Ole's Press Conference | 05:30 BST

romufc

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It's almost exactly like last year so far. Except Ole is nicer than Jose. We came 2nd in the league in 17/18. Had we bought a central defender last summer we could have easily retained that position. It's the same reason Mourinho was annoyed. You need to either back the manager or sack him. Otherwise what's the point in being Manchester United?

Exactly, considering we only spent £50m on Fred.

It is annoying that fans think not qualifying for Champions League is why we are not spending money. this is another just another bit of information fed by Ed to the media. Oh we cannot sign Sancho, Ndombole, and the like because of no Champions League. Well we had Champions League last year and could only attract Fred.

The last time we signed well was when we were in Eurpoa.

Am I the only one to realise whatever comes out of Ed is absolutely garbage?
 

Shaidabdullah Hussain

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Oh boy this comment is a treasurethrove of stuff, so I'll dig right into it. Please don't take this comment as an attack on you, but I picked this comment because it also reflects a lot of the posters in this thread, so my comment is to everyone who are hatin' on my beloved OGS and the Manchester United team. If anyone takes offense, then you're probably one of the people who complain aloud.

1) Have you seen the presser on YT? If so look at his eyes and then tell me that’s a positive attitude. Then listen to his voice. It’s anxious and defensive. Please check again and then tell me I’m wrong. - You are superwrong. This isn't defensive and anxious, this is someone who is answering a question and choosing his words carefully. Ole's job is not to be negative and critical of his team, his entire job is to make them work as a cohesive unit and perform. Part of that is building them up, by showing them publicly that he has their backs. Jose Mourinho spent a good part of his last season talkign smack about everyone from Woodward to Luke Shaw, the only result he got from that was stressed out players, stressed out fans, stressed out guards at Old Trafford who were praying every game that a violent revolution wouldn't break out. Ole is the clubs face outwards, you better believe that he will speak positive about a turd on his shoe if he has to.

2) In his first answer about our players he starts to answer a question about Pogba, bla bla “heart of gold”and “top bloke” and so on and then he smoothly criticize the media for reporting it negative and when the second question comes he then says he don’t want to talk about it. Is that your definition of a good answer and a positive attitude? - I think you, and a lot of people who look at this choice of words as a weak chinned manager who lack the balls to be the manager for the club in your hearts, need to stop going down that road you are currently on and look at this from Ole's angle. He's praising Pogba, now why would he do that? Why on earth would the manager spend time publicly praising the ethic, work morale and attitude of a player who has been so vocal about wanting to leave the club?

Thing is that Paul Pogba, wether you like it or not, has always been in Ole's eyes the gearstick in the Man United engine. Without Paul Pogba there is a huge issue with the way he foresaw himself building the new Manchester United. Let's be honest, Paul Pogba is our best player on the pitch 8 days out of 10. If he goes we have a problem that needs adressing to the tune of infinity money and preferably yesterday. There's been multiple reports about both Lukaku and Pogba having meetings with Ole after they returned from holidays. Lukaku wants to leave the club since he's not happy with his current standing with the club. That is fine and understandable, Lukaku does not want to be 2nd violin, in Man United he is 2nd or even third violin. Pogba however is the midfield Maestro. We want him to stay. Pogba has been reported to complain about hate from fans as one reason for wanting to leave the club. The treatment he got when the season ended in Old Trafford undoubtedly didn't inspire love with the Old Trafford faithful. Quite frankly, adults should behave better.

See the choice of words on this press conference is not so much to placate journalists who are mean to his player. It is to show his player that this manager thinks so highly of him he is willing to sit there and take all the critical questions from journalists about his own player, and even offer a dig at some of the fans who just can't stop being absolute assh*les every time their expectations aren't met. Pogba does not feel loved in Man United, Ole is trying his very hardest to change that. And his strongest weapon is to have his back in public. At worst the player will be happy about support from his boss, but he still wants to leave for sporting or other reasons. At best, he find renewed motivation to stay and lead the rebuild project on the pitch, and quite frankly we should all want and support a Pogba that wants to be here. And if any of you have ever pulled a fortnite dance, you ever again allowed to complain that Pogba likes to dance.

And you know what, why are people so offended that the manager criticizes the loudest fans? Do you think you can just yell at his players but you can't get a talking to back about civility? What is this, one-way kindergarten?

3) Third question is about when he said being “ruthless”. Sorry. Lost for words. - Ole has a very limited number of options to be 'ruthless' with his squad anyway. He can A) Sell players (*With the approval of the board) B) Bench players C) Tell players they're no longer part of his plan, and get their agents working or D) Give them a chance to prove to him that they belong on this team, while exploring A and C. And when the season starts, we need options at B anyway. The only manger we have had with the clout to sell whoever he wants on the day is Alex Ferguson. He's as close to a club god that you will ever come across. Everyone since and after has to adhere to the Glazer overlords because ultimately they have the final say in who goes or stays. You also need to consider the fact that Manchester United is a tradeable company. As such it has a responsibility to its shareholders, and one of those is that they cannot sells financial assets (players) at cost just to get rid of them. This is not how the real world works and I'm sure everyone realises that when they think things over for a second. The second thing people need to consider is who are we selling and who will buy?

We are not selling talent. This club is harvesting talent. None or very very few of our young developing players are for sale, period. This is not a club that sells young players for a solid profit like most other clubs in Europe, so there is a huge part of our asset pool already eleminated. That leaves the first team. The first team has a few sellable assets that might return some value as they are considered not-part of the managers plans. Not being a part of the managers plans however does not mean that you can just leave the player on a streetcorner and some kind soul will come pick him up and place him at a nice new home. Even £10m is big money, and transfers very often take time, since every club will try to negotiate a better price than what the club is offering. Darmian is still here because the club has not received a bid for the asking price. We don't have to sell to anyone for less than asking price, and are quite frankly very unlikely to since we don't have to. In worst case these players warm the bench and see pitch time maybe a few games on the season as emergency backups. Rojo is one such player, he has a £25m price tag. Thats what the club has decided he's worth in the current market, so we are not going to sell him for £10m just to get rid of him. The club is obviously not in the business of habitually losing money

The transfer window is long in Europe. We are in no hurry to sell players who are deadwood. Their salaries are not a huge problem and we're not selling players at cost. So they are here until a wanting club actuallys coughs up the players value. If they are here in August, no problem, they're not playing first XI anyway. Other players like Ashley Young and Phil Jones will become rotational squad players this season. Lindelöf and hopefully Maguire will solidify our new centerback pair, with Shaw and Wan-Bissaka forming the rest of our defense. I am not happy about the new contracts given to people like Phil Jones, but again we are not giving away players on a free transfer, signing them meant keeping squad players while we wait for new signings that will make them even more expendable. And again, salaries are not an issue. Alexis Sanchez wil still be a Man United player when the season begins since he's gotten injured in the Copa America and won't be play ready until the season starts and some time after.

So yeah, the manager can be ruthless, in terms of who he does not choose to play, everything else is ultimately decided by Team Glazer. It was reported that Ole is fed up with Martials work ethic and wanted him sold, but Glazers blocked the request since he's apparently New Pele.

Everyone else will be given a fair chance to prove that last years mistakes are water under the bridge, and Bailly will be give a chance to not get a red card ever time he touches the ball. And quite frankly no one should have a problem with that. Be mad if they're the worst players ever and still play the season opener.

My point here is that you can't think of running a club like running A's and B's, there's so many things inbetween to consider. But ultimately, be patient, things are still happening.

4) Journalists are not stupid. They will eat him alive if this continue. - Wether or not you like someone who is a positive person (and many here clearly don't), the way Ole has handled the press so far has been a right masterclass in how to keep the wolves at the door. He takes all blame on himself, never places blame on one individual and does everything he can in public to give the image that everyone are behind the team going forward. What Ole has done so far is actually be respectful of journalists and take time to answer their questions as truthfully as he desires, without being disrespectful if he does not like the question. And quite frankly, Ole is not stupid either.

Here is Ole giving journalist Jamie Jackson a pair of sunglasses during a press conference back in February: https://www.manutd.com/en/videos/de...-presents-journalist-with-maui-jim-sunglasses

He knows his audience, and unlike previous managers the people asking the questions in the pressers seem to be respectful in how the approach the manager. The only reason the journalists will have to be asking critical questions if if the players give them a reason to, so let's hope they perform this time around.


5) Then the worst part. He can’t criticize his own fans! - Can't he? If the criticism was welll founded, and delivered in a respectful manner then the last thing the manager would do is even mention it. But when fans are acting like petulent manchildren who do not get their will every single time they go out the door, then yes, he is goddamn right to give a pointing finger to the "loudest fans". The loudests fans in this context are people who can't be critical without telling Lingard what a waste of space he is, how Paul Pogba is the scum of the eart, how De Gea is a greedy bottomfeer and so on. I've seen people comment these things, and what in gods name should the players and the manager remotely respect about people like that? You don't get to have a free pass to say whatever you want without being made to answer for your choice of words if they so choose to confront you. Be respectful? Cool, absolutely 0 problem. Be a hideous ogre that write crap you'd never want your children to hear? Yeah, you don't deserve the respect of the manager or the players. Just because you and I or anyone else buys tickets and goes to the game doesn't give anyone the right to be complete and absolute assh*les to people. If anyone feels that way, then sorry but we're just not going to agree on anything. I was plenty frustrated during last season but at least I don't go on instagram and tell Paul Pogba his mother suck d*ck for a living like some do. There's a very very big difference, and the comment Ole made was obviously towards people who just can't behave themselves. Be respectful and you will be respected back.


6) Sorry to be negative but... - Yeah no problem, the easiest thing to do in the world is to be negative. It doesn't require any kind of backbone, positive attitude or will be part of a solution. Complaining is easy, especially when you're in a environment where people feed of eachothers negativity. If someone replies to a negative post and agrees with all the complaining its just the best feeling of validation in the world. "Yes I get it, everyone sucks and its so easy to just go on and on and on and on about how everyone just god damn sucks". And best of all, it requires absolutely no effort at all. Its so simple. Just. Complain. Hard.

I'll give you a few quick things to be optimistic about in no particular ranked order:

A) David De Gea being ready to sign a new contract. DDG was reported to want an exit. He's now on the brink of commiting to the club and Ole's project.
B) Marcus Rashford signed on a new long term deal
C) Mason Greenwood emerging. He was fantastic against Cardiff, will he continue to improve? He's a young man with everything to prove, and the manager already is backing him to play more this season.
D) Aaron Wan-Bissaka - The best defensive fullback in England. It was a big problem last season, we now have it locked down for a decade.
E) Juan Mata resigned. Mata is a fantastic squad player and has an excellent free kick shot. On top of that he's everything a Manchester United player embodies in terms of attitude and professionalism. He's going to be someone who players like Greenwood and Daniel James will take ques from.
F) Daniel James - The mystery box of the year. Will he be good? Will he be not good? We'll find out.
G) Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes. Both players are very likely to join Manchester United shortly on new transfers.
H) If/When the club lands all heavily linked players (And Maguire who we have officially bid for) - The total spend will near £200m. That is the biggest transfer window in the clubs history. Anyone who says that the team is not backing the manager in the transfer window can eat a bucket.
I) The U23's have signed some very very exciting prospects this offseason.
J) Victor Lindelöf made significant improvements last season and became the player we thought we bougth. He's looking more and more like a leader and might emerge as a potential new captain this season.
K) Altho Alexis Sanchez got injured in the Copa America, he scored twice and looked very very good. This is obviously a longshot but I have a feeling he might prove to be more useful this season than the last. We are going to be stuck with him for another transfer window anyway now, so might as well hope for the best.


Just to summarize this: Things are looking fantastic and I'm looking forward to the pre-season tour games starting.
Would you mind citing your sauce for this ? (fernandes and maguire bit)

Not having a go, I need some muppet fuel and the last I heard things had died down with relation to these two.
 

Tom Cato

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You must be joking if you think the club is actually going to spend £200m? We need to sell in order to spend that much. Either Lukaku or Pogba will have to be sold for United to outlay £200m



Did you watch 90 mins of all of Chile's games? his goals were scuffed and a penalty.
I like that from that post, this is what you had to comment on, with more negativity :D

The club has bid £70m for maguire, officially, that already takes the transfer expenditure up to £130m this offseason.

But of course the club is going to sell players, but we're not dependant on selling Pogba or Lukaku. I've made several posts about the clubs finances, feel free to look at those to get a overview of the clubs financial sitaution. Darmian and Rojo are players who are likely to leave the club. Lukaku is a maybe, the clubs are working on a deal but Man Unitd does not want a payment plan. The reason for that is that we do not have CL income next season, not because we can't afford to buy players. The clubs financial situation is extremely good, the £200m mark is realistic and complies with FFP.

About Sanches, yes I did see the games. Goals dont come with style points, goals are goals.
 

romufc

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I like that from that post, this is what you had to comment on, with more negativity :D

The club has bid £70m for maguire, officially, that already takes the transfer expenditure up to £130m this offseason.

But of course the club is going to sell players, but we're not dependant on selling Pogba or Lukaku. I've made several posts about the clubs finances, feel free to look at those to get a overview of the clubs financial sitaution. Darmian and Rojo are players who are likely to leave the club. Lukaku is a maybe, the clubs are working on a deal but Man Unitd does not want a payment plan. The reason for that is that we do not have CL income next season, not because we can't afford to buy players. The clubs financial situation is extremely good, the £200m mark is realistic and complies with FFP.

About Sanches, yes I did see the games. Goals dont come with style points, goals are goals.

I agree with you in terms of the clubs finances are extremely good, but does not mean the owners will spend that on the club.

Before the transfer window opened, I was optimistic, we had targets, but now it seems it is just falling apart. No strategy.

Darmian and Rojo should have gone a long time ago.

We need a CB and 2 CM's.

Although, I do think selling Lukaku and not replacing him is a big issue. We have Martial, Rashford, and Sanchez to cover with Greenwood coming through. But because of our inconsistent forwards, we need solid CM's?
 

roseguy64

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Yeah, about that. He backed on that and willing to give the deadwood a new chance, Jones, Smalling, Young, etc. I mean dont get me wrong I am happy we have Ole instead the toxic one, but Ole better get the job done.
What has you convinced that he considers Smalling, Jones and Young to be players he doesn't want? It was Darmian, Bailly and Rojo who weren't being played.
 

devilish

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Well this is just ridiculous. Which manager does this after a bad transfer window? Can only think of Pulis doing this at West Brom or Stoke I think.
This is Ole's second bad transfer window as the club had failed to support him in January. Fellaini was sold and he wasn't replaced. One can say that its the third consecutive bad transfer window United had as Mou was poorly supported last summer as well. The past 3 managers had complained about the poor support they got from the club.

That wouldn't be a problem if Ole was a mercenary heading towards the end of his career. He'll take the fall alongside a big fat last pay cheque. However Ole is different. He's young and on top of that he's a United legend. Is it worth risking tarnishing his legacy for a pack of incompetent businessmen whose bleeding the club dry? I very much doubt it.
 

Giggsyking

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What has you convinced that he considers Smalling, Jones and Young to be players he doesn't want? It was Darmian, Bailly and Rojo who weren't being played.
Go back to the Everton post match presser, non of Rojo, Darmian nor Baily played that the match.
 

DoomSlayer

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This is Ole's second bad transfer window as the club had failed to support him in January. Fellaini was sold and he wasn't replaced. One can say that its the third consecutive bad transfer window United had as Mou was poorly supported last summer as well. The past 3 managers had complained about the poor support they got from the club.

That wouldn't be a problem if Ole was a mercenary heading towards the end of his career. He'll take the fall alongside a big fat last pay cheque. However Ole is different. He's young and on top of that he's a United legend. Is it worth risking tarnishing his legacy for a pack of incompetent businessmen whose bleeding the club dry? I very much doubt it.
Ole can never tarnish his legacy because he has the right attitude and his heart bleeds for United. Only the most self-entitled and delusional fans will aim their anger at him if we have a failure of a season again.

The problem for years has been the same so all of you old heads are to blame for keeping silent and supporting these shitebag owners and the fecking incompetent idiots in the board of directors.
 

devilish

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Ole can never tarnish his legacy because he has the right attitude and his heart bleeds for United. Only the most self-entitled and delusional fans will aim their anger at him if we have a failure of a season again.

The problem for years has been the same so all of you old heads are to blame for keeping silent and supporting these shitebag owners and the fecking incompetent idiots in the board of directors.

If Ole ends up at 6th-7th place then he will probably be sacked. That would probably signal the sad end not only for Ole's career at Manchester United but that of the people closest to him, some of which are former players who served Sir Alex successful regime. That's not the way a legend should end his career especially since it would probably not be his fault.

I fully agree with your second comment (although I don't classify myself as one of those fans). However, from my experience the fans are fragmented. Some believe that the club is badly managed while others blame a million other things. If someone like Ole had the courage to rally the troops against the board then all doubt would vanish away.
 

DoomSlayer

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If Ole ends up at 6th-7th place then he will probably be sacked. That would probably signal the sad end not only for Ole's career at Manchester United but that of the people closest to him, some of which are former players who served Sir Alex successful regime. That's not the way a legend should end his career especially since it would probably not be his fault.

I fully agree with your second comment (although I don't classify myself as one of those fans). However, from my experience the fans are fragmented. Some believe that the club is badly managed while others blame a million other things. If someone like Ole had the courage to rally the troops against the board then all doubt would vanish away.
I'll support Solskjaer forever. He has no control over how the club is operating, he isn't Sir Alex and even our greatest manager had no real control of the business side of it, so he had to manage with what was available to him.

Fans are the only ones who can put the pressure on the owners and they've effectively done feck all since the Glazer takeover. For all their faults and mistakes, both Van Gaal and Mourinho outrightly have said that the club has no proper footballing structure. We have no long-term footballing vision and the likes of Woodward are totally clueless about how a top club needs to be developed, outside of the marketing and business departments.

Absolutely loved Ole's press conference, he showed some balls to tackle all the questions put to him, whilst remaining respectful to our history and legacy. He'll give 1000% effort in changing our fortunes, but that doesn't mean shitting on United in public and creating even bigger problems and division. It's the fanbase's job to keep the Glazers and directors in check. If Ole goes, who comes in next and what will he do? It will be the same shit as we've seen before and until something substantial changes, this is the reality our club is existing in.
 

AJ10

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This is Ole's second bad transfer window as the club had failed to support him in January. Fellaini was sold and he wasn't replaced. One can say that its the third consecutive bad transfer window United had as Mou was poorly supported last summer as well. The past 3 managers had complained about the poor support they got from the club.

That wouldn't be a problem if Ole was a mercenary heading towards the end of his career. He'll take the fall alongside a big fat last pay cheque. However Ole is different. He's young and on top of that he's a United legend. Is it worth risking tarnishing his legacy for a pack of incompetent businessmen whose bleeding the club dry? I very much doubt it.
I am all for blaming woodward but what is this horse shit?

Failed to support a caretaker? :lol::lol:
 

MikeKing

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I can't actually believe some people thought Ole was attacking good fans, those who makes the ground shake with noise. That is not the supporters he was talking about. He doesn't mean loud in that way. He is referring to the old chestnut of how a minority that yells loud can appear bigger than the majority who may have a different opinion. It means the opinion of the majority isn't being heard on major levels because it gets drowned out from the constant noise from the smaller group. It makes sense that they have to cry and yell to compensate for their small voice. It works.

However, these days it does seem like the influence of twitter etc. is quickly making these crazy small groups expand out to the wider general public, which is pretty scary.
 

KM

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one of the best posts I've seen on here. Bravo.
Good presser. Ole seems to know how to draw the line between what should be said publicly and privately. Wish our fans could make the distinction too. This was all mostly a message to other clubs and to the agents, simply setting up a negotiating position. As it stands there are no bids for our players, thus putting paid to all media and agent games, and saying stop talking and start bidding. And trying his best to talk up the price of Pogba and Lukaku rather than damage their potential sale value. Just because he publicly says that doesn't mean privately he doesn't want rid or would be happy to let them go. But when there are no bids received, he also has to prepare for the possibility that this squad might all stay, and then it's his job to get the most out of them and boost their morale. Applying the whip at the end of the season to try and spur them on is only good at that time, and even then as a last resort, but its stupid to use it in pre-season when you are trying to build up team spirit and morale. But by upping Greenwood and emphasising each forward getting 10 goals and asking for them to get 20 he is implicitly challenging all of them to up their game or lose out to Greenwood.

He can't be ruthless by waving a magic wand to produce buyers out of nowhere. To sell a player you need a buyer, and that buyer needs enough money to be able to make a satisfactory bid. That's where we are stuck, as the transfer market is itself stuck with many clubs also waiting on other clubs to buy their players first (i.e. Inter Milan and Real Madrid and Barcelona and Juventus). Its because of this that transfers mostly take place at the end of the window, but also why having the UK window different to the European one is a massive stupid own goal. All Ole can do is try to jivvy opposing clubs to make actual bids and stop trying to just use the media to test the water, while upping the value of the players he wants to sell yet being stern about not overpaying for players we want to buy. As such, it was a great press conference.
 

DoomSlayer

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A lot of this thread is like reading the BS from the illiterate "fans" on twitter, where I've seen people call Ole a "piece of shit", "PE teacher, "Glazer puppet", "fecking idiot" and a lot more derogatory phrases.

My blood is actually boiling from seeing this unfold. :mad:
 

devilish

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I am all for blaming woodward but what is this horse shit?

Failed to support a caretaker? :lol::lol:
We have sold Fellaini while Herrera was allowed to go on free. The last thing they could do is either back him in January or in Summer.
 

AJ10

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We have sold Fellaini while Herrera was allowed to go on free. The last thing they could do is either back him in January or in Summer.
Herrera left in the summer not in january and why would any team buy a player or players for a caretaker?
 

bosnian_red

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Fans were correct about CR7 and Tevez.

We were playing terrible football after selling CR7. Again fans correct.
We won 2 of the next 4 titles and were a combined 1 point and some GD away from winning 2 more, reached a CL final, etc... Fans were dramatic. Great players will leave sometimes. We still had an excellent team as we showed.
 

bosnian_red

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I didn't say once did I?
I dont care if you had 3 centipedes in 3 different plates, you dont fecking yell at service workers or other people. You just don't. They aren't your kids who you discipline or whatever the feck else. You send it back, you call them over, and they deal with it. If you don't like it or get frustrated, you straight up leave. Never is it ok to yell at the other workers because some shite happened that annoyed you. Literally common sense in any working environment.
What's about then Mr goal post mover?
I dont even know what you mean in the slightest. It's not about being quiet, but not about being loud or yelling or losing your cool. Theres a VERY large middle ground of serious, professional discussion where shit actually gets done and things are actually productive. The second you lose your cool, you achieve nothing.
 

devilish

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Herrera left in the summer not in january and why would any team buy a player or players for a caretaker?
That's not my point. The squad was weakened in January rather then strengthened. If things remain as they are we would have had 3 bad transfer windows. Should Ole accept such conditions considering that he's probably expected to end up top 4? Id say no.

If Woodward think that he can manage United without barely spending any money then he should take the job himself.
 

devilish

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I'll support Solskjaer forever. He has no control over how the club is operating, he isn't Sir Alex and even our greatest manager had no real control of the business side of it, so he had to manage with what was available to him.

Fans are the only ones who can put the pressure on the owners and they've effectively done feck all since the Glazer takeover. For all their faults and mistakes, both Van Gaal and Mourinho outrightly have said that the club has no proper footballing structure. We have no long-term footballing vision and the likes of Woodward are totally clueless about how a top club needs to be developed, outside of the marketing and business departments.

Absolutely loved Ole's press conference, he showed some balls to tackle all the questions put to him, whilst remaining respectful to our history and legacy. He'll give 1000% effort in changing our fortunes, but that doesn't mean shitting on United in public and creating even bigger problems and division. It's the fanbase's job to keep the Glazers and directors in check. If Ole goes, who comes in next and what will he do? It will be the same shit as we've seen before and until something substantial changes, this is the reality our club is existing in.
I am confident that if Ole resigns because he's poorly backed then the fans will take notice and act accordingly. Milan had a legend owner in Berlusconi but when the fans turned against him he was on buying time. The same would probably happen at United
 

UpWithRivers

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I Know he is being professional but for one I am done with being professional with players that have downed tools twice. Yes twice! Come sixth. And shown no pride, fight or bottle. What message does it send out to the players in the dressing room that the top guy Pogba wants out? What message does it send that we came sixth, downed tools twice and there are no repercussions? The Southampton players that want out are training separately. PSG has made statementments that they will not accept celebrity play acting or something to that effect.
Ole could quite easily have stuck to his message that he said earlier in the season. Players that don't want to be here and fight for the team can go. But only for the right price.
 

AJ10

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That's not my point. The squad was weakened in January rather then strengthened. If things remain as they are we would have had 3 bad transfer windows. Should Ole accept such conditions considering that he's probably expected to end up top 4? Id say no.

If Woodward think that he can manage United without barely spending any money then he should take the job himself.

What does Ole have to do with our previous windows? He wasn't around last summer and in January he was a caretaker.
 

Enigma_87

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I fully agree with your second comment (although I don't classify myself as one of those fans). However, from my experience the fans are fragmented. Some believe that the club is badly managed while others blame a million other things. If someone like Ole had the courage to rally the troops against the board then all doubt would vanish away.
Ole holds no authority and he can only be a yes man. He got the job at first place because of his United connections and because of Woodward giving him a chance.

He can’t possibly go against the status quo because he has no credibility as a manager.

He will most likely parrot everything the PR team is telling him before each presser.

Throwing jib at the fans however is something I can’t understand, especially considering he has had only support from match goers despite being a nobody in terms of resume.
 

DoomSlayer

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I am confident that if Ole resigns because he's poorly backed then the fans will take notice and act accordingly. Milan had a legend owner in Berlusconi but when the fans turned against him he was on buying time. The same would probably happen at United
Ole has been here for half a season. This is his dream job, it's everything he has been working for as a manager. How do you see a man with any ambition throwing this away? I'm sure he believes that changes can be made, despite the restrictions due to the incompetence from the club hierarchy.

As I said, the only way for a proper change to happen is if the fans wake up and especially the ones at Old Trafford. Put constant pressure on Woodward and the Glazers, chant against them, put banners out, protest in front of OT, in front of their offices and luxurious homes. If 40-50 thousand show they discontent every week, there is no way that the direction of the club won't drastically change, no matter if the owners stay or sell.
 

Cockney Phil

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A fairly tepid presser, understandable given the crap in the gutters press these last few weeks. If as Ole said there have been no bids for players, that dishes all the trash news speculation since the Cardiff game - fine with that.

However, in response to the questions about an agent, and agents in general - he claimed they do what they have to do as representatives of players. On that ‘legal’ basis of client and agent, an agent’s words to the press must legally represent a player’s true position. A journalist pointed out it was their duty to publish, which Ole never challenged. Therefore, if a player is voicing discontent through his legal mouthpiece why is he on the tour, especially when it’s so important to get things right for the coming season?

It’s like the last games of the season never happened. Why were grand claims made after the Barca game about ‘ruthless action’ and now for months we have behaved as if everything is perfect? This fish is beginning stink from the head and is an ominous primer for another crap season.
 

Reddy Rederson

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I dont care if you had 3 centipedes in 3 different plates, you dont fecking yell at service workers or other people. You just don't. They aren't your kids who you discipline or whatever the feck else. You send it back, you call them over, and they deal with it. If you don't like it or get frustrated, you straight up leave. Never is it ok to yell at the other workers because some shite happened that annoyed you. Literally common sense in any working environment.

I dont even know what you mean in the slightest. It's not about being quiet, but not about being loud or yelling or losing your cool. Theres a VERY large middle ground of serious, professional discussion where shit actually gets done and things are actually productive. The second you lose your cool, you achieve nothing.
So, you order soup. Its got a fly in it. You call them over and they take it back. The replacement soup also has a fly in it, but you dont say anything other than "please, sir, can I have another?". Sure pal, whatever you say.
 

NJM78

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Exact drivel I was expecting. I have very little faith in the club and zero expectations for next season. Although I do expect Ole to be gone after the season ends in disappointment like last season.
 

Lee565

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Pure Glazer puppet talk from Ole, talks about closing the gap between the club and the top in Liverpool and Man city, yeah that will work with our Joke of a transfer window, all I can see at this rate is that will be closer to the relegation zone than the top 2.
 

DoomSlayer

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Pure Glazer puppet talk from Ole, talks about closing the gap between the club and the top in Liverpool and Man city, yeah that will work with our Joke of a transfer window, all I can see at this rate is that will be closer to the relegation zone than the top 2.
You should focus your attention on the Glazers then, Ole is doing what he can with what's available to him. Do something about the greedy ignorant owners and stop throwing shade at Solskjaer.
 

Enigma_87

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I dont even know what you mean in the slightest. It's not about being quiet, but not about being loud or yelling or losing your cool. Theres a VERY large middle ground of serious, professional discussion where shit actually gets done and things are actually productive. The second you lose your cool, you achieve nothing.
Why people keep assuming that being vocal means yelling or not keeping your cool?
 

Lee565

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You should focus your attention on the Glazers then, Ole is doing what he can with what's available to him. Do something about the greedy ignorant owners and stop throwing shade at Solskjaer.
I have but it's damning of Ole to allow himself to be used as their Puppet in deceiving the fans.
 

DoomSlayer

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I have but it's damning of Ole to allow himself to be used as their Puppet in deceiving the fans.
But he can't do anything in public or he risks to create a total shitstorm at the club and among the whole squad. People say we will have a very bad season, if Ole goes public on everything, we will totally capitulate and the team might seriously finish in the bottom half of the table.

This is exactly what was happening under Mourinho last season, until he was fired. If he stayed until the end, I bet we would have finished below 10th place.
 

red4ever 79

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Exact drivel I was expecting. I have very little faith in the club and zero expectations for next season. Although I do expect Ole to be gone after the season ends in disappointment like last season.
Will be gone before Xmas. I am expecting a disaster to be honest. For him to come out and say the squad is looking good then he should be called out for that
 

bosnian_red

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So, you order soup. Its got a fly in it. You call them over and they take it back. The replacement soup also has a fly in it, but you dont say anything other than "please, sir, can I have another?". Sure pal, whatever you say.
Well you don't yell at him, that just makes you look like a prick. There's no situation in a professional environment where getting into a screaming match and yelling at other adults is appropriate. Not even in personal environments is it productive. You calmly talk to them and tell them it's a bit ridiculous, but being "stern" but calm, having serious discussions are very different from just shouting, where you end up looking like an idiot 100% of the time. Anyway, back on topic. Fans who hurl abuse at players over social media come across as idiots more often than not. Ties in with Ole's point, those "loudest" fans who hurl abuse everywhere that give a feeling of all doom and gloom at the club isnt necessarily the majority and they usually come across as idiots anyway.
 

OohAahMartial

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I can't actually believe some people thought Ole was attacking good fans, those who makes the ground shake with noise. That is not the supporters he was talking about. He doesn't mean loud in that way. He is referring to the old chestnut of how a minority that yells loud can appear bigger than the majority who may have a different opinion. It means the opinion of the majority isn't being heard on major levels because it gets drowned out from the constant noise from the smaller group. It makes sense that they have to cry and yell to compensate for their small voice. It works.

However, these days it does seem like the influence of twitter etc. is quickly making these crazy small groups expand out to the wider general public, which is pretty scary.
Thanks for pointing out what I thought was obvious but looking at the thread perhaps wasn't obvious to everyone. The silent majority its often called.

I would like to introduce an idea to our fans, that of mutual interdependence. I hear many fans say that the reason they are so angry and loud and negative is because of how bad the club is run. This is an example of how their feelings are dependent on the state of the club. Many, many, years ago I noticed that my feelings were swinging wildly based on our results, and the alcohol I was drinking was inflaming those emotions even more. I realised that for all the happiness I got from football, it wasn't worth all the depression and anger. I took a break from football to restore my mental balance. A lot of United fans appear to be seriously depressed and could perhaps do with a break and loosening their attachment.

But its also the case that fans can influence the team. There is a difference between being a fan(atic) and a supporter. The word supporter more accurately reflects this mutual interdependence. We can of course do this at the game through singing, and off the pitch through purchasing, but its a double edged sword, when at a match we collectively groan, curse, boo, or even just stay grimly silent, that atmosphere transmits to the players. And off pitch the social media abuse (take a look at Young's instagram or even his performance thread) will find its way back to the player and can affect their morale and confidence. There is a feedback circle here of fans getting on a player's back, them performing badly, and that aggravating the fans even more. This works with managers too.

Now a professional footballer (or manager) at such a big club as ours has to be strong enough mentally to resist that influence, to have immense self-belief, and also to forget their last game, their last season, and focus on their next game. Only then can they maintain mental balance and their joy of playing.

Of course, they are professionals, but if you are a fan, the sort to use RedCafe, then you are more or less a professional fan, life-long which is more than most of our players. So we have to look after our mental health for the rest of our lives too, because our blood will always be red. And that similarly means forgetting last season and the last game, and focusing on the next one, one game at a time, maintaining your belief in United's potential, its players and manager. While the team's poor performance might make you angry or frustrated or sad, if you are still feeling like that weeks after, that is now your responsibility, about how you deal with your emotions and choose to respond. If you don't then you will end up like Claude or DT.
 

DoomSlayer

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Will be gone before Xmas. I am expecting a disaster to be honest. For him to come out and say the squad is looking good then he should be called out for that
And what happens after December then? You ever think about times further than the next 6 months? What do you propose should happen when Ole hypothetically gets sacked? And what happens when eventually the next manager gets sacked as well in the space of one, one and a half years?
 

devilish

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Ole has been here for half a season. This is his dream job, it's everything he has been working for as a manager. How do you see a man with any ambition throwing this away? I'm sure he believes that changes can be made, despite the restrictions due to the incompetence from the club hierarchy.

As I said, the only way for a proper change to happen is if the fans wake up and especially the ones at Old Trafford. Put constant pressure on Woodward and the Glazers, chant against them, put banners out, protest in front of OT, in front of their offices and luxurious homes. If 40-50 thousand show they discontent every week, there is no way that the direction of the club won't drastically change, no matter if the owners stay or sell.
Towards the end of Cantona's last year with us, its rumoured that Sir Alex approached the guy to tell him that he wouldn't be a first teamer anymore. SAF made it clear that Cantona was still a valued player who would probably play in numerous games but the time when he could play week in week out was over. Cantona took the message and rather then fade slowly while cashing his last pay cheques he decided to call quits.

We had many legends since then and unfortunately very few copied the man. Most took an extra year of salary out of the club which they morally deserved but football wise they didn't. Gaz for example traded his dignity for that cheque and his career ended in a humiliating game something he regretted ever since. Don't take me wrong I'm not criticising United players about that. Most players did the same thing, some having way more humiliating ends to their career then Gaz did. I still remember Baresi's last game against a young Christian Vieri. It was like seeing current Paddy Crerand trying to stop Daniel James from beating him with pace.

Now assuming we've got an underwhelming transfer window then Ole will be in that same spot. He might soldier on, knowing he'll probably fail and be blamed by the club of every ills (as they successfully did with Moyes, LVG and Mou). That would be the end of his career at United. Else he can just resign and let those who messed it up face the very music they were responsible for. The latter decision would rally all fans against the very people whose bleeding the club dry. I myself who didn't want Ole as manager would be behind the guy

Of course if he thinks he can still edge it despite having to rely on pound shop signings then by all means he should stick to the job. However he will have himself to blame.
 

Mr Chutney

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Jeez you lot are fecking dour.

At least he is injecting some positivity about the place, the man is an absolute legend and has spent 11 years of his life at the club - learning from the best.

Why are so many writing him off already? Is nobody else feeling the magic.