In terms of our squad, sure why not?Erm yeah, they erm definitely aren’t the only two ways to look at it.
Its also dependent on the squad and how much has been invested.
You're having a mare here, mate.
Agreed, it was fun that season too. I think we played much better ( just missed soooo many chances. I think even Pogba was creating chance after chance for our players who were missing chance after chance).
Ah, must've misinterpreted that bit then.
Sadly I don't see much alternative. Bunch of injuries and out of form players.
I agree with this.
in terms of our squad, was it good enough to get out of the Champions League group stage, yes absolutely. Is it good enough to be achieving 75+ points minimum, yes.
Progress and attacking football emphasised here.
That’s what Ole is here to do, finish in top four until he eventually doesn’t and then gets sacked. All revolves around top four and people hoping next year will be our year once we sign a mythical list of players.
Think if Pep was in charge they wouldn't dare give him this squad to work with. It would be a lot better. They can walk all over Ole.
We will just sign more players to be coached badly, then he will ditch half of them, when maybe he is the problem.
We've been sh*t with his full coaching staff. Maybe he doesn't chose to listen to the stand-ins. In fact the fact his coaching staff cannot be blamed this game is all on him.
Sure, thats fine. If you think the squad is good enough, then I dont mind you saying the manager isnt good enough and that we dont need much more investment
I agree. But do you think two top 4 finishes is not an improvement on previous managers? I dont get the points argument because its not the same opposition and squads every season we play.
Couldn't agree more.
When did I say every big signing is a success? That's obviously not true, Ole himself has made some big signings which have some huge question marks - see Maguire and AWB. All managers make bad signings. The point being, improving the quality of the squad through good recruitment isn't the signs of a good coach.
Two Top 4 finishes is good if it is the start of something. If that is all are ambitions are then it isn't good.
Im not going to disagree with that.
Not going well, that's for sure
Previous managers won trophies. The points tally is significant because we’re always around this level which is why we’re always battling for top four and nowhere near the title. Sometimes we’ll finish top four, sometimes we won’t but w’re just drifting along either way.
The new arsenal
There is a lot truth to all of this.
Spot on. Same thing with this away unbeaten run, I'm sick to death of hearing about it because we've not only contuined to fall further behind City but have also dragged ourselves into another top four slog fest. Two wins in eight having played Sheffield, West Brom, Everton, Arsenal, Palace and Chelsea. Our only two wins coming at home to Southampton and Newcastle. Awful stuff.
Ole's job is to get top 4, whether some here like to admit it or not. If he thinks a "safety first" approach nets him an extra point across an entire season, he'll do it. Story of Mourinho's career basically.
For sure, but that's not saying much. We were crap under Moyes, boring as feck under LVG and very negative under Mourinho.
It has been, yes. But it has also been inconsistent, like the three previous managers. I don't think United win a game 9-0 under Mourinho or van Gaal.
LVG? No chance.. we would be trying to get the perfect goal and end up with around 5-6.
Yeah new Arsenal sums it up pretty much spot on.The new arsenal
The problem is it’s literally starting to cost him games as it did Mourinho. So much similarities between their reigns. Probably the only significant difference is that we don’t have a story coming out every week about how much the manager hates his players.
Unfortunately managing a squad is a big part of the job, especially when it's a team competing for the highest honours. Out of form players and injuries are a part of the game and you have to account for it. The squad players haven't been given sufficient chances so anything other than Rashford and Bruno is seen as the end times. That's an incredibly risky strategy given the potential for burnout and completely natural dips in productivity. Mata and Van de Beek have barely featured and aren't even considered as options (and are now both injured). We've also been incredibly fortunate in the main with injuries this season so that excuse rings a little hollow. Is this the best we can expect out of this squad? I don't believe it is and I find it hard to believe anyone could argue the opposite.
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This of course.
Both Martial and Greenwood have been shit despite being fresh and receiving enough minutes. Whether Ole is to blame for that is not something we can say for certain, unless you (in general, not you) apply a result-based analysis.
True, I would not have minded a loss if we had relentlessly chased the 3 points.
This is the real problem. Perhaps it's short-term and we'll be more ambitious after consistently securing top-4, but it doesn't feel like it. If top-4 is the long-term goal, and Ole and these players can deliver it, what we're seeing now is how things will continue to be.
I am glad some fans can see this. The sooner we accept this, for better or worse, is not changing under current ownership and board the better.
Agree that the board lack ambition beyond top 4. That is all they need.
Honestly, I think we lack serious quality on our right hand side, and despite being a superb one on one full back, I think AWB limits us massively. 50m feels a massive overspend. But if he is the future of that position then we seriously need one of the best RW's in the World ahead of him because having no outside threat from either full back nor winger on that flank is our single biggest issue.
Might want to do some light reading before making such a blanket statement, especially when it is inaccurate. SAF gradually brought more and more coaches to delegate work to but it probably wasn't until 2004 (when Quieroz returned) that your comment would be accurate. I feel like winning 8 PL titles, 5 FA cups and a Treble (not counting the super cups, league cups etc) before that time probably allows him that luxury however. As football became more about egos and man management, he adapted and followed suit whilst also having the humility to trust experienced coaches like Quieroz, Rene, Kidd etc.
