Do we actually play good football under Ole? I see this used as an argument in his defence and it rarely gets questioned, yet I don't agree with it at all. I'd say there's been a handful of games we've played well. Most games we win whilst playing bad, but come up with a moment mostly through Bruno. Others we win but don't deserve or just drop points all together. There's been loads of games we've won recently whilst playing poorly. I don't think we play good football at all - certainly not exciting football.
I guess it depends on what you consider good football and on which version of United you measure Solskjaer's side up against. Going by what i read on here, many people are willing to give his brand of football the nod because it's better than what LvG and Mou produced at OT. With the former coming here in the sunset of his career and serving some unambiguously soul-destroying performances and with the latter being more interested in chasing shadows in an (undeclared) war against possession football than in managing his team, i believe the bar is set far too low by some. For all that matters, while we still have one of the highest wage bills in the world we can produce neither the performances nor the results to justify it. And the saddest thing for me is that even the last reincarnation of United by SAF (2010-2013), one that had numerous deficiencies but with creating chances and scoring goals not listed among them, seems like a distant dream. When i started reading the Caf, people were complaining about a United side that could score goals for fun. Now, apparently, even playing the worst teams in the PL is expected to be trouble. But you can't mention it without the risk of being labelled entitled.
I don't think Solskajer's a defensive coach as some of his most ardent detractors claim. His approach is a rather cautious one but, more often than not, the positioning of the players in the attacking half is more courageous than in the previous three managers' plans. There's also the willingness, when we are afforded the space, to turn games into end-to-end contests rather than to slow everything down. Even if it doesn't always play out on the pitch the way we want it to, i believe the intention is there. And the problems against compact defences etc. are issues he inherited and hasn't yet found a way to work around them. But as i mentioned earlier, when you're willing to compare him only to the previous three managers, he'll probably come on top. When a game offers us the opportunity to play to our (tactical) strengths, we're certainly better to watch under Solskjaer than under Moyes, LvG or Mourinho.
The problem for me is when should we be expecting to take the next step. By saying the next step, i mean being able to produce good football despite the adversities that any given opponent or situation (injuries, hectic schedule etc.) presents. Two years into his tenure and the gap between our ceiling and floor performances refuses to be bridged. It baffles me how the team that put three goals past Liverpool on January 24th can produce just a couple of days later the drab performances we saw against SU and Arsenal and then go on to demolish Southampton only to follow it up with the WHU and WBA performances. But let's not delve into this because someone will eventually pop up with a made-up table from -insert date- to -insert another date- to claim that we're better than everybody else although everybody else runs away with the trophies while we're left with nothing. People say that even Pep needs individual quality and they are correct. What they miss though is that the basis of a well-functioning football side is already there. That's why you expect the Peps and the Fergusons to always bounce back at the face of failure. Because their little tweaks here and there are added to (their) solid foundations. Klopp didn't reach the heights he did with the scousers because of time and a self-fulfilling prophecy but because he added a good passing-game to his renown gung-ho approach. In contrast, we constantly seem to be experimenting with players' roles and positions on the pitch in search of some elusive holy grail. And when you're in the beginning of your rebuild, this can be a good thing as it can save you from possible dead-ends (and it has under Solskjaer). But 2/3 into a manager's tenure, not knowing your best team can become a bit of an issue and hinder the quality of your performances.
