Ole's Press Conference

Tincanalley

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Just going to post a few of Mourinho's comments from last pre-season as a bit of contrast:

"Do you want me to be very happy with the players [Sanchez] has around him? We are not playing here to improve the team, the dynamic or our routines. We are playing just to try to survive and not have some ugly results. Alexis is the only attacking player that we have"

"Antonio Valencia comes from holiday - I think too much holiday for him"

"This is not our team, this is not our squad - not even 30 per cent of it. We start the game with almost half the players who are not even going to belong to our squad on August 9 [transfer deadline day]."

"Because for the beginning of the season we are going to be in trouble."


I mean if I had to choose between his and Ole's comments, I know which side I'm on.
Round of applause.
 

AshRK

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It’s all about context.

Unfortunately Ole made some unfiltered comments in the heat of the moment after some of our losses last season that raised many supporters expectations. The context was getting rid of some of our deadwood and replace them with young talented quality. We all knew it would take some windows to fix this but the overall consensus among supporters was that players like Valencia, Rojo, Darmian, Jones and Pereira, (maybe Sánchez if we where lucky) should be sold or and then replaced with a couple of new players that could slot right in and become starters.

With this mind it’s understandable that many supporters are unhappy with the outcome so far. We all know that this isn’t Ole’s fault but some of his comments doesn’t install optimism regarding signing new players.

If you put this all together and some bad results then you will see what will happen. If Spurs spank us tomorrow and our defense look shaky, they overrun our midfield and our forwards don’t produce what do you think the media will report? Can you imagine this place.
Ofcourse if we lose 5-0 tomorrow it will set panic but it will do no good to go extreme and start questioning Ole. As for Woodward, well I think most apart from @Keefy18 and a few more have said Woodward has done a bad job. SO nothing changes there.
 

Tincanalley

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Except when the things said are dumb and counterproductive. If you think your boss is taking the incorrect action you don't go public with it, you talk to him, try to convince him and if not possible try to work towards a compromise. Also I think you are confusing telling the truth with spouting BS that the fans will lap up because they are spoilt children who've no clue what supporting a team means.
We can't be at the table to know what Mourhino was promised. Or LVG. But the signs are, after getting his wish (he really touted himself for the job), and his initial discussions, that the reality of working with Ed and the board was not what Jose expected. Think back, though, to the Rooney 'crisis'. Remember Wayne demanding more ambition, that we buy more players? It seemed odd at the time, but not if the internal dialogue among those who loved the club was that investment was not being wisely applied. Ronaldo was sold, etc, etc. Van Gaal was treated horribly by the club. So we have a series of hints and clues, and all of them point to a few similar conclusions. The owners don't want a rebuild with a DoF scenario and a new manager, an integrated philosophy with the emphasis on football. Them keeping Woody in the job is proof of that. They just want to keep milking the cow and they couldn't give a feck about the beautiful game. That's the mournful skeleton in the United cupboard that SAF knew about in his last years, that Rooney knew about, and that every manager since has had to confront.
 

R'hllor

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Comparing with JM from last summer is all well and good but in both cases they have/had their own personal agendas and interests.
 

Rish Sawhney

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We can't be at the table to know what Mourhino was promised. Or LVG. But the signs are, after getting his wish (he really touted himself for the job), and his initial discussions, that the reality of working with Ed and the board was not what Jose expected. Think back, though, to the Rooney 'crisis'. Remember Wayne demanding more ambition, that we buy more players? It seemed odd at the time, but not if the internal dialogue among those who loved the club was that investment was not being wisely applied. Ronaldo was sold, etc, etc. Van Gaal was treated horribly by the club. So we have a series of hints and clues, and all of them point to a few similar conclusions. The owners don't want a rebuild with a DoF scenario and a new manager, an integrated philosophy with the emphasis on football. Them keeping Woody in the job is proof of that. They just want to keep milking the cow and they couldn't give a feck about the beautiful game. That's the mournful skeleton in the United cupboard that SAF knew about in his last years, that Rooney knew about, and that every manager since has had to confront.
I think they do want it, but they want the integrated philosophy to come from the manager not a DoF figure. The last thing we should all want is a DoF that has his own opinions on recruitment that trumps the manager's. At that point why even have a manager? Just hire a first team coach that has no say in signings and be done with it.

For example: They were very willing to sell players that had success with us under SAF (like Nani, Kagawa, Welbeck, etc) in order to bring in players that suited LvG's philosophy.
 

7even

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Ofcourse if we lose 5-0 tomorrow it will set panic but it will do no good to go extreme and start questioning Ole. As for Woodward, well I think most apart from @Keefy18 and a few more have said Woodward has done a bad job. SO nothing changes there.


Are you satisfied so far with two signings and what do you think we need to be sure to finish better the last season? And if you’re not satisfied, why?

If we don’t buy any more players do you think it’s the managers job, or is it Woodward’s responsibility to inform supporters of the reason why? Or do you think neither should say anything?

Just honest answers about your expectations.
 

golden_blunder

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I would be more worried about his comments on Pogba if I was a United fan, saying "Paul has been absolutely top in the group, both me and the players will testify to that. He's never for a second been a problem. We're just grateful when he performs as well as he does"

Grateful is a worrying word for your manager to use regarding the performances of a key player. A manager should not be grateful that someone he is in charge of is doing what he is paid (very handsomely) to do. Sets the tone of the tail wagging the dog.
I found it a bit of a strange thing to say too. But let’s see what happens there
 

AshRK

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Are you satisfied so far with two signings and what do you think we need to be sure to finish better the last season? And if you’re not satisfied, why?

If we don’t buy any more players do you think it’s the managers job, or is it Woodward’s responsibility to inform supporters of the reason why? Or do you think neither should say anything?

Just honest answers about your expectations.
No I am not satisfied with our business so far. Logically we need a defender, a RW and a midfielder but I cannot see us signing 3 more players. If it were to me I would have signed Maguire (Will improve our defence), Nicholos Pepe( Will drastically improve our attack and we will finally have a RW) and Fernandes (Another goals scoring midfielder).

As for your second question, It hardly matters who says what if we don't sing any other players. We all know Woodward and the board would again let the manager bear the brunt and they will walk free. Ole moaning about the board will not do much but be another waste of a season. I like he is doing his work without fuss, some may think this ass kissing but I think he doesn't have much option and he must have seen Jose's moaning about the board did no good for the club so he will not repeat that.
 

Web of Bissaka

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McTom's turn this time eh.

Prematch Conference.
Vs Perth - Ole solo.
Vs Leeds - Ole and Lindelof.
Vs Inter - Ole and Matic.
Vs Spurs - Ole and McTominay.
Hmm, maybe I'm reading too much into this. Those three are probably three of the best model pro we've got in terms of behaviors and not making controversial statements.
Next game is Mata's turn?
 

He'sRaldo

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Great point. Once I saw this news, I said to myself that's why they're so ahead of us. They get rid of their players right before they become deaadwood. We keep them years after they become deadwood and some fans wonder why there's no club in for them.
They don't usually do this actually. They just recently started this with Pep.
 

Denis79

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I would be more worried about his comments on Pogba if I was a United fan, saying "Paul has been absolutely top in the group, both me and the players will testify to that. He's never for a second been a problem. We're just grateful when he performs as well as he does"

Grateful is a worrying word for your manager to use regarding the performances of a key player. A manager should not be grateful that someone he is in charge of is doing what he is paid (very handsomely) to do. Sets the tone of the tail wagging the dog.
Who said that? Ole?
 

Grande

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He said both things. Judging from our lineup of the 4-0 loss against Everton, could've been expected for us to get rid of Jones, Smalling, Young, Matic and Lukaku..

  • 1de Gea
  • 2Lindelöf
  • 12Smalling
  • 4Jones (Young)
  • 20Dalot
  • 6Pogba
  • 31Matic
  • 17Fred (McTominay)
  • 10Rashford (Pereira)
  • 9Lukaku
  • 11Martial
Where did he say that he ‘would be shipping out loads of players’ at the first opportunity? I have no recollection of that.

Or are you guessing, based on the line-up against Everton?

It’s clear he targeted right back (Young), central defence (Smalling/Jones) and probably also defensive midfielder (Matic) and forward (Lukaku) as needing reinforcements hence Wan-Bissaka, MacGyver (bid), Longstaff (bid or obvious interest) and Lukaku negotiations with Inter (and Ole saying: If we sell, we must replace, when asked about Lukaku and Pogba). If not most of these recruitments have happened by window close, it’s a stick to beat Woodward with.

Muppets will expect every incoming to be an established star reading to walk into the team and hit the ground running. That’s nothing new, but Solskjær never said that’s what he wanted.

Witchhunters will expect Young, Smalling, Jones, Matic and Lukaku to be sold (or executed), but Solskjær never said that, and neither is it necessarily smart (Young, Smalling/Jones) nor urgent (Matic). I would say with a player like Lukaku, if you just half like him, it’s better to sell early - his high price will drop after a year in the margins, wages are high for a bench option, he’s expecting to start and may get cranky, and the money could be spent on other things. Matic, however, is likely a good safety net for less established options to progress along with (Fred, McTom, Longstaff?).

What Solskjær did say, interestingly enough, is that it’s important that some of the players will need to understand that they are not part of the long term plans. Probably alluding to that there are players that refuse to be sold or are difficult to sell because they refuse to lower their wages. We can only speculate as to whom that goes for (Sanchez, Darmian, Rojo?). This is part of modern player power.
 

Seven Seas Sardines

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What he actually said was that he was going to be a success at United, and some of these players wouldn’t be around when he is. Not that he’d be shipping loads out straight away.
Where did he say that he ‘would be shipping out loads of players’ at the first opportunity? I have no recollection of that.
As I've said several times before, this is what Ole said after the Huddersfield draw:

“I can’t talk about individuals now, but there is the chance you have seen the last of players."

If it's the last we see of players, it doesn't mean they'll be flogged in a couple of years. We've already seen more of Darmian, Rojo, Lukaku, Matic and the rest in pre-season than we would've liked to. It's obviously not Ole's fault that we're stuck with the dross, but he said what he said.
 
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Grande

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As I've said several times before, this is what Ole said after the Huddersfield draw:

“I can’t talk about individuals now, but there is the chance you have seen the last of players."

If it's the last we see of players, it doesn't mean they'll be flogged in a couple of years. We've already seen more of Darmian, Rojo, Lukaku, Matic and the rest in pre-season than we would've liked to.
You probably didn’t expect any players to be shot and buried in the dark outside of Old Trafford after the Huddersfield (unless you are a witchhunter, of course). So if two players are gone or not playing games anymore when the first competitive game of the new season arrives, you could say that ‘chance’ became reality. Which to begin with was merely a chance anyway.

I think it’s a bit bureaucratic to discuss it anyway, as I don’t take it as a politicians promise, I take it as a leaders way of saying ‘Anyone who thinks this was good enough in terms of doing their best, has no future here under me’.

He did send a clear message that several unnamed players would have to convince him of their mentality and hunger by how they approached their ‘vacation’ and how they approached preseason. He also has said, later, that he has been pleased with the response from players regarding both. So to me, the most likely interpretation is that he sent a scare message in the media (a sprinkling of Mourinho-style, for once!) to empower the message he undoubtedly sent in the dressing room, and that it so far has worked.
 

Seven Seas Sardines

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Yeah, it was a tidy bit of scaremongering. Unfortunately, that's all it will ever amount to as long as we have the Glazers ruling this club, and all the players must have realised this once we gave new contracts away to chuckle brothers, Young and Mata.

Elitist mentality, ruthlessness and survival of the fittest were all empty promises because they all cost money.
 
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Denis' cuff

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Ole has just met “no value”. He’ll probably tell us next “if you see a cow in a field....” etc etc

He is telling us, that fecking oaf Lukaku is injured, when we know perfectly well, he isn’t. Just like he wasn’t before the cup final when he didn’t give a shite but wanted to be in prime condition for the WC. He ended up looking like a sumo wrestler. We’ll probably end up selling him, as well as Pogba and end up replacing them with current equivalents of Michael Owen, possibly Bale, who has never wanted to play for United but Woowoo will want him and Bale will trouser the obscene wages on offer. Clueless management in terms of football but they know how to stash the cash. They’ll get 200m for the pair and we’ll get Perisic in a trade, when we should’ve got him when the Mou wanted him.

With these disgusting leeches in charge, we’ll never have a manager who is allowed to manage. As Mou said, “I am not the manager of United, I am the coach “. It’ll be 200m in and 100m out. These feckers grow wealthier whilst we become Everton. We’re already worse than Arsenal.
 
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mancave bear

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You probably didn’t expect any players to be shot and buried in the dark outside of Old Trafford after the Huddersfield (unless you are a witchhunter, of course). So if two players are gone or not playing games anymore when the first competitive game of the new season arrives, you could say that ‘chance’ became reality. Which to begin with was merely a chance anyway.

I think it’s a bit bureaucratic to discuss it anyway, as I don’t take it as a politicians promise, I take it as a leaders way of saying ‘Anyone who thinks this was good enough in terms of doing their best, has no future here under me’.

He did send a clear message that several unnamed players would have to convince him of their mentality and hunger by how they approached their ‘vacation’ and how they approached preseason. He also has said, later, that he has been pleased with the response from players regarding both. So to me, the most likely interpretation is that he sent a scare message in the media (a sprinkling of Mourinho-style, for once!) to empower the message he undoubtedly sent in the dressing room, and that it so far has worked.
Spot on.