Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

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Leftback99

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A good chunk of our current team were part of a team that actually finished 2nd in the league not too long ago.
Leicester won the league and came 12th the season after.

City and Chelsea have won the league in the last 3 years, Liverpool and Spurs have also finished 2nd. Burnley 7th. Spot the problem with picking out your best recent season and assuming it should be the 'norm'.
 
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Foxbatt

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Leicester won the league and came 12th the season after.

City and Chelsea have won the league in the last 3 years, Liverpool and Spurs have also finished 2nd. Burnley 7th. Spot the problem with picking out your best recent season and assuming it should be the 'norm'.
Did we ever finish below the 10th any season since we first won the PL? No we didn't. Now we are 14th and for sure we are not going to get into the CL spot. Apart from the time Jose self destructed last season United had every chance and hope of getting into the CL spots or winning a trophy. Not anymore. We would be luck to even get into the EL spots this season.
 

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Watching Tielemans today, I cringed when I remembered that Ole passed on him cause he was convinced that Fred and Pereira can adequately replace Herrera. Even worse, after he passed on Tielemans he wanted to bring Longstaff :houllier:.
 

Leftback99

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Did we ever finish below the 10th any season since we first won the PL? No we didn't. Now we are 14th and for sure we are not going to get into the CL spot. Apart from the time Jose self destructed last season United had every chance and hope of getting into the CL spots or winning a trophy. Not anymore. We would be luck to even get into the EL spots this season.
I doubt we'll finish below 7th this season unless our injury problems continue. Our average position since SAF retired has been 5th, that is unfortunately our reality now. This is the weakest squad we've had in the PL era and the least likely ever to make the top 4 before the season started.
 

He'sRaldo

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Its really bizzare. Rodgers who ended up 6th with Liverpool before Klopp took over is now hailed as some deity, as is Lamapard. Yet no one is talking about Emery, and in the Poch thread people are bending over backwards to make excuses for him, they will use literally anything to shit on him

You could probably make a thread about making pasta in the general forum, and two posts in someone would say something about Ole being clueless about cooking pasta and how hes runied pasta for them
Some people have that kind of personality, I'm sure they genuinely enjoy it. You'll see them jump from thread to thread daily, just to say the same things about Ole over and over again.

At a certain point, most are going to get tired of it anyway so no need to always engage.
 

sunama

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Its really bizzare. Rodgers who ended up 6th with Liverpool before Klopp took over is now hailed as some deity, as is Lamapard.
Ole would love to be in 6th place. Unfortunately, that seems to be a little difficult for him, at this time.
And Chelsea, who had no transfer window, are in 3rd, under a new manager.
I think he'll need 2 years to break into the top 6 and an additional year to break into top 4.

The standards of the club have dropped to levels I never knew I'd see. But what's worse is that fans find this completely acceptable.
At this time, with 1 game in hand, we are 14th place.
Even the most ardent Ole fan cannot argue that this season is an absolute disaster. Moyes was absolutely dreadful, but even he got us 7th (which was embarrassing).

In saying all of the above, I feel that Woodward is the one who should leave. Get a DoF in AFTER Woodward leaves and then let him deal with the manager sacking/hiring.
Sacking Ole now will solve nothing, because the root of the problem - Woodward - is still here.

Let me remind you that under Woodward, we have gone from 1st place (when he took over), to 14th place (where we are currently).
 

sunama

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I doubt we'll finish below 7th this season unless our injury problems continue. Our average position since SAF retired has been 5th, that is unfortunately our reality now. This is the weakest squad we've had in the PL era and the least likely ever to make the top 4 before the season started.
I predicted 8th place before the start of the season and I am sticking with that prediction.
Bizarrely many fans believed that we'd finish top 3 (I did ask why they thought this, but nobody could give me a logical explanation).
You are right about 5th being our average position. My feeling is that it will get worse, before it gets better.
I have actually already written off next season, as has Woodward and Ole, who keep saying that this is a long term project, meaning that we need to accept poor results for the next few years.
 

Leftback99

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I predicted 8th place before the start of the season and I am sticking with that prediction.
Bizarrely many fans believed that we'd finish top 3 (I did ask why they thought this, but nobody could give me a logical explanation).
You are right about 5th being our average position. My feeling is that it will get worse, before it gets better.
I have actually already written off next season, as has Woodward and Ole, who keep saying that this is a long term project, meaning that we need to accept poor results for the next few years.
It can easily change with the right signings in the summer the problem is other teams aren't just going to stand still either. As well as Rodgers arrival, Leicester's upturn in results coincided with Tielemans joining and Barnes coming back from a successful loan, both now key parts of their best 11.
 

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That 1st half against partizan was an eye opener, feck the opposition they are shit etc, there was an intent in attack and it showed we can do it even with the current squad and playing youths, have we got the bravery and appetite to continue doing it, let's see tomorrow, if we play like that tomorrow we will win comfortably.
 

lysglimt

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Stop this nonsense, asinine comparisons. OGS has nothing on Ferguson!!
That was not the point - read what I replied to. He basically said a good manager got his team to play the football he wanted right away. Well - Ferguson sure as hell didn't. Because he took over an aging, crap side where 90% of the players weren't good enough.
 

lysglimt

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Do you know where United was when Ferguson took over? Second from bottom. This United was in 2nd position the previous year and in 7th place when Ole took over.
Now we are 14th.
Were they really ? And what position did United have the season before Ferguson took charge ? And chances are they would have won the League that year if Robson hadn't been injured.
 

el3mel

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That was not the point - read what I replied to. He basically said a good manager got his team to play the football he wanted right away. Well - Ferguson sure as hell didn't. Because he took over an aging, crap side where 90% of the players weren't good enough.
Ole took a squad who finished second the previous season. Honestly stop with this lame comparison.
 

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That’s the disturbing thing and why I think the Ex United players on TV who clearly use their roles for more then just analysing games are more harmful to the club then Arsenal Fan TV. These pundits are like shepherds who herd the sheep amongst the United fans and there are more sheep’s then free thinkers in any large group.
I actually hate them all now.

They weren't like this before Ole got the job. They were ready to call out LVG & Mourinho straight away. Only with Ole has objective analysis gone completely out of the window.

Let me ask a question. When was the last time you have heard one of them question the current manager?

That is highly disturbing to me, considering where we have been in the table for a long time and the dreadful results & performances.

They are massive hypocrites and are a big problem, considering they hold a lot of influence within the fan base.
 
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momo83

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I actually hate them all now.

They weren't like this before Ole got the job. They were ready to call out LVG & Mourinho straight away. Only with Ole has objective analysis gone completely out of the window.

Let me ask a question. When was the last time you have heard one of them question the current manager?

That is highly disturbing to me, considering where we have been in the table for a long time and the dreadful results & performances.

They are massive hypocrites and are a big problem, considering they hold a lot of influence within the fan base.

They won’t. They criticise some players, even on a personal level eg Pogba, while defending others eg Lingard, they either attack a manager or defend him against all rationality and it’s rarely down to genuine football reasons.

Very far from objective honest pundits.

At least with Arsenal Fan TV it’s mostly just honest opinions exaggerated for views, and has little influence other then comedy and entertainment
 

Foxbatt

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Were they really ? And what position did United have the season before Ferguson took charge ? And chances are they would have won the League that year if Robson hadn't been injured.
And what position did United finish the season before Ole took over?
 

the chameleon

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I don’t think he needs time. We just need to find the right person to replace him. Someone who can come in, play good football, get in around top 5 with the limited talent pool we have. Then when the summer comes, not persist with the likes of lingard and pereira and understand that we need to upgrade in order to challenge.

I’m happy to wait if there’s signs of improvement . There also needs to be urgency to get there. Not this whole wait till JLingz is 27 (oh wait...), get rid of him.

As long as we have an idea of where we’re going, we can fire ole. Until then, we just blindly go round in circles.
 

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They won’t. They criticise some players, even on a personal level eg Pogba, while defending others eg Lingard, they either attack a manager or defend him against all rationality and it’s rarely down to genuine football reasons.

Very far from objective honest pundits.

At least with Arsenal Fan TV it’s mostly just honest opinions exaggerated for views, and has little influence other then comedy and entertainment
Yeah your examples are spot on. That's the thing, if they tried to treat everyone the same way, then I wouldn't really care. I would just think they are terrible pundits. But the clear favouritism inside our own club is too much.

I agree. With Arsenal Fan TV, people know its not to be taken seriously what they say, but with the former legends on TV, what they say has a big impact on the fans and in some cases, creates enmity within them.
 
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Foxbatt

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I don’t think he needs time. We just need to find the right person to replace him. Someone who can come in, play good football, get in around top 5 with the limited talent pool we have. Then when the summer comes, not persist with the likes of lingard and pereira and understand that we need to upgrade in order to challenge.

I’m happy to wait if there’s signs of improvement . There also needs to be urgency to get there. Not this whole wait till JLingz is 27 (oh wait...), get rid of him.

As long as we have an idea of where we’re going, we can fire ole. Until then, we just blindly go round in circles.
Agree with you but look at the players in other clubs. Look at Youri Tielemens. He only cost Leicester 40million yet he is playing better than any of our midfield players. Ole could have bought him before he became permanent for Leicester. Yet he did not. This is what I am saying. Our squad is so poor because he did not know how to buy players who could strengthen our current squad. He thought Beans and others are good enough.
 

billybee99

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Chelsea won the Europa league and came third, they weren't some no hopers that Lampard has dragged back up.

With Leicester, i could have told you their best line up, it's not rocket science, two of the best attacking full backs, a well balanced midfield 3 and a proven striker. Puel had managed to fall out with Vardy and i imagine the rest of the squad followed. Rodgers has been able to get this best 11 on the pitch consistently.

If it's all so easy as changing the manager why are there 15 other sides in the league scrambling about beating each other every week?
Oh yes, I'm sure you had Leicester pegged for 2nd place. Next you'll tell us that Ole would have Leicester in 2nd place if he were the manager.
 

Samid

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Solskjaer sends warning to Manchester United stars over lifestyle choices

"Sometimes it seems you’re a footballer, so you can experience so many different things. It should be quite the contrary - when you’re a footballer you should be proper boring.

You go to bed, you rest, you recover and you get ready for the next game. That’s the culture we need to get to. That’s the way I was – I was boring. Loads of my teammates were boring but that’s why we became successful.

Well if you just want to pass through this club, if you don’t sacrifice, you’re just passing through. Maybe you stay here for a couple of years and that’s it. But the most successful ones have made sacrifices and have stayed for long.

Now it’s impossible to do something because I get to know! That’s just the way social media and the world is now. But I trust these and they know I give them freedom to make decisions, but the right ones."

Are there more distractions for professional footballers nowadays?
"Definitely. Loads more and loads of other things going on with social media and stuff. You don’t have to read social media, you don’t have to be on it.

Sometimes you do good, some of these boys are fantastic, because we’re role models. For young boys to see these boys doing football stuff is brilliant … all the other stuff? No.

Solskjaer is yet to sit his squad down and explain exactly why he expects them to be focusing entirely on their careers, admitting "you just expect them to have these habits", but he is now looking to get his message across. He refused to name names when it came to the intended recipients of such a message, although thanks to social media many United fans might have an idea about who it is aimed at.

Solskjaer stressed he does trust his squad, but hinted that some of them had already found out that he wasn't always the genial, smiling boss he comes across as.

"The boys know that I trust them and some of them know that if they break that trust I’m not as lenient and nice as this."
 

Leftback99

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Oh yes, I'm sure you had Leicester pegged for 2nd place. Next you'll tell us that Ole would have Leicester in 2nd place if he were the manager.
Not sure why you are banging on about 2nd place but I've been consistent in saying Leicester have a good side for a long time. The pre season thread saying they were top 6 challengers got closed down, maybe I know what I'm talking about.
 

passing-wind

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The entire situation at the club is just embarrassing. The owners, management even coaches. Only two individuals I feel would potentially be able to stand in the face of a new infrastructure are McKenna / Phelan. The rest including Ole need to be shown the door.
 

Foxbatt

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I would sack Phelan too. He does feck all from what we can see. He is not even bursting balloons anymore.
 

Un4givableB

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I would sack Phelan too. He does feck all from what we can see. He is not even bursting balloons anymore.
We can't lose Phelan he's the assistant manager at the biggest club in the world, he'll be snapped up Real, Barca or Bayern.

On second thoughts, he'll probably go back to chasing pigeons in the park.
 

croadyman

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I just worry that Ole's level is coaching reserve team players and he hasn't got that certain something to manage senior level players, he is trying his best but just looks out of his depth and it's sad to see it happening to him. The guy has definitely aged more since being appointed permanently in March than he did in his playing career.
 

croadyman

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What a goal by Leicester... everything Ole talks a about doing in 3 years time after 6 transfer windows Rodgers is doing without talking, results and style of play, lost his best CB last year and didn’t sign a replacement.. no complaints, no excuses. Similar story with Lampard
Yeah it is quite depressing to see how much Leicester have progressed since Rodgers took over earlier this year then you look at how Chelsea are playing under Lampard who has only been there since July. I will admit they both inherited better squads but still look like they can improve players too which is something I have seen very little of with Ole.
 

croadyman

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I hope someone brings up the examples of Leicester and Chelsea to Gary Neville, when he ends up talking about multiple transfer windows, three years and hundreds of millions in spending money to be good again... when all it takes is a change of manager to see an improvement.

We’ve seen a boring, mid-table Leicester side transformed into an exciting European contender in the space of eight months. It is complete bullshit that we’re supposed to eat shit, grin and bear it before we become good, which is basically what he’s telling us to do.
You know like I do that no one has the minerals to bring that up to Neville
 

Bobcat

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You think ole is doing a good job so far?
Results wise its been worse than everyone hoped for and there have been some truly grim performances this season and a a few too many of them. Based on his transfer strategy and what he has spoken about in the media though, he seems to be the first one of our post-Fergie managers who is planning for the long term instead of going for instant success.

And although we have hardly been brilliant, we have been better than our league position suggests and particularly Palace, Wolves and Soton we really deserved 9 points, but ended up with 2 instead. Also,apart from the standout teams, the league has been bizarrely close this year, where only 6 points separates 5th from 17th. Having our best CF and only creative outlet in midfield injured has not helped either. And i know injuries happen, but City can cope just fine with KdB and Aguero injured, for us having Martial and Pogba out is a full blown crisis.

Joses meltdown last year did not happen by accident, it was a disaster 6 years in the making, and Jose losing his shit did not exactly help either. Of all the signings made by Oles predecessors i only see Martial and Pogba as having a future here in a successful United side. Needless to say, this whole "rebuild" thing never happened, in fact it has gotten progressively worse under each manager. This whole process of throwing money on mercenaries, players in the twilight of their careers and then scrambling for a top 4 finish had to stop.

In any case, i dont see results this season or even next season as the most important thing. What matters in my opinion is what happens in terms of squad building (Oles responsibility) and club structure (Eds responsibility). And i am not saying we have to take a trip down to midtable for a couple of seasons before we become good again, that is absurd, but planning for the future often comes at the cost at instant results

Ole would love to be in 6th place. Unfortunately, that seems to be a little difficult for him, at this time.
And Chelsea, who had no transfer window, are in 3rd, under a new manager.
I think he'll need 2 years to break into the top 6 and an additional year to break into top 4.

The standards of the club have dropped to levels I never knew I'd see. But what's worse is that fans find this completely acceptable.
At this time, with 1 game in hand, we are 14th place.
Even the most ardent Ole fan cannot argue that this season is an absolute disaster. Moyes was absolutely dreadful, but even he got us 7th (which was embarrassing).

In saying all of the above, I feel that Woodward is the one who should leave. Get a DoF in AFTER Woodward leaves and then let him deal with the manager sacking/hiring.
Sacking Ole now will solve nothing, because the root of the problem - Woodward - is still here.

Let me remind you that under Woodward, we have gone from 1st place (when he took over), to 14th place (where we are currently).
Honestly, i dont think Woody is the only problem, but i am pretty confident things would be a lot different if we had a DoF here for the past 6 years.
 

TheBlamelessOle

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They won’t. They criticise some players, even on a personal level eg Pogba, while defending others eg Lingard, they either attack a manager or defend him against all rationality and it’s rarely down to genuine football reasons.

Very far from objective honest pundits.

At least with Arsenal Fan TV it’s mostly just honest opinions exaggerated for views, and has little influence other then comedy and entertainment
The top people on AFTV, with the exception of TY, are fairly level headed and objective, Claude in particular despite his appearing crazed. Moh, Robbie and even Piers Morgan talk sense when it comes to fixing the issues- all of them preferred Allegri or Simeone to replace Wenger and i think they settled for Emery (a bit like the Pellegrini at Real Madrid situation). They've now got football people involved in the running of the club so I fear they may get their dream Wenger replacement after all.
The co92 and Rio are a bigger threat to the club than the board itself. Given that Alan Parry was kept off commentating on Liverpool games for a decade amid concerns over his ability to be impartial/objective, I think the same should apply to Gary Glazer as he has serious issues when it comes to being objective about the manager and board at the club.
Does anyone remember how the (context free) £900m spent since 2013 talking point began?
It was Neville during the West Ham game in the 2nd half. Why wasnt there a single mention of:
A. The amount of money recouped by reselling some of these players
B. The number of players bought in and how many players have been sold since 2013.
C. That more has been spent on servicing debt related interest and refinancing than on transfers, infrastructure or even paying off the principal debt.
D. They raised enough money from floating the shares to wipe out all of the debt yet 95% still remains.
Moreover, they're keeping Woodward in his role by saying how great he is commercially- thats debatable at best. I have no issues with Jamie Carragher commentating on Liverpool games as he's able to be objective. The United lads (excuding RVP, Keane and Jose) are using their platforms to brainwash fans on behalf of the Glazers and their pal. Not even Tokyo Rose would have been this blatantly biased.
 

lysglimt

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Ole took a squad who finished second the previous season. Honestly stop with this lame comparison.
Lame comparison ?

Mourinhos team ended 2nd - after a lot of really poor performances in the latter half of the season, and then completely derailed the season after

Atkinsons team ended 4th - after picking up 41 Points from the first 15 matches. Then got Robson injured and dropped down to 4th. And then completely derailed the season after.
 

ayushreddevil9

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Oh yes, I'm sure you had Leicester pegged for 2nd place. Next you'll tell us that Ole would have Leicester in 2nd place if he were the manager.
The excuses are getting beyond ridiculous:lol:

The other day I read somewhere that how crystal palace was a tough match and a defeat at home wasn't exactly a disaster. Now Leicester being 2nd in the league just after 8 months when they were languishing around 12th place is not really an achievement and we should altogether ignore the fact that one doesn't need a 100 transfer windows to lay an imprint.

Next we will hear that Chelsea were bound to finish in top 4 after losing their best player, with no transfer window and not a single top level striker. Mount, Abraham and the young lads they are playing these days were all tipped for greatness and other shite:lol:
 

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Question to Ole supporters.

How are Rodgers and Lampard able to instantly achieve what they have, but Solskjaer continues to be wretched after a considerably longer period of time?
 

ayushreddevil9

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Results wise its been worse than everyone hoped for and there have been some truly grim performances this season and a a few too many of them. Based on his transfer strategy and what he has spoken about in the media though, he seems to be the first one of our post-Fergie managers who is planning for the long term instead of going for instant success.

And although we have hardly been brilliant, we have been better than our league position suggests and particularly Palace, Wolves and Soton we really deserved 9 points, but ended up with 2 instead. Also,apart from the standout teams, the league has been bizarrely close this year, where only 6 points separates 5th from 17th. Having our best CF and only creative outlet in midfield injured has not helped either. And i know injuries happen, but City can cope just fine with KdB and Aguero injured, for us having Martial and Pogba out is a full blown crisis.

Joses meltdown last year did not happen by accident, it was a disaster 6 years in the making, and Jose losing his shit did not exactly help either. Of all the signings made by Oles predecessors i only see Martial and Pogba as having a future here in a successful United side. Needless to say, this whole "rebuild" thing never happened, in fact it has gotten progressively worse under each manager. This whole process of throwing money on mercenaries, players in the twilight of their careers and then scrambling for a top 4 finish had to stop.

In any case, i dont see results this season or even next season as the most important thing. What matters in my opinion is what happens in terms of squad building (Oles responsibility) and club structure (Eds responsibility). And i am not saying we have to take a trip down to midtable for a couple of seasons before we become good again, that is absurd, but planning for the future often comes at the cost at instant results



Honestly, i dont think Woody is the only problem, but i am pretty confident things would be a lot different if we had a DoF here for the past 6 years.
And whatever happens on the pitch doesn't really matter right? As long as squad building is going good getting outplayed by nobodies is a non issue i reckon. Also is 5th our target?
 
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lysglimt

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And what position did United finish the season before Ole took over?
Ferguson took over a team that won 13 out of their first 15 matches the season before - and I am convinced that team would have won the League if Robson hadn't been injured, because he was that good. Instead they ended 4th - and then everything fell apart in the next season when they lost 6 of the first 8 matches. OGS took over a team that ended 2nd, and then completely derailed under Mourinho

Leeds won the League - and then were awful in the season after.

You could blame it on OGS for not being able to turn it around faster, and of course he has some blame in it all - but maybe the solution is also a bit of the same that struck United in 86 and Leeds 93, and to a big extent even United in 2013 when Moyes took over.

A lot of players at the end of their career gave it one final go and lifted their game, but after a while the body wasn't there anymore. Valencia, Matic and Young turned from very good to poor almost over night. Mata looked a lot slower and less mobile and suddenly and Lingard completely lost his form. Add to that a Pogba who has been injured all season this season, and never wanted to play With Mourinho last season.

It's basically not the same team.
 
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