My old man, who has been staunchly pro Ole, said tonight that he thinks Ole was probably the right man to bring us to where we are now. He mentioned that we still don't have a distinct style of play or any clear ideas. He said that adding better players will probably just mean that the team has outgrown the manager (I'd argue it already has, but agree with the rest). He finally agreed that we'll need at better manager than Ole to take the next steps.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
- Status
So many 0-0 games. We are never going to win the league playing like this.
Might do us better in the cups, but we will fail on penalties anyway.
Ole needs to go if we plan to be serious about winning the big things.
I guess our aim is top 4 though for CL money so if he ends above 5th he stays.
I feel totally shit. Just drained of energy and angry at the same time.
Just when we started to gain a little momentum we turn to shit and the title looks very hard to win from here unless we improve big time.
Might do us better in the cups, but we will fail on penalties anyway.
Ole needs to go if we plan to be serious about winning the big things.
I guess our aim is top 4 though for CL money so if he ends above 5th he stays.
I feel totally shit. Just drained of energy and angry at the same time.
Just when we started to gain a little momentum we turn to shit and the title looks very hard to win from here unless we improve big time.
Yuh, deep down I know this
I just keep getting told this is a work in progress and that we’re much more exciting than under the last two bosses.
I don’t even care about title challenges and trophies I just want to see United play with some swagger again.
I enjoy watching teams like Southampton and Villa more these days from a purely football standpoint.
Tbh, even the most hardcore Ole fans, must know that deep inside.
Do the people who are wholly aboard the Ole train think he can win us a league or champions league? There’s a lot of accusations of toxicity, and agendas in all the Ole threads but other than it being about getting behind the manager etc. Do people really watch our games and think that we’re heading towards something great. Because that’s my main issue. I like Ole, I think we’ve got a good group of players, but tactically we look poor. Physically we look spent. We are on a great unbeaten run, but it’s taken Herculean efforts and powers of recovery to win some of those games, against teams that we should just be beating. The cultural reset has been good. The removal of some of the dross has also been good. But we make beating shit teams look difficult and we look scared shitless in games against decent teams. I don’t really see where we’re headed. Any positivity for this team under Ole that is based on sound logical principles is greatly appreciated, because I’m running on fumes.
At some point a manager is going to have to demand more, before games, during games and after.
Agreed, I don't think he's done a bad job or anything but I don't think we're as progressed as is made out. We have been very fortunate with injuries this season, Liverpool have had lots of defence issues and a misfiring attack, City haven't had a striker for a lot of the season. We've played a few teams now who've had a lot of injuries, including Liverpool who had 2 midfielders back there (imagine if we tried that) and not dominated in attack. It's hard to see what real progress we've made or are making as an attack unit beyond the threat of a counter, and it doesn't feel like it's just form. We've got good players and generally well drilled defensively so we'll get results but we need more then that.
You wonder if Ole is reading a managerial manual on the bench and he hasn't yet got to the chapter about when to make substitutions.
You have 90 minutes to ensure your team creates enough chances to score. If you think creating two proper chances in 90 minutes for a team with supposed title aspirations against an average as feck Arsenal team missing two of their arguably biggest players is acceptable, than unfortunately I'm not sure we will ever see eye to eye. The difference is, a fully firing klopp and pep team would have peppered this arsenal tram in a match like today and that is the standard we are competing with.
Instead two and a half years into his managerial reign, or however long he has been here and the only way we still score goals is with counter attacks or moments of individual brilliance. This isn't football from a decade or two ago, that's no longer enough, especially when heaps of teams have a feck tonne of cash. The level of coaching in Europe is improving and we are still looking for ways to make this 'man manager' shite work. That's all well and good, but you also gotta be world class in the coaching aspect.
Is it really any surprise that every single one of our forwards look clueless? We never find them in isolated positions due to absolute terrible, slow and predictable build up and transitions. That's coaching.
Why was he standing on the lines today and sitting on his chair against Sheffield United?
You gotta question why so many of our attackers aren't playing in form at the same time. It's often 1 player doing relatively well and the others being shite
He may or may not be demanding all sorts but you'll be waiting to hear about it in these post match camera in the face interviews. They're a pointless feckin exercise and rarely offer anything approaching insight.
We created more than 2 chances. May be if Ole swaps team with Pep & Klopp, you might see the difference.
Plus we're one of the few teams that's had no injuries, imagine if we had two or three of our best players injured we'd be doomed.
Listen to your old man. Sounds like he’s got his finger on the pulse and knows what he’s talking about. Solidarity.
Mad to think this United group in transition has broken a club record unbeaten away run. If United are to reach this season objective (top 4 finish) they can be very thankful about that run.
3 of the next 4 league games are at home. I'd be telling a lie if I said I was confident of winning all those games when the Old Trafford results and performances have been so mediocre this season.
3 of the next 4 league games are at home. I'd be telling a lie if I said I was confident of winning all those games when the Old Trafford results and performances have been so mediocre this season.
Scored 0 goal against top six with zero wins. Fecking inept.
Pogba dropped back into the deeper role. We still had the handbrake on. This Arsenal team actually worried me less than Sheffield United in their attacks if I'm honest. We should be winning that game. Our team cost probably half a billion, if not more, more than theirs. It has top level, seasoned professionals throughout the team. They had over the hill players, bang average players and a bunch of kids that are just starting out.
It was a pure embarrassment that performance.
I think a lot of people agree with that, Ole is effectively a caretaker until you find the right manager. The big problem is if he gets us in the top four you don’t get that manager you just get more of Ole and he has not goes when everything falls apart again.
For me the biggest danger with Ole is you just plod along, like Arsenal did with a Wenger for a while.
That is what I'm extremely worried about. Contrary to popular belief, I genuinely believe we have a very talented squad, that with a few tweaks could genuinely compete for major trophies. I just don't think they are coached to an acceptable level. Have we really improved much at all since Jose before his meltdown season with us? We look a very similar team, albeit with better players
I am Ole out but even I concede that no manager can ever win the EPL with such toothless forward line. We need a top STK, a top CB and a top DM irrespective whose the manager leading us
We scored against Spurs! Can't remember anything else about that game.
Ole has nothing to offer against good sides unfortunately and I don't think we are improving for some time now. Honestly can someone tell me the last time we had a very good performance and a comfortable win with Ole in charge. We are always very underwhelming and toothless and win by simply luck or good 10-15 minute spells in the games. We are not winning anything with him and I am dreading the day when I see the announcement from the club that Ole got a contract extension... I wishfully hope it never happens but I suspect it soon will, Ed will use our current league position as a proof of "clear progress" while in reality it's fake position unmatching our performance levels.
I think we’re probably at a similar level to that Jose team. I think it would be a great decision to move Ole on at end of season and try to make those next steps forward. But if we finish top four it’s job done and we repeat that until we don’t finish in top four.
Imagine if Arsenal hadn't got players missing.
Yeah aubameyang wouldn’t drop back like martinelli to make the important header clearance.
Thats what Im saying.
Honestly are we now on one of those 10-game runs where we can't win a handful of games to save our lives?
I'm dreading it.
I'm dreading it.
I was more bothered about Saka and Tierney.
What you're describing as danger is our owners' wet dream, if Ole continues to guide is in CL places year in year out. He won't go anywhere.
Don't think so, this team hasn't gone on that sort of a run since we signed Bruno.
They both played in the first game and did nothing different to Pepe and Cedric. Unless you are telling those two on the pitch could make Pogba do the same foul again? I watched arsenal lot this season, I know saka performance per match this season was the same as Pepe’s performance today, Pepe did well today.
Ole literally had among the best records last season against top 6 (think it was 2nd to Pool), so the issue isn't that he can't beat top sides.
Even this season, if you look at the performances, 9 times out of 10, we win today, and we had enough good chances to beat Pool. Even against Chelsea, we had the better chances, although, I'd concede a draw was a fair result. City were way too cautious against us after what happened last year - and for me that is a sign of progress in a way.
Coming to whether Ole can lead us to title, the thing is no one knows. We're clearly improving and we haven't hit our peak yet. If we reach a point where we're going down or staying flat, I'd hold my hand up and say that Ole can't win the title, but that hasn't been the case. Let's first find what his peak is before just writing him off and taking another punt in the dark on a new manager, who'll tear the team apart to his needs, and may or may not be successful.
Even this season, if you look at the performances, 9 times out of 10, we win today, and we had enough good chances to beat Pool. Even against Chelsea, we had the better chances, although, I'd concede a draw was a fair result. City were way too cautious against us after what happened last year - and for me that is a sign of progress in a way.
Coming to whether Ole can lead us to title, the thing is no one knows. We're clearly improving and we haven't hit our peak yet. If we reach a point where we're going down or staying flat, I'd hold my hand up and say that Ole can't win the title, but that hasn't been the case. Let's first find what his peak is before just writing him off and taking another punt in the dark on a new manager, who'll tear the team apart to his needs, and may or may not be successful.
What would we do with 3 first team players out though..
When exactly does this 'peak' arrive? It's not as if he joined yesterday. Most people would be far more inclined to give him time if we saw signs of that progress. He has been here a considerable amount of time and apart from maybe improving us as a counter attacking outfit, all the exact same issues are where they were.
Greenwood, James and Telles will still make 0-0 draw. What makes you think the result won’t be 0-0 draw if we miss Martial, Rashford and Shaw today?
I think you need to understand who they are missing, are the players irreplaceable? Partey is irreplaceable but not the others.
Yes a penalty
.Well it will be interesting to see what happens if we get to a semi-final again or possibly two. The next step is a final, he failed against City in the Carabao Cup semi, but that is City. He has to show he has the drive to win something. If we fail again, then people will start to question him and the mentality of the players he has recruited. Think we can get top 4 anyway, if he doesn't in these financial times he could be in trouble.
Arsenal (H&A) = 0 goals
Liverpool (A) = 0 goals
Man City (H) = 0 goals
Chelsea (H) = 0 goals
Tottenham (H) = 1 goal (penalty)
Liverpool (A) = 0 goals
Man City (H) = 0 goals
Chelsea (H) = 0 goals
Tottenham (H) = 1 goal (penalty)
Have we given penalty and VAR free transfer?Yes a penalty
That is dismal reading. What happened from last season?Arsenal (H&A) = 0 goals
Liverpool (A) = 0 goals
Man City (H) = 0 goals
Chelsea (H) = 0 goals
Tottenham (H) = 1 goal (penalty)
- Status