Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 2021/22 Discussion

[zenith]

Not too bothered with going out of a meaningless cup competition, but sad part is that it takes away potential minutes from guys in the second string.

Telles was rushed back and that was for all to see. Mata and martial are so done, I'm certain that they are both out very soon and with very little to contribute. Who knows what is martial excuse.

Ole might as well have gone with his u23's

 

[Toshey]

By that logic, if he doesn't win one of those major trophies, he should be sacked? I agree.

Well, yes. 100%.

When Cavani and Rashford come back we have potentially the best attack in the world or at least top 3.
For me FA cup and 2nd place is the bare minimum for this season.
We have a squad with the full potential for a local double and great CL run.
If Ole doesn’t deliver in league, FA and CL, he should go.

 

[crossy1686]

To be honest, I don't have many complaints about the performance cause ai thought we played well for most parts.

Same, I thought we were unlucky really to lose but it’s the pandering to players that aren’t match fit and playing them all anyway that’s irked me. Why not start Bruno and Greenwood to ensure you get the result and bring Martial and Mata on in the second half? Now Martial has 90 minutes of football under his belt is he going to play again this year once Cavani is fit? Highly doubt it. So why force the issue?

 

[Andycoleno9]

Literally the guy I quoted in my original post that led me to being bizarrely called out.

Ah, i can't see his post anymore. He is banned i guess.

 

[United in sin]

What's actually cringe or you just dont like anything he says?

The not great against low blocks BS

 

[Andycoleno9]

Mine major problem with Ole (and even Neville and Rio saying that) is that we (club and fans) are taking lightly cup defeats under him. That is not good. We must build winning mentality. PL and CL are not only competitions in football. On top of that you must win smaller thing then and there. If for nothing then for showing rivals that you are still here and that you are hungry for trophies.

 

[Real Name]

The not great against low blocks BS

Well its taken out of context.

 

[Real Name]

Same, I thought we were unlucky really to lose but it’s the pandering to players that aren’t match fit and playing them all anyway that’s irked me. Why not start Bruno and Greenwood to ensure you get the result and bring Martial and Mata on in the second half? Now Martial has 90 minutes of football under his belt is he going to play again this year once Cavani is fit? Highly doubt it. So why force the issue?

Yeah by all means field a weakened team but put at least 2 first teamers.

 

[Eplel]

He's extremely limited as a manager. If we want to get back to the top, it's unlikely it will be under Ole.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

Mine major problem with Ole (and even Neville and Rio saying that) is that we (club and fans) are taking lightly cup defeats under him. That is not good. We must build winning mentality. PL and CL are not only competitions in football. On top of that you must win smaller thing then and there. If for nothing then for showing rivals that you are still here and that you are hungry for trophies.

They are the only ones that matter, for this club. Ask LvG what good winning the FAC did for him.

For all the guffs about taking every single competition seriously, Fergie was perfectly content to devalue both the FAC and the LC over the years, skipping the former as reigning champions to attend the CWC, and played weakened teams to the degree that occasionally got us in hot waters with the FA. Everybody knows where the real prize of club football lays.

 

[RkkMan]

They are the only ones that matter, for this club. Ask LvG what good winning the FAC did for him.

For all the guffs about taking every single competition seriously, Fergie was perfectly content to devalue both the FAC and the LC over the years, skipping the former as reigning champions to attend the CWC, and played weakened teams to the degree that occasionally got us in hot waters with the FA. Everybody knows where the real prize of club football lays.

So just out of curiosity do you have trust in Ole's ability to win us the PL or CL this season? And if we don't win either do you think his position should be under review?

 

[Bobcat]

Well you know they are, united are a squad/team not one man. This has become almost tribal like I saw with mourinho when I wasn't posting on here just reading. We all want what's best for this club I truly believe that.
But some believe in the manager others don't. You'll get snide piss taking back and forth forever between the two camps and the same things being labeled and countered, but all we want is to see united top of the pile again.

It was nowhere as bad as this and the context was completely different.

Jose at the end of his tenure was burning down the house because of his lovers spat with Ed and there were almost daily news stories of dressing room unrest, bust ups and mutinies and what not. Judging by the mood of this place one should think we were lingering in midtable with a very bleak outlook for the future. Which it is not

We got knocked out of the Micky Mouse cup after playing a second string team. Who cares? Between the league, CL and even FA cup, the Carabao cup (or whatever the feck its called now) is just a distraction

 

[bondsname]

Disappointed with the result but the performance was fine. The few times Martial got the ball he looked neat, he needs to get in better positions where he can have more of the ball.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Tuchel rotated his players in FA Cup final and got criticised but shut them off by winning UCL. Big club manager is aiming for big trophies not this small cup. We don’t have the squad depth to win everything. There will be a competition we need to sacrifice if we are aiming for big trophies with this current squad. Judge him end of the season, let‘s see what he can deliver.

 

[georgipep]

Same, I thought we were unlucky really to lose but it’s the pandering to players that aren’t match fit and playing them all anyway that’s irked me. Why not start Bruno and Greenwood to ensure you get the result and bring Martial and Mata on in the second half? Now Martial has 90 minutes of football under his belt is he going to play again this year once Cavani is fit? Highly doubt it. So why force the issue?

That's all good speaking in hindsight though. Martial was given a chance to build his confidence. He squandered it, unfortunately. Mata was good in the first half, found pockets, connected well with the rest of the attack but his lack of pace made him worse as the game went on. It was the best game for both of them to start and I was quite happy Ole sent out the squad he did. We were by far the better team but didn't take advantage of our chances. Simple as that.

 

[United in sin]

They are the only ones that matter, for this club. Ask LvG what good winning the FAC did for him.

For all the guffs about taking every single competition seriously, Fergie was perfectly content to devalue both the FAC and the LC over the years, skipping the former as reigning champions to attend the CWC, and played weakened teams to the degree that occasionally got us in hot waters with the FA. Everybody knows where the real prize of club football lays.

Fergie wasn't content with 'devaluing' the FA cup, United were strongly encouraged by the FA to do it in an effort to boost England's failed 2006 world cup bid.

Fergie also built his first title winning squad at united on the back of a LC win in 92, and another in 06 when we hammered Wigan 4-0 with our strongest starting 11. Ronaldo scored twice in that game and that was the start of a very successful period for united after Chelsea's dominance in the early 2000s

Winning cups like this gets teams into the habit of winning things. It's worked a charm for City in the last 6 years. Why does Pep care? Mourinho also won the LC in his first season at Chelsea

 

[Andycoleno9]

They are the only ones that matter, for this club. Ask LvG what good winning the FAC did for him.

For all the guffs about taking every single competition seriously, Fergie was perfectly content to devalue both the FAC and the LC over the years, skipping the former as reigning champions to attend the CWC, and played weakened teams to the degree that occasionally got us in hot waters with the FA. Everybody knows where the real prize of club football lays.

That is not true. In some seasons because of tight schedule (lets not forget that back then clubs didn't have huge squads like today) he did sacrifice cup but in most of seasons he went for it. Especially FA cup. He loved FA cup and played with best team there.
He won 9 cups (4Lc and 5 FA) and 9 charity shields. That shows that he wanted to win any trophy.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Disappointed with the result but the performance was fine. The few times Martial got the ball he looked neat, he needs to get in better positions where he can have more of the ball.

The problem still remains that he doesn’t stretch the play by making runs beyond the defensive line. When you are playing a team like west ham, that’s looking to nick a fluke goal and shut down shop by remaining compact, you cannot afford to shrink the pitch.

The clear cut chances began to appear as soon as Greenwood came on and started making those runs.

We could easily have won the game 2-1 or more if we had Cavani available at center forward and Martial plating off the left wing instead. Otherwise, apart from Telles starting the game poorly and Sancho still not getting it, there weren’t many bad performances out there. Matic and Donny looked tidy in midfield. Mata was making sharp passes, Bailly was quality, dalot could have scored or got an assist with a tidy performance, but we couldn’t break West Ham’s compactness even when their spine was made of two geezers in Noble and that old as dirt center back.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

So just out of curiosity do you have trust in Ole's ability to win us the PL or CL this season? And if we don't win either do you think his position should be under review?

No and Yes.

If it were up to me he would have been gone by the end of the 19/20 season. The WHU 1-1 draw at home was when I lost faith in his ability, but we are where we are and after yet another disappointing season, this season he has no excuse with the investment made in the summer. So for me, the bare minimum is no more than 2 points behind eventual league winners if the point tally to win is above 90, and minimum a CL QF, although depends on the draw and performance, could be SF:

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

That is not true. In some seasons because of tight schedule (lets not forget that back then clubs didn't have huge squads like today) he did sacrifice cup but in most of seasons he went for it. Especially FA cup. He loved FA cup and played with best team there.
He won 9 cups (4Lc and 5 FA) and 9 charity shields. That shows that he wanted to win any trophy.

How many of those were won during the 90s, and how many were won during the 00s and 10s? There lies your answer.

 

[alexanderplatz]

Love Ole and think he has done a great job building the squad but he has got nearly everything he wants and it’s time to deliver. Starting to feel that if Ole can’t do something with the team then the job should be given to someone who can

 

[Andycoleno9]

It was nowhere as bad as this and the context was completely different.

Jose at the end of his tenure was burning down the house because of his lovers spat with Ed and there were almost daily news stories of dressing room unrest, bust ups and mutinies and what not. Judging by the mood of this place one should think we were lingering in midtable with a very bleak outlook for the future. Which it is not

We got knocked out of the Micky Mouse cup after playing a second string team. Who cares? Between the league, CL and even FA cup, the Carabao cup (or whatever the feck its called now) is just a distraction

We like to say and rub to Liverpool fans face that we are most decorated club in England. If Fergie had that stance towards cups, we would never become club with most trophies in England.
Is LC important? No, it is least important trophy. BUT it is a trophy. It counts. And it is a good feeling for famous good mood around club to play final and lifting a trophy, isn't it? Don't tell me that you didn't enjoy when Lingard scored vs Palace or Zlatan vs Saints?

 

[Red00012]

“We had a go” against West Ham’s squad players.

feck me he doesn’t help himself

 

[pocco]

Tuchel rotated his players in FA Cup final and got criticised but shut them off by winning UCL. Big club manager is aiming for big trophies not this small cup. We don’t have the squad depth to win everything. There will be a competition we need to sacrifice if we are aiming for big trophies with this current squad. Judge him end of the season, let‘s see what he can deliver.

"Current squad"? This isn't 2017.

That team we had out last night was so much better than the West Ham 11 on paper.

 

[Bobcat]

We like to say and rub to Liverpool fans face that we are most decorated club in England. If Fergie had that stance towards cups, we would never become club with most trophies in England.
Is LC important? No, it is least important trophy. BUT it is a trophy. It counts. And it is a good feeling for famous good mood around club to play final and lifting a trophy, isn't it? Don't tell me that you didn't enjoy when Lingard scored vs Palace or Zlatan vs Saints?

Of course if i had to chose between winning it and not winning it i'd chose the former, and if this was the latter stages of the competition i'd be a lot more annoyed, but when the fixtures start piling up around Christmas this cup is just a headache imo.

Just to be clear though, even though i dont care much about this cup i can perfectly understand fans who found this upsetting. What i took issue with were posters in this thread who were gleefully taking the piss because "Ole bad". I think even one of them got banned

 

[pocco]

Think it's obvious now that we'll never be as good as we possibly could be under Ole. We have an amazing team that might cover up some cracks in his coaching/tactics, but I'd love to have seen this squad in the right hands. I think we'd be devastating.

 

[sugar_kane]

Weirdly I feel like we get more glimpses of what Ole’s “system” in these sorts of games where a lot of our stars don’t play.

When he has the likes of Bruno, Pogba, Rashford and now Ronny on the pitch I feel like he is more keen to just give those players freedom than worry about a particular style or system.

Bruno especially, he’s incredible but partly because he is allowed to try basically whatever he wants when he plays.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

"Current squad"? This isn't 2017.

That team we had out last night was so much better than the West Ham 11 on paper.

If 07/08 and 08/09 squad couldn't win everything, how can this current squad win everything?

 

[crossy1686]

That's all good speaking in hindsight though. Martial was given a chance to build his confidence. He squandered it, unfortunately. Mata was good in the first half, found pockets, connected well with the rest of the attack but his lack of pace made him worse as the game went on. It was the best game for both of them to start and I was quite happy Ole sent out the squad he did. We were by far the better team but didn't take advantage of our chances. Simple as that.

Mata isn't really arsed if he plays or not, he's got a coaching role to walk into next season and he can't play more than 60 minutes anymore. I'm sure he would have been fine getting the second half run out. Martial has had over 12 months to find his form/confidence/fitness, it ain't happening. His movement was bad back then, it's still bad now, surely that is seen in training. It's trusting players like Martial to do a job that will get Ole fired and he needs to wake up and realise this. He can't say before the game that he's playing players that need game time, then come out after the game and say these lads can't play well against a low block, he fecking picked them, why is he speaking like a pundit that has no skin in the game? It feels like he's losing touch with what his actual role is at the moment.

 

[UnitedSofa]

The funny thing is, if we did win the LC all those bitching and moaning in here would not give a single feck & use it as a reason to get rid of him: “oh he can only win the League Cup, not good enough, I could do that with my eyes shut”

While on the other hand match going fans seem to be fully behind Ole

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[Bebestation]

Would a player like Haaland more likely join United to join Ole next year (maybe even January this year since that's when his clause kicks) - or someone like Conte or whoever is on the fans minds at the minute?

Zidane is looking PSG bound imo.

I have no idea how Ole has managed to target and get so many good players. City don't have a striker so maybe Haaland will move to there since Pep has said that he will leave also.

However, If the answer is Ole - It's why I don't mind one more major transfer window.

Not really to give Ole another chance to win trophies, but for us to get a striker like Haaland and midfielders like whoever that maybe. He gets good players and I feel like we could do with a bit more before we go out finding that manager that tries blending it all together.


Just a bit scared that if We go for the trophy winning manager too soon that they will be able to cover up some gaps tactically rather than with a quality player (something Ole can't do) - which leaves us with gaps that might elongate with time.

 

[Mainoldo]

The funny thing is, if we did win the LC all those bitching and moaning in here would not give a single feck & use it as a reason to get rid of him: “oh he can only win the League Cup, not good enough, I could do that with my eyes shut”

While on the other hand match going fans seem to be fully behind Ole

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— Twitter API (@user) date

They also gave Jose a standing ovation when we lost 3-0 to Spurs

I wouldn’t read to much into it. There just a nice bunch.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Henderson
Dalot, Bailly, Lindelof, Telles
VDB, Matic, Mata
Lingard, Martial, Sancho.

That is around 350 mil worth squad. All international players and most of them in their best years. Half of them were in first 11 last few seasons. So lets not pretend that we played with kids. This team against combined WH should have won the game. Why they didn't, it is another story.

 

[Tom Cato]

He's extremely limited as a manager. If we want to get back to the top, it's unlikely it will be under Ole.

We never won the carabao cup with Sir Alex during Ole's playing career either. We won the cup once in 1992, and then a cup drought until 2006. We've won the League (Carabao cup) once in 11 years.

This is just not a competition that this club has ever prioritized much.

 

[Mainoldo]

Would a player like Haaland more likely join United to join Ole next year (maybe even January this year since that's when his clause kicks) - or someone like Conte or whoever is on the fans minds at the minute?

Zidane is looking PSG bound imo.

I have no idea how Ole has managed to target and get so many good players. City don't have a striker so maybe Haaland will move to there since Pep has said that he will leave also.

However, If the answer is Ole - It's why I don't mind one more major transfer window.

Not really to give Ole another chance to win trophies, but for us to get a striker like Haaland and midfielders like whoever that maybe. He gets good players and I feel like we could do with a bit more before we go out finding that manager that tries blending it all together.


Just a bit scared that if We go for the trophy winning manager too soon that they will be able to cover up some gaps tactically rather than with a quality player (something Ole can't do) - which leaves us with gaps that might elongate with time.

Haaland don’t give a damn about Ole. You think he’s some type of mentor to him?

 

[Tom Cato]

They also gave Jose a standing ovation when we lost 3-0 to Spurs

I wouldn’t read to much into it. There just a nice bunch.

Did you just self-assassinate?

 

[United in sin]

How many of those were won during the 90s, and how many were won during the 00s and 10s? There lies your answer.

We reached two FA cup finals in the 80s wining two, five in the 90s winning four, three in the 00s winning two, two in the 10s winning one. Fergie won 7 FA cups

The funny thing is, if we did win the LC all those bitching and moaning in here would not give a single feck & use it as a reason to get rid of him: “oh he can only win the League Cup, not good enough, I could do that with my eyes shut”

While on the other hand match going fans seem to be fully behind Ole

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

It's a tradition to get behind the manager at OT, but I know a few match going fans who've become disillusioned with Solskjaer. They are a mix of people at matches just like this forum, but of course that discontent will not be on display on matchday, even after heavy defeats.

 

[Mainoldo]

We never won the carabao cup with Sir Alex during Ole's playing career either. We won the cup once in 1992, and then a cup drought until 2006. We've won the League (Carabao cup) once in 11 years.

This is just not a competition that this club has ever prioritized much.

Well he should because he’s not winning nothing else and his job is under real pressure this season.

 

[Mainoldo]

Did you just self-assassinate?

I beg your pardon.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

Regardless of your judgment/feeling of Ole as a manager, look at our fixtures for Oct-Nov.

We have Villa, Villarreal and Everton at home before the break, all games we are guaranteed to play our first XI in, then after the break it’s pretty much one big game minimum in the league sandwiched with a CL game every week, so a) if not this game, then where do we find the minutes to assess our 2nd string before that grueling run and b) are you really happy if we have gotten another game between Pool and Spurs?

If we don’t manage the next 2 months well, our season could be over before the easy run of fixture in Dec. We already made it hard for ourselves bungling the YB game, no need to make it any harder.