footballer and would suit what I imagine Jose would want to do better but I would have been happy with either but none have really lived up to expectation although I think Rom can do so much better for us and hopefully Ole can finally get him banging in the goals and understands he’s a finisher, just put the ball in front of him.

Yes, its so simple with Lukaku, as you say play the ball in front of him, or maybe on the half turn, and let him fly! He's never going to be agile or skilled or even alert enough to be a conventional 'hold up' type of centre forward, always sets off towards a ball played forward to him a split second after the defender marking him.

Think I Believe got canned!

 

[Di Maria's angel]

We see the "United way" phrase thrown out a lot these days and in those gone by but the truth is none of Moyes, LvG and Mourinho truly understood it. Whether or not Ole is successful, he fecking gets it and learnt it from the great man himself. The key phrases such as "enjoying, expressing" and ultimately having fun are so important here and have been lacking at United since SAF left. Watching United has been chore for a large part of the last 5 to 6 years but I feel Solskjaer will bring back that enjoyment or at least he will try. Can't wait for Saturday.

 

[breakout67]

War is over peace is restored behind the scenes, if the players do not respond they are idiots not to get behind Ole and the club.

We didn't have war last season either. Still didn't stop them being crap in lots of games. We're still trying to get Pogba into the exact 3m space on the pitch where he can be at his best, we still have no right winger, we still have dross in defence from years ago.

I really hope we make some January signings, because giving these signings 5 months to bed in would do wonders for next season. But with no DoF and us going 'all out' for a manager working with Spurs that seems unlikely.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

We didn't have war last season either. Still didn't stop them being crap in lots of games. We're still trying to get Pogba into the exact 3m space on the pitch where he can be at his best, we still have no right winger, we still have dross in defence from years ago.

I really hope we make some January signings, because giving these signings 5 months to bed in would do wonders for next season. But with no DoF and us going 'all out' for a manager working with Spurs that seems unlikely.

I somehow doubt we’ll make a signing unless a bargain comes up.

I can see Ole promoting a couple from the U23 and Youth

 

[#07]

 

[SqueakyWeasel]

TBF that was never going to happen.Thre guy lived in a hotel FFS

Could you not work out that it was irony

Irony is not just what your blood tastes like btw!

 

[Slevs]

War is over peace is restored behind the scenes, if the players do not respond they are idiots not to get behind Ole and the club.

Not that easy. We still don't have a right winger, a striker that can control a football, and a stable defense free from niggling injuries.

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

Brilliant press conference...Great to see a manager who’s loving the fact that he’s Man Utd manager.Hopefully this positivity will translate to our performances on the pitch,starting from tomorrow...