Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

[tomaldinho1]

Love it when people writing us off, our manager isn't good enough.

Fred is trash according to caf.

Mctominay is mid table level, can't win the league.

Ole can't coach.

This season Ole will prove them all wrong, and when the day comes, apologies not accepted.

I'd personally love it if we started playing good football and won things, but each to their own

 

[Wumminator]

I'd personally love it if we started playing good football and won things, but each to their own

Which teams in the prem do you think played good football last season out of interest?

 

[AjaxCunian]

Which teams in the prem do you think played good football last season out of interest?

You arent interested in my opinion but I'd say City, and Liverpool from February onwards definitely. Chelsea played better stuff than us but nothing too great.

West Ham, Leicester, Everton played some lovely stuff for parts of the season, so did we but more alternatingly.

 

[NZT-One]

Xg honestly, what a load of waffle. How many games have finished 3.2 - 2.6?

I don't know, have a look for yourself. If you don't believe in these stats, fine by me. But they support what we mostly see on the pitch - we aren't good at creating high-percentage chances. It was an issue last year and it seems to be a topic this year. Thats all I am saying.

Wolves isn't a big game? They also hammered spurs last week but failed to score.
Also context.

Tbf I'd rather play Arse than Wolves atm

Since when Wolves a relegation fodder team?

Be my guests if you guys want to consider Wolves a big game. The rest of the football world will not really get your point. And for what it is worth, take out Arsenal and wolves, and the other teams still had a more challenging schedule than us. It is context, nothing more nothing less. I for one, don't want to depict the start of the season as a problem. All I am trying to do is, pointing out that our team is lacking something and this seemingly has been carried over through the summer.

 

[Wumminator]

You arent interested in my opinion but I'd say City, and Liverpool from February onwards definitely. Chelsea played better stuff than us but nothing too great.

West Ham, Leicester, Everton played some lovely stuff for parts of the season, so did we but more alternatingly.

Of course I am interested in your opinion.
So you think one team played better football than us last season. I’d agree with that.

 

[meamth]

I don't know, have a look for yourself. If you don't believe in these stats, fine by me. But they support what we mostly see on the pitch - we aren't good at creating high-percentage chances. It was an issue last year and it seems to be a topic this year. Thats all I am saying.





Be my guests if you guys want to consider Wolves a big game. The rest of the football world will not really get your point. And for what it is worth, take out Arsenal and wolves, and the other teams still had a more challenging schedule than us. It is context, nothing more nothing less. I for one, don't want to depict the start of the season as a problem. All I am trying to do is, pointing out that our team is lacking something and this seemingly has been carried over through the summer.

Every away game in the premier league is a tough challenge. We got lucky, but that's football.

Wolves were in redemption mode since they started the season unlucky and last night was a proper response from them.

We fielded our new signings with an exposed midfield, Ole got some balls to do it and we ended up with that important 3 points.

 

[NZT-One]

Every away game in the premier league is a tough challenge. We got lucky, but that's football.

Wolves were in redemption mode since they started the season unlucky and last night was a proper response from them.

We fielded our new signings with an exposed midfield, Ole got some balls to do it and we ended up with that important 3 points.

I'd agree with that statement. The result was great, the performance was underwhelming. About the bolded part: Would you say, it was a calculated risk Ole took on yesterday?

 

[meamth]

I'd agree with that statement. The result was great, the performance was underwhelming. About the bolded part: Would you say, it was a calculated risk Ole took on yesterday?

I think we all agree that the performance was underwhelming, but I wasn't even worried as the game went on as I believe our player qualities will pull us through, and we did.

Yes it was a calculated risk because he knew Matic was struggling last week and fielding him again will attract more criticism.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Which teams in the prem do you think played good football last season out of interest?

I’d say teams that went out to try and play offensively and in a manner I would find entertaining (high press and/or possession through the centre and not just direct balls or long crosses) regardless of their level: Fulham, Brighton, So’ton, Leeds, Leicester to a point although they play similarly to us in some games but crucially won something & sadly I’d say all the top four rivals we have are consistently more entertaining to watch now.

What frustrates me is it’s so clear to me you have to have some kind of tactical differentiator right now - last 3 PL winners Conte, Pep, Klopp all play very different but very system based games. Last 3 CL winners Tuchel, Klopp, Flick are the same.

The you come on here and see these guys hoovering up the trophies we surely want to win being labelled derivatively as hipsters… half the caf doesn’t want us to win they just want to be right.

 

[Olecurls99]

I’d say teams that went out to try and play offensively and in a manner I would find entertaining (high press and/or possession through the centre and not just direct balls or long crosses) regardless of their level: Fulham, Brighton, So’ton, Leeds, Leicester to a point although they play similarly to us in some games but crucially won something & sadly I’d say all the top four rivals we have are consistently more entertaining to watch now.

What frustrates me is it’s so clear to me you have to have some kind of tactical differentiator right now - last 3 PL winners Conte, Pep, Klopp all play very different but very system based games. Last 3 CL winners Tuchel, Klopp, Flick are the same.

The you come on here and see these guys hoovering up the trophies we surely want to win being labelled derivatively as hipsters… half the caf doesn’t want us to win they just want to be right.

If those teams are more entertaining to watch then why do we score tons more goals then them?

System schmystem. Players play football, not managers or systems.

Well over half the Caf see us improving under Ole and can't understand the negativity from a vocal minority every time we don't bang in 5 goals.

 

[meamth]

If those teams are more entertaining to watch then why do we score tons more goals then them?

System schmystem. Players play football, not managers or systems.

Well over half the Caf see us improving under Ole and can't understand the negativity from a vocal minority every time we don't bang in 5 goals.

At the end of the day we're all just arm chair experts who just speculate things.

Can't forget the meltdown when Dan James was starting vs Leeds.

 

[tomaldinho1]

If those teams are more entertaining to watch then why do we score tons more goals then them?

System schmystem. Players play football, not managers or systems.

Well over half the Caf see us improving under Ole and can't understand the negativity from a vocal minority every time we don't bang in 5 goals.

Are you genuinely asking why United score more goals than the likes of Brighton?

 

[el3mel]

If those teams are more entertaining to watch then why do we score tons more goals then them?

System schmystem. Players play football, not managers or systems.

Well over half the Caf see us improving under Ole and can't understand the negativity from a vocal minority every time we don't bang in 5 goals.

Imagine actually thinking it's a minority here who have problems with the way we are playing.

We have the right to complain, because if we keep on playing like this we will pay the price eventually. We have to improve.

 

[Giggsy13]

The performance was poor but it was a great result. My concern is that one injury to McT has caused so many issues in our midfield. Why isn’t VDB given an opportunity at this stage? The firm Ole in brigade love to reference the Sir Alex era when it suits him also forget that he dealt with injury crisis by playing players out of position to cope. Ole has a potentially world class midfielder in VDB on the bench that he never plays. I like many others just don’t understand what Ole is thinking in this regard. Why not try VDB in a double pivot to facilitate Pogba in a more advanced position? We clearly aren’t buying a midfielder, so he needs to start using all of his options.

 

[Wumminator]

Imagine actually thinking it's a minority here who have problems with the way we are playing.

We have the right to complain, because if we keep on playing like this we will pay the price eventually. We have to improve.

Imagine thinking you know more than the fans that go every week and sing for Ole.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Why me?

You guys are the total joke who wants to replace a manager after 7 points out of 9.

We sack Ole, and then the whole world will laugh at us at the total randomness. It came out of nowhere and then we're chasing down managers before the transfer window ended.

"You guys"? Weird, I fully back him and am happy with 7 points from 9, given the first games of the season before the international break are historically tricky. I certainly wouldn't be sacking him and he deserves the season.

If you think other people's posts are a "total joke", then you might need to have a look at your own posting style. You come across needlessly confrontational and aggressive when anyone dares to question Ole.

We were piss poor yesterday, and pretty poor against Southampton - so people are entitled to that opinion. I'm delighted we have 7 points personally, as we easily could have lost yesterday. The fact of the matter is, performances need to drastically improve after the international break. I have no doubt they will when we have a larger pool of players to choose from, and players are fitter. Nevertheless, improvements are needed.

You have a habit of posting in absolutes and hyperbole about Ole, trying to make out that he's some demi-God, and no one else could do the job he has done. I mean, if you post hyperbolic bollox, expect responses to be in the same vein. I support Ole for now, but it's pretty easy to see why so many have reservations about him. If you take a step back from your overly aggressive, one-sided stance, you would see things more rationally.

 

[RedSinha]

The problem with Ole doubters is that they will moan even if the team plays well. They're being a bit disingenous with the "I want beautiful football no matter what" shtick.

Last season home match against Roma. We utterly dominated from kickoff and played great football but just couldn't finish. This place exploded with negativity at half-time because Dzeko managed to pull one ahead after a penalty. It was plain to see we were the dominant team and would produce something soon enough. But nobody gave the team a chance at half-time.

This is exactly the same mentality that bleeds into this new season and after 3 games undefeated, they're calling for Ole to be sacked or comparing him to Arteta.

I feel like the negativity is a sort of addiction at this point. It's the only way they can feel anything.

 

[Robbie Boy]

The irony is lost on many people. The same people criticising Ole are the same people calling De Gea finished, Lindelof average at best, McFred the worst midfield pairing at any big club anywhere, James championship level etc etc

Yet the club are progressing in league positions and just broke the all time top flight unbeaten away record. You'd think we were in Arsenal's position

Nope. Most feel we have a very good squad. So these 'same people' are also saying we have a better squad than Chelsea and City...

 

[The Mitcher]

The problem with Ole doubters is that they will moan even if the team plays well. They're being a bit disingenous with the "I want beautiful football no matter what" shtick.

Last season home match against Roma. We utterly dominated from kickoff and played great football but just couldn't finish. This place exploded with negativity at half-time because Dzeko managed to pull one ahead after a penalty. It was plain to see we were the dominant team and would produce something soon enough. But nobody gave the team a chance at half-time.

This is exactly the same mentality that bleeds into this new season and after 3 games undefeated, they're calling for Ole to be sacked or comparing him to Arteta.

I feel like the negativity is a sort of addiction at this point. It's the only way they can feel anything.

Most of them are barely fans of United and are fans of individual players, former managers like Mourinho, and opposition managers. It's suffocating.

 

[Eplel]

The problem with Ole doubters is that they will moan even if the team plays well. They're being a bit disingenous with the "I want beautiful football no matter what" shtick.

Last season home match against Roma. We utterly dominated from kickoff and played great football but just couldn't finish. This place exploded with negativity at half-time because Dzeko managed to pull one ahead after a penalty. It was plain to see we were the dominant team and would produce something soon enough. But nobody gave the team a chance at half-time.

This is exactly the same mentality that bleeds into this new season and after 3 games undefeated, they're calling for Ole to be sacked or comparing him to Arteta.

I feel like the negativity is a sort of addiction at this point. It's the only way they can feel anything.

The problem with Ole inners is that they will celebrate even when we don't even achieve the minimum expectations. They're being a bit disingenuous with the "At least we're better than where Mourinho had as" shtick.

I can do that too you know.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Di Matteo also managed to propel Chelsea to an ECL title. How good did he turn out to be?

Arteta beat Chelsea to the FA Cup title. What does that say?

Simple accounting like this not even a year into Tuchel’s reign is probably not the best indication.

Tuchel could well crash and burn but we can only judge on what he's done so far, which has been pretty bloody good.

 

[Matriac]

Regarding team selection vs. Wolves:

Before the game I thought he would pick Matic and VDB for the mid with Pogba Greenwood Sancho up top, but I didn't think too much about the individual players we would be facing (I guess that's why I'm not the manager), taking that into consideration I agree with his selection.

With McTominay out, and Matic struggling for speed against a pacy wolves (plus generally not the best showing against Soto the week before), Fred was our best option in mid as the anchor to recover the ball. He needed a partner, and while that could have been VDB, Pogba got prioritized due to his form in the games before.
Now why couldn't Pogba stay up left? Well because Sancho deserved a start to show what he could do (+ fans had been putting on pressure for him to start), and because our midfield would be a weaker link than usual with no McFred, and it being Varane's first game where he and Maguire will need time to develop their relationship, we needed defensive help from our attackers. James was selected to be on the right side due to his speed so he could help out AWB with Traore who has shown to be a big threat against most teams (several called for us to pick up him instead of Sancho last year). I also saw Sancho fall back and break up counter-attacks from Wolves after we had pushed forward on the right.
Because our wingers had to help out defensively, Bruno had to push further up the pitch as a False 9 at times to help out Greenwood for us to remain an attacking threat while staving off the rush we expected from Wolves in the first half.

Wolves are the in-form team when it comes to creating chances (They are 1st in chances created over the past 3 games, plus top 4 in every other chance related statistic), they just haven't been able to put them away. Spurs also struggled to win 1-0 against them, with 8-25 in chances. Starting James and Sancho allowed us to tire them out in the first half, and then bring on Cavani (who weren't fit to play an entire 90 min yet) for a tired James to put the pressure back on Wolves.
Sancho didn't have the best day offensively, so Martial with fresh legs was brought on to try something different.

Now was it pretty? Not at all, but the gameplan worked, with the players available to us. Would Ole have loved to have another defensive midfield option (especially with McT. out) so he wouldn't have to move players away from their better positions? Of course, but he has to select from the players available to him. I'm certain we want to buy another defensive midfielder, but if we can't find the right player for the right price we usually wait for the next window(s) instead of bringing in a square peg that needs replacing later anyway.

Regarding Tuchel

Yes he won the CL, and that was a great achievement, but before the season started everyone expected the Chelsea squad to perform better than us, that we would struggle to finish top 4 compared to them and others. (And he had just been sacked from PSG due to underperforming, very few of our fans wanted him to come to us at that point, especially since Ole had us Top2 at the same time).
Yes, on the remaining 18 PL fixtures from he took over Chelsea, they managed to snag 4 more points than United. But we had different priorities from them since we remained comfortably in top 4 from January until the end, while Chelsea had to play catch-up. Not to forget that with the Liverpool game delayed due to the protests we had 4 games in 8 days, and had to proritize other games than PL since we didn't need the points to guarantee top 4 like Chelsea and the others did.

Tuchel lost as many (3) PL games as Ole in those 18 fixtures, including 2-5 at home against West Bromwich Albion who were placed 19th for most of the season. Why couldn't he produce a result at home against a bottomfeeder club?
And when it was in Tuchel's hands to secure Top 4 on the final day of the season he bottled it by losing 1-2 against Aston Villa, who had nothing to play for. But was saved by Leicester losing at home against Spurs (who only had the conference league to fight for, compared to Leicester's CL chances). In the Final 4 matches of the season we got 4/12 points, Chelsea got 6/12.
In those 18 games Chelsea got 38 points with a GD of +11 (24GF / 13GA), United got 34 points with a GD of +18 (37 GF / 18 GA). (Yes that period includes our 9:0 drumming of Soto, but also 7 of the goals against came in that period we played 4 games in 8 days and weren't as dependent on the results as the teams below us.)

Now let's see how Tuchel performs over a full season and what the table will look like in May. It's too early to say anything definitive about Ole vs Tuchel.

 

[Dr. StrangeHate]

Not yet. But he will be. He's already done more in 2 years than Fergie did in 5.

Even Ole's mother disagrees with this.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

Fact is Ole wouldn't have this many doubters if he has proven to be able to deliver trophies in a top league in recent times. So the only thing we have to look at to draw hope that he's good enough to take us to glory is his time here. Personally I think he has shown positive signs to believe its possible he can do that and he's also shown negative signs why he can't. It's all about which you want to focus on more. In the end what will tell is time . This season seems to be the deadline though so expect him to be under scrutiny

 

[Nicoseth]

Imagine actually thinking it's a minority here who have problems with the way we are playing.

We have the right to complain, because if we keep on playing like this we will pay the price eventually. We have to improve.

We will definitely improve. It's the first 3 games of the season when fitness and match sharpness are notoriously lacking. I think we'll hit our stride a couple of weeks after the international break. As for "the way we're playing", I think people get so fired up by a couple of below par performances. Over Ole's time, we have also seen some brilliant performances. Hasn't he managed more 5-goal games than Mourinho, LVG and Moyes combined? We beat city twice last year, hammered Leipzig, Leeds, Southampton, beat PSG in Paris (again), deserved to finished 2nd and have made some amazing signings so I expect we'll be even better this season.

People expect us to be dazzling every week - and I always hope for that too, but even under SAF we had plenty of poor performances but still came away with something from the game. That's what's happening right now. In 2007-2008 when we won the CL and League, we had 2 points after the first 3 games, drawing with Reading at home and Portsmouth away with a team that had Scholes, Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Rio, Vidic, etc. We'll hit our form soon enough and I can't wait.

 

[pratyush_utd]

We will definitely improve. It's the first 3 games of the season when fitness and match sharpness are notoriously lacking. I think we'll hit our stride a couple of weeks after the international break. As for "the way we're playing", I think people get so fired up by a couple of below par performances. Over Ole's time, we have also seen some brilliant performances. Hasn't he managed more 5-goal games than Mourinho, LVG and Moyes combined? We beat city twice last year, hammered Leipzig, Leeds, Southampton, beat PSG in Paris (again), deserved to finished 2nd and have made some amazing signings so I expect we'll be even better this season.

People expect us to be dazzling every week - and I always hope for that too, but even under SAF we had plenty of poor performances but still came away with something from the game. That's what's happening right now. In 2007-2008 when we won the CL and League, we had 2 points after the first 3 games, drawing with Reading at home and Portsmouth away with a team that had Scholes, Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Rio, Vidic, etc. We'll hit our form soon enough and I can't wait.

Complains are not because we didn't dazzle yesterday. We were getting hammered in that first half which indicated that there is a problem with the setup. We set up with 3 attacker and 3 midfielder but we ended up playing as 4 attacker. Most of our build up was mostly long balls and our midfield was heavily pressed and most of the time outnumbered. This is a cause of concern considering we don't really have any alternative option in midfield.

 

[el3mel]

We will definitely improve. It's the first 3 games of the season when fitness and match sharpness are notoriously lacking. I think we'll hit our stride a couple of weeks after the international break. As for "the way we're playing", I think people get so fired up by a couple of below par performances. Over Ole's time, we have also seen some brilliant performances. Hasn't he managed more 5-goal games than Mourinho, LVG and Moyes combined? We beat city twice last year, hammered Leipzig, Leeds, Southampton, beat PSG in Paris (again), deserved to finished 2nd and have made some amazing signings so I expect we'll be even better this season.

People expect us to be dazzling every week - and I always hope for that too, but even under SAF we had plenty of poor performances but still came away with something from the game. That's what's happening right now. In 2007-2008 when we won the CL and League, we had 2 points after the first 3 games, drawing with Reading at home and Portsmouth away with a team that had Scholes, Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Rio, Vidic, etc. We'll hit our form soon enough and I can't wait.

Consistency is the key. We should play consistently over the course of the season. We shouldn't be in a situation in which it's so easy to remember the games we played well because they're not that many.

Poor performance should be one off and an anomaly. At the moment and over the course of Ole's tenure it almost always feels we are barely getting across the line most of times, with the dominant performance being not that common or usual for us. We will never win the league until we have the same level of consistency and dominance of Man City, because, well, these are our opponents and they are capable of putting on a +10 matches winning strike every season. Can Ole's United do such kind of run? A run of 10 consecutive wins?

 

[Nicoseth]

Complains are not because we didn't dazzle yesterday. We were getting hammered in that first half which indicated that there is a problem with the setup. We set up with 3 attacker and 3 midfielder but we ended up playing as 4 attacker. Most of our build up was mostly long balls and our midfield was heavily pressed and most of the time outnumbered. This is a cause of concern considering we don't really have any alternative option in midfield.

I'm confused, mate. You said it's not because we didn't dazzle yesterday but then talked about how we struggled yesterday. I agree that we don't have great options in the midfield but we also have to give some credit to Wolves for how they played - they were excellent.

 

[Ole's screen]

Consistency is the key. We should play consistently over the course of the season. We shouldn't be in a situation in which it's so easy to remember the games we played well because they're not that many.

Poor performance should be one off and an anomaly. At the moment and over the course of Ole's tenure it almost always feels we are barely getting across the line most of times, with the dominant performance being not that common or usual for us. We will never win the league until we have the same level of consistency and dominance of Man City, because, well, these are our opponents and they are capable of putting on a +10 matches winning strike every season. Can Ole's United do such kind of run? A run of 10 consecutive wins?

Yeah when has Ole ever gone on a 10 game winning streak with United? Never!

 

[Nicoseth]

Consistency is the key. We should play consistently over the course of the season. We shouldn't be in a situation in which it's so easy to remember the games we played well because they're not that many.

Poor performance should be one off and an anomaly. At the moment and over the course of Ole's tenure it almost always feels we are barely getting across the line most of times, with the dominant performance being not that common or usual for us. We will never win the league until we have the same level of consistency and dominance of Man City, because, well, these are our opponents and they are capable of putting on a +10 matches winning strike every season. Can Ole's United do such kind of run? A run of 10 consecutive wins?

100% agree that we have to put together that consistency. I say we can go on a run like that. Time will tell.

 

[el3mel]

Yeah when has Ole ever gone on a 10 game winning streak with United? Never!

In the league.

 

[Nicoseth]

Yeah when has Ole ever gone on a 10 game winning streak with United? Never!

And what does that prove or disprove? What a ridiculous statement. So what - fire Ole? You realize that our record for winning streak in the PL was 12 in a row 20 years ago. So that's the new standard? No 10 game streak and you're out? Great plan.

 

[Dec9003]

We played Leeds, Southampton, Wolves.

City played Tottenham, Norwich, Arsenal.
Chelsea played Palace, Arsenal, Liverpool.
Liverpool played Norwich, Burnley, Chelsea.

So those teams had some big games on the schedule already.

Just for context.

Leeds, who took four points from City last season, beating them whilst having ten men.

 

[Robbie Boy]

And what does that prove or disprove? What a ridiculous statement. So what - fire Ole? You realize that our record for winning streak in the PL was 12 in a row 20 years ago. So that's the new standard? No 10 game streak and you're out? Great plan.

I'm pretty sure he was being facetious and is a massive Ole fan.

 

[NZT-One]

Leeds, who took four points from City last season, beating them whilst having ten men.

What does that prove? That they have been good last season. They were not great in their pre-season, they were missing Phillips, they lost the game to us, and drawd against Burnley and Everton, only once managing to create more chances than conceding. There is no point, bigging up your opponents. This is a team with a squad worth 243 mio Euro compared to United with 910 mio Euro (according to Transfermarkt). With a manager who is so stubborn, that he lets them attack as their way of defending - exactly the sort of team, we look good against.

 

[Nicoseth]

I'm pretty sure he was being facetious and is a massive Ole fan.

Hope you're right!

 

[Dec9003]

What does that prove? That they have been good last season. They were not great in their pre-season, they were missing Phillips, they lost the game to us, and drawd against Burnley and Everton, only once managing to create more chances than conceding. There is no point, bigging up your opponents. This is a team with a squad worth 243 mio Euro compared to United with 910 mio Euro (according to Transfermarkt). With a manager who is so stubborn, that he lets them attack as their way of defending - exactly the sort of team, we look good against.

As you put it, I’m simply adding context. I didn’t offer an opinion or big any side up, I just stated what happened. We’re above the teams mentioned in a previous post, having comfortably beaten two sides that have given teams problems in the past.

 

[Olecurls99]

Imagine actually thinking it's a minority here who have problems with the way we are playing.

We have the right to complain, because if we keep on playing like this we will pay the price eventually. We have to improve.

Come now el3. I've been watching United for over 30 years and in all that time I don't think I've ever been fully satisfied with how we're playing. I'm talking about the fact that on the whole we're improving, and there are people who use every average performance to call for the managers head. It's insane.
Most fans, I guarantee you, are behind Ole.

 

[pratyush_utd]

I'm confused, mate. You said it's not because we didn't dazzle yesterday but then talked about how we struggled yesterday. I agree that we don't have great options in the midfield but we also have to give some credit to Wolves for how they played - they were excellent.

I am not discrediting Wolves but there are concerns if we don't change how we line up, this could happen again. Top teams don't get hammered like we got yesterday in first half. Maybe complain was wrong word to use. Its alarming how easily they were bypassing our Midfield. Let's see how we rectify it because this is going to be define our season. We have great option both at back and front. Finding right balance in midfield is going to be key

 

[NZT-One]

Regarding team selection vs. Wolves:

...
Because our wingers had to help out defensively, Bruno had to push further up the pitch as a False 9 at times to help out Greenwood for us to remain an attacking threat while staving off the rush we expected from Wolves in the first half.

...

I agree with most of what you say, but the issue, that Bruno is playing like a striker for most of the games isn't new at all. And it doesn't seem to be connected to certain opponents. So while your explanation is plausible in itself, I don't think, that this particular plan has been expressed somehow because it is the same we play every week.

Regarding Tuchel

Yes he won the CL, and that was a great achievement, but before the season started everyone expected the Chelsea squad to perform better than us, that we would struggle to finish top 4 compared to them and others. (And he had just been sacked from PSG due to underperforming, very few of our fans wanted him to come to us at that point, especially since Ole had us Top2 at the same time).
Yes, on the remaining 18 PL fixtures from he took over Chelsea, they managed to snag 4 more points than United. But we had different priorities from them since we remained comfortably in top 4 from January until the end, while Chelsea had to play catch-up. Not to forget that with the Liverpool game delayed due to the protests we had 4 games in 8 days, and had to proritize other games than PL since we didn't need the points to guarantee top 4 like Chelsea and the others did.

Tuchel lost as many (3) PL games as Ole in those 18 fixtures, including 2-5 at home against West Bromwich Albion who were placed 19th for most of the season. Why couldn't he produce a result at home against a bottomfeeder club?
And when it was in Tuchel's hands to secure Top 4 on the final day of the season he bottled it by losing 1-2 against Aston Villa, who had nothing to play for. But was saved by Leicester losing at home against Spurs (who only had the conference league to fight for, compared to Leicester's CL chances). In the Final 4 matches of the season we got 4/12 points, Chelsea got 6/12.
In those 18 games Chelsea got 38 points with a GD of +11 (24GF / 13GA), United got 34 points with a GD of +18 (37 GF / 18 GA). (Yes that period includes our 9:0 drumming of Soto, but also 7 of the goals against came in that period we played 4 games in 8 days and weren't as dependent on the results as the teams below us.)

Now let's see how Tuchel performs over a full season and what the table will look like in May. It's too early to say anything definitive about Ole vs Tuchel.

We managed a 1-1 draw against that team... just saying. While creating 6 shots on target and an xg of 1.1...When Chelsea lost to them, they created more clear cut chances than that (2.4). Obviously goals are the only relevant currency but it seems a bit rich to use a match like that as a stick to beat Tuchel with.