Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

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Foxbatt

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I do not know about not scoring goals but Ole needs to switch his players around if Rashford and Lukaku are not scoring goals. He needs to let Martial play CF or bring in Greenwood for some games. I have a bad feeling about this now. The same feeling when Moyes was appointed manager. I think this is way above Ole's head.
 

edgar allan

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I do not know about not scoring goals but Ole needs to switch his players around if Rashford and Lukaku are not scoring goals. He needs to let Martial play CF or bring in Greenwood for some games. I have a bad feeling about this now. The same feeling when Moyes was appointed manager. I think this is way above Ole's head.
Well he has adressed some of our defensive problems so that is a good start.
Alot will depend on whether Pogba is going to step up next year.
Our attacking options are limited and need improved.
 

DarkChild™

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I am optimistic. I saw a semblance of a system being put in place. He does seem to have plan. I am actually excited to watch the leeds game and see if it's a false dawn of a system being implemented. If it's a system then we in for a good season regardless of who else we buy.
 

Gasolin

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The problem is that the bar has been set high by Pep and now Klopp. Poch is up there too in England. Ole is a novice among them and from what I have seen at United and the when he was at Cardiff, he is still trying to fight the last world war. Football has moved on a lot since Ole was at OT and coached by SAF. Now it is a different game. The tactics used by SAF is not going to work now and to be honest at the later stage of his career it did not work against foreign top opposition either.
Especially the competition having better players and with better managers and so better tactics Ole has not got much hope to win things. It is very well saying the United way and we will fight them on the beaches and that sort of thing but it does not win trophies.
There is a theory behind the way Pep and Klopp work. Ole at this moment in time does not seem to have any theory behind his tactics in either attacking or defending.
Please... google it up, his tactics are there. It’s not a secret or anything.
 

OleGunnar20

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I am optimistic. I saw a semblance of a system being put in place. He does seem to have plan. I am actually excited to watch the leeds game and see if it's a false dawn of a system being implemented. If it's a system then we in for a good season regardless of who else we buy.
Agreed, I'm hopeful.

Personally, I'm firmly in the Ole fanclub after the heartbreak of seeing that narcissist insult our club from the managers seat. Just having someone who loves the club, who sees us as the pinnacle of his career and no doubt (in my mind) will work harder than anybody to make this work, means the world to me.

Despite this, I think whether we agree with his appointment or not, it's important that Ole is properly backed for an extended period of time by both the board and the fans, even if he does have a bad run and 'loses the dressing room'. I know it seems daft but I think we need to show that we won't become another Chelsea, that we won't let the players decide when their boss is no longer up to the task. It's all gone topsy-turvy.

I see that logically that's not how things generally go these days, maybe it's a bit of a romantic notion, but bugger it surely football has to have a bit of romanticism.
 
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minh_loc_xoay

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Please... google it up, his tactics are there. It’s not a secret or anything.
If his tactics are easily accessible through Google, then we're screwed. Each and every of our opponents would have throughly researched on us and prepared some counters...
 

Gasolin

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If his tactics are easily accessible through Google, then we're screwed. Each and every of our opponents would have throughly researched on us and prepared some counters...
Every manager has their tactics analyzed. Even Bielsa, who is one of the most complex and demanding manager. Are they all screwed? Let’s be serious here. It just shows Ole knows something about football.
 

Rhyme Animal

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Nonchalantly scoring the winner...
Is it fair to say this has a good chance of being our strongest XI next season?
Martial Rashford James
Pogba Fernandes
McTominay/Longstaff
Shaw Lindelof Maguire AWB
De Gea

I'd like to believe that has a good chance of doing well in the league, Solskjaer's not doing too bad so far building a more balanced structure. Also big season for Rashford, Ole wants him as our first choice so there's a lot of expectation on him, make it or break it time.
Needs an actual CF.
 

DarkChild™

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Agreed, I'm hopeful.

Personally, I'm firmly in the Ole fanclub after the heartbreak of seeing that narcissist insult our club from the managers seat. Just having someone who loves the club, who sees us as the pinnacle of his career and no doubt (in my mind) will work harder than anybody to make this work, means the world to me.

Despite this, I think whether we agree with his appointment or not, it's important that Ole is properly backed for an extended period of time by both the board and the fans, even if he does have a bad run and 'loses the dressing room'. I know it seems daft but I think we need to show that we won't become another Chelsea, that we won't let the players decide when their boss is no longer up to the task. It's all gone topsy-turvy.

I see that logically that's not how things generally go these days, maybe it's a bit of a romantic notion, but bugger it surely football has to have a bit of romanticism.
Word! I am firmly behind Ole. He has us in his heart and mind where it needs to be. I am excited for the new season. I couldn't believe it when we appointed Mourinho especially after LvG. No club will go near Mourinho now...call me salty but am gleeful about that. Couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag.
 

Isotope

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No sane manager (of top club) would be happy with this summer window (so far).
 

Buster15

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We need a forward who can create his own goals.
Yes exactly. We do and have for some time lacked creativity.
Our strikers are more often than not isolated up front and that is a real problem as we fail to finish games off when we do take the lead.
We have pace but not the clever passer who can unlock defences.
 

United Hobbit

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One of the biggest things that worries me about him is does he have a tough streak in him? It's great he looks fun to work with and that's great when we are winning and playing well but does he have that ruthless streak in him to give them a kick up the a*** when we are playing badly, causing us to lose a game? Look at Guardiola and much as I hate him, Klopp. Look at Sir Alex. They all had a rapport with their players but also had respect and if people or the team played badly they sure as hell knew about it. Obviously Jose went OTT with it but think there were a few comments by Ole that came across as far too happy clappy everything is roses after our pathetic games that closed the season. Initially when we first started the slump he came across as having a ruthless streak saying not all of these players will still be here next season. Yes I know that is mostly still out of his hands but he still used the worst performers and came across as favourites.
I would far rather he came out following an abject performance, which I'd like to hope we wont be seeing many of, and say it isnt good enough and where we were poor, show you know what went wrong. Drop the worst performers in the next game. If he comes out with weak responses and coming across as we played well etc when we clearly haven't I think that will annoy me more than anything, because it will just seem accepting of the situation and continued bad performances are not good enough, unfortunately the mentality of the players doesn't help but then look at the Liverpool and City players and to a certain extent the Tottenham ones
Ole is coming across as being very good at saying the right things but not necessarily following through with them, which could contribute as much to him losing the dressing room as Jose and his harsh comments did. If I'm "Rashy" and I can continue to put in poor performances without fear of getting dropped and on my fresh new contract, what incentive do I have to pull my finger out and look at where I can improve? I'm not saying Rashford puts in little effort I'm just using him as an example as towards the end of the season when he was clearly struggling, possibly even carrying an injury he came across very much as one of Ole's lads as he wasn't dropped despite Ole saying everyone was playing for their future.
Also I think it would completely be the wrong thing to do to give Pogba the captaincy at this stage. He is one of the first to go missing and put in an abject performance, also what will the other players think if they see their captain strolling around the pitch? He doesn't come across as someone to rally the players and lead by example and if Ole does make him captain just to keep him I think again it will add to him coming across as a bit weak
His body language in the last few games began to concern me also, it may just be his management style but I'm sure it wasnt for his first few games with us- was him staying sitting in his seat while we put in those pathetic performances. Obviously I could only see what the tv cameras showed us but it started to fuel the almost Moyes like image of looking lost and not entirely sure what he needs to do to sort it out. Dont get me wrong if I was manager and they performed like that I'd want to put my head in my hands in despair, however I am not and never will be the manager, he is and it's his job to try and fix it. Also what will the players think if they are strolling round the pitch and see him just sitting there?

Dont get me wrong I would absolutely love him to succeed and put some of the ethics from his time at United into the players and these are probably just tiny things in the grand scheme of things they are just concerns I'd like to see him smash to pieces. Even if he doesn't succeed he will remain very highly regarded by the club and fans in my opinion
 

Gehrman

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One of the biggest things that worries me about him is does he have a tough streak in him? It's great he looks fun to work with and that's great when we are winning and playing well but does he have that ruthless streak in him to give them a kick up the a*** when we are playing badly, causing us to lose a game? Look at Guardiola and much as I hate him, Klopp. Look at Sir Alex. They all had a rapport with their players but also had respect and if people or the team played badly they sure as hell knew about it. Obviously Jose went OTT with it but think there were a few comments by Ole that came across as far too happy clappy everything is roses after our pathetic games that closed the season. Initially when we first started the slump he came across as having a ruthless streak saying not all of these players will still be here next season. Yes I know that is mostly still out of his hands but he still used the worst performers and came across as favourites.
I would far rather he came out following an abject performance, which I'd like to hope we wont be seeing many of, and say it isnt good enough and where we were poor, show you know what went wrong. Drop the worst performers in the next game. If he comes out with weak responses and coming across as we played well etc when we clearly haven't I think that will annoy me more than anything, because it will just seem accepting of the situation and continued bad performances are not good enough, unfortunately the mentality of the players doesn't help but then look at the Liverpool and City players and to a certain extent the Tottenham ones
Ole is coming across as being very good at saying the right things but not necessarily following through with them, which could contribute as much to him losing the dressing room as Jose and his harsh comments did. If I'm "Rashy" and I can continue to put in poor performances without fear of getting dropped and on my fresh new contract, what incentive do I have to pull my finger out and look at where I can improve? I'm not saying Rashford puts in little effort I'm just using him as an example as towards the end of the season when he was clearly struggling, possibly even carrying an injury he came across very much as one of Ole's lads as he wasn't dropped despite Ole saying everyone was playing for their future.
Also I think it would completely be the wrong thing to do to give Pogba the captaincy at this stage. He is one of the first to go missing and put in an abject performance, also what will the other players think if they see their captain strolling around the pitch? He doesn't come across as someone to rally the players and lead by example and if Ole does make him captain just to keep him I think again it will add to him coming across as a bit weak
His body language in the last few games began to concern me also, it may just be his management style but I'm sure it wasnt for his first few games with us- was him staying sitting in his seat while we put in those pathetic performances. Obviously I could only see what the tv cameras showed us but it started to fuel the almost Moyes like image of looking lost and not entirely sure what he needs to do to sort it out. Dont get me wrong if I was manager and they performed like that I'd want to put my head in my hands in despair, however I am not and never will be the manager, he is and it's his job to try and fix it. Also what will the players think if they are strolling round the pitch and see him just sitting there?

Dont get me wrong I would absolutely love him to succeed and put some of the ethics from his time at United into the players and these are probably just tiny things in the grand scheme of things they are just concerns I'd like to see him smash to pieces. Even if he doesn't succeed he will remain very highly regarded by the club and fans in my opinion
I think OGS is pretty steely. You dont make it as a striker if your not. I think if he was backed by the board he would ship off half our players.
 

Kearnkoff69

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Didn't we have this with Lukaku already?
Lukaku is more of a "fox in the box" archetype than a creator/playmaker. He's not the kind of player who is going to pick the ball up and beat his man one on one to create a shooting chance. I think what people are referring to is more of an Aguero/Griezmann type forward who has the technical ability to create chances out of nothing, rather than needing to be fed them.
 

Gehrman

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I dont think being rough often works all that much. Lvg and mourinho were just cnuts.
 

Grande

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So what have we learn so far this pre season about Solskjær’s tactics.

4-2-3-1 in the first game against presumed weaker opponent. High pressing, high backline, intense collective press from the front first 5-10 seconds after ball loss. Similar to how we started in December.

With ball: Early attack direct through the lines when possible, secondary option fast passing to get to open space and attack, third option possesion with slow build from the back.

Different halves: 1st half - wide attacking, cut to the line with James and Chong/Dalot. 2nd half - quick combination play through center using Mata, Gomes, Pogba, Rashfords skills. Shaw/Bissaka coming high for possesion play.

This to me seemed to be the intentions in our play. The high press and high full backs we saw in december already, and also the attempts at fast passing that we couldn’t sustain at the time due to lack of off the ball movement.

It’s going to be interesting to see if we play similarly against Damned United, or if we take some tactical measures design to meet the Challenges specific to Bielsaball.
 

United Hobbit

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I've just been listening to a podcast at work, not really got into them before but I'm on my own this week so need entertainment, my goodness I'm nodding along like one of those stupid nodding dogs to every word the guy is saying, they are basically saying what a lot of people on here have said about the importance of getting a DOF (where is this by the way I thought we were getting one, haha :houllier:) and also saying how in Sir Alex's time if a player left there were so many other good players who could cover there was less reliance on one player, he said in recent times it's almost like we have been buying puzzle pieces without knowing the end picture, his teams had identity etc and also while football clubs are also businesses nowadays we seem to be focusing too much on the business part but if you focus on the football and win things it will take care of the business side.
 

He'sRaldo

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So what have we learn so far this pre season about Solskjær’s tactics.

4-2-3-1 in the first game against presumed weaker opponent. High pressing, high backline, intense collective press from the front first 5-10 seconds after ball loss. Similar to how we started in December.

With ball: Early attack direct through the lines when possible, secondary option fast passing to get to open space and attack, third option possesion with slow build from the back.

Different halves: 1st half - wide attacking, cut to the line with James and Chong/Dalot. 2nd half - quick combination play through center using Mata, Gomes, Pogba, Rashfords skills. Shaw/Bissaka coming high for possesion play.

This to me seemed to be the intentions in our play. The high press and high full backs we saw in december already, and also the attempts at fast passing that we couldn’t sustain at the time due to lack of off the ball movement.

It’s going to be interesting to see if we play similarly against Damned United, or if we take some tactical measures design to meet the Challenges specific to Bielsaball.
Sounds about right. The notable thing to me was that there seemed to be no positional play to our possession, which contributed quite a lot to the poor off the ball movement.

Hope we work on that soon, as we'll be facing quite a few buses and the youngsters won't be able to use pure skill to beat them consistently.
 
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Samid

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Top performance, just hope him and Woody don't use this an excuse to not further strengthen the squad.
 

Tom Cato

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Top performance, just hope him and Woody don't use this an excuse to not further strengthen the squad.
Defense was shaky at times. Rojo lost his man in the 1st half when Leeds got a point blank shot. He better be last man on the pecking order for our CBs until he's sold.

I don't expect the lads go to full tilt and maximum effort in a pre-season game at all, but losing your man badly is always a nono
 

MikeKing

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Tactics look sharp.
Very entertaining too, and it really compliment most of our players. Finally looks like a modern and offensive style of football is being implemented throughout the club. We've seen similar football in the u18 setup I feel, a couple of years back. Same players who played then gets to play a lot in preseason, this is very exiting. Ole and McKenna seems to be a good duo!
 

Xaviesta

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Thought Manchester United looked good with the ball. Sure it's only pre-season but you'd rather play well in pre-season than play poorly in pre-season.
 

SER19

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Gomes and Greenwood are 2 of the most exciting prospects in years.

Add in rashford, wan bissaka, Shaw, mctominay, martial(and the young boy lingard) plus potentially garner and chong, and I'm glad it's solskjaer overseeing them this year.

I can fully see Greenwood forcing his way in this season and Gomes the season after.
 

Samid

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I'd fear for JLings and Beans' security if Keane joined the backroom staff. Poor youngsters wouldn't know what hit them.
 

targetman

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Strange question perhaps, but does anyone know what Ole wrote about for his UEFA Pro Licence thesis?
 

GlastonSpur

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Strange question perhaps, but does anyone know what Ole wrote about for his UEFA Pro Licence thesis?
I believe it was called "Cultures of Resistance and Compliance: Football Fandom and Political Engagement in Manchester"
 

VJ1762

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While I still think we should have gone for Pochettino, I was glad that even after we changed the whole team after 60 against Inter, the team looked like they knew what they were doing. Too often after Fergie, our players looked out of ideas in games and looked like they just met each other. I hope Ed backs the manager with a quality CB and CM this summer. A club with United's resources spending just 60 odd million this summer is unacceptable.
 
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