Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

[Robindinho]

There’s just feck all coaching in us, even basic things like pass & move or making runs in to space - we look so average doing it.

Pretty sure it was the around 80th minute, 3-1 down. The camera cut to to sidelines, Rodgers is urging his players to press/organising their positions and Ole is sat, slumped in his chair just watching the game pass by with a clueless look on his face. Sums him up.

 

[Fooza]

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Least Ole is happy to be here.

We are going nowhere lads

he's having a whale of the time didn't you know? He can't believe his managing utd still.

 

[OrcaFat]

Ole has to play the same team 60 times a season. That's basically what people are saying then isn't it?

Leicester are a very good team, in 3rd place and didn't play in Europe Thursday night and people on here and acting like all we had to do was turn up and win?

Milan away (needing to win) and then Leicester away right after was always a very tall order for this team.

It was.

I think quite a few of their players would walk into our team just now. Don’t get me wrong, if we’re mostly fit and in form we should usually beat them but not easily and not always.

 

[SAFMUTD]

Ole has to play the same team 60 times a season. That's basically what people are saying then isn't it?

Leicester are a very good team, in 3rd place and didn't play in Europe Thursday night and people on here and acting like all we had to do was turn up and win?

Milan away (needing to win) and then Leicester away right after was always a very tall order for this team.

Its not the result that bothers, theres no shame in losing against Leicester. Its the way we play whats worrying, another dreadful performance tonight we have gone backwards performance wise since January we struggle to create chances or show any attacking structure whatsoever no matter which players are on the pitch.

 

[edgecutter]

he's having a whale of the time didn't you know? He can't believe his managing utd still.

Will also get a new contract and 9 million a year. It's shocking

 

[dove]

We are quite obviously fecked. Ole is not doing that terrible to be sacked (because our expectations are the lowest of any "TOP" club in the universe) but at the same time it's absolutely clear we are not winning anything with him.

 

[SAFMUTD]

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Least Ole is happy to be here.

We are going nowhere lads

I seriously hope this is not a picture from tonights interview, embarrasing.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Poor Ole only got 300 million to spend and has to rotate his squad. I feel so bad for him. No other manager gets treated this way. Justice for Ole. Poor guy only gets paid a few million a year for this suffering.

 

[JG3001]

Ole has to play the same team 60 times a season. That's basically what people are saying then isn't it?

Leicester are a very good team, in 3rd place and didn't play in Europe Thursday night and people on here and acting like all we had to do was turn up and win?

Milan away (needing to win) and then Leicester away right after was always a very tall order for this team.

To be fair, most people are criticising the play which has been heavily reliant on individual moments, win or lose. I think the number of games we’ve played well is still in the single digits. If you come on here and criticise Ole and the lack of coaching after a win, you get abuse, criticise after a draw/loss, “it’s a rebuild”. Vast majority of games are a slog.

I can’t see us ever being more than Wenger’s Arsenal underneath him, that’s the twilight years btw, not the invincible years.

 

[laughtersassassin]

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"Get as far as we can"

What's sort of comment is that. Have some balls. Win the fecking trophy or leave.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

A good manager rotates and can still gets good performances, through tactics and management. It's not like the team we put out there lacked individual quality.

What have you seen today that resembled that?

Actually forget that even, the team just seem like they didn't even want it enough...that to me should get you concerned.

I seen a team that played away in Milan midweek and another one, who are a very good team in 3rd place, who didn't.

Oles biggest mistake was going for the Carabao cup. We've tried to compete on all 4 fronts and not been able to. We should have chucked that one. City have the squad to do it. We don't..

 

[TMDaines]

Ole has to play the same team 60 times a season. That's basically what people are saying then isn't it?

Leicester are a very good team, in 3rd place and didn't play in Europe Thursday night and people on here and acting like all we had to do was turn up and win?

Milan away (needing to win) and then Leicester away right after was always a very tall order for this team.

You are right. The problem though wasn’t giving it all and falling short. It was not giving it all in the first place.

 

[VP89]

So much overreaction in this thread And this is coming from someone who doubts Ole as a long term manager

 

[Andycoleno9]

Ole has to play the same team 60 times a season. That's basically what people are saying then isn't it?

Leicester are a very good team, in 3rd place and didn't play in Europe Thursday night and people on here and acting like all we had to do was turn up and win?

Milan away (needing to win) and then Leicester away right after was always a very tall order for this team.

Good manager when he sees his game schedule rotates players accordingly to importance of the games. He knew about this game month ago. He could have rotated better easily. And this was certainly more important game than one game in PL.

But more important thing; how are we all so sure that it was fitness issue about Shaw and Bruno? Seems to me that he decided to give chance to players who rarely play like Telles and VDB.

Anyway, this was bottle job either way.

 

[Buchan]

I’ve mentioned before that even if Solskjaer relegated us, he’d still be in credit for all his achievements in almost twenty years’ service at United. He’s a living legend and will rightfully go down in folklore. I am pleased with the job he’s done - on the whole - since Mourinho got sacked: got rid of deadwood; revitalised players; got us playing decent, attacking football (at times) once again; brought positivity back to the club, amongst others. He genuinely deserves credit for the job he has done.

However, I came to the conclusion a few months back that we are never going to make that final step under his leadership. There are simply too many fundamentals missing which haven’t been addressed in over two years, which is a huge concern. Our football has become drab and nigh-on unwatchable over the past couple of months and Solskjaer seems to have no idea about how to turn it around. His favouritism towards certain individuals is proving disastrous as some are so out of form, they shouldn’t even be making the bench. Our set-pieces - both in defence and attack - are abysmal and there’s no sign of that ceasing. Watching us of late is like Groundhog Day and we all know what to expect before kick-off. It’s just so frustrating watching us sleepwalk into poor performances and results week after week, and just when it seems like Solskjaer is in genuine danger of the sack, he and the team pull a string a results together and the whole sequence starts all over again.

There’s ample evidence now that this is Solskjaer’s ceiling and we are not going to make that final push to win titles in his tenure here. It’s sad and I wish it wasn’t to be the case as I’d love if he was the one to bring the title back here, but we can’t say with any conviction that he is capable of anything like that.

 

[laughtersassassin]

So much overreaction in this thread And this is coming from someone who doubts Ole as a long term manager

Surely you agree his decision where shite today?

Consistently fecking up cups

 

[TMDaines]

I seen a team that played away in Milan midweek and another one, who are a very good team in 3rd place, who didn't.

Oles biggest mistake was going for the Carabao cup. We've tried to compete on all 4 fronts and not been able to. We should have chucked that one. City have the squad to do it. We don't..

Oh please. We could have let Brighton have their revenge in the first round of the Carabao and it would have had no fecking effect on today’s outcome.

 

[Devil may care]

There's a question marks over the coaching at United, especially as regards attacking play, but today was down to trash performances from several players not even doing the basics well.

 

[Fooza]

I seen a team that played away in Milan midweek and another one, who are a very good team in 3rd place, who didn't.

Oles biggest mistake was going for the Carabao cup. We've tried to compete on all 4 fronts and not been able to. We should have chucked that one. City have the squad to do it. We don't..

Oh okay my bad, Leicester are very good team and in 3rd place so we had every right to just fold to them. All I see is just excuses. If I saw us fighting today at the very minimum I'd hold my hands and said we tried. But that performance is never United - surely you saw that today.

 

[VP89]

Surely you agree his decision where shite today?

Consistently fecking up cups

Yes, his decisions were bad today.

Yes, there is exaggeration by posters. Like your bit in bold. He's put aside teams in the FA cup this season alone that were a tougher match than anything his predecessors faced in any cup run. So the "constantly fecking up" is just exaggerative hyperbole.

 

[Red00012]

Plays Bruno for the home leg v Sociedad leading 4-0 from the 1st leg. Rests him today against in an inform Leicester in a cup . Makes sense .

 

[Zoo]

Bad day all round. We ran out of steam last season pushing for top 4 and two cups so now the aim is to go full pelt for the Europa League whilst consolidating our league position.

That will probably mean little to no football for the likes of Van de Beek but so be it.

 

[VivaRonaldo85]

Ole continues to live by his values. Not quite doing poor enough to be sacked but not good enough to win us trophies. Feels like we’re in absolute no mans land right now.

You can be sure as night is day that Pep or Klopp wouldn’t have rested 3 of their best players ahead of an international friendly break for a fortnight.

Let’s see what happens in the Europa League and finishing position in the PL but 2nd and winning the Europa League is the bare acceptable minimum now in my view.

 

[Heinzesight]

Its not the result that bothers, theres no shame in losing against Leicester. Its the way we play whats worrying, another dreadful performance tonight we have gone backwards performance wise since January we struggle to create chances or show any attacking structure whatsoever no matter which players are on the pitch.

Totally agree. Bad results happen. Bad performances happen. But the lack of any distinct patterns of play or a specific style is the most concerning thing. It just seems like a ‘go out there lads and come up with something’ mentality.

 

[Idxomer]

There's a question marks over the coaching at United, especially as regards attacking play, but today was down to trash performances from several players not even doing the basics well.

A team like Brighton with the likes of Burn at wing-back can consistently do the basics well but Manchester United players can't.

Can anyone explain that?

 

[redNATION]

This is about as far as he can take this team. Top 4 with some decent cup runs. It’s clear to see, Rodgers is a superior manager with a lesser squad, Tuchel already doing good things with Chelsea.

Our board would be negligent if they weren’t thinking of alternatives, he’s steadied the ship but its the right time to bring someone else in.

 

[Sylar]

Ole smiling isn't an issue
The comments about cup and progress wasn't great even though I got what he was trying to say, but he's too nice and shouldnt give ammo with his responses
But again that wasn't an issue unless the players bought into it and thought, yeah fck it, let's just turn up and win


The issue is the team selection, having vdb Pogba and Matic all start was a mistake. And then not taking off Fred had half time who was having a mare, and keeping him on until the 80 something minute.

We were losing and we were still playing with 2 DMs with one of them having a shocker whole game.

His substitutions are too late too, and it seems he only does if early when he's forced into it (like Pogba vs Milan)
The annoying thing is there's international break so there wasn't a need to rest as many players as he did

 

[Roboc7]

We play like this too often under Ole, we’ll still be doing it next season with or without big signings. One of those games where Ole looked clueless and just sat there hoping something would happen, still too passive.

 

[Joga_Bonito]

It’s really not as complicated as people often make it out to be. At least, not on the scale that supporters have access to.

Good managers create good teams. They develop systems that suit their current players and/or bring in players that can execute the ideas that they have for the team. Preferably a mixture of both as ideal conditions rarely exist.

Good managers also develop the players that they are responsible for, regardless of whether they are their preferred option. And in as many areas as possible, with the goal of producing, at the very least, competent performances on a consistent basis.

That’s their job. It’s what they are paid to do. If a manager isn’t achieving that, the obvious conclusion, unless there are clear extraneous circumstances, is that they’re just not capable. What other conclusion is there?

I rarely witness competent performances from this team or from too many of the players within it. The obvious exceptions being Bruno and Shaw, but what’s noticeable is that Bruno at least appears to be the kind of personality who can manage his own development. There’s something about him, as a player and personality, that suggests that he would perform in almost any team. But not every player is like that.

I just don’t see a team that is developing towards the kind of goals that this club should be aiming for. Two and a half years is more than enough time for that to be evident.

 

[VP89]

Ole smiling isn't an issue
The comments about cup and progress wasn't great even though I got what he was trying to say, but he's too nice and shouldnt give ammo with his responses
But again that wasn't an issue unless the players bought into it and thought, yeah fck it, let's just turn up and win


The issue is the team selection, having vdb Pogba and Matic all start was a mistake. And then not taking off Fred had half time who was having a mare, and keeping him on until the 80 something minute.

We were losing and we were still playing with 2 DMs with one of them having a shocker whole game.

His substitutions are too late too, and it seems he only does if early when he's forced into it (like Pogba vs Milan)
The annoying thing is there's international break so there wasn't a need to rest as many players as he did

Thank god someone at least nipped this in the bud - re. the bold bit.
Smiling can occur for many reasons, such as nervousness and even anger in some people. Stop dicking around showing screenshots of him smiling and poking him with a stick. Evaluate his management style but feck off with trying to insinuate he doesn't take the job seriously, or that he was pleased in any way by today.

 

[SAFMUTD]

There's a question marks over the coaching at United, especially as regards attacking play, but today was down to trash performances from several players not even doing the basics well.

The problem is this is not an isolated performance is it? No one is really surprised we played like this tonight once again.

 

[Devil may care]

A team like Brighton with the likes of Burn at wing-back can consistently do the basics well but Manchester United players can't.

Can anyone explain that?

I can't, the passing from midfield today was Sunday league stuff.

 

[R.N7]

Well, at least he's not an egotist. Good for him.

 

[Devil may care]

The problem is this is not an isolated performance is it? No one is really surprised we played like this tonight once again.

I agree we've seen this type of performance before but I've rarely seen us as sloppy as it was today.

 

[Green_Red]

He's losing me again. Turned it around at the start of the season but we've coasted into this position. Quarter final of the FA Cup away from home against our closest league position rivals and you don't play our strongest XI. Unforgiveable naivety. Sorry but that's the truth. My eyes don't lie to me... Throw away 2 of the things we have left to play for in this season. Titles are for ego? I'm not sure about him anymore.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Plays Bruno for the home leg v Sociedad leading 4-0 from the 1st leg. Rests him today against in an inform Leicester in a cup . Makes sense .

This .This should end any debate about "resting".
This should be threadmark

 

[passing-wind]

The manager shouldn't be sacked but just as likely some fans need a reality earmarking what progress means within a team.

I often see statistics and the odd run of form as a means to justify any matter concerning Solskjaer's management
It reminds me of boxing casuals, many get absolutely blown away by a fighter doing well in certain moments or rallying up a flurry in very few rounds, but the fight is definitive of an accumulation of 12 rounds that declares the winner. This is why despite the hype surrounding Ole is perplexing because there's absolutely no substance in the form of any evidence to show for it.

If consistently being around the top four is some idea of achievement, then why was Poch so strongly omitted against amongst many who with the stick, use the exact criteria to measure progress under Ole ? It's fanatical nonsense.

There needs to be a balance and for me it's that Ole has done a decent job but thus far has shown that he's unable to bring the team up a further level from where he had overtaken to close the gap on the rivals. If the idea is that we must have the best team in the league to be competitive than we should squander all ambition and wait for an investment backing to oversteer the glazers into a sale, so that the club can finally operate with a chance at winning something substantial. Also hoping that another version of the glazer don't buy the club and instead some individual / group to put their own resources in rather than withdrawing out.

 

[Sylar]

Thank god someone at least nipped this in the bud - re. the bold bit.
Smiling can occur for many reasons, such as nervousness and even anger in some people. Stop dicking around showing screenshots of him smiling and poking him with a stick. Evaluate his management style but feck off with trying to insinuate he doesn't take the job seriously, or that he was pleased in any way by today.

The reason I also said it is because I'm like that
I smile and laugh in awkward situations or serious situations. I hardly frown or show anger I've been told, it's not my nature except the few times I might explode

Jose was glum all the time, ole smiles all the time, agree that isn't how he should be judged

 

[groovyalbert]

He leaves, where does he go next? What level of club is in for him? Honestly.

I'm not Ole out because I would rather have someone I like/who loves the club taking us this far under the Glazers, rather than someone else who will get bored/fired after a few years.

But we now know our ceiling with Ole/Glazers. This is it. Could be worse, should be better.

 

[united_99]

Very predictable the overreaction here as usual.
People agreed at the end of last season that we had a paper thin quality squad. First team (which isn’t even perfect with a teenager and Matic/McFred in it) and can’t rotate unless we want to play Pereira, Lingard, etc. We then bought Telles, VdB and Cavani. Telles has rotated well with Shaw. VdB has been useless so far. The most urgent cover was needed upfront and we only got Cavani. However he has missed many important games through injury.
Then we went far in 4 competitions in a very challenging season. We most probably had more hard games to play in the cups than anyone else: PSG x2, Leipzig x2, City, Liverpool, Everton, West Ham, Real Sociedad x2, Milan x2, Leicester.
That’s obviously going to impact performances and results and will tire you mentally and physically eventually.
These are not excuses but FAHCTS.
But I am not surprised at all to see the meltdown here in almost every thread.

The players are human beings, not machines.