May I ask United fans, what was the style of play under Ferguson? I don't remember United playing out from the back in those days.
I think Solskjaer is trying to bring back Man Utds philosophy but he lacks proficient coaches at this level.
SAF is, from a tactical perspective, still weirdly underrated even by United fans.
His tactics varied by game and altered over time. He was more focused on combinations of players. For example, it was no coincidence that as Giggs aged he went for an attacking LB in Evra to provide pace and width on the left. Even when Giggs moved permanently to CM, the left winger would be right footed and cut inside (Nani, Park, Young), allowing Evra to create the width. Evra was virtually never rested, in comparison to the RB position, because his role was so pivotal. It's no coincidence he often played a natural CB (Brown, O'Shea, Jones, Smalling) at RB to give balance, especially when Ronaldo or Nani were playing RW. He'd have numerous players for the same position who had hugely varying qualities and pick them according to the game and the opposition.
The structure usually, certainly in the league and against weaker opposition, was two centre forwards in a 442. Generally one deeper than the other. But he avoided the typical 442 tropes of the time such as big man - little man up front. He didn't like target men who couldn't play, and he didn't like poachers who couldn't drop deep and build up play. He never signed players like Defoe or Darren Bent who were linked with for this reason. Andy Cole joined and was told he had to adapt his game to play deeper, he joined as a run in behind merchant from Newcastle. He signed players who were good in the air but also good with their feet like Cantona, Sheringham and Berbatov. He liked number 10s or old school second strikers who could operate between the lines, but they also had to be able to get in behind or get into the 6 yard box for crosses. Like Yorke, Tevez and Rooney, or his attempt to sign Di Canio! Rooney joined as a free roaming second striker who loved dropping deep and shooting from distance, but was molded into a complete forward who also made runs in behind and attacked the six yard box. In his later years this annoyed supports who clamouring for fashionable number 10s like Sniejder, Van der Vaart, Deco etc but SAF was interested in such a luxury show pony. The strikers would in old school terms "work the channels", which nowadays would be called "dropping into the half space". The exception was during Ruud's time here, which is the only time he consistently played 4231 in the league (pre and post Ruud this was only used in Europe or against top domestic rivals, to combat quality sides who packed midfield and controlled possession).
Wingers had to defend and attack, regardless of formation. The had to track their full back and they had to get to byline, or if the ball was on the opposite wing, get into the box. Depending on the game, sometimes both wingers would press high. Other times they would be deeper, or one of them would be deeper, to 'lock down one side of the pitch, especially in tough games or when protecting a lead. This is something I'm sure he picked up from Italian coaches, who he admired. The two flying wingers is a bit of cliche though, as often one winger would be more inverted and drift inside to midfield (or "the half space") if we were competing for the midfield. Again, this would change during the game depending on the situation. The one exception again was Ronaldos last couple seasons, where he started supposedly as a winger but drifted all over and didn't have to track back much, and this was accommodated by two terriers in Rooney and Tevez, plus Hargreaves/Fletcher/Carrick covering the right midfield position when Ronaldo was awol.
SAF was flexible. He'd make decisions that looked strange. He played Fletcher LW away at Spurs, and completely nullified Spurs' threat on the RW. He played Giggs in CM against Chelsea early days when Giggs was still playing as a winger, because he thought he had the pace to disrupt Chelsea's midfield (leaving in form Scholes and Carrick on the bench). He would substitute on an extra striker when chasing a goal, often having 3 or even 4 strikers on the pitch. He would leave a star player on the bench and play an unpopular workhorse to provide balance. He would drop an in form player to pick someone who had different attributes for a certain opposition.
The centre mids generally had to play in a 2 man midfield and needed to be good at everything. Sure, one would be deeper and protect the defence, but they had to play. Even United fans dismiss SAF as a 90s, 442, work hard man. He wouldn't have had success into the 2010s if that was the case. He hated defensive midfielders who couldn't play. We were constantly linked to British bulldog type CMs under his tenure, even fans clamouring for hacks like Parker, Barton, Noble, Reo Coker, Cattermole (seriously) to add bite and passion. He was never interested. It wasn't just about fight, it was bravery on the ball. Getting the ball forward, quickly and cleanly, wanting the ball, wanting to make the difference on the ball, making the right decisions, passing accurately, taking responsibility.
No, we didn't often pass out from the back like modern teams do. But he valued CBs who were good on the ball. They weren't expected to pass in triangles to get past a pressing forward, but they were expected to pass accurately into midfield, or to the wings, or into the channels. Sometimes we'd play one (or two) full backs who could dribble, like Evra or Rafael, and this would contribute to our build up play as they had license to dribble forwards from a deep starting position and build attacks. Nowadays defenders, especially our full backs, are so risk averse because they fear giving the ball away. SAF would never have allowed that, everyone had to be brave and take responsibility. A hoomph into the channels has gone out of fashion but it was (and still likely would be) an effective weapon at times. Under SAF our defenders knew our forwards would be looking to receive a direct ball into the channels ("half space"), and they knew that our forwards would fight for it too. Its dismissed as a desperate, defensive play to simply get rid of the ball, it's not, if it's done with accuracy and purpose it's getting the ball into dangerous areas and flooding men forward. If a team does it today its probably called gegenpressing, or vertically beating the press.
I do think you're right in that Ole is trying in part to bring back some of the United way and some of SAF's ethos and strategy. I think he's got a muddle of SAF tactics and modern tactics, and not the best bits of either. He also lacks the main thing that SAF had that was flexibility and adaptability, a confidence to change things in game, game to game or season to season, which came from his genuine knowledge and understanding of the game, his own players and the opposition.
Its a major peeve of mine that SAF is too often dismissed as someone who relied on man management and wasn't interested in tactics, but it couldn't be further from the case. He understood football. His tactics were dynamic and flexible, so you couldn't easily analyse it and say "United do these patterns of play repeatedly, United focus on doing this". It changed. There were some constants which shared some correlation with the 90s, 442, work hard, be direct, get crosses in tactics of the time, and so he is too often dismissed as being part of that school. He was much more advanced than that, and ironically many who underrated him tactically are too simplistic in their mind sets to recognise that fact.