Hope he gets many more seasons. He has done so many right things since he came is hard to point out any manager post Ferguson or even if you add them all that have done anything similarly positive. Hope he gets supported this transfer window as he seems to know what we need and who. What we have now is starting to resemble a team.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: I'd rather have a hole in Man Utd squad than 'an a***hole'
- Thread starter MyOnlySolskjaer
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Why don't you just stick back to climbing into Ole's arse since you enjoy being there. He has achieved feck all and he is not someone who should blubber about teams and personalities. His team is 37 points behind the leader. There are plenty of arseholes into plenty of great teams, good managers know how to deal with them.
For all we know he is lucky the league was paused, he might have been out of the door by now.
There are plenty of arseholes in many successful teams. Plenty of world class players were absolute arseholes, the best managers know how to manage them.
Zero chance, don't be so sure about that. We went into the season pause on the back of couple of solid results, but we are far from being where we need to be.
I've got many issues, you want to be my psychiatrist? There are plenty of arseholes who are top notch players and contribute to a successful team. Good managers know how to deal with them.
Now he has no "assholes" in the team and is still 5th, for all we know those last few results were another false dawn and we are back to being shit and beaten by the likes of Crystal Palace.
What is "a**ehole"?
= allehole
That means Ole rather have one hole than many holes
= allehole
That means Ole rather have one hole than many holes
What a nonsense!!
He wasn't talking about players who leaves the club alone, he is actually referring to players with negative thinking as bad apples. Players who didn't believe with manager & players who were physically & mentally tired are the cause of negative thinking. He solved this problem not by selling them alone but man management skills to make it work. For example his idea to improve the fitness level in the squad result in improving player's fitness as a result players are showing improvement and now they believe with the manager which transform into positive vibe.
No manager should work with a***holes if they refuse to change. Sir Alex with Beckham, Ruud & Keane are example of it.
I've been in the Ole out group for most of the season (though Bruno has put me back in the grey area) but I really don't see anything wrong with this comment. Its akin to SAF's no-one-is-bigger-than-the-team approach and you don't need to be the most successful manager in the world to abide by that mantra. No team will succeed if there are players pulling against the tide. We can surmise if those types of players are still there or if we moved them to, say, Inter but I think squad harmony is hugely important and hope that attitude is high on the checklist for any signing.
Sure, I'll be your psychiatrist. Let's start with first question as therapy. In what sense can you explain that Ole didn't know how to deal with them? The fact that now he said
‘I feel in this group we don’t have one bad apple' should tell you that he was able to find a way to deal with them and transform the squad into a positive vibe.
Reading the title of the thread alone made me think "was that meant to be some bad ass Mafia type quote". Reading the full quote all together you understand though makes it look less try hard
Whether he fails or succeeds, I'd want all my United managers to think this way. The greatest of footballers all have a bit of a-hole in them, but they also understand team mentality. This is true for all great sportsmen in team sports.
He has said it, time to prove he actually meant it.Ole said:
Still using certain players before Bruno indicates he hasn't yet see the full picture completely. Soft spot perhaps. Most players whom he pretty much removed or kicked out in nicest ways are generally well done.
Fergie would basically had said the same thing.
Have a day off, lockdown is getting to you. This is absolute bollocks.
Fergie had more than two decade and didn't. Fergie would have been smarter and make sure that this type of message can't be used out of context, Fergie was abrasive when provoked in press conferences but calculated in this type of format.
Just people on here wanting to complain about nothing. Think it's quite funny tbh
I love this thread.
People criticizing Ole for saying something that's damn obvious and something most of us have been saying for quite a while. He's literally been our only manager since SAF who has placed importance on the character of players.
People criticizing Ole for saying something that's damn obvious and something most of us have been saying for quite a while. He's literally been our only manager since SAF who has placed importance on the character of players.
You must have forgotten we're 11 games undefeated, he's not going anywhere by September. I hardly see the problem with him sticking to his plan though. What exactly is the problem with not wanting an a**hole around anyway?
There is a difference between arsehole and Ego, Ole mentioned that in the article too. He mentioned all teams need egos where the team comes first.
If players will not play for the team, they can feck off out of here, we have had years of players not playing for the club.
First of all - how you define an arsehole is probably not the same from a managers Point of view as it is from yours and mine. There isn't a player or fan in the world not supporting Real who wouldnt consider Ramos an asshole - but from Real's point of view he is a Saint.
If OGS defines an arsehole as a player who thinks about himself first and behaves like a total moron towards his teammates - I can promise you there are not many in successful teams. Even Ferguson got rid of a bunch of players he considered toxic to the Environment:
Stam, Becks, Whiteside, McGrath, RvN, Ince to name some
I'd wish he would give less interviews and focus more on behind the door stuff. We know that already and he gave enough speeches about what he wants us to be like.
Not a big fan of Ole for the most part, but since Bruno and Ighalo came in, you can't fault us/him. We have been great, hope we take off where we stopped
Not a big fan of Ole for the most part, but since Bruno and Ighalo came in, you can't fault us/him. We have been great, hope we take off where we stopped
He came in to the job and the first thing he said was that everyone had to be hard working.
Now hes saying he'd rather have a hole in the squad than an a**hole.
It's about driving the players up before the restart of the season & theres absolutely nothing wrong with bringing a bit of dirt to it - even if it highlights other players in the past or even possibly currently in the squad ( we honestly couldn't 100% know).
What he's capable of winning as a manager has nothing to do with anything but the ability to create an atmosphere of a 'hard working squad.
He probably won't have said anything either if his job wasnt secured! Woodward talking about transfers already, the impact of the virus both on transfer of players as well as on a new manager to buy new players - I think Ole is secured until the start of next season.
Now hes saying he'd rather have a hole in the squad than an a**hole.
It's about driving the players up before the restart of the season & theres absolutely nothing wrong with bringing a bit of dirt to it - even if it highlights other players in the past or even possibly currently in the squad ( we honestly couldn't 100% know).
What he's capable of winning as a manager has nothing to do with anything but the ability to create an atmosphere of a 'hard working squad.
He probably won't have said anything either if his job wasnt secured! Woodward talking about transfers already, the impact of the virus both on transfer of players as well as on a new manager to buy new players - I think Ole is secured until the start of next season.
Last edited:
Bingo. For that is apparently what the Ole Out brigade seem to want.
Winning a very competitive cup competition in Europe and finishing inside the top 4 are not the exclusive metrics by which to judge progress and I actually don't think the hierarchy view it like this either with Solskjaer.
Btw I'm not saying this is your entire viewpoint on the matter as I haven't read any of your other posts but I'd just like to give my opinion on how impatient some of our fans are. It's like they have forgotten just how spectacularly shit and disjointed and apathetic we have been since Fergie left. Expectations still totally unrealistic.
The new players are actually good, the ones promoted from the academy have done really well, the better players we already had have improved and the ones that haven't taken their chance are being marginalised. Also, the commitment levels and togetherness of the team has undoubtedly strengthened the connection with the fanbase. This is all inside just over a year with Ole.
Throw in the fact that the guy scored the winner to complete the fecking treble and you'd think that our fans might just be willing to give him more time.
Now that's nonsense. Nothing to show for this fitness improvement. Our key players had been risked playing with existing injuries and sustained some serious injuries. Thing only looks better when reinforcement in Bruno helps improve the team.
How many years so called arseholes played under SAF? Did we win nothing with those so called arseholes under SAF?
Please don't compare SAF to Ole. SAF can roast players, but he would never build a snowflake personality of all saints for the team.
Last edited:
You give way too much credit to Lingard, it takes a lot of effort to be considered an a-hole.
If anything, he can't be arsed.
Unless we talking about the latest training phase people are on about with him.
Don't have any problems with it and the general message is pretty clear. The only part I would have left out in his place is actually this one... ‘I feel in this group we don’t have one bad apple.’ Keep them on their toes, especially since the team hasn't achieved anything of note yet.
In the end, the only thing that matters is the results though, but I don't mind him saying this out loud at all.
In the end, the only thing that matters is the results though, but I don't mind him saying this out loud at all.
And that's nonsense too - things looked good when Rashford wasnt injured.
So any metrics which are in fact tangible to our progress are not the metrics we should be looking at? We've had some high points and some low points throughout the year. Ultimately, it is the results business. Getting into the UCL is the least we should be expecting/targeting. Any thing less than has to be considered as a failure, which should result in a sacking, as we've already let our standards drop down to pathetically low levels.
If we start considering finishing 5th or lower as an acceptable season, then there is no reason why we wouldn't be like an Arsenal who went from winners to challengers to top 4 candidates to top 4 failures. Ole has had a full season, clear autonomy on transfers and at the cost of removing "a**eholes", he has overseen a severe depletion of our squad. If at the end of it he isn't even responsible for getting us in the top 4 let alone making us title challengers, then he does have the easiest job in the world.
How good? In top 4?
-No they are just not the exclusive metrics like I said. Do you honestly not think this team looks better than it has in previous years?
-Great let's do the top 4 shuffle again and bring in a new manager and start all over even though we actually look half decent.
-And I'd say this autonomy on transfers has gone pretty well so far, wouldn't you? Or do you think Maguire, AWB, James and Fernandes have been failures?
-Come again? A severe depletion? What team are you watching?
I don't know what age you are but maybe this is a generational thing. This new breed of United fan depresses the shit out of me.
The guy has literally improved nearly every single first team player in the squad by 15% this season - shaw, Rashford, Fred,Mctomminay, Martial, Lindelof whilst the newcomers have been good too relative to their expectations such as Maguire, AWB, Bruno, Daniel James. Hell even Bailly looked capable of being better in the last 2 games I had seen him.
The fact is players like Lukaku, Sanchez, Smalling, Rojo (maybe even angel Gomes & pogba) - either didnt want to stay here, didnt want to work for their spot, didnt want to work hard or wasnt dedicated enough.
This isnt like another season - theres been a big break right at the end when we were arguably in form; yet arguably we have a stronger squad with less injuries than we did before with Rashford &Pogba potentially ready. Time to get everyone mentally ready as a squad to go for the end result of this season - the top 4.
The fact is players like Lukaku, Sanchez, Smalling, Rojo (maybe even angel Gomes & pogba) - either didnt want to stay here, didnt want to work for their spot, didnt want to work hard or wasnt dedicated enough.
This isnt like another season - theres been a big break right at the end when we were arguably in form; yet arguably we have a stronger squad with less injuries than we did before with Rashford &Pogba potentially ready. Time to get everyone mentally ready as a squad to go for the end result of this season - the top 4.
I think you mean if not when . I doubt it.
Doesn't take much for the salty United fans to bite. 
Looking for any little nugget of hope that Ole will be out come end of the season. Guys he ain't going nowhere.
Looking for any little nugget of hope that Ole will be out come end of the season. Guys he ain't going nowhere.This quote made my day.
Great quote. I love that from Ole. Team and culture are everything. It's the basis for all successful teams.
This is the problem when people only look at thing only as black and white the way Ole saying thing. Now all the players who fell out of favor and left are arseholes/toxic to the environment.
In Stam case, it's extremely harsh to say he was the problem. If anything what Stam did wrong was similar/the same thing Ole did in this interview: opening up too much to the public about what normally but unspeakably ugly aspect of football operation!
"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"
Players may grow to be a hinderance, as the team evolves, and it's better for all parties to part way. Breaking up can be ugly, but not the former players just turned into arseholes overnight. What about when they contributed? For Ince, the issue was not new. He contributed and his usefulness outshined his bad behavior, which made him tolerable for all those years. Why did he last for all those years, if he's just only on his bad side? And as you said, Ince was only one of those who got "kicked out". So this kind of arsehole talk is just relativity to the contribution of individuals, and team success. Ole is not wrong in what he's getting at, but the way he did it is digging his own grave. He has so much to prove that he has built/ will build a team that will be successful. Or it ended up like Wenger's Arsenal where keys players rather jumping ship to be looked at as arseholes traitors, to win things elsewhere. Ashley Cole, Kolo Toure, Adebayor, Clichy, Cesc, RVP... all being scapegoated.
Even Messi had been in different discussion considered a hinderance. Abidal incident just brought the subject to mainstream, not just a mere conspiracy. So yeah, the point is anyone can end up a bad influence. Is it all just black or white? Should it be opened up to public, or just it's better to leave the not so well kept secret as it is.
Last edited:
thats a brilliant quote
The kind of comment you should make after accomplishing something or firmly being in a position to do so - not when you’re out of the top 4 and struggling to show any consistency. We are very likely to end up outside the top section, and the decison to not replace Lukaku ruined our chances before it started - that’s on him. And why didn’t we sign Bruno in the summer? Don’t tell me we weren’t able to negotiate with Sporting, we all know that’s pretty easy in this day and age. Having an asshole in the squad isn’t good when you lack charisma and that natural respect that Ferguson would get from everyone, but the most important thing is players with ability. Solskjær said he loved the Michael Jordan-documentary on Netflix, so I guess you’re allowed to be an asshole if you’re good enough... Ferguson had a lot of them in his squads - and he won trophies all the time. Solskjær wouldn’t last ten minutes as a leader with Keane and the likes, but we aren’t in danger of winning any trophies under him regardless.
I slated Lukaku since day 1 and were hammered on here for it, but even I wouldn’t be so stupid to sell him and not replace him. Happily going into a season with this so-called hole and James as the only attacking signing says everything.
I slated Lukaku since day 1 and were hammered on here for it, but even I wouldn’t be so stupid to sell him and not replace him. Happily going into a season with this so-called hole and James as the only attacking signing says everything.
How could anyone possibly have a problem with that OGS quote?
I know plenty of Real fans who consider Ramos a total arsehole, they understand how he played his cards in order to get the contract he wanted couple of years ago, there was also an incident with some youth player The others you mentioned are also fine examples of players who in parts of their careers acted like dickheads in order to protect their own interests.
Of course there is, i referred to the first one. We still have plenty of assholes and he favoriz
Okey, don't worry too much.
Okey can you tell me how Ole can come out with that kind of nonsense while still playing the likes of Lingard and him being one of his favories? The guy was self promoting in week while we've been trashed and putting logos on tragedy events messages. Not a bad apple? And I did not say Ole does not know how to deal with them, but claiming I don't want one is very stupid. Let's say we have an option to sign Neymar for 60m euros this summer, and we all know that he is a total idiot and an arsehole, would you pass on it? Now maybe Neymar is a bad example since we have a LW but the point is if you can get such quality for that price, you have to be ready to compromise on the luggage. Of course it's just my opinion after all.
Because it just feeds into their narrative that he is clueless, doesn't know what he's talking about, is not up to the job etc., etc. Arteta said something similar recently and the fans love him for it.
The lockdown has made me forget a large chunk on here still dislike Ole.
This is a very weird place at times.
This is a very weird place at times.
I take your point, if Ole is saying 'I don't want to work with any fiery geniuses, I only want compliant puppy dogs' he can feck right off as you're right to say every great side had its characters (i.e. assholes). However I'm willing to give Ole more credit than that. I don't think he was saying he'd turn down prime Keane because he's a bit of a nasty man, I think it's more likely he means he doesn't want dickheads who are not only not pulling their weight but who are poisoning the atmosphere in his dressing room. It seems like he's had at least one of those in Sanchez, which is why he feels it necessary to state this fairly obvious fact.