Great second half. Hope to see more consistent performances until the end of the season. I still worry about our consistency of performances but credit to Ole for bringing some stability to the club.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion
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Fair enough that - I guess I didn’t put enough effort into it.
Thanks for taking the time to answer so detailed. I totally agree with the bolded part. I'd say being more balanced would be good, I am not 100% sure to what of an extent it is a necessity. I mean, over the course of a season to have more potent players - no question about it, that will help. But as you said, the results have been very good so this balance thing might be somewhat overrated. Especially after yesterday where we have seen Paul Pogba occupy a left flank starting position. For me that shows you can make it work. But again, I agree with what you see as the next step.
About AWB: Yes the difference was visible but as pointed out above - while having a RW threat would be an area to adress you can make it work. I also hope, we will strengthen that position but my take from yesterdays game is, that AWB is capable enough to be more positive than he was in other games.
About a 6 and a CB: Agreed, I also feel, that these are positions, where we should upgrade the squad. But here come the BUT: while all that is true, I wouldn't put too much hope on transfers. Especially seeing how last summer turned out, seeing the effects of the pandemic and having an international tournament in the summer. Maybe you just pointed out the biggest factors in your POV but for me, it is at least just as important to find ways to make it work with what we have. Just like we did yesterday. I see that as 50/50 - transfers and "systems". And I see the challenge this is - having a few major areas to upgrade but a limited amount of funds is challenging where you focus the work on systems. But in my eyes, this is just as important as the transfers. Ole experimented and placed Pogba to the left flank, I am so happy to see him trying that. That's a big chunk of what I mean - find creative solutions and be bolt enough to try it.
This is certainly correct but my personal feeling is, that this is overstated to an (obviously debatable) degree. I mean, a) we know that the second place with Mou didn't really feel like a real step forwards and b) Mourinho is known to favor experienced and proven players and therefor has a natural tendency to drag out restructuring work. So while most of the mainplayers from back then are gone, a few others have stepped up. Rashford is more experienced and a more refined player, McTominay is at least a very reliable squad member, Fred contributes, Pogba contributes, Shaw as well, Maguire has been added, Bruno is the most in-form player in 2020 - so yeah some of the main players have gone but some others have been added and some players have stepped up to become main players. I don't like the notion of the whole "not good enough" thingy towards our players. Performances like yesterday or against City show, what these players are capable of. We have a pretty good team and as soon as we find a way to, as you said in the beginning, consistently get a tune out of them, the possibilities are endless.
Didn't we slip up in 2012 with around 6 games to go?I’m naive as hell and drunk off fatigue - but does anyone get a little excited at the prospect of us being 8 points behind if we win our game in hand.
Imagine if City slip up
But while it might be unrealistic in your eyes, it was evidently possible yesterday after having played and traveled late midweek and having played 45min in the 1st half. Granted, adrenaline surge surely played its part, but (and I know, this is very much debatable) putting it on nothing than that, feels a bit unfair.
Your conclusion is good and shows how close my stance is to yours. I could write the whole paragraph in exactly the same words but only change a few words "There has been far too much criticism about the quality of our players" and I would feel like my view is decently displayed.
7 games to go, we must finish strongly. There isn't much or anything to play for but we need to show that we mean business next season. Yesterday was the first time we really showed an opposition that we can tear them apart (Southamtpon were a man down and Leeds couldn't defend). Its hard not to get excited about this team when you see us perform like that. So much talent in this team. That was an Ole masterclass, in fairness.
Good post as always mate and agreed.
I especially agree with you regarding our squad: The quality of our squad is massively downplayed on here at times. We have shown with some of our performances/results that we have a good squad. There's no way a squad as poor as some make out, get some of the results that we've gotten.
Ole, for me anyway, has really improved some of our more fringe players like Fred and McT, and turned them into good players. Rashford has been brilliant under Ole and Greenwood is progressing very well too - albeit he suffered with some 'second season syndrome' as expected. I just find it a pity that Greenwood, Martial and Rashford couldn't carry their form over into this season, playing as a unit. They were frighteningly good in the second half of last season and I believe we would be nearer to City if we had a front three playing as a cohesive unit like that this season.
Defensively we've really shored up and we look far more solid than we did last season. Let's hope now that Henderson builds on yesterday's performance, as he would really be another piece of the puzzle for us. We need some upgrades over the summer, and hopefully we can be smart about our business and continue to improve next season. There's no reason why we can't play better football next season as we've demonstrated on numerous occasions what we're capable of.
Thing is that when written in one word, it's like a reef, island thingie, that's very sunny and they named it after that.
Sol = sun, skjær = reef, so "the sunny reef" is a better translation.
Individually the word "skjær" can have many different translations, but in one word, that's how i'd translate it.
Second would be the... eh... not sure about the English word for it, but skjær/skinne, really hard to find some context
like the sun is going down, but the last little bit gives a little "skjær".Anyway, very many names comes from places, and this looks to me like a name coming from a little island, and not from the sun's behaviour or something that cuts
It wasn't my intention to put the whole thing down to that, but I do certainly feel that in this case X led to Y led to Z, and X was the sense of injustice they clearly felt from that first half.
Visit Bluemoon and they're generally a bit concerned about it, they keep going on about 8 points being the margin we had on then in 2012.I’m naive as hell and drunk off fatigue - but does anyone get a little excited at the prospect of us being 8 points behind if we win our game in hand.
Imagine if City slip up
On topic; have to give Ole huge credit today. The players were losing their heads in the first half after the decision went against us, but we came back on in the second half incredibly focused. He really got Pogba in particular strutting his stuff.
I'm still concerned the level we're currently at might be his ceiling, but you have to credit the work he has done. When he arrived we were an absolute mess, with no identity, no direction, and a bunch of malcontent players not playing for the badge. Now we have a resilient, talented squad with a clear playing identity but capable of adapting, most of them with their best years ahead. Even if Ole doesn't deliver a league title, he's put us in a better position to do so than any manager since SAF. Can't see how anyone can disagree with that.
Ive played out an absolute collapse for City in my dreams. Dortmund to turn them over, Chelsea to win in the cup, then drop more points in the league and Spurs to win the league cupI’m naive as hell and drunk off fatigue - but does anyone get a little excited at the prospect of us being 8 points behind if we win our game in hand.
Imagine if City slip up
Can we win the league. I got up slight hope. Sadly it is all out of our hands with no more game vs City.
If Villa can get a result vs City then it might be on I say if we beat Burnley.
If Villa can get a result vs City then it might be on I say if we beat Burnley.
At least we have the chance to finish a respectable number of points behind first place - unlike Jose's 'greatest achievement' second place finish. I can't see City collapsing and losing that kind of ground, but 8 points would certainly make it interesting going into the final hurdle.I’m naive as hell and drunk off fatigue - but does anyone get a little excited at the prospect of us being 8 points behind if we win our game in hand.
Imagine if City slip up
Nevertheless, I feel we have second place all but cemented, and it's actually a second place finish with positivity that I feel we can build upon. Throw in winning the EL and the players and Ole will be brimming with confidence next season.
Yeah, 8 points ahead after 32 games, would be exactly the same this season if we beat Burnley. City did have the opportunity of facing us in that run in though, which we don't have for this season.
So frustrating looking at the stupid points we've dropped. Loss to the worst team in the league at home and letting in late equalisers to Everton and Leicester have given City that 8 point gap
The goal difference is also a big factor. Even if we catch them on points, we'll probably not catch them on goal difference.
Basically: we need to win all our remaining games and City need 3 losses(most likely against Villa, Chelsea and Everton).
At some point around 70 mins, there was a sequence where Shaw was crossing to Wan Bissaka near the Spurs box and I knew there and then they were cooked. That second half was imperious.
In 2012, we were exactly in the same situation. now the numbers have reversed 12 and 21, maybe teams will reverse as well. Even the thought of this makes me giddyI’m naive as hell and drunk off fatigue - but does anyone get a little excited at the prospect of us being 8 points behind if we win our game in hand.
Imagine if City slip up
City are more than capable of bottling the league. They've generally always been good when things are going their way, but another defeat could make for an interesting finish to the season if we keep up the pressure. Stranger things have happened.
city need to lose 3/6 matches correct or lose 2 draw one?? Unlikely but not impossible
We are not going to overtake City, but we have at least ensured that they don’t take their focus off the league and rest everyone for the cup games. Will make full rotation before CL and domestic cup games at least a little harder for them.
The more unlikely part is we need to win 7/7 matches on top of city bottling it.
So let's just do as well as possible and enjoy our comfortable 2nd with a not too huge gap to 1st, making next season something to look forward to.
I agree, lots of surnames are derived from places in that way. The name Solskjær apparently derives from the island Solskjel. It appears Solskjel was written Solskjær when we were under the Danes. If this is literally the true ethymology of the surname, "skjær" derives from "skjel" which is the word for gastropod shells (mussels, snails, etc.). So much for "Sunshine"...Thing is that when written in one word, it's like a reef, island thingie, that's very sunny and they named it after that.
Sol = sun, skjær = reef, so "the sunny reef" is a better translation.
Individually the word "skjær" can have many different translations, but in one word, that's how i'd translate it.
Second would be the... eh... not sure about the English word for it, but skjær/skinne, really hard to find some context
Anyway, very many names comes from places, and this looks to me like a name coming from a little island, and not from the sun's behaviour or something that cuts
No chance of catching City, but for all of those who find points totals an important barometer of progress we can equal our total for last season with a win vs Burnley, and still have 6 games remaining.
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No tactics, just vibes
I’d feed him if he was my son
Marcus'll sort it. No worries.
Lose-two-draw-one doesn't work. Max points we can finish on is 84 so they have to drop nine or more for us to win outright.
If they drop eight it's technically possible to win on GD but we would need to score around four touchdowns to make up the difference.
Agree with that. Even then I feel he was subject to some bizarre trolling by reputed journalists too. It is good to see that have been toned down to some extent. I don't care if he got this job via lottery or not, the fact he has continuously been proving his critics wrong about his managerial credentials is good to see. Of course now he has to take us to the next level, which can happen by winning a trophy and going for the title next season. But overall he has made me happy with the progress so far.
I read he only sets up to draw vs big teams.
Solskjær is an actual word in Norwegian.
It's the description of the effect of the sun setting or rising on the horizon. The last/first rays of sun peeking through against the clouds and the like. It's a word describing dim light in a particular setting.
A "Skjær" is also a rocky mound or tiny island in or by the water rising from the sea. So the word Solskjær is a description of sunny Islands/seaside.
I wonder if the author behind the song "You are my Solskjaer, my only Solskjaer" chant knew that the original lyrics to the song would have been just as correct to use. I never looked up any meaning behind the fan chant, so maybe they did.
Ole should stop with the son analogies. He has previous with this. Can't remember the game but there was a "send him to bed without food" comment before. It sounds stupid and immature. He is not the best speaker. He kind of stutters his way through interviews and his comments are disjointed and awkward. I don't think it is because English is his second language I think it is because he is a bit introverted and has difficulty expressing himself. He also goes from placid to quite "f u" aggresive on the touchline so he doesn't have great emotional control.
That being said he is doing a great job and I don't dislike him. He fully deserves another season and I wish him the best of luck. Nobody is perfect!
That being said he is doing a great job and I don't dislike him. He fully deserves another season and I wish him the best of luck. Nobody is perfect!
As pointed out earlier in the thread, he's taking Norwegian sayings and translating them to English, it doesn't work very well, but some journous and posters are really making them sound waaaaaay more dramatic than they are.
Never knew "solskjær" was an actual word in and by itself. But then I am from the east of Norway.
By the way, you'll find that "skerries" pretty much can be described as "rocky mound or tiny island in or by the water rising from the sea"...Knowing the British Press next they will probably report him to the Child Protection agencies.
It is not the result or final position but the way we played in the second half. If we can play every game or most games left this season the same way, then it is very good progress.
I find it strange how bad Ole's English is after living there for what.. 10+ years?
I speak better English than him, and i've been in English speaking countries for 2-3 weeks total
Hopefully someone tells him to drop the Norwegian sayings before he starts using the really weird ones!
Don't walk around the porridge.
He's very apple handsome.
There are owls in the moss, to say it mild.
Out on a trip, never angry.
I recommend you all to google "as we say in Norway", so you can be prepared for things he might say in the future
The "would not get any food" thing is normal some places in Norway yeah. But it is always a humoristic thing to say, never meant literrally. I guess not all things said in England is literal either. But translating Norwegian sayings to english is often a bad idea. I have said similar things to my son when he has bigmouthed me, and then said it with "glimt i øyet" (twinkle in the eye). It is just friendly banter kind of. In this interconnected world we have, and with the clickbait drama media we have today, these kind of deliberate misunderstandings seems to be willed into existence. This time by Mr. Bittercoach, next time by some journalist that needs clicks on his/hers articles.
I agree with OPs who say that Ole should not have said that. I think he would probably now agree that it was a bad choice of words.
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